Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Mathematical Justifications On Conceptual Understanding, Jessica Raley

Theses and Dissertations

Mathematical justifications offer an approach to which students deepen and extend their mathematical thinking. This process has the potential to enhance students’ conceptual understanding. Mathematical practices and process standards ask students to use critical thinking skills to justify their reasoning, but this is usually seen as proofs in high school geometry. This convergent mixed method research study aimed to increase students' use of writing mathematical justifications and investigate the influence of this practice on mathematical and conceptual understanding. Eleven eighth-grade students participated in the study conducted in the Midwest United States. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews, students’ artifacts of …

The Northern View Of The Southern Shore: Experience, Reconciliation, And Commemoration In Postbellum Charleston, South Carolina, Michael Edward Scott Emett

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the experiences and commemorative practices of nearly 200 northern passengers in Charleston, South Carolina, as they attended the flag reraising ceremony at Fort Sumter on April 14, 1865, and then organized the Sumter Club to celebrate that event annually. While some has been written about postwar Charleston during the first half of 1865, and a little more has been published covering this flag ceremony, the Northern view and their experiences with each have not been investigated, nor has anyone written an account of this club. This dissertation utilizes the theory and methodology of the history of experience, …

A Discussion Of The Tubman Arias From The Opera Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line To Freedom, Mahari Allene Marie Freeman

Theses and Dissertations

Nkeiru Okoye (1972-) is an American composer of operas and orchestral works whose concert and theatrical compositions have gained extensive recognition in recent years. Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom is Okoye’s most well- known opera for which she composed the music and penned the libretto. Through her compositions, Okoye bravely addresses political and racial issues and tells the stories of well-known Black figures, such as Harriet Tubman.

Harriet Tubman (1822-1913) was a prolific American hero that led runaway slaves toward freedom. For approximately a decade, she risked her life traveling to and from the South to …

Simulation Study On Count Data Based On Double Poisson Distribution, Chao Ma

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis delves into the double Poisson distribution. Regression based on the double Poisson distribution, as proposed by Efron in 1986, offers an alternative approach that allows for more accurate regression models when dealing with discrete data that exhibit either over- or under-dispersion compared to the Poisson distribution. In this thesis, two methods of calculating the exact double Poisson density are compared: one utilizes the exact probability with the normalizing constant c(mu, theta) by definition or the “finite sum” method, while the other employs an approximation of the normalizing constant c(mu, theta). Furthermore, a simulation was …

Three Essays On Financial Institutions And Financial Intermediation, Xinxin Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

In the first essay, I examine the trading relationship between the manager of a collateralized loan obligation (CLO) deal and the borrowers and/or lenders of the underlying portfolio of the CLO deal. I investigate how these relationships affect the structure and pricing of CLO deals. I find that a stronger relationship between a CLO manager and either borrowers or lenders of loans in the underlying portfolio leads to a smaller equity tranche in the CLO deal and a lower yield spread of the AAA tranche, on average. These results suggest that the CLO manager uses private information from trading relationships …

Transcending The Family-Teacher Partnership: Utilizing Teaching Methods And Digital Platforms Proven Effective During The Pandemic, Amanda Katherine Mcclain

Theses and Dissertations

The unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic led teachers to innovatively shift their teaching methods. These pioneering practices inspired this study’s Elevated Family-Teacher Partnership intervention to provide equitable guidance and communication for all families. This dissertation, in practice, measured the effects the intervention created in a first-grade classroom setting in Hanahan, South Carolina. A mixed-methods research design analyzed the intervention's effects on the family-teacher relationship and each child’s academic achievement. The data indicated increased parental efficacy, engagement, and academic growth during the 12-week intervention for all families participating.

Improving Equity In Communication: Building Collaborative Partnerships Between Teachers And Spoken Language Interpreters, Angela J. Rush

Theses and Dissertations

In today’s increasingly diverse educational landscape, equitable communication is essential for fostering meaningful parent engagement and ensuring all students have an equal opportunity for a comprehensive education. However, language barriers can pose significant challenges for English Learner/Emergent Bilingual students and parents in the educational context. This improvement study underscores the crucial need for educational systems to address language barriers through targeted support mechanisms, such as quality language access services. The study draws upon the principles of improvement science to design, implement, and examine the transformative potential of a professional development program to enhance collaboration between teachers and interpreters and inform …

Second-Grade Students’ Lived Experiences During Formal And Informal Music Learning Activities, Celina Liana Reed

Theses and Dissertations

Historically, elementary music educators have led their classrooms using predominantly formal, teacher-led activities. Recently, music educators have allowed students to organize their own informal music learning activities. Few researchers have examined elementary students’ lived experiences during formal and informal music activities. My education and 9 years of early childhood and elementary music teaching experiences contribute to my research qualifications. The purpose of this research was to examine my second-grade students’ lived experiences during formal and informal music learning activities. Following were the guiding research questions: (a) What do second-grade students think and how do they feel during formal music learning …

The Impact Of A Professional Learning Community On Direct Care Staffs’ Self-Efficacy In Promoting Social—Emotional Learning Skills, Tiffany Drahota

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative collective case study documented three early childhood educators’ participation in a professional learning community (PLC) focused on promoting children’s social–emotional skills. Particularly, it illuminated the impact of a PLC on the direct care staffs’ self-efficacy related to the promotion of the specified skills. Self-efficacy strongly predicts a person’s willingness to persist through challenges, attempt a new task, and exert sufficient effort toward completion. Self-efficacy is highly influenced by social factors including peer observations and discourse (Bandura, 1977). PLCs are a form of professional development that focuses heavily on social interactions such as communication, collaboration, and group goal setting …

New Techniques For Studying Ocean Eddy Dynamics In The Arabian Sea And The Gulf Of Mexico, Paul Andrew Ernst

Theses and Dissertations

Coherent vortices known as eddies are ubiquitous throughout the world’s oceans and are responsible for modulating regional climates via the transfer of heat, momentum, and salt. Two regions where eddies are particularly prominent are the Arabian Sea (AS) and the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). This dissertation advances the study of eddies in these regions by developing and employing new techniques in conjunction with remotely sensed data and high-resolution ocean models. These models focus particularly on lesser-studied eddy components at the subsurface and the submesoscale (below 25 km in radius).

The first component of this dissertation focuses on the Lakshadweep High …

The Importance Of Sense Of Community In Recovery For Individuals Living With Serious Mental Illness, Natalia Gomez

Theses and Dissertations

People with serious mental illness face a variety of barriers to participating in community life. Some of these barriers include limits in social functioning which can then affect social relationships and life satisfaction (Sanchez et al, 2016). Devaluation based on mental health status is an important barrier to address due to its connection to stigma and relationships. The more an individual fears that they will be undervalued and discriminated against, the more they may fear interacting with others. They may hide that they are in mental health treatment or avoid social encounters that they consider as possibly rejecting. These behaviors …

Planning And Adapting In The Design Process, Lindsay Kay Wilkinson

Theses and Dissertations

The costume design and technology program at the University of South Carolina requires that students extensively learn each area of the profession. The largest growth-inducing experiences and some of the highlights for me were the opportunities to adapt when challenging changes or unexpected twists and turns arose with each production or project. Through my time at the university, I have gained a better understanding of balance between time and stress management, a system for understanding and completing costume-based research, digital rendering, I have improved the communication of my ideas with a director, working out a cohesive look with a production …

High-Rate Production Of Thermoplastic Composite Structures For Urban Air Mobility Vehicles Utilizing Fastener-Free Assembly Methods, Robert H. Shumpert

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to develop a manufacturing plan for a Thermoplastic fiber-reinforced propeller blade for urban air mobility applications. This propeller blade offer a few unique challenges including the complex geometries of the blade. Another important aspect of the blade is using fusion bonding methods to increase the strength of joints in the product while reducing weight from fasteners and adhesives. This manufacturing process will be validated by producing a physical demonstrator to ascertain the efficacy of the manufacturing techniques used. First, the techniques that will make up the manufacturing plan must be selected. To do this, a review of …

The Effects Of High Fat Diet On Lipid Deposition In Skeletal Muscle, Alexander Huss

Theses and Dissertations

By the year 2030, almost 50% of adults in the United States are expected to be obese. Obesity has been shown to increase the risk of several chronic metabolic diseases, several cancers, and is associated with impaired skeletal muscle function and metabolism. Despite this, little it is known about the role of altered muscle lipid homeostasis, lipid droplet dynamics, and lipid droplet-mitochondrial interactions in contributing to muscle dysfunction in obesity. Therefore, we sought to investigate the impact of high-fat diet induced obesity on overall skeletal muscle lipid deposition, intramyocellular lipid droplet content and morphology, and lipid droplet-mitochondrial contact. Male C57/BL6 …

Learning Through Discourse: Impacting Fractional Understanding Through Virtual Discourse, Laurie A. Gentry-Goodale

Theses and Dissertations

There is a strong need for fifth-grade students to become proficient in mathematical problem-solving using fractional computations because it will have a lasting impact on student achievement. Traditionally, mathematics is taught inside a brick-and-mortar classroom, grounded in rote memorization of facts, rules, and formulas. In recent years, more elementary students have enrolled fully in online learning environments, which emphasize on students becoming problem-solvers, specifically in fractional computation. The NCTM strongly encourages using mathematical discourse as an instructional method but employing mathematical discourse, but its applicability to online math learning is not well understood. This study addressed students' problem-solving skills, mathematical …

The Effects Of Management’S Esg Disclosure Strategy And Voluntary Esg Assurance On Investment Judgments, Macy Knutson

Theses and Dissertations

Many investors desire to integrate a company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance into their investment decisions. Accordingly, most companies now disclose at least some ESG information in annual sustainability reports. However, little regulation exists over ESG reporting, creating a well-acknowledged agency problem for investors and making trust vitally important to investment. In this study, I examine two mechanisms which may facilitate trust amongst ESG investors: Management’s ESG disclosure strategy and ESG assurance. Contrary to traditional conceptions of persuasion theory, I find ESG investors reduce investment in response to more transparent negative disclosures when the ESG report is not independently …

Layers Of Support: Cognitive, Psychological, And Social Factors That Contribute To Success In The High School-To-College Transition, Paige Cristine Mckeown

Theses and Dissertations

The future of individual and societal progress is largely dependent on students’ success following completion of K-12 education. For most traditionally aged students, this entails a journey into higher education at colleges and universities. This transition is rife with pitfalls that may lead students to stop out, fail out, or make inadequate progress towards completion – which further compounds social, psychological, financial, and personal challenges they may be facing. However, the challenges that contribute to these outcomes can be addressed and interventions can be designed to best support students in transition. This dissertation addresses these factors through a thematic literature …

Teacher-Researcher As Indicator: Developing A Third Space For Newcomer Youth In A Secondary Classroom, Gabriel Andres Chen Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

This paper was written to reveal answers to the Problem of Practice identified at the site school as it has experienced a steady growth in newcomer multilingual learners. This minority-majority group of students at the school have underperformed academically despite the use of varied teaching strategies. In an effort to help newcomer students through intentional sheltered instruction, I held the believe that as a former multilingual learner now serving as their classroom teacher, I could be an indicator for the classroom allowing me to realize there may be hopes, needs, and attitudes that were hidden from current pedagogical practices.

In …

The Burden Of Belonging: A Case Study Of Black Students' Experiences With Linguistically Code-Switching Between Discourse Communities, Tanner Charles Slagle

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative action research case study is focused on better understanding the complex and intricate nature of code-switching among Black students. In today’s educational climate, many Black students find themselves speaking one way with their closest friends and family members in front of the swing set and television and another way with their classmates and teachers in front of the blackboard. Due to systemic racism, schools today tend to place the burden of belonging on the youngest children of color rather than on the seasoned, and often privileged, adults who work with them. This dissertation is largely rooted in Gee’s …

Impacts Of Covid-19 And Taliban Takeover On U.S. Afghan Refugee Women’S Mental Health: A Socio-Ecological Approach To Resilience Resources, Atefeh Aghaei

Theses and Dissertations

In response to the escalating global refugee crisis, intensified by ongoing conflicts and environmental changes, this dissertation research focuses on the mental health of Afghan refugee women in the United States (U.S.), particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 Taliban takeover. With over 114 million people displaced globally, Afghan refugees, notably women, encounter heightened mental health risks due to violence, deprivation, systemic persecution, and the challenges of migration. This vulnerability is exacerbated by recent mass traumatic events, including the pandemic and political upheaval in Afghanistan. Our study, conducted through semi-structured interviews with Afghan refugee women and …

Unraveling The Impact Of The School-To-Prison Pipeline: Investigating Racial Disparities In Disciplinary Practices, Zelexis Croffie

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study sought to examine ways to narrow the racial discipline gap in South Carolina’s elementary schools. Employing both the Critical Race Theory and BlackCrit in schools as the theoretical frameworks, the research delved into the narratives of teachers in grades 3^rd through 5^th, exploring their encounters with school-based disciplinary practices. The study integrated Social-Emotional Learning and Culturally Responsive Teaching to ultimately uncover implicit biases held by teachers that positioned Black students as less innocent compared to their White counterparts. The primary focus was to investigate the relationship between teachers’ inequitable disciplinary practices and the …

Examining Systems To Improve Third Grade Literacy: Focus On Schools With High Poverty Index, Brenda Kelley

Theses and Dissertations

This improvement project was designed to ensure students enrolled in elementary schools with a high poverty index received literacy instructional strategies that promoted literacy achievement. When analyzing Graham County School data, I noticed third-grade students attending high poverty elementary schools were not achieving literacy success at the same rate as third-grade students attending low poverty elementary schools. An improvement team, consisting of myself, administration, and teachers at a high poverty elementary school implemented the improvement science framework to further study the root causes of this problem. Utilizing the six principles of the improvement science framework, problem focused and user centered, …

Connecting Family Funds Of Knowledge With Pre-Kindergarten Curriculum: A Strengths-Based Approach, Molly Kathleen Hamel

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study investigated the application of funds of knowledge research to supplement a Pre-Kindergarten curriculum in order to connect the previous knowledge and lived experiences of students and their families with the concepts and objectives of the classroom. The research combined funds of knowledge theory with social constructivism to form its theoretical framework. The research study used semi-structured interviews with parents to collect information about student and family funds of knowledge which the researcher used to supplement the existing curriculum with materials, activities, and experiences with which students were familiar. The findings revealed how enhancing existing curriculum with …

Nutrition And Mental Health Related Factors Across Historically Black College And University Students, Nancy Anai Uriegas

Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of food insecurity across college campus in the United States has been widely explored, with the primary focus placed on large, 4-year, primarily White institutions. Less is known about the prevalence of food insecurity and the impact it may have on health behaviors among minority serving institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Young adults attending college, and more specifically student-athletes (SAs), are typically in a new place, facing new stressors and high rates of food insecurity, which in turn may play a critical role in their current health status as it pertains to meeting their energy …

A Modified Flipped Classroom: Action Research Using An In-Class Flip To Measure Student Achievement And Perceptions Within A High School Multimedia Course, Jamie Mercer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study was to implement and evaluate the impact of a modified flipped classroom approach on students’ ability to use Adobe Premiere Pro in a Multimedia course at Jefferson High School. The current pedagogical model for teaching the video editing software is not conducive to student achievement and students need additional instruction after in-class demonstrations. A major issue in teaching software programs using in-class demonstrations is that when students do not understand the applications of the program, the teacher has to stop demonstrations and walk around the classroom to help struggling students while other students …

Black Mph Internship Experiences In Racialized Organizations: Critical Counter-Narratives For A More Racially Just Public Health Workforce, Zach Jenkins

Theses and Dissertations

Internships are a vital component of Master of Public Health (MPH) programs. Despite 14% of MPH students identifying as Black, limited research has examined their internship experiences. This is particularly troubling given the racial demographics of the public health workforce and the racialized nature of most public health organizations. Using critical race theory (CRT) as a theoretical framework and critical counter-narrative as a methodology, this study sought to answer the following research questions: 1) How do Black MPH students describe their racialized experiences in their internships? and 2) What are the implications of Black MPH students’ narratives for policies and …

The Autistic Adult's Perspective On Genetic Testing In The Prenatal And Cancer Settings, Robin Lisa Urban

Theses and Dissertations

Prenatal and cancer genetic tests are recommended by many professional medical organizations. Previous studies have shown that autistic adults have a negative opinion towards genetic testing for autism but have not explored if this sentiment is shared for other types of genetic testing. We used a descriptive, web-based survey of autistic adults to assess their attitudes towards prenatal and cancer genetic testing (n=36). Our data showed that overall attitudes towards prenatal and cancer genetic testing are positive. Notably, participants had slightly more positive attitudes towards prenatal genetic testing related to neurodevelopmental disorders when compared to testing for disorders primarily affecting …

Impacts Of Teacher-Led Staff Meetings On School Climate, Culture, And Teacher Voice, Alison Ely

Theses and Dissertations

A staff development team composed of four teacher leaders was chosen at a public high school to plan and facilitate two staff meetings. The purpose of this study is to determine how the use of a staff development team influences teacher voice within the school, the overall direction of staff meetings, and the culture and climate of the school. 21 teacher participants completed surveys that measured their perceptions of school climate, school culture, and teacher voice. Additionally, these teacher participants also completed post staff meeting surveys that measured their perceptions of the productivity/ effectiveness of four staff meetings. As a …

Therapy Use And Self-Stigma Of Seeking Help Among College Students Of Color, Rawle David Sookwah Ragoonath

Theses and Dissertations

Amidst rapid diversification of higher education student bodies, discrepancies in help-seeking relative to endorsed psychological distress have been noted among college students of color. The treatment utilization disparity exhibited by minoritized racial and ethnic groups attending college necessitates analysis of factors that impact help-seeking. Colleges have increasingly implemented multi-systemic interventions to address rising mental illness prevalence rates across college student demographics. Addressing treatment use disparities and implementing culturally competent services are foci of updated college mental health models. Empowering help-seeking is vital to promoting campus community health. Saint Arnault’s (2009) cultural determinants of help-seeking model (CDHS) posits the interplay of …

Institute Of Enslavement: Enslaved Lives At South Carolina College, Jill Found

Theses and Dissertations

“Institute of Enslavement: Enslaved Lives at South Carolina College” argues that enslaved people used the structure of the school, their own knowledge, and connections to other individuals and institutions to negotiate the terms of their enslavement. It examines how enslaved people on campus influenced their daily lives to the best of their abilities, in ways that were similar and different to other forms of enslavement. “Institute of Enslavement” considers how the unique structure of enslavement on a college campus, with multiple potential masters creating inconsistent authority for the school officials over enslaved people, created opportunities as well as moments of …