Digital Commons Network^™

Sparse Partitioned Empirical Bayes Ecm Algorithms For High-Dimensional Linear Mixed Effects And Heteroscedastic Regression, Anja Zgodic

Theses and Dissertations

Variable selection methods in both the frequentist and Bayesian frameworks are powerful techniques that provide prediction and inference in high-dimensional linear regression models. These methods often assume independence between observations and normally distributed errors with the same variance. In practice, these two assumptions are often violated. To mitigate this, we develop efficient and powerful Bayesian approaches for linear mixed modeling and heteroscedastic linear regression. These method offers increased flexibility through the development of empirical Bayes estimators for hyperparameters, with computationally efficient estimation through the Expectation Conditional-Minimization (ECM) algorithm. The novelty of these approaches lies in the partitioning and parameter expansion, …

Sensitivity Of The Cupid Experiment To Bragg-Primakoff Conversion Of Solar Axions And Alps, Kevin P. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

The author reports in this dissertation on the application of a technique to use bolometer detector arrays, such as those of the CUORE experiment and its proposed upgrade CUPID, to search for 14.4 keV Solar axions arising from an M1 nuclear transition of thermally excited ⁵⁷Fe in the Solar core. Density functional theory calculations performed using QU A N T U M ESPRESSO for Li₂MoO₄ enable the computation of a time-dependent axionto-photon conversion rate in the bolometer crystals. These calculations predict that the proposed CUPID detector will be sensitive to Solar axions or axion-like particles that …

Language Barriers In Healthcare: Consequences & Impact On Cultural Competency, With Focus On Vietnamese-American Patient Populations, Dylan Ta

Senior Theses

Language barriers in healthcare produce a wide range of negative effects that diminish healthcare quality and delivery. One consequence in particular is the diminished degree of cultural competence and consideration in the field of medicine. This thesis provides a review of past literature on significant adverse problems caused by the presence of language barriers in healthcare, as well as a detailed perspective into how language barriers damage and decrease the degree of cultural competence utilized by healthcare professionals when providing care for the specific Vietnamese-American ethnic group. Through the interpretation, language barriers are reasonably concluded to be a significant obstacle …

Humor In Western European Instrumental Music: How Humor Works, Its Usage Over Time, And Accessible Teaching Strategies, Hunter K. Thompson

Senior Theses

This research’s purpose was to examine the perception of humor, both generally and musically, and to provide an overview of how humor has been incorporated into Western European instrumental music from the Medieval Age to the 20th century. In order to evaluate this, the researcher conducted a listening survey to gauge how well college music majors perceive humor in instrumental music. The survey consisted of eleven total listening excerpts approved by the Music History faculty at the University of South Carolina School of Music. Nine excerpts were coded humorous, and two excerpts were coded non-humorous for control. There was a …

The Economics Of Mass Incarceration: How Imprisonment Due To Drug Offenses Impacts The Economy Of Texas, Leah N. Letterhos

Senior Theses

I begin by addressing drug use and how it impacts individuals’ economic outcomes, through psychological substance abuse disorders, income, and employment, where I discuss how each factor is impacted by drug use. Next, I undergo the same process for how incarceration and how it affects economic outcomes of individuals, through the debt cycle, the drain of household resources, limited/lack of pay while in prison, and difficulty in finding employment after release from prison. I follow this by connecting incarceration to drug use by writing about the background on the United States’ incarceration rates and link to drug enforcement and systemic …

The Intersectionality Of Race And Rurality In Polysubstance Use During Pregnancy In The United States: A Study Of National Survey On Drug Use And Health, Sophia Tavakol

Senior Theses

Importance: Though detrimental consequences, many pregnant individuals are still binging alcohol, smoking, and/or using illicit drug. Yet, little is known regarding variations in such behaviors across pregnant people in the United States.

Objective: To examine alcohol, tobacco, and drug use during pregnancy in 2015-2020 and assess their racial, ethnic, and rural disparities.

Design: This cross-sectional descriptive study derived maternal characteristics and self-reported prenatal substance use data from 2015 and 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, considering the complex sampling weight per participant per year produced by NSDUH.

Setting: United States.

Participants: A scientific random sample of non-institutionalized residents …

Psychosocial Outcomes Of African American Traumatic Race-Based Stress, Zenith Lamb

Senior Theses

Most research into trauma-related mental health concerns has focused predominantly on European American participants, leading to many African American individuals receiving inaccurate diagnoses, if they are able to receive diagnoses at all. This project sought to help fill that gap by identifying clear definitions and examples of “racial trauma” and “race-based stress” - as defined during participation in a focus group interview by the collective experience-based responses of two undergraduate African American students at a predominantly White institution - and identifying symptoms of posttraumatic stress and dissociation - measured by an online survey distributed to the participants that included questions …

Toxic Positivity And Perceptions Of Mental Health, Madeline E. Feltner

Senior Theses

My thesis concerns how toxic positivity, especially the type we commonly see on social media, can affect perceptions and stigma around mental health issues on college campuses. Toxic positivity is the belief that a person should always maintain a positive mindset, no matter what situation they are in, and invalidates negative emotions. Previous research shows that toxic positivity can have a negative effect on mental health, but in this thesis, I study how toxic positivity affects perceptions about others with mental health issues, willingness to interact with those with mental health issues, and self-perception. It is important to research this …

Balancing Conservation And Enjoyment: A Case Study Of Sustainable Tourism In Yellowstone National Park, Rachel E. Killen

Senior Theses

This paper explores the successes and challenges of integrating sustainable tourism in the US National Park System, focusing on the partnership between the National Park Service and the hospitality concessioner in Yellowstone National Park. Through a survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, managers of the hospitality company in Yellowstone revealed that their successful collaboration with NPS has resulted in the integration of diverse perspectives and fulfillment of the dual mandate of a US National Park. Despite challenges such as conflicts with historical preservation and the park's remote location, Yellowstone has successfully implemented all three pillars of sustainability in its operations while …

Noodz: A Strategic Communication Plan For A Startup Restaurant Targeting The College Market, Payton M. Fronapfel

Senior Theses

Advertising has evolved significantly throughout the past decade, lending to the current usage of direct response, social media, and online methods of advertising. Considering how these tactics have changed in recent years and how restaurant marketing, specifically, changes in response to a college demographic, companies must consider more in-depth communication plans. This thesis will identify the most effective methods of marketing restaurants in the United States and determine how a college demographic changes the techniques utilized in marketing communication plans. Furthermore, this thesis will develop a comprehensive strategic communication plan for a new Asian restaurant, Noodz, located in Columbia, South …

The Future Of Bail Reform In The United States, Mary Gorham

Senior Theses

This thesis examines bail reform, specifically cash bail reform, across several jurisdictions in the United States. The goal of this research is to provide a synthesis of the literature and reform efforts at the state and federal levels. Importantly, this thesis will examine recent modifications to the cash bail systems in four states. in order to get a balanced perspective on the success of these reform efforts. In the pages that follow, there will be a presentation of the literature review and a discussion of the reforms that have been undertaken since 2015. Additionally, this thesis will discuss how the …

Making Music Social: Creating A Spotify-Based Social Media Platform, Dalton J. Craven

Senior Theses

DKMS is a new type of social media platform for music lovers and groups of friends. It integrates tightly with Spotify, one of the largest music streaming services in the world. Users of DKMS can see what their friends are listening to, receive recommendations of new songs to listen to, and analyze their several key numerical metrics (happiness, danceability, loudness, and energy) of their top songs.

DKMS was built as part of the year-long Capstone senior design course at the University of South Carolina. A deployed app is visible at https://dkms.vercel.app, and the open-source code is visible at https://github.com/SCCapstone/DKMS.

Mapping Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) In South Carolina Surface Waters: Are There Hotspots?, Thomas C. Geiger

Senior Theses

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals used in consumer products for their unique chemical properties. PFAS compounds are resistant to water, oil, heat, and grease, making them useful for a wide variety of everyday items such as non-stick cooking pans, food packaging, electronics, carpets, upholstery, paints, adhesives, and personal care products.¹ The resilient nature of PFAS has made these compounds immensely popular with consumers but has since been considered a potential environmental and public health hazard for their ability to bioaccumulate and for their stability in the environment. More than 6000 PFAS have been discovered in the …

Unlikely Heroes: Self-Reflexivity, Comedy, And Reflective Nostalgia In Post-Unification German Film, Lindsay Carney

Senior Theses

This paper investigates the portrayal of Ostalgie in post-unification film and its impact on the East German identity. The swift nature in which East Germany was reabsorbed into the West and subsequent dissociation from all commercial, social, and political infrastructures relating to the GDR following reunification inspired the Ostalgie phenomenon as a way to recover an East German distinctiveness and legitimize the East German experience by expanding the narrative beyond the tyranny and injustices of the socialist state. Ostalgie films Sonnenallee, Helden wir wir, Kleinruppin Forever, and the Westalgie film Herr Lehmann contain recurring concepts of self-conscious storytelling, …

Wernicke's Encephalopathy: Mapping The Risk Factors Throughout The State Of South Carolina, Shannon M. Rychener

Senior Theses

Wernicke’s Encephalopathy is a consistently underrecognized neurodegenerative brain disorder resulting from prolonged thiamine deficiency. Clinical presentation of the disease results from brain lesions attributable to thiamine deficiency. Because these lesions occur in various locations in the cerebral cortex, symptoms can vary significantly. Varied presentation of symptoms, in addition to the lack of a widely accepted biomarker for the disorder cause challenges to clinicians when identifying and diagnosing the disorder. Due to these challenges, healthcare providers must heavily rely on patient history and risk factor prevalence when multiple symptoms of the disorder are present. By mapping the prevalence of the four …

Language Services For Populations With Limited English Proficiency (Lep) And The Necessity For Proper Medical Interpretation With A Focus In South Carolina, Elizabeth Pung

Senior Theses

Linguistically appropriate healthcare is a cornerstone of providing quality patient care. Provider-patient communication is imperative to achieving linguistically appropriate healthcare; unfortunately, language barriers introduced by different spoken languages of patients to their providers hinders this communication. Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) are ensured accessible healthcare under federal regulations such as the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS standards); however, a gap between patients with LEP and the healthcare system remains. Not only is there a gap in communication for patients with LEP to their providing physician, but there is a nationwide epidemic resulting in poor health …

Heroes Or Villains: Modern Rappers And Their Effect On Young Adult Males, Jared J. Mccabe

Senior Theses

This paper examines the role of modern-day rappers and how they affect the growing mental health crisis for young adult males. Recently, an “emo-rap” genre has emerged where vulnerability is common, and rappers share both their mental health struggles and experiences with drug use. The degree to which these artists have influenced their listeners is unclear, and perceptions of them are polarized. There are some who view them as villains who sponsor violence and drug use and others who view them as heroes who break down societal barriers and build supportive networks among their listeners.

Based on the existing scientific …

An Exploration Of The Social And Economic Factors That Influence The Mental Health Of Lgbtq College Students, Alexandria Mh Fossum

Senior Theses

LGBTQ individuals face a much higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders and mental health issues than their heterosexual, cisgender counterparts. The added academic pressures of college introduce a unique set of challenges that LGBTQ students face. This thesis includes a review of academic literature and data examining the intersections between social isolation, institutional discrimination, and financial insecurity and the effects they have on the mental health outcomes of LGBTQ college students. The paper is accompanied by a documentary consisting of a set of interviews of LGBTQ college students, giving a more personal insight into the multitude of factors that affect their …

Why Word Problems Are Hard For High School Math Students: Problem Formulation And Disciplinary Literacy, Emily Charlotte Elliott

Senior Theses

This thesis is an extensive literature review designed to better understand the obstacles high school math students encounter when solving word problems (WPs). While many high school students find math difficult in general, students especially struggle with WPs. Often they are unable to provide correct solutions to WPs even when they are successful in solving computational problems using the same mathematical concepts (Cummins, 1988). Data from the 2007 National Survey of Algebra Teachers suggests that solving WPs is one of the skills that students are most unprepared for when entering Algebra 1 (Hoffer et al.). Additionally, many students try to …

Free Money: The Feasibility Of Implementing A Universal Basic Income In The United States, Chase H. Dorn

Senior Theses

The objective of this thesis is to explore whether a universal basic income paid to all United States citizens is both economically possible and advantageous. A recent surge in popularity of the idea has led to a plethora of universal basic income experiments that have been or are being performed across the world, however there has yet to be a UBI implemented on a national level. Using data from these experiments and existing academic research into the policy, the first part of the thesis details the necessary components of a UBI, documents the history of the idea, notes the justifications …

Robert Burns’ Poetic Style Through His Poetry, Songs, And Correspondence, Abigail Druckenmiller

Senior Theses

This thesis explores connections and contradictions within the songs, correspondence, and poems of Scotland’s bard, Robert Burns. A selection of works from each of these categories is presented to compare the ways Burns writes verse, lyrics, and letters. Through this thesis, I analyzed his work looking at subject matter, use of the Scots dialect, structure, and poetic devices in order to offer holistic commentary on Burns’ style in a way that includes his letters more heavily than most other Burns scholarship. Overall, I thought Burns remained a consistent man of conviction and societal criticism throughout my findings, as well as …

Moral Injury To Inform Analysis Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Amanda Julia Manea

Senior Theses

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that almost one out of ten veterans struggle with. Although the National Center for PTSD has made extensive progress in characterizing and developing new treatments for PTSD, most veterans still experience symptoms of PTSD following treatment. Novel avenues of investigation, such as developing algorithms to review electronic health record (EHR) data and better understanding moral injury, are being pursued to address the gap that still exists when it comes to treating veterans. Moral injury is the individual evaluation of exposure to a potentially morally injurious event (PMIE) and can lead to …

A New Atticus Is Afoot: The Portrayal Of Lawyers In Popular Culture, Anna Thrush

Senior Theses

This project analyzes the stereotypical image of lawyers in popular culture, focusing on either overly demonic or unrealistically heroic. Both stereotypes that are common portrayals of attorneys in popular culture are unrealistic and deny society a true comprehension of the profession. Popular culture has molded the image of lawyers to the characteristics that sell, rather than focusing on a realistic portrayal. Therefore, popular culture creates a falsely dramatized image of attorneys to generate revenue, putting the reputation and future of the profession as risk. These stereotypes are exemplified in this project through a close literary analysis of lawyer characters from …

Temperature Effects On Yield Of Ideal Wheat Cultivars, Jeffrey Jiang

Senior Theses

North American wheat growing areas show variation in many different factors, one of the most varied and important being temperature. Temperature is well established to correlate with yield. Given data from the Uniform Soft Red Winter Wheat Nursery and independently gathered data from government-owned weather stations, I explored possible correlations between temperature and wheat yield that can be extrapolated to areas that are not covered by the Uniform Soft Red Winter Wheat Nursery database. My analysis did not reveal strong correlations between temperature and growth, and in some cases, the sample size was too small. From this study, it was …

Girls Just Want To Be Safe: An Analysis Of Drugged Drinking And Prevention Amongst Students At The University Of South Carolina, C. Gray Forsberg

Senior Theses

Drink-spiking has become a well-known phenomenon since the turn of the century, especially on college campuses in the United States. Drink-spiking or drugging can be defined as “adding alcohol or drugs into someone’s drink without their knowledge or permission” (Alcohol and Drug Foundation, 2006). Drink-spiking is not just relevant to the concern of an illicit substance being placed into an alcoholic drink, but adding additional alcohol to drinks or adding alcohol or drugs to non-alcoholic drinks is considered drugging as well. This study collected data through a survey sent to 250 current students at the University of South Carolina regarding …

Institutional Intervention In Dat Preparation Among Undergraduate Pre-Dental Students, Remi Brebion

Senior Theses

The objectives of this project were to study the Dental Admission Test (DAT) preparation experience of undergraduate pre-dental students (UPDS) at the University of South Carolina (USC) and to determine actionable steps to raise DAT scores, increase diversity among pre-dental students, reduce financial burdens associated with the DAT, and improve wellbeing in this population.

A quantitative survey was distributed to characterize and create figures about UPDS demographics, use of advising services, preparation experience, and support for university- sponsored preparation resources. Ten phenomenological interviews were conducted to gain insights about the needs of UPDS. Thematic analysis was performed to identify unifying …

The Effects Of Hip-Hop And Rap Music Intervention To Improve The Wellbeing Of Black And African American Men, Lanita Michelle Jefferson

Theses and Dissertations

Wellbeing affects an individual’s functioning regarding personal, interpersonal, social, and overall wellbeing (Tennant et al., 2007). This study investigated the wellbeing of mental health among African American college-aged men by reading hip-hop and rap lyrics (Gonzalez & Hayes, 2009). The study explored the effects of reading hip-hop and rap lyrics on Black and African American college-aged men's wellbeing. Through peer review articles, this study investigated the effects of reading hip-hop and rap lyrics on the wellbeing of Black and African American college-aged men. The researcher identified the lack of research on wellbeing and marginalized communities, specifically Black and African American …

Speckle Development And Application In Uav-Based Digital Image Correlation For Transportation Infrastructure Monitoring And Assessment, Taylor Wyatt

Theses and Dissertations

A critical aspect of civil infrastructure is structural health monitoring, of which digital image correlation (DIC) has been proven to be an effective and appropriate method. There is sufficient literature on the use of stationary DIC, but an unexplored aspect is DIC-equipped unmanned aircraft systems. It has been verified in University of South Carolina labs but has not been proved in a field environment. One of the challenges of field implementation is large scale speckle application. This work focusses on identifying and addressing challenges in bringing UAV-DIC technology from the lab to the field. This includes the development of optimized …

The Risk Of Protection: Examining The Contextual Effects Of Child Protective Services On Child Maltreatment Fatalities In The U.S., Cosette Morgan Mccullough

Theses and Dissertations

Much research has been done in the field of child homicide. While child homicide is a statistically rare event, it is especially pervasive in the United States. A subsection of research in the child homicide literature is the topic of child maltreatment fatalities, defined as when a child is killed through the means of maltreatment, such as physical abuse or neglect. What has been less so researched, however, is the combination of factors that can affect a child’s fatality risk. The current study seeks to expand on the previous research using the 2019 Child File of the National Child Abuse …

A Process For Converting An In-Person Training To Increase Church Capacity To Implement Physical Activity And Healthy Eating Practices And Policies To An Online Format, Sara Wilcox Phd, Ruth P. Saunders Ph.D., Jessica Stucker, Andrew T. Kaczynski Ph.D., Kelsey R. Day, Deborah Kinnard, Lindsay Decker, John A. Bernhart Ph.D., Mph, Ches

Faculty Publications

The implementation of evidence-based public health programs into practice is critical for improving health, but trainings for organizational change agents are often not scalable. To describe the process of converting a training that targets faith-based organizational capacity development from an in-person to an online format. We engaged in an iterative process to convert the training delivery mode from in-person to online that included assessing stakeholder support, consulting the literature on best practices, seeking a design team, consolidating content, designing engaging lessons, and building an online site. Feedback from end-users and other audiences was incorporated throughout. Pilot participants with characteristics like …