Digital Commons Network^™

I Wish My Teacher Knew: Trauma, Stress, Loss, And Learning In Today’S Classrooms, Janie R. Goodman, Victoria A. Oglan

South Carolina Association for Middle Level Education Journal

As teachers and students continue to navigate the new normal of in-class, remote, and hybrid learning environments, three ongoing themes of trauma, stress, and loss have become pervasive. This collection of resources can give all educators a broader understanding of stress, trauma, loss, and learning as well as provide information that can be applied directly into work with students in the classroom and the community.

Connectedness In The Classroom: Classroom Management In The Middle School, Patricia S. Fears

South Carolina Association for Middle Level Education Journal

As documented by research and assertions from middle school instructors, teaching adolescent students can be a challenging experience for many. Specific challenges include mediocre student engagement, lack of motivation, substandard academic performance, and disengaged teacher- pupil relationships. This article addresses these challenges by offering research-based options for teachers to consider when designing a classroom management system that will improve the aforementioned challenges. The techniques and strategies presented focus on developing relationships and building upon them to make teaching and learning experiences positive, engaging, relevant, and impactful.

Kindling A Desire To Read: A Review Of Three Young Adult Novels, Michelle Rasheed

South Carolina Association for Middle Level Education Journal

Drawing on experiences as an English teacher and as a teacher educator, this article offers a review of Nothing Burns as Bright as You by Ashley Woodfolk (2021), Paradise on Fire by Jewell Parker Rhodes (2022), and Year on Fire by Julie Buxbaum (2022). The review offers suggestions to promote adolescent reading. Authentic characterizations, realistic dialogue, credible events, and elements of suspense draw readers in and keep them reading. Recommended as viable works to spark students’ interest in reading, Nothing Burns as Bright as You, Paradise on Fire, and Year on Fire are contemporary young adult novels to …

Supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered And Queer (Lgbtq) Youth In Southern Middle Schools, Xiomarra A. Beverly

South Carolina Association for Middle Level Education Journal

During my experience teaching in a conservative, southern middle school, I have found that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and queer (LGBTQ) youth are not afforded the same support systems as other minority groups within the classroom. I have noticed that students who self- identified as a member of the LGBTQ community were less engaged, had lower overall grades, and were frequently victimized by both students and faculty at times. I believed that I could increase the overall mental and physical health in the classroom by instilling supportive means that would translate inside and outside of the classroom. From both personal …

Unhealthy Masculinity: Racism And Black Men’S Medical Distrust, Timothy Simmons

Athena: Undergraduate Research and Literary Journal

No abstract provided.

Demo Alleviate: Demonstrating Artificial Intelligence Enabled Virtual Assistance For Telehealth: The Mental Health Case, Kaushik Roy, Vedant Khandelwal, Raxit Goswami, Nathan Dolbir, Jinendra Malekar, Amit Sheth

Publications

After the pandemic, artificial intelligence (AI) powered support for mental health care has become increasingly important. The breadth and complexity of significant challenges required to provide adequate care involve: (a) Personalized patient understanding, (b) Safety-constrained and medically validated chatbot patient interactions, and (c) Support for continued feedback-based refinements in design using chatbot-patient interactions. We propose Alleviate, a chatbot designed to assist patients suffering from mental health challenges with personalized care and assist clinicians with understanding their patients better. Alleviate draws from an array of publicly available clinically valid mental-health texts and databases, allowing Alleviate to make medically sound and informed …

Submission Information

South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business

No abstract provided.

Association Of Hospital Incentive Care Management Partnerships For Uninsured Patients With Emergency Department Utilization, Sarah Gareau, Ana Lopez-De Fede, Zhimin Chen, Nathaniel Bell

Publications

IMPORTANCE The South Carolina (SC) Healthy Outcomes Plan (HOP) program aimed to expand access to health care to individuals without insurance; it remains unknown whether there is an association between the SC HOP program and emergency department (ED) use among patients with high health care costs and needs. OBJECTIVES To determine whether participation in the SC HOP was associated with reduced ED utilization among uninsured participants. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective cohort study included 11 684 HOP participants (ages 18-64 years) with at least 18 months of continuous enrollment. Generalized estimating equations and segmented regression of interrupted time-series analyses …

Qualitative Analysis Of Anti-Abortion Discourse Used In Arguments For A 6-Week Abortion Ban In South Carolina, Victoria C. Lambert, Emily E. Hackworth, Deborah Lynn Billings Phd

Publications

Background: On June 24, 2022, The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving abortion legislation entirely up to states. However, anti-abortion activists and legislators have organized for decades to prevent abortion access through restrictive state-level legislation. In 2019, South Carolina legislators proposed a bill criminalizing abortion after 6 weeks gestation, before most people know they are pregnant. The current study examines the anti-abortion rhetoric used in legislative hearings for this extreme abortion restriction in South Carolina. By examining the arguments used by anti-abortion proponents, we aim to expose their misalignment with public opinion on abortion and demonstrate that their …

Community Organization Perspectives On Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy And How They Increased Covid-19 Vaccine Confidence: A Canadian Immunization Research Network, Social Sciences And Humanities Network Study, Sarah Ashfield, Lorie Donelle Phd, Rn, Fcan, Gina Uppal, Michael A. Bauer

Publications

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 vaccines play a critical role in reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and despite vaccine availability, disparities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Canadian subgroups exist. Community organizations are uniquely situated to relay important vaccine messaging around all vaccines, understand components of vaccine hesitancy, and facilitate vaccine uptake within the communities they serve. The objective of this research was to solicit community organizations perspectives specific to COVID-19 vaccines and explore strategies of increasing vaccine uptake within their communities. METHODS: A qualitative focus group study was held in the spring of 2021 with 40 community organizations from …

An Investigation Of Media Reports Of Digital Surveillance Within The First Year Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Leigha Comer, Lorie Donelle Phd, Rn, Fcan, Marionette Ngole, Jacob J. Shelley, Anita Kothari, Maxwell Smith, James M. Shelley, Saverio Stranges, Brad Hiebert, Jason Gilliland, Tommy Cooke, Jodi Hall, Jed Long

Publications

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a surge in digital public health surveillance worldwide, with limited opportunities to consider the effectiveness or impact of digital surveillance. The news media shape public understanding of topics of importance, contributing to our perception of priority issues. This study investigated news media reports published during the first year of the pandemic to understand how the use and consequences of digital surveillance technologies were reported on. METHODS: A media content analysis of 34 high- to low-income countries was completed. The terms "COVID-19," "surveillance," "technologies," and "public health" were used to retrieve and inductively code media reports. …

Use Of Digital Technologies For Public Health Surveillance During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review, Lorie Donelle Phd, Rn, Fcan, Leigha Comer, Brad Hiebert, Jodi Hall, Jacob J. Shelley, Maxwell J. Smith, Anita Kothari, Jacquelyn Burkell, Saverio Stranges, Tommy Cooke, James M. Shelley, Jason Gilliland, Marionette Ngole, Danica Facca

Publications

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a variety of digital technologies have been leveraged for public health surveillance worldwide. However, concerns remain around the rapid development and deployment of digital technologies, how these technologies have been used, and their efficacy in supporting public health goals. Following the five-stage scoping review framework, we conducted a scoping review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature to identify the types and nature of digital technologies used for surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic and the success of these measures. We conducted a search of the peer-reviewed and grey literature published between 1 December 2019 and 31 December …

Key Informant Perceptions Of Challenges And Facilitators To Implementing Passive Remote Monitoring Technology For Home Care Clients, Grace Warner, Lori E. Weeks, Yu Ting Chen, Bradley Hiebert, Kathleen Ledoux, Lorie Donelle Phd, Rn, Fcan

Publications

Background: Passive remote monitoring technologies (RMT) are an option that could keep frail older adults home longer while reducing care burdens on family/friend caregivers. In contrast to active RMT which requires an individual to engage with the technology (i.e., push a button), passive RMT does not require any action to function (i.e., sensors or cameras). Objective: This qualitative study explored the challenges and facilitators of implementing passive RMT in home care settings by applying an implementation science lens. Method: Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informant stakeholders. Data were coded using a Framework Analysis approach that inductively and deductively …

Dealing With Incivility On Social Media: Faculty Support & Guidance, University Of South Carolina Office Of The Provost

Reports

This guide is designed to assist the campus community in responding to situations in which faculty members are targeted by individuals or groups outside of the university based on the content of the faculty member’s scholarship, teaching, and/or service. It addresses potential concerns in such situations and informs the campus about resources available to assist individual faculty members, departments chairs, and other administrators. The foundation for this guide is the University of South Carolina’s unwavering support for academic freedom and freedom of expression. The faculty’s right to academic freedom in teaching and research and service is protected as essential to …

Meta-Analysis Of Factors Impacting Reading Impairment Rates In Studies Of Children With Developmental Language Disorder (Dld), Kayla Dewey

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose - Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a common yet underdiagnosed disorder centered on difficulties with oral language, and often associated with word reading and reading comprehension difficulties. Numerous studies have documented high rates of reading impairment in children with DLD, but the specific rates vary widely across studies. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to help provide accurate prognostic information about this disorder by determining the average proportion of participants with DLD who also had reading impairment, and to determine whether variability in the rate of reading impairment was significantly influenced by studies’ methodological features, including recruitment method, type …

Daily Activities And Routines: A Comparative Case Study Of The Home Language And Literacy Environment Of Spanish-Speaking Toddlers With And Without Older Siblings, Eugenia Crosby-Quinatoa

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify malleable practices in the homes of Spanish-speaking toddlers prior to school enrollment. This was achieved by examining daily activities and routines and the role older siblings played in these interactions to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the home language and literacy environment and practices. Additionally, this study aimed to explore, through the narratives and responses of mothers, the home experiences, beliefs, values, and goals associated with toddlers’ development, particularly early language and literacy. This study included four Spanish-speaking families with toddlers, two of which did not have an older sibling residing …

Marine And Human Environmental Factors Influence Vibrio Parahaemolyticus And Vibrio Vulnificus In Vitro Biofilm Processes On Plastics, Ryan Eric Leighton

Theses and Dissertations

Marine bacteria often exist in biofilms as communities attached to surfaces, like plastic. Growing concerns exist regarding marine plastics acting as potential vectors of pathogenic Vibrio, especially in a changing climate. It has been generalized that Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus often attach to plastic surfaces. Different strains of these Vibrios exist having different growth and biofilm forming properties. This work evaluated how temperature and strain variability affect V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus biofilm formation and characteristics on glass (GL), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS). This work also evaluated how human body related factors like temperature, …

The Impact Of A Series Of Professional Development Sessions On Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (Crp) On The Awareness Level Of Seven Teachers At A Suburban High School, Charity Jo Brady

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aimed to examine the impact that culturally responsive pedagogy had on a suburban high school. Specifically, it focused on the effectiveness of a six-session professional development series in increasing the awareness level of seven teacher-participants at Bayside High School during the Spring 2022 semester. The study utilized pre- and post- questionnaires, weekly journal reflections (written), field notes and observations, and participant interviews for data collection. The findings suggest that the professional development sessions were successful in increasing the awareness level of the teachers, leading to a more culturally responsive classroom environment. This study highlights the importance of ongoing …

Producer Interviews And Analysis As A Tool For Science Communication And Research Implementation In Agriculture, Lacy Marie Barnette

Theses and Dissertations

Research implementation beyond the laboratory requires both sound science and high-quality science communication. Science communication is an emerging field that is increasing in importance as the public has access to more information than ever, however there are some underlying obstacles like the lack of communication-specific training that scientists receive and disconnected populations. Agricultural producers have a perceived history of being disconnected from science even though modern agriculture relies heavily on researched practices and has an entire network of extension agencies intended to communicate with producers. One reason for this perceived disconnect is the one-way communication that has dominated science communication …

Oceanographic Applications Of A Monolithic Spatial Heterodyne Raman Spectrometer, Amanda Carol Agrawal

Theses and Dissertations

Carbon dioxide enters the ocean through a variety of natural and anthropogenic sources, and has a significant impact on ocean acidification, the marine buffering system, and bioavailability of life-essential carbonate ions. As carbon dioxide dissolves it reacts with water to form carbonic acid, which then rapidly dissociates into hydronium, bicarbonate, and carbonate ions. Some hydronium ions protonate carbonate to form bicarbonate, driving the carbonate concentration lower while there is a net increase in hydronium concentration. Monitoring the carbonate equilibrium system in the ocean is a complex analytical problem, where speciation is often measured or calculated indirectly ex situ. It …

Lived Experiences Of College-Educated Black Women: Contextualizing Gendered Racial Health Disparities, Christiana L. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Black women are disproportionately affected by gendered racial health disparities. Public health research that seeks to unearth the root cause of these gendered racial health disparities is insufficient. More recently, researchers have turned their attention to structural inequities and their influence on the lived experiences of Black women. This study contributes to this body of work by using a theoretical concept derived from intersectionality⎯structural gendered racism⎯to identify key upstream social factors that shape nulliparous, college-educated Black women's lived experience and childbearing desires. Semi-structured, individual interviews were conducted with nulliparous, college-educated Black women (n=30), ages 25 to 35, living in the …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Polymer Grafted Nanoparticles, Eric Gerald Ruzicka

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the design, synthesis, and characterization of well controlled interfaces on nanoparticle surfaces. Reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization was used to synthesize block copolymers and polymer grafted silica nanoparticles (PGNs) with precise control over molecular weight, graft density, and architectures.

In the first chapter, polymer molecular weights were determined through diffusion ordered spectroscopy NMR (DOSY NMR) as an alternative to size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Polymer standards of known molecular weight were analyzed through DOSY to obtain their respective diffusion coefficients. A calibration curve was generated correlating diffusion coefficients with polymer molecular weights. The reliability of the …

How Perspectives On Food Safety Of Vendors And Consumers Translate Into Food-Choice Behaviors In 6 African And Asian Countries, Sejla Isanovic, Shilpa V. Constantinides, Edward A. Frongillo Ph.D., Shiva Bhandari, Sharraf Samin, Emma Kenney, Sigrid Wertheim-Heck, Stella Nordhagen, Michelle Holdsworth, Paula Dominguez-Salas, Ramya Ambikapathi, Amos Laar, Crystal L. Patil, Bharati Kulkarni, Salome A. Bukachi, Mariah Ngutu, Christine E. Blake Ph.D., Rd

Faculty Publications

Background: Consumption of unsafe foods increases morbidity and mortality and is currently an issue, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Policy actions to ensure food safety are dominated by mitigation of biological and chemical hazards through supply-side risk management, lessening the degree to which consumer perspectives of food safety are considered. Objectives: This study aimed to provide an in-depth understanding, from vendor and consumer perspectives, of how food-safety concerns of consumers translate into their subsequent food-choice behaviors in 6 diverse low- and middle-income countries. Methods: Six Drivers of Food Choice projects (2016–2022) provided transcripts from 17 focus group discussions and …

Attitudes Toward Implicit Bias Among Ncaa Medical Support Staff, B J. Warner, A P. Jacobsen, M Decker, S A. Cage

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Introduction: Implicit biases are unconscious attitudes, emotions, or stereotypes that have the potential to negatively affect behaviors, actions, and decisions. Recent research has shown that healthcare workers do not provide equitable care to patients from different demographics. When patients are receiving different levels of care, there is a potential for different patient-related outcomes. One of their first steps in many implicit bias interventions for healthcare professionals is identifying one’s implicit bias. The purpose of this study was to describe the attitudes toward implicit bias among non-athletic training healthcare professionals who provide care to collegiate student-athletes. Methods: An electronic survey was …

Cooperative Deep Q -Learning Framework For Environments Providing Image Feedback, Krishnan Raghavan, Vignesh Narayanan, Sarangapani Jagannathan

Publications

In this article, we address two key challenges in deep reinforcement learning (DRL) setting, sample inefficiency, and slow learning, with a dual-neural network (NN)-driven learning approach. In the proposed approach, we use two deep NNs with independent initialization to robustly approximate the action-value function in the presence of image inputs. In particular, we develop a temporal difference (TD) error-driven learning (EDL) approach, where we introduce a set of linear transformations of the TD error to directly update the parameters of each layer in the deep NN. We demonstrate theoretically that the cost minimized by the EDL regime is an approximation …

Moment-Based Reinforcement Learning For Ensemble Control, Yao-Chi Yu, Vignesh Narayanan, Jr-Shin Li

Publications

Problems involving controlling the collective behavior of a population of structurally similar dynamical systems, the so-called ensemble control, arise in diverse emerging applications and pose a grand challenge in systems science and control engineering. Owing to the severely under-actuated nature and the difficulty of placing large-scale sensor networks, ensemble systems are limited to being actuated and monitored at the population level. Moreover, mathematical models describing the dynamics of ensemble systems are often elusive. Therefore, it is essential to design broadcast controls that excite the entire population in such a way that the heterogeneity in system dynamics are robustly compensated. In …

The Contribution Of Self-Efficacy And Counselor Biases Effects On Clinical Reasoning In New Counselors, Ashley Faith Waddington

Theses and Dissertations

Clinical reasoning is widely used among several medical professionals and personnel to diagnose conditions to streamline the treatment process in an effective manner. Researchers have explored clinical reasoning in nursing literature and the medical profession, however, have not been explored in counselor education despite counselors being one of the largest groups of individuals diagnosing mental health conditions. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the correlation of self-efficacy and counselor biases influence on uncertainty with diagnosis in new counselors. The hypothesized directional relationship was explored in new counselors as the hypothesis suggests that higher levels of self-efficacy and …

Co-Creation Of A Training For Community Health Workers To Enhance Skills In Serving Lgbtqia+ Communities, Vanessa Kitzie, Julie Smithwick, Carmen Blanco, M. Greg Green, Sarah Covington-Kolb

Faculty Publications

This paper describes creating and implementing a 30-h LGBTQIA+ specialty training for community health workers (CHWs). The training was co-developed by CHW training facilitators (themselves CHWs), researchers with expertise in LGBTQIA+ populations and health information, and a cohort of 11 LGBTQIA+ CHWs who theater tested and piloted the course. The research and training team collected cohort feedback through focus groups and an evaluative survey. Findings stress the importance of a curriculum designed to elicit lived experiences and informed by a pedagogical framework centered on achieving LGBTQIA+ visibilities. This training is a vital tool for CHWs to foster cultural humility for …

“What Is A Wave But 1000 Drops Working Together?”: The Role Of Public Libraries In Addressing Lgbtqia+ Health Information Disparities, Vanessa Kitzie, Alexander N. Vera, Valerie Lookingbill, Travis L. Wagner

Faculty Publications

This paper presents results from a participatory action research study with 46 LGBTQIA+ community leaders and 60 library workers who participated in four community forums at public libraries across the US. The forums identified barriers to LGBTQIA+ communities addressing their health questions and concerns and explored strategies for public libraries to tackle them. Forums followed the World Café format to facilitate collaborative knowledge development and promote participant-led change. Data sources included collaborative notes taken by participants and observational researcher notes. Results revealed that barriers experienced by LGBTQIA+ communities are structurally and socially entrenched and require systematic changes. Public libraries must …

The Glories And Inglories Of Library And Information Science Pedagogy: An Introduction, Kim M. Thompson, Keren Dali

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.