Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Developing An Assessment Tool For Ideation Effectiveness: A Survey-Based Approach For The Shah’S Method Of Design Space Exploration, Venkat Jaya Deep Jakka

All Theses

The research is focused on creativity in engineering design. The goal is to understand if creativity in engineering design can be assessed using a less resource-intensive approach, specifically a survey, compared to design exercises. The survey builds on the metrics established by Shah and colleagues. The four metrics are Novelty, Quality, Variety and Quantity. The metrics are measured with the help of a design activity that is deployed to the participants. These metrics have been used in comparative analysis to assess treatments such as new design methods and personality types. However, the downside of the metrics is that they require …

Improving Pedestrian Conspicuity At Night: Testing The Efficacy Of A Video-Based Educational Intervention, Morgan Mccree

All Theses

The majority of fatal crashes involving pedestrians occur at night. Insufficient conspicuity has been implicated as a causal factor in these crashes, and there is a critical need for innovative strategies to increase the nighttime conspicuity of pedestrians. This experiment investigated the efficacy of an 11-minute educational video aimed to teach road users about critical and relevant visual perception concepts (e.g., contrast, retroreflectivity, biological motion) that impact nighttime conspicuity. Fifty-four college students were randomly assigned to either watch the video (intervention; n=27) or not (control; n=27). Each participant provided quantitative judgments regarding the nighttime visibility of a pedestrian on an …

When Hedge Funds Move In: Socioeconomic Consequences Of Single-Family Rentals, Hannah Misurati

All Theses

In this thesis I explore the effect of increased investment in the single-family rental sector on inequality and housing affordability. I measure the effect of the single family rental (SFR) share on Gini indices and median rental prices across the largest U.S. cities. I construct three non lagged and three lagged models for each of the two dependent variables. In my analysis of the relationship between SFR shares and inequality, I do not find a significant relationship after accounting for potential reverse causality. However, the relationship between SFR shares and rent prices is shown to be negative and significant once …

Estimating The Effect Of Nuclear Energy On A Country's Electricity Generation Mix: Fukushima As A Case Study, Sarah Elizabeth Zarrilli

All Theses

In this paper, I attempt to estimate the true effects of removing nuclear energy on a country’s energy portfolio, particularly how the country substitutes to other fuel sources for electricity generation and how it impacts the country’s marginal electricity prices. In 2011, anti-nuclear sentiment that arose in Japan following the meltdown of the Fukushima prefecture’s nuclear power plant resulted in the country decreasing its nuclear electricity generation from over 30% of its total supply to 0% in under two years. I use the dramatic variation across Japan’s electricity supply regions over the denuclearization period to attempt to estimate the true …

Learning From Burning: Connecting Fire Managers And Fire Scientists, Coleman Lloyd Little

All Theses

The fire community is one of transparency and learning, and embedded in its culture is an openness of sharing successes and failures in order to learn and adapt. United by a shared desire to effectively understand and utilize controlled burns to successfully extinguish wildfires and research their lasting effects, fire managers and fire scientists coexist in partnerships commonly referred to as knowledge exchange networks. This research examines one such network, the Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers and Scientists (CAFMS), through the experiences of some of its members, serving to develop an understanding of how the consortium functions as a knowledge …

Silence In Stem? The Impact Of Experienced Social Identity Threats On Women, Madison Brumbaugh

All Theses

Despite making up a similar proportion of the workforce, women are grossly underrepresented in STEM occupations compared to men (65% vs. 35%). Prior research suggests that women’s underrepresentation in STEM results in negative consequences, such as increased psychological burnout and decreased work engagement (Hall et al., 2015; Hall et al., 2018), through the mechanism of social identity threat. Academics have yet to explore how experiencing social identity threat impacts silence behaviors for underrepresented women in STEM. Building off social identity theory and prior research on social identity threat, the current study sought to compare women working in STEM occupations who …

Exploring Healthcare Chatbot Information Presentation: Applying Hierarchical Bayesian Regression And Inductive Thematic Analysis In A Mixed Methods Study, Samuel Nelson Koscelny

All Theses

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, significantly increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States. While contributing to over 691,000 deaths in 2021 alone in the United States (U.S.), it also imposes immense economic burden on the healthcare system, costing approximately $131 billion annually. One way to address this issue is for increased self-care behaviors and medication adherence, both of which require sufficient health literacy. Despite the importance of health literacy, 90% of U.S. adults struggle with health-related subjects. Overcoming the issues associated with health literacy requires addressing the …

The Machine In The Rice Field: A Spatial Analysis Of Mechanized Rice Processing Infrastructure Along The Cooper River, 1780 - 1830, Jacob Hockenberry

All Theses

This thesis examines the spatial and physical characteristics of mechanized rice processing infrastructure along the Cooper River in South Carolina’s Lowcountry between 1780 and 1830. Historic rice plantation plats and modern geospatial data provided new information regarding the location of rice processing machines in relation to other plantation landscape features. This research analyzed seven rice plantations that contained these machines. Each plantation plat was georeferenced using ArcGIS Pro to support a detailed spatial analysis of these processing sites. While literature has extensively detailed the social, economic, environmental and enslaved aspects of rice culture in the Lowcountry, little research has specifically …

Residents’ Perceptions Of Use On Community Interface Areas At Protected Areas’ Boundaries: A Comparison Between Users And Non-Users, Louis Santiago Brevan

All Theses

Over the past fifty years, Protected Area (PA) management has gradually transitioned from the traditional top-down approach toward a more collaborative and participatory management model, which integrates the needs and perspectives of local communities. This quantitative study used a questionnaire to assess the perceived constraints of visitation, the attitudes toward tourism development, and the level of involvement in decision-making among community members residing near a community interface area on a PA’s boundaries. Structural constraints were the most prominent barrier to visiting (i.e., the poor state of the road and facilities). Residents indicated strong support towards tourism development and nearly half …

The Effect Of Workload On Trust Repair: Testing A New Model Of Trust Repair, Jada Lester

All Theses

Given the importance of trust in human-automation interaction, there has been intense activity in understanding trust repair (Esterwood & Robert, 2021). However, despite the numerous trust repair studies, there is no coherent understanding of when and why trust repair works. A recently proposed theoretical model identified two unique categories of trust repair (central and peripheral) and the factors that might affect their success (Pak & Rovira, 2023). The current study tested a specific hypothesis arising from the theoretical model: variations in workload will affect central trust repair efficacy, but peripheral trust repair will be unaffected by workload. Participants engaged in …

The Post Pandemic Learner: How Spatial Dynamics & Accessibility Impact The Learning Experience, Erikka Misrahi

All Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic had unprecedented impacts on Generation Z (Gen Z) in regard to mental wellbeing and learning impacts. While the world shut down in March 2020, the majority of students who have since entered college were forced to attend some portion of high school using remote learning platforms. This transition, while necessary at the time, has had repercussions that are still being felt in higher education. These impacts, combined with the challenges that Gen Z were already experiencing due to the pressures of social media, and the impacts that technology has had on attention spans, have changed their learning …

Online Political Participation Among Younger Generations: A Case Study Of The Nigerian Presidential Election, Bowale Odukale

All Theses

The 2023 presidential elections in Nigeria represented a significant milestone in the nation's democratic progression, capturing the interest of observers both within the country and abroad. This study identifies the key online opinion leaders who participated in the electoral discourse, their generational affiliation, and the role of social media in facilitating youth engagement throughout the political process. Using Sprinkl, an online monitoring tool to harvest publicly available tweets containing the hashtag #NigeriaDecides2023 from February 11 to March 15, coupled with interviews, the study identified the prominent opinion leaders with significant influence, their types of messages and the motives behind youth …

Division-I Student-Athletes’ Socialization Out Of Sports: The Role Of Exit Circumstances And Interpersonal Support On Wellness, Hannah J. Gertz

All Theses

Student-athletes who compete at the Division-I level typically receive much public exposure and attention during their athletic careers, often leading them to form a high athletic identity. As such, they often need help transitioning away from the athletic competitor role following their retirement. This process, known as socialization out of sport (SOS), is characterized by a loss of purpose and identity for student-athletes and can harm their overall well-being and quality of life. Establishing the empirical associations between SOS's proposed characteristics/features (e.g., the impetus of SOS, educational status, athletic identity, and sense of closure) and former student-athletes’ subsequent life experiences …

The Fans Have Spoken: Understanding Survivor Fandom Through Semi-Structured Interviews, Ben Katarzynski

All Theses

Survivor is an American competition-based reality television show in which contestants compete with and against one another in physical and social challenges while being stranded in remote parts of the world. In the end, the last contestant standing is awarded a one-million-dollar grand prize. Since premiering in 2000, Survivor now has over 40 completed seasons in its catalogue which has allowed for the show to develop many fans over the past two and a half decades. However, not every Survivor fan thinks or behaves in the same way. For this thesis I paired Henry Jenkins and Janet Staiger’s fan action …

An Economic Analysis In Relation To Aspects Of Kale And Rice Agricultural Production In South Carolina And The Broader Southeastern U.S., Shane Behler

All Theses

Agriculture has been crucial to the economic and cultural well-being of South Carolina throughout the state’s storied history. This importance has not diminished in our contemporary world. Agribusiness, which includes the agriculture and forestry sectors, is the largest industry in the state, providing nearly 260,000 jobs and 51.8 billion in annual economic impact. Almost 25,000 working farms encompass 4.8 million acres of land in South Carolina .

It is no stretch to claim that South Carolina’s agricultural industry affects almost every individual in the state. If not directly involved in the agriculture industry, it is nearly certain all residents have …

Quantifying Hurricane Effects On Housing: Evaluating Damage, Loss, And Shelter Demands Using Historical And Simulated Storm Tracks, Adish Deep Shakya

All Theses

This research introduces an advanced framework which employs parametric wind field models for peak wind speeds, and building fragility curves, loss functions, and demographic data to estimate for estimating housing damage and loss. The uninhabitable units immediate displaced households, short-term and long-term shelter need households are determined. with a particular focus on those eligible for FEMA assistance. The framework's validity is reinforced by a high correlation in the analysis of recent hurricane events between estimated numbers of displaced households and actual FEMA aid recipients, where FEMA aids about 20-60% of the predicted long-term displaced households. A novel application of the …

Service Use Among Maltreated Children With Behavior Problems And Emotional Disturbance Before And During Covid-19, Darja Beinenson

All Theses

This study utilizes two datasets obtained from the National Child Abuse and Neglect

Data System, a federally-sponsored initiative to monitor annual rates and characteristics of child maltreatment in the United States. Using a set of multinomial and negative binomial regressions, the paper seeks to examine service use among maltreated children with and without behavioral problems and emotional disturbance. The study also explores whether the service utilization gap widened among children with those conditions in 2021, during the pandemic, compared to 2018, pre-pandemic. Results demonstrated significant differences in the utilization of services among children with behavioral problems and emotional disturbance compared …

Understanding The Traditions And Experiences Of African American Hunters, Ezekiel Adesawe

All Theses

Hunting is a significant cultural, economic, and wildlife management activity in the United States. However, African Americans remain underrepresented among hunters, with limited research to understand their perspectives and experiences. Hence, this study employed an exploratory focus group method design to profile African American hunters' real and perceived experiences, traditions, and needs. The interviews were conducted with 67 African American hunters from all regions across the country. The interview data were analyzed through thematic coding to construct key themes. Key findings from this study revealed that hunting is a strong tradition within African American communities that has been passed down …

My Risk Or Theirs? An Experimental Investigation Of Character-Driven And Plot-Driven Engagement As Explanations For Risk Perceptions, Emma Cox

All Theses

Two distinct bodies of research examine means of increasing people’s health- related risk perceptions through persuasive message design. First, Construal Level Theory (CLT) posits that reducing perceived psychological distance from a health risk can increase people’s perceived relevance of the health issue. Second, models of narrative persuasion posit that narratives elicit audience engagement, which reduces counter- arguing and increases risk perceptions. So and Nabi’s (2013) Risk Convergence Model (RCM) was proposed to merge the two bodies of research: the model posits that viewers’ engagement with narratives diminishes perceived social distance from characters, resulting in a convergence of risk between characters …

“Home On The Phone”: How Black Students At A Pwi Use Digital Space To Form Community, Malaysia Barr

All Theses

College is a time when students are traditionally away from home in the hopes of not only securing a better future through higher education but have the ability to shape who they are as individuals. As Predominately White Institutions serve few minority students, this can prove to be challenging for them as they do not fit into the majority racial group. This thesis investigates how Black students at a PWI utilize the mobile app, GroupMe, as a method of connecting and networking within their racial community. Through focus groups and individual interviews, this study found that Black students use digital …

The Catalyst For Preservation: Assessing The Impact Of Historic Tax Credit Leverage On Surrounding Property Values In The State Of South Carolina, John Sutton

All Theses

The historic rehabilitation tax credit, in its many forms, is the single greatest driver of historic preservation investment in the United States. Despite this, very little research has been done regarding the secondary effects of historic tax credit leverage. The goal of this thesis is to assess the impact that substantial historic tax credit projects have had on the value of the properties that surround them in the state of South Carolina. Property tax assessment records were solicited from three different county governments within South Carolina to analyze the change in the assessed value induced by the introduction of tax …

“Playing The Blame Game”: How Social Media Users Make Sense Of Coach-Athlete Sexual Violence And Institutional Betrayal, Claire Waddell

All Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how users of the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) responded to and assigned responsibility in two cases of coach-athlete sexual violence in elite North American sport. The cases of Kyle Beach, formerly of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League, and Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly, both formerly of the Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League, were chosen for analysis because they represent the blending of (masculinized) sports culture and (feminized) sexual violence within the unique context of professional North American sports. A convenience sample of …

Heavy Is The Arm That Wears The Cgm: An Investigation Of A Social Support Group Of Emerging Adults At A Type 1 Diabetes Camp, Mackenzie Dawes

All Theses

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is a chronic illness that can be profoundly isolating. T1D often fosters a sense of 'otherness' that is difficult for those without T1D to understand, due to the persistent necessity to monitor blood sugar levels, administer insulin injections, and navigate the ever-present risk of severe health complications if the T1D is mismanaged. For many young adults with T1D, the sense of isolation is magnified amidst the numerous life transitions characteristic of emerging adulthood. Establishing a community of peers with T1D can help mitigate the negative mental and physical consequences. Through semi-structured interviews, this study examines these …

Emotional Labor Performed Among University Faculty Responding To Student Sexual Assault Disclosures, Cadi Imbody

All Theses

Given the barriers to formal help-seeking and the prevalence on college campuses, students who experience sexual assault may turn to faculty for assistance, as they are familiar faces they trust and can provide access to university resources. In these cases, faculty may become the frontline for providing official help within the university setting. Responding to these student sexual assault disclosures requires great emotional capacity and the ability to provide empathetic, supportive responses. In these interactions, faculty may need to perform what Arlie Russell Hochschild (1983/2003) theorized as “emotional labor” to handle such sensitive information appropriately. Initially focusing on the service …

Detection And Assessment Of Targets In Mock Digital Breast Tomosynthesis Images Using Computer-Aided Detection Systems, Katharine Sabo

All Theses

Radiologists use computer-aided detection (CAD) systems to assist with detecting and assessing breast cancers in mammograms, digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), and other types of breast imaging; however, the usefulness of such automation aids has been debated since their implementation. Initial studies on CAD systems had mixed results, while more recent studies have shown that they can improve diagnostic outcomes (i.e., greater sensitivity and fewer false alarms) and decrease the reading time required for images. Three CAD types are currently in use: binary, analog, and interactive CAD. However, studies rarely explore the differences between the CAD methods. Additionally, recent work has …

Unmasking Justice: Racial Disparity Trends In Sentencing Before And After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Noah Samuel Reynolds

All Theses

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted every facet of the United States justice system, disrupting traditional systems and introducing a new era of virtual alternatives. This unprecedented crisis provides a unique opportunity to empirically study the interplay between health risks, shutdowns, and uncertainty and the foundational value of fair and impartial justice. Using North Carolina sentencing data from 2016-2022, this study delves into the consequences of the pandemic on sentencing outcomes after the virus was declared a national emergency in March 2020. Framed within the Focal Concerns (FC) theory, I expect judges to be more lenient in their …

Deliberative Democracy, Political Strategy, And The Gop: A Habermasian Discourse Analysis Surrounding The Israel-Hamas War, William Nunley

All Theses

The realm of the digital public sphere remains an area of interest for scholarship concerned with the democratic project. Technology once promised an upward trajectory for democratic conversation and the transmission of ideas, yet the actualization of those technologies seemingly undermines the promises of a time passed. This thesis is concerned with social media, namely X (Twitter), as a realm for political engagement and the implications of digital discourse. I start by tracking deliberative democracy theory, as an ideal, and the practical functionalities of the theory outlined in the twenty-first century. For the process of deliberation to unfold, a healthy …

Assessing Equitable Distribution Of The Urban Tree Canopy At The Neighborhood Scale In Greenville, South Carolina., April Riehm

All Theses

We are living in an era that necessitates adaptation and resilience. The Earth is warming. Our climate has changed (EPA, 2016). Our planet is also rapidly urbanizing. It is predicted that 68% of people will live in cities by 2050. The City of Greenville is a rapidly growing city in South Carolina that has been losing its tree canopy to development(City of Greenville, 2023). The Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) is a community asset that provides many quality-of-life benefits including improved air quality, stormwater management, carbon sequestration, mental and physical well-being, increased mobility and access, aesthetics, a reduction in energy costs, …

Factors That Influenced Current Gen Z Undergraduate Students Enrolled In Construction-Related Programs To Pursue A Career In Construction, Bishesh Bharadwaj

All Theses

This retrospective survey-based study explores the various factors that influenced Gen Z undergraduate students currently enrolled in construction-related programs to pursue a career in construction, combining the insights from overarching studies divided into two segments. The first part of the study focuses on understanding the exposure and participation of Gen Z students in STEM and construction programs during their middle and high school years to better understand the influence of such programs at the school level for a career decision in construction. Structured academic frameworks like semester curricula and offered electives emerged as a significant channel of STEM exposure, with …

“Fit Check”: Testing A Model Of Perceptions Of Team Level Person-Group Fit, Alexandria Wentworth

All Theses

Teams are become a mainstay in nearly every sector of business. Teams are complex and evolve to meet the demands of their unique environments. One team structure growing in popularity is a multiteam system (MTS), a system comprised of multiple teams working interdependently to achieve goals. Understanding the mechanisms by which a MTS is successful is challenging; however, the concept of fit may offer further explanation. Person-group fit has been shown to improve coworker satisfaction, job attitudes, and task performance. Most research has only explored individual-level outcomes of person-group fit, yet there are numerous calls for further exploration into team-level …