Graduate Theses and Dissertations is a collection of completed and approved graduate works. These works are collected through the Graduate School submission process and are approved by the faculty, student and the University of South Dakota. For more information please contact: grad@usd.edu and visit usd.edu/grad
Theses/Dissertations from 2025
Theses/Dissertations from 2024
EXPLORING THE EXPERIENCE AND IDENTITY OF ASSOCIATED FACULTY TEACHING IN A DOCTOR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY PROGRAM, Catherine A Bilyeu
MYOKINE PROBDNF-P75NTR SIGNALING IN SKELETAL MUSCLE INJURY AND STERILE INFLAMMATION, Katherine Aby
DEVELOPMENT OF LOW THRESHOLD GERMANIUM DETECTORS FOR THE SEARCH OF LOW MASS DARK MATTER, Pramod Acharya
ONLINE PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN RURAL AND URBAN YOUTH, Ellen Alexandra Knowles
Traumatic Stress, Sexual Abuse-Related Shame Severity, and Participation in Commercialized Sex Based on Childhood Sexual Abuse, Barbara Ann Bailey
THE EFFECTS OF THE VIDEO MODELING PRODUCT GEMIINI© ON VERBAL RESPONSE PRODUCTION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER WHO ARE NONSPEAKING OR MINIMALLY SPEAKING, Miranda Ann Galvin
The role of UCHL1 in skeletal muscle development and regeneration, Ryan Antony
CHARACTERIZING SEX DIFFERENCES IN HPV NEGATIVE HEAD AND NECK SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA, Sarah Barclay
EVALUATING THE LENGTH OF CLINICAL ROTATIONS IN MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE EDUCATION, Kendal Beazer
Crisis Intervention Model Effectiveness in South Dakota City and Rural Schools, Nicole Ann Bechen
IMPLEMENTING THE SCIENCE OF READING CONCEPTS: A CASE STUDY ON PERCEPTIONS OF PRE-SERVICE PREPARATIONS AND READINESS LEVELS AT MIDWEST UNIVERSITIES, Jerri L. Birger
Educational Attainment: American Indians/Alaska Natives Phenomenological Study of a Northeast Nebraska Indian Reservation, Stacy Brasch
EXPLORING THE ROLE OF NONMUSCLE MYOSIN II IN RENAL THICK ASCENDING LIMB EPITHELIAL CELL PROTEIN TRAFFICKING AND ORGANELLE ARCHITECTURE, Brook Busselman
Shame and Social Interaction Quantity and Quality in Daily Life: The Moderating Effect of Social Anxiety, Rachel C Bock
Shame and Social Interaction Quantity and Quality in Daily Life: The Moderating Effect of Social Anxiety, Rachel C Bock
DIFFERENCES IN PERSONALITY PATHOLOGY AMONG NON-SUICIDAL SELF- INJURY AND SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR PATTERNS: A LATENT CLASS ANALYSIS, Rachel Chavin
DESIGNING FLUORESCENT MOSCS FOR POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS IN ILLICIT DRUGS DETECTION, Robyn Nicole Cook
Fluorinated thiophene containing aromatics and their polymers for energy storage and semiconductor applications, Blessing Damilola Ishola
Development Of Cryogenic Scintillation Detectors For The Search Of New Physics, Keyu Ding
UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA IN SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS, Wenhui Duan
An Examination of the Degree to which the BIA Models Representative Bureaucracy in Selected Lakota Communities, Melissa Eagle Bear
ADVANCED OPTICAL BIOSENSING USING RATIOMETRIC FLUORESCENT POLYMER DOTS AND NANOZYME, Shuyi He
ADDRESSING SPIRITUALITY IN THE COUNSELOR SUPERVISION RELATIONSHIP, Andrew H. Gerodias
NEAR INFRARED UPCONVERSION NANOPARTICLES MODIFIED WITH SEMICONDUCTING POLYMERS FOR ANTI-COUNTERFEITING, Abraham Chibuikem Ikeji
REDCEDAR EXPANSION, COTTONWOOD DIEBACK, AND BIRDS ALONG THE MISSOURI NATIONAL RECREATIONAL RIVER, Nadeesha Dilrukshi Illeperuma Arachchige Done
Toward Attention-Based Feature Fusion for Medical Image Analysis, Anup Khanal
Increasing on-task behavior and academic engagement with students with attention hyperactivity disorder using self-management approaches in a secondary general education classroom, Kelsi Anne Kinnunen (Burfeindt)
REGIONAL AND LANDSCAPE SCALE EXAMINATION AND ATTRIBUTION OF VEGETATION CHANGES TO SOCIAL-ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM DRIVERS IN KAZAKHSTAN, Venkatesh Kolluru
A METHOD OF MEASURING HOT CHARGE CARRIER DRIFT MOBILITY IN GERMANIUM DETECTORS, Kyler Kooi
Activation of molecular oxygen for the selective oxidation of alkenes catalyzed by hollow Mn3O4 nanoparticles, Pranab Kumar Nandy
Pain Anxiety and Pain Interference as Mediating Factors in the Relation of Childhood Trauma and Fear of Cancer Recurrence, Jennifer Kuo
A FIELD-BASED STUDY OF DUST EMISSIVITY IN THE NORTHERN CHIHUAHUAN DESERT, U.S.: TESTING THE PREFERENTIAL DUST SOURCE SCHEME, Gwenn L Harsha
IMPLEMENTING A STEPPED CARE MODEL: A CASE STUDY OF TWO COLLEGE COUNSELING CENTERS, Stephanie L Johnson-Kane
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND NEWS CONSUMPTION: A STUDY OF TRUST, CREDIBILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN AUTOMATED JOURNALISM, Julia Lobo Paes
The Parentification of Eldest Daughters, Isabella Loraina Ciarico
THE IMPACT OF FLUORINATION ON THE VOLATILITY OF A SERIES OF LANTHANIDE COMPLEXES, Kh Mahfuzul Alam
Mental Health in College Students: Efficacy of a Telehealth-Delivered Occupational Therapy Program, Amy Marie Nelson
Religious Upheaval in a South Dakota Mennonite Community, 1874-1940, Ryan Mews
BINARY PHASE NIO-TIO2 HETEROJUNCTION FOR PHOTOCATALYTIC H2O2 FORMATION, Rashed Mia
THE EVOLUTION OF THE IOWA LIVING HISTORY FARMS (LHF) FROM THE 1960S THROUGH THE 1980S, Ryan Moore
Balloon Model for Water Vapor Ablation of Non-Muscular Invasive Bladder Cancer Cells, Jennifer Mussell
Anatomy: The Book of Moose, David Nelson Levine
Pupillometry as a Viable Augmentative and Alternative Communication Pathway: a Machine Learning Application, Kouadio Marc-Antoine Niamba
Childhood Maltreatment and Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Clusters: The Mediating Role of Early Maladaptive Schemas, Sydney Nichole Stamatovich
THE THINGS THEY KNEW, Ukamaka Olisakwe
Adapting Community-Based Psychological First Aid to a Palliative/Hospice Care Team: A Community-Based Participatory Research Approach, Kathryn Olivia Moore
Activation of Secondary Alcohols using Electron Deficient Fluoroaromatics to Drive Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions Under Anhydrous Conditions., Osamakon Bernard Osemwenkhae
BACKGROUNDS STUDY AND AI-POWERED WAVEFORM PROCESSING FOR LEGEND EXPERIMENT, Laxman Paudel
American Eyes, Heather Phillips
Impacts of State Needs-Based Aid on Residency (In-State) Enrollments, Scott Pohlson
FINDING THE DREAM JOB OR FINDING ANOTHER DREAM: WORK VOLITION AND GOAL REENGAGEMENT AS PREDICTORS OF WORK-FULFILLMENT, WELLBEING AND CALLING, Julia Price-Lee
MIVT: MEDICAL-INFORMED VISION TRANSFORMER FOR EARLY EPILEPSY DIAGNOSIS, Md Masum Rana
THE EFFECTS OF BILATERAL STIMULATION ON MOTOR LEARNING, Shania Rehmudin
RECOVERING RELATIVISTIC EFFECTS IN ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE CALCULATIONS OF F-ELEMENT SINGLE MOLECULE MAGNETS, Nathan Roy Loutsch
DeepWhaleNet: A Climate Change-Aware FFT-Based Neural Network for Underwater Passive Acoustic Monitoring, Nicholas Ryan Rasmussen
EXPLORING ONLINE FEMINIST COMMUNITIES AND THE MALE ALLYSHIP EXPERIENCE, Josephine Saighoe
CHILDHOOD BETRAYAL TRAUMA AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE PERPETRATION AND VICTIMIZATION: THE ROLE OF ATTACHMENT INSECURITY AND AFFECTIVE INSTABILITY, Emma Shaughnessy
Critical Thinking Skills in Pre-Service Teachers and Their Coursework: Investigating the Preparation of Teachers in the Rural Midwest with Humans, AI, and Cyborg Researchers, Tiffany Ellen Rose Shonerd
ASSESSING THE UTILITY OF BREAST CANCER POLYGENIC RISK SCORES AND ASSOCIATION WITH CLINICAL FACTORS IN A POPULATION OF BREAST CANCER PATIENTS, John L. Slunecka
AN EXPLORATION OF CLINICAL REASONING USING SIMULATION-BASED LEARNING IN PHYSICAL THERAPIST EDUCATION, Susannah Steele
GOODWILL ELASTICITY AND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR FAVORABLE FINANCIAL REPORTING, Drew Stevenson
BUILDING A RECIPROCAL PARTNERSHIP: A CASE STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA AND ITS PRIVATELY-OWNED SORORITY AND FRATERNITY HOUSING, Kelli L. Susemihl
FUNCTIONALIZATION OF PRISTINE AND DEFECTIVE MONOLAYER GRAPHENE TO CONTROL BIOFILM GROWTH, Md Tusar Uddin
MORE THAN A STOP ON THE WAY TO YELLOWSTONE: THE PARKS OF THE BLACK HILLS AND THEIR IMPACT ON WILDERNESS PRESERVATION, Arianna Lynn Van Kley
A COMPOSITE COGNITIVE WORKLOAD EVALUATION OF THE HYSTERESIS EFFECT, Jon Vogl
A PILOT STUDY EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS AND FEASIBILTY OF THE PEERS® INTERVENTION IN A RURAL/NON-METROPOLITAN SETTING, Blake Elvrum Warner
CALCIUM CARBONATE-BASED STIMULI-RESPONSIVE MICROCARRIERS FOR TARGETED DRUG DELIVERY AGAINST ORAL BACTERIAL INFECTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF GLASS-FREE MICROFLUIDICS AS AN ANALYTICAL PLATFORM, Krishantha Wijewardhane
Should I Stay or Should I Go? A City Manager in Times of Transition, Patrick William Antonen
Development of a Modular Lab Automation System With Applications to Animal and Bacteria Cell Culture, Timothy William Hartman
ADVANCING ANTI-COUNTERFEITING APPROACH VIA THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUNCTIONAL OPTICAL MATERIALS, Zishen Yang
Theses/Dissertations from 2023
DATA-DRIVEN BIOMEDICINE INVESTIGATION OF GENETIC AND INFECTIOUS-BASED DISEASES USING OMICS DATA AND DATA SCIENCE METHODOLOGIES., Diing de Mapior Agany
Drug Delivering Properties of Novel Materials for Dentinal Desensitization, Abu Ahammadullah
Things Left Behind, Aqeel Ahmad
APPLICATION OF HIERARCHICAL SPECIES DISTRIBUTION MODELS TO AVIAN SPECIES OF SOUTH DAKOTA AND THE UPPER MISSOURI RIVER BASIN, Reza Goljani Amirkhiz
UNRAVELING THE REGULATORY BASIS OF THE DESICCATION TOLERANCE TRAIT IN Selaginella lepidophylla, Madhavi Anuradha Ariyarathne Hewa Babarandhage
MULTIMODAL EMOTION ANALYSIS WITH FOCUSED ATTENTION, Siddhi Kiran Bajracharya
MICRO CREDENTIALING FOR TEACHERS: A CASE STUDY IN PERSONALIZED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Brad John Berens
DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED GERMANIUM DETECTORS FOR RARE EVENT PHYSICS, Sanjay Bhattarai
ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE AND MOLECULAR GEOMETRIES OF METAL COMPLEXES WITH DFT AND MULTIREFERENCE METHOD, Rina Bhowmick
CROSSING THE GOALLINE: IDENTIFYING THE SUCCESS OF BLACK FOOTBALL PLAYERS AT A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE INSTITUTION, Mark Blackburn
A COMPARISON OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND RESILIENCE BETWEEN BACHELOR’S DEGREE AND ASSOCIATE DEGREE NURSING STUDENTS, Natalie Board
The Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore: The Portrayal of Corinthian Gender Ideologies in Ritual Landscape, Kaia C. Brose
Perceived Neuroscience Knowledge and Counselor Self-Efficacy, Cristina Buus
MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE: A CASE ANALYSIS ON INSTITUTIONAL WORKLOAD AND REWARDS FOR WOMEN FACULTY, Andrea Carlile
DESIGNING METAL-ORGANIC SUPERCONTAINERS FOR FUNCTIONAL APPLICATIONS: FROM SELECTIVE ANION BINDING TO SURFACE ENHANCED RAMAN SCATTERING, Kriti Chitrakar
Water and Brain Function: Effects of Hydration Status on Neurostimulation and Neurorecording, Sam Critzer
Research Model Applications in the Investigation of Vascular Disease Treatments, Alex Anthony Dangler
"An Infinite Advantage": A Kierkegaardian Analysis of Anxiety and Despair in Post-War American Literature, Jeremiah Davis
Voter Influencing in State Trial Court Judicial Elections in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston, Myanna Dellinger