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 2024
ASSESSING THE UTILITY OF BREAST CANCER POLYGENIC RISK SCORES AND ASSOCIATION WITH CLINICAL FACTORS IN A POPULATION OF BREAST CANCER PATIENTS, John L. Slunecka
Theses/Dissertations from 2023
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
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
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
Little Mexico in the Black Hills: A Study of Mexican Migration and Settlement From 1970-1990s, Sabrina Escalante
EXPLORING FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT EXPERIENCES WITHIN THE GREEK LIFE SYSTEM, Clare Fiore
Imagining Change: Metatheatre, Empathy, and Action on Stage and in the Classroom, Jayna Gearhart Fitzsimmons
IMPACTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS ON NATIVE SOUTH DAKOTA AMPHIBIAN PHYSIOLOGY AND SURVIVAL, Danielle Jean Galvin
COP9 SIGNALOSOME PROMOTES NEOINTIMAL HYPERPLASIA VIA DENEDDYALTION AND CSN5-MEDIATED NUCLEAR EXPORT, Samiksha Giri
THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGICAL MALTREATMENT AND VIDEO GAME ENGAGEMENT: THE ROLE OF DISTRESS TOLERANCE, Mason Lee Hatwan
A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF FLEXIBLE BLENDED LEARNING IN A FOURTH GRADE CLASSROOM, Betsy Kim Henn
The Impact of Immersive VR verses Desktop VR Technologies on Learning Attainment and Sense of Presence, Haley Renee Hoffman
Proteostasis & Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's Disease, Christa C. Huber
CONNECTED GOVERNMENT: AN EXPLORATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND KING AND STIVER’S THEORY OF CONNECTED GOVERNMENT, Lilia Iokhvidov
Closing the Digital Divide: Understanding Organizational Approaches to Digital Accessibility in Higher Education, Angela Kae Jackson
Stories of Midwest Higher Education Public Safety Administrators, The Clery Act, and Keeping Campuses Safe, Bryant Jackson
Reading Utopian Pedagogies: Discovering the Practical Here and Now of Utopian Thinking, Carter Johnke
EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF A SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN WITH ASD GENERALIZED TO A P.E. SETTING, Anissa Johns
MOLECULAR INVESTIGATION OF MINOR GENOMIC POPULATIONS AND BIOLOGICAL EXPOSURES IN HUMAN HEALTH, Brandon Ned Johnson
Trauma and the American Dream: Frictions of the Dominant Fiction in Steinbeck and Smith, Mary Johnson
The Effects of Anthropogenic Modification To the Landscape on Turtle Distribution and Health in South Dakota, Anna C. Kase
“I am Still Dakota”: Assimilation, Education, and Survival on the Lake Traverse Reservation, Katherine Victoria Kemp
A STUDY OF VERBAL RUMINATION, RELATIONSHIPS, STRESS AND IDENTITY ON HEALTH COMMUNICATION IN COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS, Landon Mary Ellen Kemp
FROM MORTARS TO MORTARBOARDS: MILITARY VETERANS TRANSITIONING FROM ACTIVE DUTY TO HIGHER EDUCATION, Joseph Alan Knoer
Investigation of bacterial infection and immunity in the body louse, Lauren Mae Kress
Promoting Well-Being Among Intercollegiate Student-Athletes: A Gratitude Intervention Using Positive Psychology, Laura Kruger
MONITORING MOVEMENT AND RANGE EXPANSION OF SILVER AND BIGHEAD CARP (HYPOPHTHALMICHTHYS MOLITRIX, H. NOBILIS) IN SOUTH DAKOTA TRIBUTARIES OF THE MISSOURI RIVER, Lindsey Ann Pearl LaBrie
INTENTIONAL MISDIAGNOSIS AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS WORKING WITH MANAGED CARE, Emily Lake
Deadly Emotions: The Argument for Tempered Feeling in British and American Literature of Sentiment, Miranda Anne Liebsack
MITOCHONDRIAL ROLES IN DEVELOPMENTALLY PROGRAMMED HEART DISEASE, Eli John Louwagie
Mathematical Analysis of Convolutional Neural Networks, Daniel McCarter
WORKING MEMORY PERFORMANCE: IS SUBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT A BETTER PREDICTOR THAN COGNITIVE LOAD?, Megan McCray
WORKING MEMORY PERFORMANCE: IS SUBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT A BETTER PREDICTOR THAN COGNITIVE LOAD?, Megan McCray
The Impact of Resilience and Professional Practice Demographics on the Professional Quality of Life of Recreational Therapists, Kelley McCubbin
ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND THEOLOGICAL COMMITMENTS IN ATS ACCREDITED INSTITUTIONS, Leon Miles
Explorations of a Topology Constructed on the Maximal Ideals of a Boolean Algebra, Abbigal Moos
THE EDUCATOR’S EXPERIENCE INCORPORATING BLENDED LEARNING IN A SECONDARY CLASSROOM, Kiki Nelsen
TEACHER RETENTION: PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION IN RURAL SCHOOLS IN NEBRASKA, Andrew Offner
Growing up Ghanaian: The Well-being of Ghanaian Children in the United States and Ghana, Akua Bemma Opoku
Adaptation to Sport Retirement in Division I Student-Athletes, Andrea Cota Powell
Redeeming Femininity: A Steinian Catholic Feminist Reading of Flannery O'Connor's Short Fiction, Amanda Pugh
Correlation of Motivations to view Facebook Video Advertisements with Willingness to View Future Advertisements, Mokhlisur Rahman
DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL HPGe DETECTOR FOR RARE EVENT PHYSICS, Mathbar Singh Raut
Integrated STEM Learning Activity: Effect on Student Engagement and Learning, Leslie Deitrich Sauder
Teacher Retention: Retaining Teachers in High-Needs, Urban Secondary Schools in a Midwest State Post-Pandemic, Christopher Kenneth Schmit
Inkjet Printing of SERS-based Inks for Covert Anti-Counterfeiting Labels, Erin E. Schnetzer
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION AND SUPPORTS (PBIS): IMPROVING STAFF BUY-IN WITH PBIS IN A RURAL DISTRICT IN THE MIDWEST, Christena Schultz
Background Discrimination of a Neutrino Detector with Dense Neural Networks, Perry Siehien
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY CONCERNS FOR UNIVERSITY WORKFORCE AND SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE DURING A PANDEMIC, Garrett Stevens
The Effectiveness of the Teaching Interaction Procedure for Young Children with Developmental Delay, Bailey Nicole Swain
Childhood Maltreatment and Suicidal Ideation: The Role of Insecure Attachment, Alexithymia, and Negative Urgency., Surabhi Swaminath
Attachment Network Structures and Adult Mental Health, Junnan Tian
Utilizing the Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD) to Identify Sexual Aggression in Men, Ryan Van Fossen
The complex art of wearing multiple hats: A case study analysis of dual-role administrators in rural school districts, Abi Van Regenmorter
ESTABLISHING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY WHILE MEETING THE NEEDS OF ONLINE ADJUNCT INSTRUCTORS, Melissa Weber
Disconnected, frustrated and withdrawn: Institutional policy implications for equity in student and faculty community, Jessica Marie Welsh
DEVELOPING MESOPOROUS SILICA NANOPARTICLE-BASED STIMULI-RESPONSIVE NANOCARRIERS FOR DELIVERY OF SMALL MOLECULE THERAPEUTICS AGAINST COLON CANCER CELLS, Nisitha Lakmal Wellala Wijewantha
CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE MENTAL HEALTH: PROVIDING FOR MIDWESTERN HISPANIC/LATINX COMMUNITIES, Sara Leila Zare
Theses/Dissertations from 2022
BiofilmGeneSet: Leveraging Multi-Omics Data Mining and ICA To Discover Biofilm Stage Genes of Interest from Condition-Specific Expression Dataset, Mathew Olakunle Alaba
2D respiratory sound analysis to detect lung abnormalities, Rafia Sharmin Alice
Use of Threat Assessment in South Dakota Schools, Damon Alvey
A Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Participant Perspectives on Return of Individual Research Results, Jyoti Angal
A JOB-DEMAND RESOURCE THEORY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FLEXIBILITY INTEGRATED MODEL OF POLICE OFFICER BURNOUT, Lucas David Baker
Cosmogenically-induced backgrounds in LEGEND, Clay Douglas Barton
MOLECULAR GENETIC INVESTIGATION OF TWINS, FAMILIES, AND POPULATIONS, Jeffrey John Beck
ENCOURAGING PERSISTENCE AMONG NATIVE AMERICAN NURSING STUDENTS BY FOSTERING CULTURAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT AT A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE UNIVERSITY, Valeriah Rose Big Eagle
INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS IN THE TRAINING OF PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION WITH SLP STUDENTS, Jennifer Kay Binkley
FEMALE SUPERINTENDENTS AND NEGOTIATIONS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER IN THE MIDWEST, Kathryn R. Blaha
Analyzing the academic achievement of secondary virtual learners during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods case study, Christina Kaye Board
Ecological Changes of the Lower Niobrara River Valley and Lewis and Clark Lake Delta from Past to Present, Madalyn Christine Bollig
The Ellows, Julie Boutwell-Peterson
Understanding how different personality models can predict non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors, Rachel Chavin
THE DERIVATION OF GEOLOGIC ECOSYSTEM SERVICES FROM GEODIVERSITY IN THE BLACK HILLS REGION OF SOUTH DAKOTA AND WYOMING, James Campbell Cooke
Abomination, Anneliese Donstad
Density Functional Theory of Samarium(II) Reactivity in THF and Water, Parisa Fasihianifard
DEVELOPMENT OF A TARGETED DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR INTRACRANIAL ATHEROSLEROTIC DISEASE, Kirby Fuglsby
DEEP FEATURES TO ANALYZE PULMONARY ABNORMALITIES IN CHEST X-RAYS DUE TO COVID-19, Supriti Ghosh
Challenges to Career as a Source of Meaning and Satisfaction Among Certified Athletic Trainers in the United States of America, Nicole Marie Glasgow
Semiconducting polymer dots-based ratiometric fluorescent probes for detection of biomarkers, Shuyi He
INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT FOR ANISHINAABE KINDERGARTENERS: STUDENT OUTCOMES AND TEACHER PERCEPTIONS, Dustin Everett Hinckley
FRAMEWORK FOR THE EVALUATION OF PERTURBATIONS IN THE SYSTEMS BIOLOGY LANDSCAPE AND INTER-SAMPLE SIMILARITY FROM TRANSCRIPTOMIC DATASETS — A DIGITAL TWIN PERSPECTIVE, Mariah Marie Hoffman
FINES, FEES, RACE, AND SOCIOECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE, Joshua D. Houy