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
EUGENOL LOADED CALCIUM CITRATE PARTICLE AS A pH TRIGGERED DRUG RELEASE SYSTEM AND A REDUCING AGENT FOR Au (III), Sadia Afrin
BENEFITS OF A HYBRID LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ON WORK-LIFE BALANCE, Thomas Robert Anez
IMPLEMENTING LEARNING WALKS: AN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY IN A PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL, Kay Bass
HYPOTHALAMIC PARAVENTRICULAR NUCLEUS G⍺q/G⍺s AND RGS2 SIGNALING PATHWAYS MEDIATE SYMPATHOEXCITATION AND SODIUM RETENTION IN HYPERTENSION, Shane Harold Boomer
Educational Trouble In Paradise: Student Perception of Teaching Behaviors and It's Relation to Intrinsic Motivation and Academic Achievement, David McHale Davis
Advocacy in School Psychology: Insights from a National Survey of Practices, Challenges, and Future Directions, Catherine Falk
Amplified Voices of Students in Higher Education: Support and Artificial Intelligence Use, Shanice Merlene Hall
UNVEILING UNIVERSAL MENTAL HEALTH SCREENING: SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS’ PERSPECTIVES, PRACTICES, AND THE ROLE OF DEMOGRAPHICS, Gracie Taylor Hansen
THE STUDY OF KNEE AND ANKLE SAGITTAL PLANE ANGLES FOR ON-COURT VERSUS OFF-COURT CUTTING, Alexi Rebecca Hempe
Mental Fatigue Effect On Joint Repositioning, Collin Kehrwald
Design and Validation of a Multiple Axis, Passive 3D-printed Ankle-Foot Prosthetic for Functional Gait, Brogan Rene Landeen
Leveraging CRISPR technology to model Beta-propeller Protein Associated Neurodegeneration and explore mechanisms of neurological dysfunction, Brandon Lee Meyerink
Will This Be Graded? A Multiple Case Study Analysis of High School Principals’ and Teachers’ Grading Beliefs, Adam Rudebusch
PERCEPTIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USE TO ENHANCE FEEDBACK FOR PRESERVICE TEACHERS DURING FIELD EXPERIENCES, Betsy Schamber
Investigating Trauma-Informed Practices Impact on Teacher Well-Being and Burnout, Philip Walter Schonebaum
Advancing Nucleophilic Fluorination: Synthesis of Alcohol Intermediates and Development of “Naked” Fluoride Source, Amit Sharma
BLATTELLA GERMANICA AS A VECTOR OF SALMONELLA TYPHIMURIUM, Matthew Turner
The Third Person Effect: Misinformation and Disinformation of News on Racism, Jody-Ann Kadine Tyson
INVESTIGATION OF MULTIPLE FACTORS INFLUENCING THE VECTOR-BORNE TRANSMISSION OF SALMONELLA TYPHIMURIUM VIA BLATTELLA GERMANICA, Landen Sean Van Hulzen
EFFECTS OF MENTAL FATIGUE ON GAIT PERFORMANCE AND VARIABILITY, Ali Zardosht
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
Teacher's Perception of Emotional Intelligence in Administrators and How It Impacts Teacher Job Satisfaction in Rural Nebraska, Thomas Lee Schneider
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
DIABETIC FUELS INFLUENCE MITOCHONDRIA FUNCTION AND FATTY ACID PROCESSING IN HUMAN TROPHOBLASTS, Kyle McKenna Siemers
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