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
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
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
HYTPLANKTON AND CHLOROPHYLL DYNAMICS ACROSS VARIOUS AQUATIC SYSTEM TYPES IN THE MIDDLE MISSOURI RIVBER BASIN, Ryan Alan Dunbeck
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
Late for Class But Still On the Bus: Women's Persistence at a Community College, Mellisa Flanigan
In Whitman's Wake, Kacie Megan Fodness
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
SURFACE-ENGINEERED MINERAL PARTICLES FOR GATED DRUG DELIVERY, GENE TRANSFER AND SUNSCREEN FORMULATIONS, Mahadi Hasan
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
EXAMINING ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ SELF-EFFICACY TO TEACH ENGINEERING: THE IMPACT OF PROJECT LEAD THE WAY LAUNCH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Branden Robert Hoefert
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
OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR AND TRANSFORMATION: ELUCIDATING GENE FUNCTION IN THE COMMON ICE PLANT, Mesembryanthemum Crystallinum, Chinenye Lilian Izuegbunam
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
COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS IN RURAL PALLIATIVE CARE: A MIXED METHOD EXPLORATION OF THE SOUTH DAKOTA CONTEXT, Angela Beth Kroeze Visser
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
FUNCTIONALIZING METAL-ORGANIC SUPER-CONTAINERS (MOSCs) FOR SELECTIVE ANION RECOGNITION, Hanying Li