Scholar Commons - Institutional Repository of the University of South Carolina
Not a member yet
34867 research outputs found
Sort by
Lockdown Lessons: How Remote Proctoring Continues to Discriminate Against Disabled Students in a Post-COVID Era
No full textImpacts on College-Aged Asian American Mental Health
No full textThis study explores the relationship between different forms of racial harassment and mental health issues in Asian American college students. Asian American mental health is a growing concern in the field of public health. Asian Americans have the lowest treatment rates and some of the highest stigma levels of any demographic. They are also impacted by the model minority myth and discrimination, further alienating them from getting help. The topics of subtle racism, blatant racism, and current racial discrimination were compared to depressive symptoms, anxiety, self-esteem, and four domains of aggression using survey data. Subtle racism was found to be correlated with depressive symptoms, anger, and verbal aggression. Blatant racism was found to be correlated with depressive symptoms, anger, physical aggression, verbal aggression, and hostility. Current racial discrimination was found to be correlated with depressive symptoms, anxiety, anger, physical aggression, verbal aggression, and hostility. These findings have profound implications that both support previous work in Asian American mental health and pave the way for future studies in this field
Understanding the Through-Space Intermolecular Interactions of Isothiourea Catalysts in Acylation/Silylation Reactions of Secondary Alcohols
No full textThrough space interactions, including cation-π interaction, lone pair-πinteraction, steric hinderance etc. play a central role in organocatalytic reaction. They can control the reactivity or the selectivity of an organic reaction. Previous work in our group has already shown that the chiral isothiourea compounds can catalyze the acylation as well as silylation reaction of secondary alcohol with the possible cation-πinteraction between the catalyst and substrate. However, there is lack of study to understand how the delocalization of the positive charge would affect the reaction rate and whether some unexpected inter- or intramolecular interaction could help stabilize the cationic complex. This thesis is first going to introduce different types of the through space interactions and the physical organic methods to understand their basic properties. The Chapter 2 will show the evidence we found that can support the cation-πinteraction between the substrate and catalyst using linear free energy relationship (LFER) study. We will also discuss the extra through space interaction by multi-parameter fit and computational study. Chapter 3 will compare the intramolecular through space interactions in the silylated/acylated complexes that control the reactivity of isothiourea catalyst in the organic reaction using rate study, potentiometric titration and computational method. In general, this thesis will provide deeper insight into how the isothiourea based catalysts functioned in the acylation/silylation reaction of secondary alcohol and provide potential ideas for catalyst design to increase the selectivity of the reactions
Building a Framework for Analyzing Non-Linear and Multidimensional Kinetics
No full textMany materials exhibit multiple rates of molecular relaxation due to structural complexities. Standard linear and one-dimensional kinetic cannot extract all the necessary dynamic information about these systems. This dissertation contributes to an overarching scheme to develop new non-linear and multidimensional kinetic experiments to obtain this information. The studies span computation and experiments, picosecond to second timescales, and both single-molecule and pulsed-laser kinetics
Single-molecule kinetics experiments yield time series that contain information about unique structural and dynamic properties of materials. However, these time series are noisy, and data analysis is challenging. Parametric methods are computationally intensive and require strong, unverifiable assumptions about the system being studied. Existing nonparametric methods reduce the time resolution to milliseconds, even though photon-counting detectors with tens-of-nanosecond resolution are widely used for data collection. The first part of this dissertation addresses these problems by developing a signal-processing method using high-order correlation functions.
The correlation method effectively removes detector noise without introducing a specific model for the system. It reduces large datasets into a few relevant statistical parameters, making subsequent computations efficient. These computations can yield complete kinetic information about the materials: the locations and populations of the states and the state-to-state transition rates. The method is agnostic about whether the state-space is continuous or discrete. Detector bias can be accurately corrected, even with high-count-rate photon counting.
The numerical viability of this technique was demonstrated using several simulations with either additive, photon, or photon-counting noise. Its experimental practicality was demonstrated on benchmark experimental datasets. A theoretical analysis of the results establishes practical guidelines for the data quality required to carry out a successful recovery of the system’s kinetics. The analysis then leads to a proposal for and simulation of the conditions necessary to push single-molecule experiments into the submicrosecond regime.
The second part of this dissertation focuses on the internal structure and dynamics of micelles. The rotation of a solute molecule in a micelle shows multiple rates, this is, rate dispersion. One-dimensional kinetics cannot conclusively confirm the mechanism behind this rate dispersion. We have gained additional information by probing the rotational dynamics of two solute molecules of different sizes and polarities inside CTAC micelles and by using a two-dimensional 2D ultrafast technique called Multiple Population-period Transient Spectroscopy (MUPPETS). The results are inconsistent with common models for surfactant micelles that invoke strong ordering: chain alignment, radial layering or solute localization. Rather, our results provide evidence that the internal structure of micelles is highly disordered, resulting in different solute molecules experiencing different local viscosities. The micelle is closer to a droplet of ordinary liquid with confinement effects arising from similarity in the length of the hydrocarbon chain and the micelle diameter
The Impact of Equity Literacy in Understanding, Creating, and Sustaining an Equitable School Climate
Get PDFThere is an extraordinary culturally and linguistically diverse student population in America today; however, there is an overwhelmingly homogenous representation in educators, being predominantly White, middle-class, female, and monolingual (Howard, 2020; Tanase, 2020). The racial disparity between educators and students has serious consequences for marginalized students leaving many students undereducated and unprepared to compete in the world today (Howard, 2020). hooks (1994) claimed that educators are poorly prepared to confront diversity and we must focus on diversity and inclusion if we want to be more equitable and close the achievement gap. This qualitative action research study was centered around the idea that many educators lack the critical skills necessary for working with culturally and linguistically diverse students. It focused on the need to establish equity literacy within the school climate and personal praxis by examining implicit biases of educators at the research site. In doing so, educators gained an increased awareness of racism and diversity in order to promote a culturally responsive school climate through equity literacy. Equity literacy is critical as it provides a framework for educators to see the world through an equity lens and to open our eyes to subtle biases and inequities in order to equip us in matters of diversity and social justice issues (Gorski & Pothini, 2018)
Merit, Equity and Intersectionality: Autoethnographic Examination of Perceived Race and Gender-Based Discrimination in the Workplace
Get PDFThis autoethnographic action research dissertation uses intersectionality, critical race theory, and racial battle fatigue theoretical lenses to examine my mental health as I experienced perceived race-based and gender-based discrimination at a public high school on the West Coast of the United States. The goal was to examine how my mental health was impacted during the development and attempted implementation of a DEI plan, and how my mental health was affected by the intersectionality of race and gender. I used journal entries and digital artifacts to craft seven vignettes that captured my experience. The findings from coding and analyzing data showed that my mental health was negatively impacted by perceived race and gender-based discrimination. My implementation plan included an open-door policy, and a meritocracy and diversity initiative. My recommendations for future research included more research on RBF, non-race-based factors that cause poor mental health in teachers of color, and reevaluating equity frameworks within local settings
The “Blurred Lines” Between Copyright Law and its Role in the Music Industry
Get PDFThis thesis examines the dynamic relationship between copyright law and the music industry by analyzing three landmark cases: Bright Tunes Music Corp. v. Harrisongs Music, Ltd., Williams v. Gaye, and Skidmore v. Zeppelin. Through these case studies, the paper explores how courts assess copyright infringement using the tests of extrinsic and intrinsic similarity, as well as identifies the weight of expert testimony in court, and the role of legal tools such as the inverse-ratio rule. Each case illustrates different implications for artists: from the threat of subconscious plagiarism to the controversial expansion of protectable musical elements, and finally, a shift in precedents that strengthens the amount of creative freedom artists have. Overall, the paper highlights the inconsistencies in application of the tests for similarity and reliance on expert interpretation which hinder the ultimate purpose of copyright law—to encourage creativity and protect original works. The paper concludes by advocating for reforms to the procedure in music copyright cases that would promote clearer standards and protect artists creating new music
