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Perceptions of Internship Experiences for Environmental Science Undergraduates
Get PDFInternships are widely recognized as valuable components of undergraduate education, yet their accessibility, impact, and role in shaping student development vary significantly across disciplines and individual experiences. This thesis investigates the undergraduate internship experience within the School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment (SEOE) at the University of South Carolina, drawing on survey data and reflective responses from students who participated in internships between 2022 and 2024. The study explores the professional, academic, and personal benefits of internships, with particular attention to how these experiences influence students\u27 career direction, confidence, and skill development. Findings indicate that regardless of format, duration, or compensation, internships consistently enhance students’ clarity about future goals and prepare them for work in environmentally-focused fields. However, access remains uneven, with financial, logistical, and informational barriers disproportionately affecting students with fewer resources. Based on these insights, the thesis offers targeted recommendations for faculty, staff, and academic programs in the SEOE to better support students through more inclusive advising practices, peer mentorship, funding opportunities, and transparent information sharing. Ultimately, this research underscores the importance of flexible, student-centered approaches to experiential learning in environmental education
Psychedelic Psychotherapy and the Mental Health Crisis: A Historical and Scientific Review
No full textThe global mental health crisis continues to expose the limitations of traditional psychiatric treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As conventional antidepressants offer modest remission rates and delayed efficacy, interest has grown in the therapeutic potential of psychedelic compounds. This thesis explores psychedelic psychotherapy through both a historical and scientific lens, tracing its roots from ancient ceremonial practices to modern clinical trials. It also provides context behind the neurobiological mechanisms by which psychedelics like psilocybin, LSD, ketamine, MDMA, and DMT affect mood and cognition. These compounds appear to reduce default mode network (DMN) connectivity, increase global brain network communication, and promote neuroplasticity via 5-HT2A receptor signaling and glutamatergic pathways. When paired with structured psychotherapy, these substances have shown promise in producing rapid and lasting symptom relief for patients with treatment-resistant conditions. Despite their Schedule I classification in the U.S., mounting evidence from contemporary clinical trials and neuroimaging studies suggests psychedelics may offer a safe and effective approach to treating complex mental health disorders. With continued research and responsible regulation, psychedelic psychotherapy could provide relief for patients unresponsive to current treatment methods
Toward Gender Parity in the South Carolina Appellate Judiciary
No full textIn April 2023, former Chief Justice Kay Hearn retired from the Supreme Court of South Carolina, leaving the state without a woman justice on its highest court until June 2024. During this time, South Carolina was the only state in the nation to lack a female presence on its court of last resort. This lack of women was detrimental, as women judges provide crucial insight and experience to the courts on which they serve.
Through a literature review, I examine the importance of women on the bench and how different state judicial selection mechanisms affect the gendered makeup of state courts. I then discuss how gender parity can be achieved through South Carolina’s unique judicial selection method, using information from interviews with relevant stakeholders. My research finds that avoiding elections, increasing women’s presence in the General Assembly and lower court system, providing mentorship to incentivize female candidates to run for judgeship, and platforming a diverse Judicial Merit Selection Commission will aid in ending the gender disparity on South Carolina’s appellate bench
Analysis and Derivation of the Compressible Euler System with Nonlinear Velocity Alignment: An Investigation Into Collective Behavior
Get PDFCollective behavior refers to the observable patterns, actions, or movements that emerge within a group of entities, such as individuals, animals, or particles, when they interact with each other. In this study, we concentrate on the pressureless compressible Euler system, expanding it to incorporate a family of nonlinear velocity alignment. This extension represents a nonlinear iteration of the Euler-alignment system within collective dynamics, revealing intriguing asymptotic emergent phenomena such as alignment and flocking. Our investigation explores different types of nonlinearity and nonlocal communication protocols, unveiling a diverse spectrum of asymptotic behaviors within the system.
In focusing on the derivation, we delve into a specific class of Vlasov-type kinetic flocking models characterized by nonlinear velocity alignment. Our primary objective is to systematically derive the hydrodynamic limit, leading to the compressible Euler system with nonlinear alignment. Building upon the foundational work by Figalli and Kang \cite{figalli2018rigorous}, which focused on linear velocity alignment through the relative entropy method, our investigation introduces nonlinearity, resulting in an additional alignment term discrepancy during the limiting process. To address this challenge effectively, we employ the monokinetic ansatz in conjunction with the relative entropy approach. Furthermore, our analysis reveals distinctive nonlinear alignment behaviors, particularly evident in the isothermal regime, highlighting significant differences between the kinetic and hydrodynamic systems
Systems Check: A Qualitative Case Study of Educators and Parent-Educators Supporting Adolescent Readers from an Ecological Systems Perspective
Get PDFIn spite of decades of research and an abundance of well-intentioned intervention efforts, supporting adolescent readers, particularly at the middle level, remains a significant area of concern for educators in the United States. The struggles are present for educators working to help underperforming readers reach grade-level and keep advanced readers motivated and engaged. At home, parents and guardians experience similar challenges. Data on adolescent comprehension performance continues to be frustrating in terms of producing consistent positive results. This qualitative action research study investigated the ongoing challenge of supporting adolescent readers, specifically within the context of 7th grade, through a systems lens using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (EST). Literacy development is a complex and ongoing process influenced by interconnected factors in a reader’s environment. This research is rooted in the lived experiences of parent-educators and English teachers at one middle school. Data was collected in the form of qualitative surveys, observations, document analysis, and interviews. The findings emphasize the need to view literacy challenges and the design of supportive measures through a systemic lens and contribute to the ongoing conversation surrounding how best to support middle-school readers by highlighting the necessity for considering the broader ecological contexts that surround them
