The following dissertation presents a typology for historic working watercraft of the State of South Carolina, United States of America. The background investigation for this typology addressed research design questions concerning the geographic and ethnic origins of the builders of these craft, the history of transportation growth in the area and other factors which are thought to have influenced basic design, and construction methods. These factors were the environments in which craft operated, the materials and skills available for their construction, and the shapes and eights of typical cargoes they were designed to transport. In addition to archival sources, data was developed by surveying regions of South Carolina where specific types of craft were known to operate. These areas included lower coastal plain riverine environments, abandoned rice plantations, abandoned ferry crossings, historic canals, and marine phosphate mining areas. Where remains of craft were discovered, a survey was conducted to gather sufficient information to determine the basic design, construction, and function of the vessel. Experimental archaeological projects also were undertaken during the last stages of the research to determine if it were possible to gather viable data concerning construction economy, construction sequence, and performance. The projects consisted of the construction of one full scale 'replica' rice plantation barge, one full scale 'reconstruction' of an upland cotton boat, and one large scale model of a plantation chine-girder barge. These projects also constituted an examination of the value of experimental archaeology to this type of research. The work also provided an opportunity to compare the relative values of the construction of replicas using historic techniques and materials, versus 'reconstruction' to visually accurate standards using modern materials. It was determined, given certain factors dictated by funding and labor, that experimental archaeology can indeed contribute worthwhile data for research purposes. The archival and field data generated by this activity were analyzed and a typology developed. It was determined that at least fourteen specific types of paddled or wind and tide driven watercraft were operated in the study area from the pre-historic period to approximately 1930. These craft included dugout canoes, dugout-form based plantation craft, flat bottomed sailing vessels, round hulled ocean going sailing vessels, barge-form ferry craft, rice flats and phosphate carriers, extreme length-to-beam ratio mountain river craft, and highly specialized canal craft. The data also indicate that working environments and cargo form were specific and direct influences on watercraft design. In some cases, such as aboriginal dugout canoes produced prior to European contact, ethnic influences were readily discernible. This proved not to be the case after the contact period. Archival data clearly indicate that both European and Africans and African Americans were engaged in watercraft construction and operation during the study period. Evidence is presented to show that Europeans sought specific skills among imported Africans ranging from the cultivation of agricultural crops to blacksmithing. Further evidence demonstrates African skills in watercraft construction and operation, especially of dugout canoes and dugout based designs. It is hypothesized that craft of these type are most likely to be representative of the craft produced by this ethnic group in South Carolina. This hypothesis is supported by presentation of archival data showing that these types of craft were the vessels of choice of African and African American crews. Further evidence is presented to show that widely ranging European boat building skills also are represented in the archaeological record, including English, French and possibly middle European influences. It is further determined that specific identification of the influence of anyone ethnic group is made unlikely as a result of the early absorption of ethnic traditions and the training of one group, Africans and African Americans, in the boat-building and carpentry traditions of the dominant European group. Extensive additional field data is presented on barge-form craft as remains of this type of vessel contributed to the archaeological record in far greater numbers than any other. The preponderance of this form is interpreted as a manifestation of the magnitude of the South Carolina rice industry and the catastrophic nature of its cessation due to the Civil War of 1860-1865. Two types of construction are identified, one based on plank and frame (as opposed to plank on frame) methods, the other method utilizing massive chine-girder logs. Evidence is presented to demonstrate that, while the basic barge or flat design was similar throughout the study area, details of construction including chine-girder shaping, fastening methods, scarphing techniques, and bow/stern to side construction methods varied greatly. This is interpreted as a reflection of the individual skills of the plantation carpenters who were primarily responsible for the building of these craft. Evidence also is presented for an emerging dating technique based on the nature of construction methods, types of fastenings, and the size of lumber components of barge form craft. The research also suggests predictive models for determining the likelihood of further remains of specific vessel types ranging from rice cuIture flats to phosphate barges. Finally, appendices to this dissertation include 106 illustrations, a glossary of terms, a procedure for barge documentation, tables of conversions for metric measurements to English measurement on barges, and a discussion of weights and measurements for historic period cargoes and containers.

abstract: In 2009, cap and trade was at the forefront of political and environmental discussions. At this time, the American Clean Energy and Security Act passed in the United States House of Representatives. Market based systems are alternatives to traditional regulatory methods such as command and control. This study intended to assess the attitudes of environmental leaders who managed air emissions as a part of their job responsibilities. The attitude of these individuals would have influenced their acceptance of this method as a program to reduce environmental pollution and improve air quality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of South Carolinian Title V environmental leaders toward cap and trade. Additionally, the study intended to determine if experience impacted the attitudes of survey respondents. Lastly, the study determined if environmental leaders found current methods such as command and control effective in air pollution regulation. The survey used the Likert Method of Summated Ratings. Environmental leaders reviewed attitudinal statements about the various subjects. The leaders selected an agreement level which determined their attitudes toward the statement. Numerical response ratings evaluated the leader's attitude by experience level. The survey found that respondents had negative attitudes toward cap and trade. The respondents had a positive attitude toward traditional regulatory methods such as command and control. Lastly, the results concluded that environmental experience did not have an impact on the respondents' attitude toward cap and trade. Therefore, it can be concluded that the environmental leaders prefer traditional air pollution regulatory methods in comparison to alternatives such as cap and trade. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Technology 2012

Par Pond is a man-made 1120 ha cooling reservoir located on the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina. From 1972-1978 a detailed study on the status of the alligator in Par Pond was conducted by Tom Murphy (unpub. MS thesis Univ. of GA, 1977). Murphy estimated that approximately 110 alligators inhabited Par Pond with an adult (> 1.8 m) to juvenile (< 1.8 m) ratio of (1.8:1), an overall sex ratio of 3.2:1, and an average of only 2.3 nests/yr. The purpose of this study (1986-1989) was to determine the current population size and structure, determine how the population has changed in the last 15 years and to examine growth and survival of juvenile alligators. Data were collected by monthly night-time eyeshine counts aerial surveys, capturing animals, and locating and following the fate of nests. There was a strong positive correlation between water temperature and the number of alligators observed during eyeshine counts. Both eyeshine counts and aerial surveys were highest in spring and varied seasonally. A total of 184 different non-hatchling and 157 hatchling alligators were captured between May 1986 and November 1988. Population estimates and size distributions based on capture data indicate that over the last 15 years the population has increased from approximately 110 to 200 alligators, and the size distribution has shifted from one dominated by large adults to one that has a higher proportion of juveniles. The current sex ratio (2.6:1) is not significantly different from that reported by Murphy (1977, 3.2:1). However, the average number of nests/yr has increased from 2.3 to 4.0. Data on juvenile growth and survival show that the growth rate of hatchlings (32.9 cm/yr total length) is greater than that of animals age 1-3 (21.6 cm/yr total length) and survival of all ages is variable between years and between clutches. Results from this study indicate that from 1972-988 the population has increased ac an average exponential rate of 6 % per year. If conditions in Par Pond do not change, the population size should continue to increase.

No description available.

A century ago, two large American mastodon Mammut americanum specimens from coastal South Carolina were mounted for display at Amherst College. Their robust build, broad and pentalophodont third molars, and well-developed mandibular tusks were noted as unusual. Here, these specimens are redescribed; three additional mastodon mandibles from the same region of South Carolina are also described. Though collection information on these specimens is sparse, they appear to span >150 ka in the Middle to Late Pleistocene, and probably include the first report of Mammut from the earliest-Rancholabrean Ten Mile Hill Formation. Some “unusual” features — moderately to extremely broad third molars, longitudinally-wrinkled enamel, very robust mandibles, large mandibular tusks — are present in most or all specimens, and may characterize regional mastodons. Description of these mastodons provides a useful starting point for more-thorough evaluation of the species in the Southeastern United States.

Scale 1 inch = 125 ft. Sketch by Richard Britton with a handwritten date of September 13, 1979. Indicates location of loyalist troops and troops led by Sevier, Shelby, Williams, Campbell, McDowell, Winston, Chronicle, Cleveland, Lacey, and Hawthorne. / https://dc.etsu.edu/rare-maps/1123/thumbnail.jpg

Plant root system response to nutrient heterogeneity was tested in ten plant species of varying life form and successional status. All plants tested are native to the South Carolina coastal plain. Morphological responses of the root system (scale, precision and discrimination) and overall plant response (sensitivity) to increasing nutrient heterogeneity were tested. Ten individuals of each species were placed into four treatments which had varying nutrient distribution but the same overall nutrient addition. Plants were harvested when roots reached pot edge. I observed high variation in scale (mass and extent of a root system), precision (the ability to proliferate roots in nutrient patches) and sensitivity (growth benefits gained as nutrient heterogeneity increases; measured as total biomass). No significant discrimination responses were observed, although greatest mean root density occurred at intermediate fertility levels for all species. I tested the hypothesis that scale and precision would be negatively correlated, and I did not observe this relationship in these plant species. However, in herbaceous species scale and precision were positively correlated. Sensitivity was not closely related to precision indicating that proliferating roots in fertile patches does not always yield growth benefits in heterogeneous soils. Further, some sensitive species had very low precision suggesting that other characteristics lead to positive growth response in heterogeneous environments. Plasticity of root uptake rates and demography of roots are proposed as two other mechanisms which may play important roles in plant sensitivity responses. Scale was negatively correlated to sensitivity for herbaceous plants suggesting that plants that monopolize the most soil space are not able to gain benefits from nutrient patches within the soil matrix. There was no trend observed to suggest that plant life form was correlated with precision or sensitivity. However, scale was greater in herbs than in woody plants, possibly because the two life forms develop at different times. / Master of Science

After HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) is the deadliest single infectious agent worldwide; globally in 2013, 1.5 million people died of the disease. Although TB infection rates in the United States are low compared to that of other countries, TB still remains a threat to public health in the U.S., especially among immigrant populations. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the correlations between the independent variables of immigration status, years of residence, and race/ethnicity and the dependent variable of TB infection within South Carolina between 2006 and 2012. To examine these possible relationships, this quantitative study employed the ecological perspective theory and used secondary data from the Center for Disease Control's Online Tuberculosis Information System. The data were analyzed via linear regression and the findings indicated that the most statistically significant predictors of TB infection rates among the study population were immigration status and race/ethnicity. By analyzing the relationships between the study variables and population through relevant data analysis, this study provides public health professionals with additional resources to assist in designing effective TB interventions that have the highest likelihood of stemming the spread of TB. These factors also have the potential to illicit positive social change, not only within South Carolina but also on the national level by decreasing the incidence and prevalence of TB and allowing for the best use of resources to targeted populations most at risk for the disease.

Mottled ducks (Anas fulvigula) are endemic to Gulf Coastal United States and Mexico. Birds from Florida, Louisiana, and Texas were released in coastal South Carolina from 1975-1983, and banding data suggest an expanding South Carolina population. We radio-marked 116 females in August 2010-2011 in the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto (ACE) Rivers Basin and used radio telemetry to study habitat selection, searched for nests of non-radiomarked females, and conducted indicated breeding pair surveys of mottled ducks at various wetlands. Overall, radiomarked mottled duck females selected managed wetland impoundments, wetlands containing planted corn, and brackish wetlands. Overall nest success of 42 nests of unmarked females was 19%. Modeling results indicated that the area of an island on which a nest was located was the only variable influencing nest success. Indicated breeding pair surveys revealed that the size of the wetland was the primary influence of breeding mottled duck immigration into a wetland.

No description available.