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A Cyclical Phenomenon Among Stock & Commodity Markets, Hector O. Zapata, Junior E. Betanco, Maria Bampasidou, Michael Deliberto Jul 2023

A Cyclical Phenomenon Among Stock & Commodity Markets, Hector O. Zapata, Junior E. Betanco, Maria Bampasidou, Michael Deliberto

Faculty Publications

Considerable studies have examined the relationship between commodity markets and stock markets. This paper studies the cyclical relationship between commodity markets and stock markets with implications for investing based on index relationships. Stock markets are represented by the U.S. S&P 500 index and aggregate commodity markets by the U.S. producer price index (PPI). Tradeable market indexes readily available to investors, namely the S&P GSCI Index and the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM), are also studied. An optimal bandpass filter is used to estimate the cyclical component using a pricing-performance measure of the S&P 500 relative to the PPI, based on annual …


Variability Of Grower Net Returns With Crop Enterprise Selections Over Risk, James Mccann Nov 2021

Variability Of Grower Net Returns With Crop Enterprise Selections Over Risk, James Mccann

LSU Master's Theses

A grower’s crop enterprise selection plays a substantial role in determining the operational profitability in areas that are capable of growing diverse crops, such as the northern and central regions of Louisiana. Each crop enterprise selection is subject to variation in risk as market conditions, weather, and production costs can all be critical factors that could potentially impact the level of per-acre net returns to the grower. Variations or volatility in one or more of these risk categories can result in growers electing to plant alternative enterprises on their farms. Simulation modeling allows farm managers the ability to calculate mean …


Examining Political Ambition: Competition And Leadership In Youth Activities, Ashley Staszak Mar 2020

Examining Political Ambition: Competition And Leadership In Youth Activities, Ashley Staszak

LSU Master's Theses

Significant amounts of previous research focused on political ambition as a source of the gender gap in representation (Beyer and Bowden 1997; Pajares 2002; Fox 2010; Fox and Lawless 2014). This research looks to examine extracurricular activities (or after-school activities) and the effects they have on political ambition of girls as they grow up. Extracurricular activities provide girls access to competition, risk and female role models which can work to combat gender role socialization and other hindrances to running for political office. Using a survey of 300 undergraduate students at a large southern university, I measure the effect of extracurricular …


Sustainability-Based Long-Term Management Of Bridges Under Multi-Hazard Exposure, Mohamed Soliman Nov 2018

Sustainability-Based Long-Term Management Of Bridges Under Multi-Hazard Exposure, Mohamed Soliman

Publications

Bridges are under deterioration due to various mechanical and environmental stressors. Hydraulic-related hazards (e.g., flood and scour), aggressive environmental conditions, and seismic events (e.g., earthquake) are recognized as the most significant threats to the safety of bridges. In traditional risk assessment methods for structures susceptible to damage due to floods and other natural hazards (e.g., corrosion and seismic events), future hazard predictions are conducted using historic return periods and climate records. However, recent increase in flood intensity in central-southern states indicate that future hazard occurrence rate may not necessarily follow past trends. Accordingly, current design, assessment, and management methodologies should …


Risk Assessment Of Fall Armyworm Resistance To Transgenic Corn Containing Single Or Pyramided Bacillus Thuringiensis Genes, Ying Niu Jun 2018

Risk Assessment Of Fall Armyworm Resistance To Transgenic Corn Containing Single Or Pyramided Bacillus Thuringiensis Genes, Ying Niu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), is a target pest of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops in North and South America. However, after more than two decades of the intense use of Bt crop technology, S. frugiperda has developed resistance to Bt corn in several countries. The objectives of this study were: 1) to characterize the inheritance and fitness costs of Cry1A.105 resistance in S. frugiperda; 2) to evaluate larval survival and plant injury of Cry1A.105-susceptibile, -resistant, and -heterozygous S. frugiperda populations on transgenic corn plants containing single or pyramided Bt genes; 3) to estimate the frequency of Cry2Ab2 …


A Comparison Of Pass Rates Across Three Language Screeners For Spanish-English Bilingual Children, Mariajose Bosanko Oct 2017

A Comparison Of Pass Rates Across Three Language Screeners For Spanish-English Bilingual Children, Mariajose Bosanko

LSU Master's Theses

There is limited research regarding the efficacy of the language screening process, especially for bilingual populations. The purpose of this study was to examine the pass rates of three language screeners when administered to Spanish-English bilingual and ELL children. A total of ten Spanish-English bilingual children enrolled in either Pre-K, kindergarten, or first grade completed each screener. The screeners were: the Preschool Language Scales Spanish Screening Test-Fifth Edition (PLSSST-5; Zimmerman et al., 2012a), the Bilingual English Spanish Oral Screener (BESOS; currently in development; Lugo-Neris et al., n.d.), and the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation-Screening Test (DELV-S; Seymour et al., 2003). …


The Double Abcx Model, Family Stress Theory, Risk, Protection, And Resilience In The Movie “Precious”, Cassandra Chaney Phd Jan 2017

The Double Abcx Model, Family Stress Theory, Risk, Protection, And Resilience In The Movie “Precious”, Cassandra Chaney Phd

Faculty Publications

The critically acclaimed movie Precious [1] highlights the multiple stressors and crises experienced by an abused Black teen female living in poverty. Given its introduction to the screen, scholars have yet to make critical connections between the family dynamics portrayed in this movie and a particular family theory. The purpose of this paper is to help scholars who teach family stress courses apply the experiences of this young woman and her family to McCubbin and Patterson’s [2] Double ABCX Model. Furthermore, this paper will examine the risk factors, the protective factors, and the resilience demonstrated by the movie’s protagonist, Claireece …


A Review Of Radiotherapy-Induced Late Effects Research After Advanced Technology Treatments, Wayne D. Newhauser, Amy Berrington De Gonzalez, Reinhard Schulte, Choonsik Lee Jan 2016

A Review Of Radiotherapy-Induced Late Effects Research After Advanced Technology Treatments, Wayne D. Newhauser, Amy Berrington De Gonzalez, Reinhard Schulte, Choonsik Lee

Faculty Publications

The number of incident cancers and long-term cancer survivors is expected to increase substantially for at least a decade. Advanced technology radiotherapies, e.g., using beams of protons and photons, offer dosimetric advantages that theoretically yield better outcomes. In general, evidence from controlled clinical trials and epidemiology studies are lacking. To conduct these studies, new research methods and infrastructure will be needed. In the paper, we review several key research methods of relevance to late effects after advanced technology proton-beam and photon-beam radiotherapies. In particular, we focus on the determination of exposures to therapeutic and stray radiation and related uncertainties, with …


Visualization Of Risk Of Radiogenic Second Cancer In The Organs And Tissues Of The Human Body, Rui Zhang, Dragan Mirkovic, Wayne D. Newhauser Apr 2015

Visualization Of Risk Of Radiogenic Second Cancer In The Organs And Tissues Of The Human Body, Rui Zhang, Dragan Mirkovic, Wayne D. Newhauser

Faculty Publications

Background: Radiogenic second cancer is a common late effect in long term cancer survivors. Currently there are few methods or tools available to visually evaluate the spatial distribution of risks of radiogenic late effects in the human body. We developed a risk visualization method and demonstrated it for radiogenic second cancers in tissues and organs of one patient treated with photon volumetric modulated arc therapy and one patient treated with proton craniospinal irradiation. Methods: Treatment plans were generated using radiotherapy treatment planning systems (TPS) and dose information was obtained from TPS. Linear non-threshold risk coefficients for organs at risk of …


Visualization Of Risk Of Radiogenic Second Cancer In The Organs And Tissues Of The Human Body, Rui Zhang, Dragan Mirkovic, Wayne D. Newhauser Apr 2015

Visualization Of Risk Of Radiogenic Second Cancer In The Organs And Tissues Of The Human Body, Rui Zhang, Dragan Mirkovic, Wayne D. Newhauser

Faculty Publications

Background: Radiogenic second cancer is a common late effect in long term cancer survivors. Currently there are few methods or tools available to visually evaluate the spatial distribution of risks of radiogenic late effects in the human body. We developed a risk visualization method and demonstrated it for radiogenic second cancers in tissues and organs of one patient treated with photon volumetric modulated arc therapy and one patient treated with proton craniospinal irradiation. Methods: Treatment plans were generated using radiotherapy treatment planning systems (TPS) and dose information was obtained from TPS. Linear non-threshold risk coefficients for organs at risk of …


The Use Of Geographic Information Systems And Ecological Niche Modeling To Map Transmission Risk For Visceral Leishmaniasis In Bahia, Brazil, Moara De Santana Martins Jan 2015

The Use Of Geographic Information Systems And Ecological Niche Modeling To Map Transmission Risk For Visceral Leishmaniasis In Bahia, Brazil, Moara De Santana Martins

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Leishmaniasis is a public health problem in Brazil, and despite the control programs in place, Bahia remains one of the states with the highest incidence rates of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL). This study proposed to develop and evaluate the applicability of ecological niche models (ENM) for leishmaniasis, to determine the influence of environmental and socioeconomic factors on the incidence of these diseases at three geographic scales: national, statewide and community. Water availability, garbage collection, precipitation and temperature were the most important variables in predicting areas suitable for VL and CL in the country. The extensive geography of …


Social Connectedness Deficits In College Students With Schizotypy, Laura Brown Jan 2013

Social Connectedness Deficits In College Students With Schizotypy, Laura Brown

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Schizophrenia is a devastating disorder characterized by a variety of bizarre behaviors as well as deficits in neurocognition, social cognition, and functioning. This study focuses on individuals with schizotypy—those with the purported genetic liability for schizophrenia that do not display the full disorder. Prior research has identified potential risk factors for schizophrenia by studying this population, including deficits in social cognition. Studies of social cognition in individuals with schizotypy, however, have yielded inconsistent findings that have failed to fully explain the range of functional deficits seen in these individuals. Social connectedness, in contrast, may be a more useful risk factor …


S12rs Sgr No. 5 (Traffic Lights), Pace Apr 2012

S12rs Sgr No. 5 (Traffic Lights), Pace

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

No abstract provided.


Economic Assessment Of Rapid Land-Building Technologies For Coastal Restoration, Hua Wang Jan 2012

Economic Assessment Of Rapid Land-Building Technologies For Coastal Restoration, Hua Wang

LSU Master's Theses

In the wake of recent hurricanes, coastal managers in Louisiana have begun integrating infrastructure protection and habitat restoration. Concurrent with this change, emphasis has been placed on marsh creation (MC) techniques that rely on mechanical dredges and sediment conveyance pipelines to rapidly build new land. The costs and benefits of this approach are increasingly compared to more natural and slower methods using fresh water diversions (FWD), yet such comparisons are not typically inclusive of time and risk considerations. Data for more than 300 coastal wetland restoration projects were evaluated for the statistical development of generic acreage trajectories and restoration cost …


Three Essays On Technology Adoption And The Roles Of Off-Farm Labor, Human Capital, And Risk In Contemporary Us Agriculture, Hiroki Uematsu Jan 2012

Three Essays On Technology Adoption And The Roles Of Off-Farm Labor, Human Capital, And Risk In Contemporary Us Agriculture, Hiroki Uematsu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Agriculture can be defined as the domestication and farming of plant and animal species to produce food and fiber products. Our society is fundamentally dependent on agriculture as it is the primary source of nutrients essential to human activities. Historically, the introduction of agriculture and technological development thereafter drastically changed the way human civilization has evolved into what it is today. New technologies allow farmers to produce more outputs with fewer inputs. Saved resources from agricultural production, such as land, labor and time, were used elsewhere to produce other goods and services that enrich the quality of our life. The …


S10rs Sgr No. 7 (Snow Days), Wale Apr 2010

S10rs Sgr No. 7 (Snow Days), Wale

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

No abstract provided.


Incentives, Risk, And The Role Of Private Investments In Louisiana Coastal Wetland Restoration, Cheikhna Ould Dedah Jan 2010

Incentives, Risk, And The Role Of Private Investments In Louisiana Coastal Wetland Restoration, Cheikhna Ould Dedah

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The coast of Louisiana, with more than three million wetland acres, accounts for about 40 percent of the nation’s total wetlands. Louisiana is estimated to have lost more than 1.2 million acres of its coastal wetland in the last century. Although 75% of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands are privately owned, little has been done to encourage private landowners to undertake wetland restoration projects. This dissertation examines the factors that influence the decisions of the landowners to undertake wetland restoration projects. We develop a theoretical framework for understanding the landowner’s decision-making process in the presence of high uncertainty and increasing restoration costs. …


Integration Of Paleotempestology With Coastal Risk And Vulnerability Assessment: Case Studies From The Dominican Republic And Nicaragua, Devyani Kar Jan 2010

Integration Of Paleotempestology With Coastal Risk And Vulnerability Assessment: Case Studies From The Dominican Republic And Nicaragua, Devyani Kar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Hurricanes account for a significant portion of damages, injuries, and fatalities in the Caribbean. The Dominican Republic has had 3 major hurricane strikes in this century resulting in loss of lives for thousands of people and billions of US $ in economic loss. Major hurricanes had been relatively infrequent in north-eastern Nicaragua’s modern history until Hurricane Felix, a Category 5 storm, made landfall in the north-east in 2007. It caused 130 confirmed deaths and brought devastation to many villages. These events highlight a need for re-evaluation of hurricane risk based on a more comprehensive and long-term hurricane history. Using paleotempestological …


Stochastic Trends In Crop Yield Density Estimation, David I. Maradiaga Jan 2010

Stochastic Trends In Crop Yield Density Estimation, David I. Maradiaga

LSU Master's Theses

The search for improved methods of estimating crop yield density functions has been a theme of recurrent research interest in agricultural economics. Crop yield density functions are the statistical instrument that generates probability estimates of yield risk, and risk is an important decision variable in production agriculture. Recent research in crop yield density estimation suggests that yield probability estimates can be sensitive to the way yield data are filtered, and if true, then the search for an “adequate filter” is warranted. Such a quest is pursued in this study. It is proposed that unit-root tests can be used to identify …


A Decision Making Framework For Hurricane Evacuation And Sheltering, Jason Fennell Jan 2009

A Decision Making Framework For Hurricane Evacuation And Sheltering, Jason Fennell

LSU Master's Theses

There are few tools currently available to emergency managers to assist in making decisions about whether to evacuate, shelter locally, or shelter-in-place, and none of these tools explicitly consider risk to life safety. A methodology was developed to provide risk-based guidance for evacuation versus sheltering decision making. The hurricane hazards considered in the developed methodology are high winds, storm surge flooding and waves, and rainfall flooding. Vulnerability of buildings to these hazards and the associated risks to life safety are then determined. These results are compared to the hazards and risks associated with evacuation, particularly for medical special needs populations …


Delineating Hurricane Vulnerable Populations In Orleans Parish, Louisiana, Stephanie Pedro Jan 2006

Delineating Hurricane Vulnerable Populations In Orleans Parish, Louisiana, Stephanie Pedro

LSU Master's Theses

Since settlement first began, equality issues between different social classes have been evident in the location of where residents settled in New Orleans. This research seeks to answer the question: What socioeconomic indicators are prevalent in the areas most-at-risk to flooding which could inhabit populations least able to evacuate? I will use Census 2000 block group data from the socioeconomic sample data (SF3) collected in 2000, along with other economic and GIS data from the New Orleans region to statistically represent the distribution of risk by selecting indicators predicted to be in flood zones from a classification tree analysis. Then, …


Factors Affecting The Selection Of Business Arrangements By Hog Producers In The United States, Christopher Gazzara Davis Jan 2002

Factors Affecting The Selection Of Business Arrangements By Hog Producers In The United States, Christopher Gazzara Davis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The structure of the U.S. hog industry is changing rapidly. U.S. hog farms have become smaller in number, larger in size and more specialized. This study examines the factors that influence the hog producer's choice among business arrangements offered in the U.S. hog industry. A national survey was mailed to 4,986 hog producers to determine these factors. The survey consisted of questions covering topics such as: production characteristics, autonomy, transaction costs, risk, social relationships, and demographics. A response rate of 21% was received from the mailed surveys. Four alternative business arrangements were used: independent production, cooperative farming, flat-fee contract, and …