Digital Commons Network^™

Motive Through Automotive Compassionately Criticizing The Desires Of Car Culture, Erika R. Lehrmann

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

My artwork represents my admiration and criticisms of car culture I have gathered throughout my personal experiences beginning at a very early age. The work exists in the form of drawings, paintings, prints, collage and sculpture. This work is created through the elements of personal narrative, desires, obsessions, and questions surrounding car culture and its influences. My intention to refurbish the icons of this culture has involved creating work that is both obsessive and critical for personal exploration and understanding of past memories.

An Application Of M-Matrices To Preserve Bounded Positive Solutions To The Evolution Equations Of Biofilm Models, Richard S. Landry Jr.

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In this work, we design a linear, two step implicit finite difference method to approximate the solutions of a biological system that describes the interaction between a microbial colony and a surrounding substrate. Three separate models are analyzed, all of which can be described as systems of partial differential equations (PDE)s with nonlinear diffusion and reaction, where the biological colony grows and decays based on the substrate bioavailability. The systems under investigation are all complex models describing the dynamics of biological films. In view of the difficulties to calculate analytical solutions of the models, we design here a numerical technique …

Underwater Acoustic Signal Analysis Toolkit, Kirk Bienvenu Jr

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This project started early in the summer of 2016 when it became evident there was a need for an effective and efficient signal analysis toolkit for the Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center Gulf Ecological Monitoring and Modeling (LADC-GEMM) Research Consortium. LADC-GEMM collected underwater acoustic data in the northern Gulf of Mexico during the summer of 2015 using Environmental Acoustic Recording Systems (EARS) buoys. Much of the visualization of data was handled through short scripts and executed through terminal commands, each time requiring the data to be loaded into memory and parameters to be fed through arguments. The vision was to develop …

Late Bloomer, Allyson M. Nobles

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Examining The Lived Experiences Of Undergraduate Transgender Students At Four Year Institutions In The South, Christy E. Heaton

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, narrative study examined the lived experiences of transgender students at four-year institutions in the South. The college transition process and academic and social integration for transgender students was explored through the frameworks of Transition Theory (Schlossberg, 1995), Minority Stress Theory (Meyer, 1995; Breslow, Brewster, Velez, Wong, Geiger, & Soderstrom, 2015), and Academic and Social Integration theories (Tinto, 1975; Braxton, Hirschy, & McClendon, 2004). College climates can be challenging for transgender students, especially when campus staff and faculty are not prepared and/or aware of transgender students’ needs (Pryor, 2015). How students perceive their academic and social integration as well …

Investigation Of 2195 And 2219 Post Weld Heat Treatments For Additive Friction Stir Lap Welds, Matthew Champagne

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

To evaluate potential uses for friction stir welding in additive manufacturing, two separate parts were fabricated, one of 2195-T84 and the other 2219-T87, utilizing fixed pin techniques and additive lap welds. The parts were cut into samples, artificially aged and subjected to Rockwell hardness (HRB), Vickers hardness, micrographic photography, and metallographic imaging on both pre- and post- heat treatment. Additionally, tensile testing was performed on the heat-treated samples. A comparisons of test results showed a minimal increase in the yield strength of the 2195-T84 samples compared to as-welded tensile results obtained from a previous project. The ultimate tensile strength was …

The Horse's Ass: A Survey Of Comediology, William M. Fisk

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

What is comedy? Can someone learn to be funny? Are there rules or guidelines for the production of laughter, the universal language? This paper, which outlines an investigation of successful comedians and the production of a short film, determines to aggregate as many of the relevant prerequisites of inducing giggles as possible, especially as they relate to the audiovisual medium of cinema.

A Narrative Case Study Examining The Influences Of Peer-Led Team Learning On Student Critical Thinking Skill Acquisition And Deeper Process Content Knowledge In A Midsize Texas University Humanities And Social Sciences Program, Daniel E. Pratt

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation will examine the efficacy of peer-led team learning (PLTL) in a humanities and social sciences program, at a midsize Texas university. It will be conducted exclusively within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), and the academic subjects to be evaluated include English, history, and philosophy. Its primary function is to disclose whether or not PLTL facilitates in student participants improvement in critical thinking skill acquisition and deeper process content knowledge. Of primary interest in this qualitative, narrative case study is deducing how breakout sessions – supplementary meetings led by student participants, in the absence of instructors, …

Stay Woke, Langston A. Williams

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the pages of my thesis, I comprehensively analyze the processes, intentions, and production of my thesis film Stay Woke. My examination will exhaustively probe every stage of the film from development to preproduction to production to postproduction and beyond. Individual aspects of this process including writing, casting, locations, production design, cinematography, directing, budgeting, scheduling, and postproduction workflows will be detailed. As I make elaborations in each section, I will explain my learning experiences from each day’s new tasks, challenges, and lessons. All of these things will be framed with regards to the overall goal and themes of the …

Hydrodynamic Controls On The Morphodynamic Evolution Of Subaqueous Landforms, Timothy L. Nelson

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The southern Chandeleur Islands are an ideal setting to study shoal evolution given their history of submergence and re-emergence. Here, numerical models shed light on the attendant processes contributing to shoal recovery/reemergence following a destructive storm event. Simulations of a synthetic winter storm along a cross-shore profile using Xbeach shows that convergence of wave-induced sediment transport associated with repeated passage of cold-fronts initiates aggradation, but does not lead to reemergence. A Delft3d model of the entire island chain shows that as these landforms aggrade alongshore processes driven by incident wave refraction on the shoal platform, backbarrier circulation and resulting transport …

Stasi Brainwashing In The Gdr 1957 - 1990, Jacob H. Solbrig, Jacob Hagen Solbrig

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the methods used by the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), more commonly known as the Stasi, or East German secret police, for extraction of information from citizens of the German Democratic Republic for the purpose of espionage and covert operations inside East Germany, as it pertains to the deliberate brainwashing of East German citizens. As one of the most efficient intelligence agencies to ever exist, the Stasi’s main purpose was to monitor the population, gather intelligence, and collect or turn informants. They used brainwashing techniques to control the people of the GDR, keeping the populace paralyzed with fear …

Three-Dimensional Nanomaterials For Supercapacitor Applications: From Metal Oxides To Metal Phosphides, Zhi Zheng

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Over the past few years, energy storage devices have received tremendous interest due to the increasing demand for sustainable and renewable energy in modern society. Supercapacitors are considered as one of the most promising energy storage devices because of their high power density and long cycle life. However, low energy density remains as the main shortcoming for supercapacitors. The overall performance of supercapacitors is predominantly determined by the characteristics of the electrodes. Specifically, constructing nanostructured electrode material has been proven as an efficient way to improve the performance by providing large surface area and short ionic and electronic diffusion paths. …

A Qualitative Study To Explore Clinical Supervisors' Perceptions Of How Personal Recovery Influences Their Supervision, Adrianne Trogden

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Substance abuse counseling has many counselors and supervisors who are in recovery from a personal history of substance abuse. Approximately 37% of supervisors in the substance abuse field reported being in personal recovery (Eby, Burke, & Birkelbach, 2009). Little is known about how a clinical supervisor’s personal recovery influences his or her clinical supervision. The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to investigate the perceived lived experiences of clinical supervisors’ in recovery during the clinical supervision of substance abuse counselors working towards a license or credential in Louisiana. A qualitative phenomenological methodology, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to …

The Political Determinants Of Refugee Status Recognition, Elizabeth Monika Juhasz

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

What explains the variations in refugee status granting among states? How is refugee status determined? The purpose of the study is to analyze if politics affect refugee status granting to asylum-seekers. Despite the political implications revolving around refugee issues, forced migration studies are still a neglected topic in international relations research. However, scholarly works that focus on forced migration often overlook broad political themes, and do not thoroughly examine how politics affect refugee status rates across countries. This dissertation examines state responses to forced migration. It quantitatively investigates the research questions across countries between 2000 and 2013. It argues state …

Design, Manufacture, And Structural Dynamic Analysis Of A Biomimetic Insect-Sized Wing For Micro Air Vehicles, Jose Enrique Rubio

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The exceptional flying characteristics of airborne insects motivates the design of biomimetic wing structures that can exhibit a similar structural dynamic behavior. For this purpose, this investigation describes a method for both manufacturing a biomimetic insect-sized wing using the photolithography technique and analyzing its structural dynamic response. The geometry of a crane fly forewing (family Tipulidae) is acquired using a micro-computed tomography scanner. A computer-aided design model is generated from the measurements of the reconstructed scanned model of the insect wing to design the photomasks of the membrane and the venation network required for the photolithography procedure. A composite …

Found Missing: Fugitive Slaves, Jailer Ads, And Surveillance In Antebellum New Orleans, Tara L. Garbutt

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores fugitive slave advertisements from the pages of the New Orleans Argus in 1828. As the main repository for runaway slave advertisements in New Orleans at the time, the Argus played a critical role in policing and surveillance of the city’s enslaved population just as New Orleans was becoming the largest slave market in the South. Using the Argus as well as historians’ accounts of the city, this thesis argues that as the market in enslaved people grew, slave owners depended upon local jailers in tandem with papers like the Argus, to police the enslaved population. The large …

People Like Ourselves, Harper D. Hair

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The thesis writing here is an effort by the artist to identify his motives in creating, and his aims for the audience, and to communicate this to the reader in a clear and truthful manner. Section 1 focuses on introducing the ground of the artists’ thinking, discussing his ideas of the body and culture identity, and how they motivate his work. Section 2 goes into greater detail about the manner his thought process evolved through the course of a number of works. In Section 3, there is an ever sharper focus in the works towards the isolated and inscrutable individual. …

A River Separates Them, A Culture Connects Them: The Mohawk Hunters Of Algiers And The Mardi Gras Indian Tradition In New Orleans, Monisha S. Jackson

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

All over the world, Carnival is a time for a break in human activities, and inversion of the usual hierarchies. In New Orleans, Carnival is a time when the powerless take over the streets, and, for a time, invert control and ownership. One of the New Orleans carnival organizations are the Mardi Gras Indians, groups of African Americans who dress as Indians during the day and take over the streets of their neighborhoods, showing their power and beauty in a breathtaking display of costumes, music and dance. The Masking of the Mardi Gras Indian is a tradition dating back to …

Automated Species Classification Methods For Passive Acoustic Monitoring Of Beaked Whales, John Lebien

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center has collected passive acoustic monitoring data in the northern Gulf of Mexico since 2001. Recordings were made in 2007 near the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that provide a baseline for an extensive study of regional marine mammal populations in response to the disaster. Animal density estimates can be derived from detections of echolocation signals in the acoustic data. Beaked whales are of particular interest as they remain one of the least understood groups of marine mammals, and relatively few abundance estimates exist. Efficient methods for classifying detected echolocation transients are essential for mining long-term passive …

Frameworks Of Recovery: Exploring The Intersection Of Policy & Decision-Making Processes After Hurricane Katrina, Kim Mosby

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to understand how local and national newspaper articles and African American residents frame obstacles to returning to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. It explores how recovery planning processes and policy changes influenced the decision-making processes of African Americans displaced to Houston through a content analysis of the media and qualitative interviews with displaced and returned residents. The study shows the media and participants framed disaster recovery policies as creating opportunities and gaps in assistance that varied by location. Participants described how policy decisions that created gaps in assistance compounded the difficulty of returning for working- and middle-class …

Effect Of Cell Wall Destruction On Anaerobic Digestion Of Algal Biomass, Jessica R. Simpson

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Research was conducted using algal biomass obtained from the surface of a secondary clarifier at Bridge City Wastewater Treatment Plant and subsequently sent through an electrochemical (EC) batch reactor at various concentrations. The first objective was to achieve maximum cell wall destruction electrochemically using the EC batch reactor and determine the optimal detention time and voltage/current relationship at which this occurred. The second objective was to subject two algal mediums to anaerobic digestion: the algal medium without electrochemical disinfection and the algal medium after disinfection. Every three days, for 12 days, total solids were measured from each apparatus to determine …

Teaching Organizational Leaders: Application Of Title Vii Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964 To Hiring Practices And Harassment Prevention In New Orleans, Angela Glaviano

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Parameter Estimation Technique For Models In Pss/E Using Real-Time Data And Automation, Malavika Vasudevan Menon

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to use automation to create appropriate models in PSS/E with the data from Hardware-in-Loop real-time simulations. With the increase in technology of power electronics, the use of High Voltage Direct Current Technology and Flexible Alternating Current Transmission System devices in the electrical power system have increased tremendously. Static Var Compensators are widely used and it is important to have accurate and reliable models for studies relating to power systems planning and interaction. An automation method is proposed to find the parameters of an SVC model in PSS/E with the data from the Hardware-in- loop …

Angel, Cole Connelly

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Though a new player in town, Amy isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. When she discovers a ruthless sadist named Angel is operating in her new home, Amy makes it her goal to stop Angel. Though Amy quickly finds her sense of justice is putting her at odds with her own survival when Angel takes her own interest in Amy.

Still Figuring This Out: A Symphony For Orchestra, Latasha Bundy

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

N/A

Fabrication And Characterization Of Intricate Nanostructures, Treva T. Brown

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Encapsulation of nanoparticles within hexaniobate nanoscrolls presents interesting advances in the formation of nanocomposites exhibiting unique multi-dimensional properties. Building upon previous successes, facile yet versatile wet-chemical and microwave-irradiation synthetic protocols for the fabrication of a series of hexaniobate composites are presented herein. Solvothermal and, more recently, microwave-assisted methods have been developed that allow for the fabrication of peapod-like structures. During solvothermal treatment, exfoliated hexaniobate nanosheets scroll around highly ordered chains of preformed nanoparticles (NPs) to produce nanopeapods (NPPs). This approach offers versatility and high yields, in addition to the potential for advanced functional device fabrication.

For the characterization of these …

Conflict, Constraint, And The Evolution Of The Multivariate Performance Phenotype, Ann M. Cespedes Phd

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Performance is key to survival. From day-to-day foraging events, to reproductive activities, to life-or-death crises, how well an organism performs these tasks can determine success or failure. Selection, therefore, both natural and sexual, act upon performance, and performance demands on individuals shape a population’s morphological and physiological trait distributions. While studies of morphological adaptations to ecological pressures implicitly center on the idea that responses to selection improve performance via changes in morphology, the relationships between morphology, performance, and fitness are not always well understood. In this dissertation, I investigate these relationships explicitly, as well as determine the effects that different …

Play Dead, Ann Hackett

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Possible Breakdown Of Dopamine Receptor Synergism In A Mouse Model Of Huntington's Disease, Samantha F. Kennedy

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The model of basal ganglia function proposed by Albin, Young and Penney (1989) describes two anatomically independent motor pathways, the direct and indirect. However, under normal conditions striatal dopamine (DA) is required for the expression of motor behavior, and DAergic control of the two pathways (via D1 and D2 receptors, respectively) is dependent on co-activation. We tested for a possible breakdown of D1/D2 synergism using transgenic R6/1 mice bearing the human huntingtin allele (Htt). Motor stereotypy, observed prior to the onset of HD-related symptoms, was rated on a 5-point scale following activation of: A) D1 receptors alone, B) D2 receptors …

Meno And Euphrates Elementary: Episodes 1 & 2, Thad F. Lee

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.