Digital Commons Network^™

Human-Environment Interactions In Coastal Belize: Insights Into Sea-Level Rise And Ancient Maya Activities At The Paynes Creek Salt Works, Cheryl Mae Foster

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Dissertation excavations were carried out in 2019 and 2022 at the underwater sites of Ta’ab Nuk Na and Ek Way Nal in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize. Sea-level rise submerged the sites in antiquity and preserved the artifact record in red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) peat. Red mangrove peat can be used as a proxy for sea-level rise. The goals of the two excavations included: 1) excavating a 14m-long transect within and extending beyond building J at Ta’ab Nuk Na to determine the function of the building, 2) investigating the production of salt making pottery at Ta’ab Nuk Na; …

Building The Church Of San Vitale In Ravenna, Italy, Sally S. Morgan

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis uses the evidence concerning the design and building of the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna to reconstruct, as far as it is possible, the sequence of decisions, activities, and methods that led to the construction of the church, made of bricks and mortar, and whose interiors are covered by glorious colored mosaics and marbles. The historiography on the Church of San Vitale begins with the historian Agnellus, who wrote the Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis in the 830s to 840s. According to Agnellus and other sources, the Church of San Vitale was founded by Bishop Ecclesius around 525, …

Spatial Behavior Of Hospital Visits By Hand, Foot, And Mouth Disease Patients In Nanchang, China, Zeliu Zheng

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Hand foot mouth disease (HFMD) is one of the widespread transmissible diseases that target preschool children, especially in urban regions in East Asia. Understanding the travel patterns of the HFMD patients helps us understand how the spatial behaviors of patients vary across space and what are the underlying forces. It is essential for understanding the healthcare market and planning for resource allocation. Foremost, health behavior and outcome change significantly across geographic regions of various urbanicities (i.e., degrees of urbanization) due to the uneven distribution of healthcare resource. In addition, health studies in the U.S. often use hospital service areas (HSAs) …

Geospatial Analysis Of Historical Tropical Cyclone Intensity And Rainfall In Georgia, United States, Reilly T. Corkran

LSU Master's Theses

Tropical cyclones, characterized by their high wind speeds and heavy rainfall, cause widespread devastation, affecting millions of people and leading to economic losses worldwide. Tropical cyclone-specific research in Georgia is scarce, likely due to the coast’s minimal geographical extent and the relative infrequency of direct landfalls. Research on Georgia tropical cyclones does not account for storms that make landfall in Florida and continue north, northeast, or northwest. In 2018, Hurricane Michael generated $4.7 billion in property, agriculture, and forestry damages across southwest Georgia as a Category 3 hurricane. With an increasing population, property development, and agriculture sector sensitive to tropical …

17O-Excess In Tropical Cyclones Reflects Local Rain Re-Evaporation More Than Moisture Source Conditions, Chijun Sun, Timothy Shanahan, Shaoneng He, Adriana Bailey, Jesse Nusbaumer, Jun Hu, Aubrey Hillman, Erika Ornouski, Jacob Warner, Kristine Delong

Faculty Publications

17O-excess is a relatively new water isotope parameter that could potentially provide useful information about the hydrological cycle. Previous works focusing on 17O-excess in polar regions suggest that it primarily tracks moisture source relative humidity, but little is known about how to interpret 17O-excess data in lower latitudes. Here we present quasi-hourly triple oxygen isotope data of precipitation collected from two tropical cyclones in Texas and Louisiana in 2020 to understand the impacts of environmental and meteorological processes on the 17O-excess of low-to mid-latitude precipitation. We find that at both hourly timescales and the event scale, 17O-excess is strongly correlated …

You’Re Looking Very Shane Today: Rhetorical Field Methods & The Materiality Of Queer Mediated Representation For Sapphic Women, Ariel L. Kizer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

When marginalized communities are left without real-life mentors, they often turn to media as a guide. In this project I assert that mediated sapphic woman characters impact the identity development and everyday experiences for sapphic women in material ways. I explore what mediated narratives sapphic women consume and analyze how these messages become symbolic rhetorical tools that queer women rhetorically mobilize to narrativize and negotiate their queer identities. To achieve this goal, I utilized rhetorical field methods by interviewing 20 queer women ranging from the ages of 25-40 in dyadic, semi structured interviews. These women use varying terms to label …

Pal-Bert: An Improved Question Answering Model, Wenfeng Zheng, Siyu Lu, Zhuohang Cai, Ruiyang Wang, Lei Wang, Lirong Yin

Faculty Publications

In the field of natural language processing (NLP), there have been various pre-training language models in recent years, with question answering systems gaining significant attention. However, as algorithms, data, and computing power advance, the issue of increasingly larger models and a growing number of parameters has surfaced. Consequently, model training has become more costly and less efficient. To enhance the efficiency and accuracy of the training process while reducing the model volume, this paper proposes a first-order pruning model PAL-BERT based on the ALBERT model according to the characteristics of question-answering (QA) system and language model. Firstly, a first-order network …

Gendered Perceptions And Socio-Economic And Spatial Determinants Of Fear Of Crime: An Empirical Analysis In Szczecin, Poland, Natalia Sypion, Arkadiusz Kołodziej, Michael Leitner, Marek Dutkowski

Faculty Publications

The study of the fear of crime phenomenon provides a socially and politically important research question. Many studies show that gender differentiates the fear of crime, which is why we examine this phenomenon in a spatial perspective. The female versus male perspective of feelings of safety in residential areas were significantly different. The research was carried out using the CAWI technique in the city of Szczecin, in Poland (n=346). The research also examined which factors influenced the fear of crime the most: darkness, socio-economic characteristics, type of violations, number of registered crimes, or the assessment of police work. The research …

Geospatial Analytics Extension For Knime, Lingbo Liu, Xiaokang Fu, Tobias Kötter, Kevin Sturm, Carsten Haubold, Weihe Wendy Guan, Shuming Bao, Fahui Wang

Faculty Publications

The Geospatial Analytics Extension for KNIME (GAEK) is an innovative tool designed to integrate visual programming with geospatial analytics, streamlining GIS education and research in social sciences. GAEK simplifies access for users with an intuitive, visual interface for complex spatial analysis tasks and contributes to the organization of the GIS Knowledge Tree through its geospatial analytics nodes. This paper discusses GAEK's architecture, functionalities, and its transformative impact on GIS applications. While GAEK significantly enhances user experience and research reproducibility, future updates aim to expand its functionality and optimize its bundled environment.

Yiannis Constantinidis "Petite Suite" For Violin And Piano Transcribed For Cello Quarte: Synthesizing Foreign Inspirations And Greek Folk Melodies To Shape A Distinct National And Individual Genre., Eirini Triantafyllia Barouta

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This paper accompanies my transcription for Cello Quartet of Yiannis Constantinidis' "Petite Dodekanese Suite" originally composed for violin and piano. Constantinidis, skillfully weaves Greek folk-inspired elements with classical forms and techniques in his "Petite Suite for Violin and Piano." The chamber piece serves as a testament to Constantinidis' mastery, as it intricately melds folk melodies, rhythms, and modes from the rich musical traditions of Greece with classical structures. This fusion imparts a distinctly Greek character to the composition, evoking a profound sense of nostalgia and connecting the listener to the cultural heritage and spirit of the Greek people. The paper …

Death, Dreaming, And Diaspora: Achieving Orientation Through Afro-Spirituality, Liz Johnston, Jaime Elizabeth Johnston

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Enslavement, colonization, and the systems that uphold racial injustice were and still are a series of new, unfathomable, and challenging experiences that prompt individuals within the diaspora to seek orientation. How does a human cope with centuries of attempts at the systematic destruction of their humanity, culture, and identity? How can they reclaim that identity, especially when so much of it seems lost? I address these questions by utilizing texts from the expansive body of work regarding ethnographic-historical-religious studies on Afro-spiritual practices to better analyze instances in literature in the ongoing practice of diasporic orientation. In this project, I argue …

Fascism: A Reading List With Notes, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

Today, Fascism is on the rise around the world including, dismayingly, in the United States of America, threatening the rule of law, which is the basis of democracy. In the U. S. Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee for president, has declared himself the standard bearer for authoritarian rule. If he wins, it is likely the United States will cease to be a democracy. If democracy is to survive, it is essential that citizens understand fascism, how it comes into existence, and what it does once it has taken root is essential. That is the reason for this reading list.

Lsu General Catalog 2024-2025, Louisiana State University And Agricultural And Mechanical College

LSU General Catalog

The LSU General Catalog describes all undergraduate and graduate departments and programs with degree requirements and courses offered for each one. The LSU General Catalog includes information on registration and financial aid as well as academic services offered to all students.

An Examination Of Homo Naledi Early Juveniles Recovered From The Rising Star Cave System, South Africa, Juliet K. Brophy, Debra R. Bolter, Marina Elliott, John Hawks, Lee R. Berger

Faculty Publications

Background: Six Homo naledi early juveniles were recovered from U.W. 101 (Dinaledi Chamber), U.W. 102 (Lesedi Chamber), and U.W. 110 in the Rising Star cave system. Aim: This paper develops the information for the H. naledi early juvenile life stage, as defined by a combination of deciduous and permanent dentition, and the eruption of the first permanent molar. Subjects and methods: The growing number of young individuals recovered from the Rising Star cave system allows us to gain a better understanding of their variation, or lack thereof, and provides a basis to estimate broad ranges for age at death of …

Human–Environment Interactions At Ta’Ab Nuk Na, A Submerged Maya Salt Works Site In Belize, Cheryl M. Foster, Heather Mckillop, E. Cory Sills

Faculty Publications

Sea-level rise and settlement are investigated at Ta’ab Nuk Na, an ancient Maya salt works in Belize, by examining samples from wooden posts and marine sediment. The samples included Post 145 of Building B and the Nunavut beam, along with marine sediment columns cut from beside both wooden posts. The sediment columns were sampled at 2 cm intervals. Loss-on ignition confirmed the presence of organic material. Identifying the organic content involved removing nonorganic material from the sediment and sorting the organic material under magnification. This procedure established that most of the organic material was red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle). Red mangroves …

Flooded Mangrove Landscapes Hide Ancient Maya Coastal Sites In Belize, Heather I. Mckillop

Faculty Publications

Evidence of ancient Maya exploitation of salt, other marine resources, settlement, and sea trade is hidden in flooded mangrove landscapes on the cays, mainland, and in shallow offshore locations on the south coast of Belize. This article includes a discussion of the coastal economy from the Middle Preclassic through the Postclassic periods (600 B.C.–A.D. 1500). Data from sites discovered and excavated since 1982 in the coastal area of the Port Honduras and Paynes Creek National Park support a model of coastal reliance on marine resources and tree crops. The need for a regular supply of coastal salt to inland cities …

Dpal-Bert: A Faster And Lighter Question Answering Model, Lirong Yin, Lei Wang, Zhuohang Cai, Siyu Lu, Ruiyang Wang, Ahmed Alsanad, Salman A. Alqahtani, Xiaobing Chen, Zhengtong Yin, Xiaolu Li, Wenfeng Zheng

Faculty Publications

Recent advancements in natural language processing have given rise to numerous pre-training language models in question-answering systems. However, with the constant evolution of algorithms, data, and computing power, the increasing size and complexity of these models have led to increased training costs and reduced efficiency. This study aims to minimize the inference time of such models while maintaining computational performance. It also proposes a novel Distillation model for PAL-BERT (DPAL-BERT), specifically, employs knowledge distillation, using the PAL-BERT model as the teacher model to train two student models: DPAL-BERT-Bi and DPAL-BERT-C. This research enhances the dataset through techniques such as masking, …

Convolution-Transformer For Image Feature Extraction, Lirong Yin, Lei Wang, Siyu Lu, Ruiyang Wang, Youshuai Yang, Bo Yang, Shan Liu, Ahmed Alsanad, Salman A. Alqahtani, Zhengtong Yin, Xiaolu Li, Xiaobing Chen, Wenfeng Zheng

Faculty Publications

This study addresses the limitations of Transformer models in image feature extraction, particularly their lack of inductive bias for visual structures. Compared to Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), the Transformers are more sensitive to different hyperparameters of optimizers, which leads to a lack of stability and slow convergence. To tackle these challenges, we propose the Convolution-based Efficient Transformer Image Feature Extraction Network (CEFormer) as an enhancement of the Transformer architecture. Our model incorporates E-Attention, depthwise separable convolution, and dilated convolution to introduce crucial inductive biases, such as translation invariance, locality, and scale invariance, into the Transformer framework. Additionally, we implement a …

Afbnet: A Lightweight Adaptive Feature Fusion Module For Super-Resolution Algorithms, Lirong Yin, Lei Wang, Siyu Lu, Ruiyang Wang, Haitao Ren, Ahmed Alsanad, Salman A. Alqahtani, Zhengtong Yin, Xiaolu Li, Wenfeng Zheng

Faculty Publications

At present, super-resolution algorithms are employed to tackle the challenge of low image resolution, but it is difficult to extract differentiated feature details based on various inputs, resulting in poor generalization ability. Given this situation, this study first analyzes the features of some feature extraction modules of the current super-resolution algorithm and then proposes an adaptive feature fusion block (AFB) for feature extraction. This module mainly comprises dynamic convolution, attention mechanism, and pixel-based gating mechanism. Combined with dynamic convolution with scale information, the network can extract more differentiated feature information. The introduction of a channel spatial attention mechanism combined with …

The Aftermath Of The 2019 Pulwama Terror Attack–Religion, Nationalism And Exclusion In Online News Comment Sections, Nihar Sreepada, Ioana Coman

Faculty Publications

This study analyses the Indian and Pakistani publics reactions of the extensive coverage of the Pulwama terror attack, through an analysis of the online comments appearing at the end of the news stories covering the attack from the two leading English newspapers: Times of India (TOI) (India), and Dawn (D) (Pakistan). A qualitative content analysis is performed to compare and examine this dialogue emerging in the news comments sections. Findings are explored and discussed through conceptualizations of religion, nationalism, and a social psychological perspective towards exclusion of out-groups.

African Bovid Tribe Classification Using Transfer Learning And Computer Vision, Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo, Juliet Brophy, Gregory J. Mathews, Marcos Pizarro-Monzo, Enrique Baquedano

Faculty Publications

Objective analytical identification methods are still a minority in the praxis of paleobiological sciences. Subjective interpretation of fossils and their modifications remains a nonreplicable expert endeavor. Identification of African bovids is a crucial element in the reconstruction of paleo-landscapes, ungulate paleoecology, and, eventually, hominin adaptation and ecosystemic reconstruction. Recent analytical efforts drawing on Fourier functional analysis and discrimination methods applied to occlusal surfaces of teeth have provided a highly accurate framework to correctly classify African bovid tribes and taxa. Artificial intelligence tools, like computer vision, have also shown their potential to be objectively more accurate in the identification of taphonomic …

Multiscale Analysis Of Spatial Accessibility To Acute Hospitals In Carinthia, Austria, Changzhen Wang, Michael Leitner, Gernot Paulus

Faculty Publications

Health care accessibility studies are well established in the US but lacking in Austria, even though both experience high costs and have hospital care as the largest contributor to health care spending. This study aims to examine multiscale spatial accessibility to acute hospitals in Carinthia, Austria. Using the most recent data at census block and 250 meter grid levels, we refine proximity and generalized two-step floating catchment area (G2SFCA) methods while accounting for the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) and edge effects. For census blocks and 250 meter grids, the mean travel times to the nearest acute hospitals are 16 …

Digital Archives: How Western Newspapers Frame Our Remembrance Of The Gezi Park Protest, Nihar Sreepada, Ahmet Aksoy

Faculty Publications

We analyze the coverage of the Gezi Park protests by two major Western newspapers - The New York Times and The Guardian - through the lens of media framing, rhetoric, and collective memory. We argue that these digital archives frame Turkey's Gezi Park protests as a challenge to an authoritarian government by promoting the themes of unrest as a conflict of ideologies, oppression of citizens, and the park as a site of memory. In a concluding section, we focus on the significance of digital archives as repositories of collective memory and the role of media framing in shaping these reconstructions …

Breaking Boundaries In Wind Engineering: Lsu Wise Open-Jet Facility Revolutionizes Solar Panel And Building Design, Aly Mousaad Aly

Faculty Publications

Featured Application: The Louisiana State University (LSU) Windstorm Impact, Science, and Engineering (WISE) Open-Jet Testing facility is instrumental in enhancing structural resilience under windstorms. The facility represents a Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure to address grand challenges and the need for experimental capabilities in the mid-scale range. Its unique capabilities enable the comprehensive testing and evaluation of critical infrastructure components, encompassing low- and high-rise buildings, photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, wind turbines, bridges, vegetation (nature-based solutions), power transmission lines, and more. Through controlled wind conditions, researchers can gain invaluable insights into the behaviour and performance of these critical infrastructures. The facility is pivotal …

A Dance Of Resistance: The Puerto Rican Bomba As A Means To Challenge Intersections Of Discrimination On The Island, Daniel Loving

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines the Puerto Rican Bomba as a multifaceted cultural and political phenomenon, focusing on its pivotal role in challenging and subverting the enduring issues of racial and gender discrimination on the Island. Drawing from an interdisciplinary framework that encompasses cultural studies, anthropology, history, performance and film studies, this research elucidates the complex interplay between Bomba's rhythmic and choreographic elements, its historical evolution, and its contemporary significance in the context of Puerto Rico's sociopolitical landscape. By analyzing Bomba's historical roots in African and indigenous traditions, its adaptation during colonial and post-colonial eras, and its ongoing relevance in the struggle …

The Structures And Functions Of Offices Of Academic Affairs: A Case Study, Ryan Thomas Landry

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study sought to describe how offices of academic affairs (administrative offices supporting provosts) at public, research-intensive universities in the United States are structured and what kind of work these offices do. There is a dearth of scholarly literature on the topic, indicative of an overall lack of knowledge about these organizations. From a practical standpoint, I intended for this study to contribute to the body of knowledge of higher education administration with hopes that it provides helpful insights to administrators as they consider organizational design. Using the theoretical framework of modern organization theory, I employed an embedded case study …

Translation Speed Influence On Tropical Cyclone Storm Tide And Surge Generation Along The Gulf Of Mexico Coast, Samantha L. Camarda

LSU Master's Theses

This research examines tropical cyclone translation speed as a factor in storm tide and surge height upon landfall on the United States Gulf Coast. Understanding the effect of translation speed on peak storm tide/surge height is needed to better prepare for and predict future damage from tropical cyclone events. Tropical cyclone data are taken from hourly interpolated best-track HURDAT2 data from 1970–2021. This study uses the HURDAT2 hourly interpolated observation data points (24-hours) pre-landfall to landfall. Translation speed is calculated based on the distance traversed between hourly points. Peak storm tide and storm surge data are taken from SURGEDAT from …

Conducting Enchantment: Organized Sound And Ritual Spaces In Modern And Ancient Worlds, Haley Stuckey

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Becoming Avian: Amazonian Featherworks From The John P. O’Neill Collection, Madeline R. Blanchard

LSU Master's Theses

In 1998 ornithologist John P. O’Neill donated an ethnographic collection of 434 objects he was gifted from researcher Charles Fugler or purchased from persons in Pucallpa, Peru, during his time there studying Amazonian birds. I evaluate 18 feathered objects. According to O’Neill, the cultures responsible for the items are the Cashinahua, Aguaruna, Achual, and Arawak. Eighteen of these items are beautifully crafted arrangements of feathered clothing and objects. The collection includes five headdresses, five bouquets, a hat, a necklace, three tassels, a backrack, a scarf, and a hair tie.

The objects and the seventeen species of bird used are active …

Spatial And Wavelet Analysis Of Precipitation And River Discharge During Operation Of The Three Gorges Dam, China, Lirong Yin, Lei Wang, Barry D. Keim, Kory Konsoer, Zhengtong Yin, Mingzhe Liu, Wenfeng Zheng

Faculty Publications

The Three Gorges Dam and Reservoir on the Yangtze River is one of the world's largest dams. After the dam's construction in 1997, the reservoir started filling up, expanding to a size of over 600 km2. Therefore, its possible influence on maintaining the size and water level of this waterbody is significant and concerning. This research utilized wavelet coherence analysis to examine the temporal correlation and phase coherence among various datasets, including dam injection (1998–2018) and discharge (2003–2018) data, ground station precipitation data along the Yangtze River (1998–2020), and river discharge raster maps 1998–2018. The analysis revealed a strong coherence …