Pricing Variance Swaps Using Extended Heston Model, Semere Gebresilasie, Mulue Gebreslasie, Indranil Sengupta

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

Abstract. In this study, we introduce a variance swap for the underlying asset utilizing the Heston model, incorporating a long-term variance that is treated as a stochastic function of time. We develop a closed-form solution for the variance swap under this framework, where the log returns are driven by a compound Poisson process. Our analysis of historical data reveals that long-term variance is not constant; instead, it fluctuates over time, reflecting market dynamics more accurately. By integrating this time-varying long-term variance into the model, we achieve an improvement in prediction performance of approximately 60%. Furthermore, we perform model calibration using …

Movement Ecology And Population Dynamics Of Box-Nesting Black-Bellied Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna Autumnalis) In Louisiana, Katie E. Miranda

LSU Master's Theses

Understanding demographic and behavioral processes underlying population dynamics is essential for effective wildlife management, especially for species subject to harvest pressure or experiencing population shifts. Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) are currently undergoing a notable northward range expansion and are increasing in abundance across the southeastern United States, raising management concerns for both ecological and economic reasons. As a result, there is growing public support for a special Black-bellied Whistling-Duck-specific harvest season, yet little research has been conducted on this species, particularly within newly-established populations. To address this gap, I conducted this study with the goal of evaluating seasonal …

Understanding The Needs And Practices Of Cut Flower Growers In Louisiana, Jessie M. Hoover

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The specialty cut flower industry is expanding nationwide, including southeastern states such as Louisiana. Existing studies and market analyses focus on national trends of other regions with established floriculture networks, leaving a critical gap in understanding the unique challenges and opportunities faced by growers in Louisiana. This lack of data limits the ability of extension professionals, policymakers, and industry stakeholders to develop targeted strategies that support local production and market development. This study used qualitative case study methods to investigate the practices, challenges, and needs of 13 specialty cut flower growers in Louisiana. The study utilized Urie Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 1986) …

Effects Of Peer Tutoring Training Duration And Group Piano Level On Harmonization And Transposition Achievement And Learning Attitudes Of Undergraduate Non-Keyboard Music Students, Jinnan Liu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among peer tutoring training duration, group piano level, and undergraduate non-keyboard music students’ achievement in harmonization and transposition, as well as their learning attitude following peer tutoring. Based on the literature on cooperative learning, peer-assisted learning, and reciprocal peer tutoring, this study examined whether differences in training duration and group piano level were related to student performance and learning experiences in university group piano.

A quasi-experimental 2  2 design was used. The independent variables were peer tutoring training duration (2-day vs. 4-day) and group piano level (Group Piano II vs. …

Controlling Agentic Ai: Game-Theoretic Foundations Of Coordination And Competition In Llm Multi-Agent Systems, Quanyan Zhu

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Control Theories For Machine Learning Algorithms Analysis And Design (Ct4ml): An Overview Of A Short Course, Yangquan Chen

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Soft Robotics And Sensor-Embedded Inferior Vena Cava Simulator, Robert Herbert, Julio Zuazola, Anish Maharjan, Tatum Dixon, Landon Hyder, Lily Nguyen

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Dissipativity-Based Distributed Control For Networked Dc Microgrids, Mohammad Javad Najafirad, Shirantha Welikala Dr.

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Fairness-Aware Management Of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, Paulo Bessa Do Rego Monteiro, Ricardo Pinto De Castro

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Identifiability, Observability, Parameter Reduction, And State Estimation For Nonsmooth Dynamical Systems, Hesham Abdelfattah, Peter Stechlinski, Sameh Eisa

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Positive Rewards Alone Enable Bipedal Standing For Unitree Go2 In Isaac Lab, Hamza Mustafa, Runjia Song, Wenlu Du

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Coupled Sensing And Path-Planning In Search And Rescue Missions, Prakash Poudel, Jeffrey Desroches, Raghvendra V. Cowlagi

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Autonomy For Lunar Surface Infrastructure Construction, John Cooper, Irina Kostitsyna, Olivia Irene B. Formoso, Dominic Bisio, Joshua N. Moser, Matthew P. Vaughan, Joshua N. Moser, Matthew K. Mahlin

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Control Of Four-Link Planar Hopping Locomotion, Amer Allafi, Aakash Khandelwal, Ranjan Mukherjee

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Dqn-Based Event-Triggered Control Over Unreliable Channels, Zahra Hashemi, Dipankar Maity

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Rumor Propagation And Regulation: A Graphon Game Approach With Stackelberg Control, Huaning Liu, Gokce Dayanikli

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Modal Supervisory Coordination Of Power Source Transitions In Data Centers Via Lingua Franca And Simulink Co-Simulation, Md Rubel Ahmed, Md Kibria Saroare

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Entropy-Aware Model Predictive Control For Transient Quality Mitigation In Metal Additive Manufacturing, Md Shafikul Islam, Mahathir Mohamamd Bappy, Saifur Rahman Tushar

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

Markerless Estimation Of Ground Reaction Forces From Video For Biomechanical Assessment In Orthotics And Prosthetics, Ricki M. Pierce, Hunter Gilbert, Hyun Kim

2026 LSU Symposium on Control, Learning, and Intelligent Systems

No abstract provided.

To Be Closer, Sarah Moschel Miller

LSU Master's Theses

to be closer explores the intersection of yearning and unease. This series of works uses the visual language of the body and its thresholds to explore how each of us builds interpersonal relationships and understandings of self. Pulling from abjection theory, the abject comes from the internal becoming external, the crossing of a bodily or personal threshold. My sculptures, vessels, and prints translate the visual language of the border of the body into a discussion of emotional ones. to be closer uses these corporeal thresholds and the language of the uncanny as vehicles to discuss the crossing of emotional …

Distributed File Carving, Brad J. Baudin

LSU Master's Theses

File carving is a fundamental technique in the digital forensics community, enabling analysts to recover deleted files from disk images without relying on filesystem metadata; however, as storage capacities continue to increase, modern file carving tools face significant scalability challenges, with carving time growing substantially alongside disk image size, particularly in the presence of file fragmentation. Fragmentation, a common behavior in modern filesystems, distributes file data across non-contiguous disk blocks to maximize space utilization, and in large disk images this distribution can span wide logical distances, increasing the search space and reducing carving efficiency, causing traditional approaches to struggle within …

Why Theory Matters In Infant And Toddler Practice: Unpacking Pikler, Gerber, Gesell, Piaget, & Vygotsky, Derrick Toups

Spark! Innovations in Early Childhood Education: A Research-to-Practice Journal for Educators

This article is intended to help infant and toddler educators deepen the why behind the what and how of their daily interactions by unpacking and connecting the seminal early childhood theories of Pikler, Gerber, Gesell, Piaget, and Vygotsky, what they look like in the classroom, and why they benefit children.

Building The Foundation For Stem In Toddler Classrooms: Practical Strategies For Novice Teachers, Melissa L. Johnson

Spark! Innovations in Early Childhood Education: A Research-to-Practice Journal for Educators

Young children are natural explorers, and even in the toddler years, they demonstrate the inquiry behaviors foundational to later science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning. However, early STEM experiences are often underutilized in toddler classrooms, primarily due to misconceptions about children's capabilities and a lack of developmentally appropriate resources. This article, written for novice educators, offers practical strategies and examples to help integrate STEM into toddler classrooms. Drawing on current research, national standards, and classroom-based implementation strategies, this piece outlines how to create engaging environments that support toddlers' curiosity and emerging STEM thinking across science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Leading With Heart: How New Directors Can Build Trust And Morale Among Child Care Staff, Kamille Watson, Cynthia Dicarlo

Spark! Innovations in Early Childhood Education: A Research-to-Practice Journal for Educators

For both new and seasoned directors, leading a new childcare center requires navigating the complex work of building staff trust and sustaining morale, particularly when teams have endured repeated leadership changes or existing internal concerns. Because early childhood programs rely heavily on relational, emotionally demanding work, effective leadership must be rooted in connection, transparency, and compassionate engagement. This article provides a practical framework to help novice directors cultivate strong, trust-based relationships that support both staff well-being and program quality. Drawing from current research on compassionate leadership, emotional intelligence, and organizational consistency, the article outlines actionable strategies for building rapport, fostering …

This Body Held Others, Mia I. Pons

LSU Master's Theses

The exhibition this body held others examines the body's invisible depths, the unseen, and its interpersonal memories. These ideas are explored through printmaking, book arts, and papermaking, with a focus on their connection and response to the materiality and nature of the body. Through the examination of my personal archive this work explores the collection, reconstruction, and recycling of imagery. The exhibition explores an unfolding story that examines how the ephemeral and corporeal survival and legacy of self and maternal lineage. These ideas are explored through the exhibitions three sections; emergence, body merger / departure, and the return. The attention …

Models, Agency, And Expectations: A Mixed-Methods Study Of How Character Develops In Middle School, Aaron J. Schwindt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study investigated how character develops among middle school students at an international school recognized as a "National School of Character." Despite significant investment in character education (CE), a lack of formal evaluation exists, particularly regarding the process of development during the critical middle school years, a period of intense neurological and social change. Grounded in Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), this study aimed to (1) understand how character develops, (2) compare development before and after program enhancements, and (3) assess the program's impact on discipline. Phase 1 collected Character Growth Index (CGI) survey data from students …

Within These Walls, Nicholas J. Roberts

LSU Master's Theses

I was raised to understand home through labor. In the working-class household I grew up in, in rural Southeastern Pennsylvania, value was earned through work, identity took shape through trade, and rest was often an afterthought. That framework was not chosen. It was inherited. And it has not been easy to see it clearly from the inside.

The Exhibition, Within These Walls, examines that inheritance through printmaking and sculpture, using the material and spatial language of domestic construction as both subject and method. Through fragile paper structures that resemble wood but cannot hold weight, a staircase that cannot be climbed, …

Comparing The Effects Of Suicide Stigma Reduction Interventions On Adult Help-Seeking Intentions: An Experimental Investigation, Max Stivers

LSU Master's Theses

With relatively few individuals who experience suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors (STB) engaging in formal treatment, one critical aspect of bridging the treatment gap is to reduce barriers to their seeking help (WHO, 2014). Stigma regarding suicide and mental health help-seeking has been identified as a barrier to care, inspiring development of interventions and public health campaigns targeting stigma reduction as a means of increasing help-seeking attitudes, intentions, and behavior (Corrigan et al., 2004). However, because efforts focusing specifically on reducing stigma may fail to address other logistical and psychosocial barriers to engaging with treatment, their broader impact in promoting help-seeking …

Analyzer-Less X-Ray Interferometry With Super-Resolution Methods, Murtuza S. Taqi

LSU Master's Theses

X-ray interferometry provides valuable information on attenuation, small-angle scattering, and differential phase contrast. This multi-modal contrast can aid in many clinical applications, such as lung diseases and breast cancer. However, standard inter- ferometry has an analyzer grating that can increase the dose requirement to maintain the same image quality as a standard X-ray. We propose the use of super-resolution methods for X-ray grating interferometry without an analyzer, with detectors that fail to meet the Nyquist sampling rate needed for traditional image recovery algorithms. Detector phase- steps are used to nominally recover the sampling and iteratively recover the visibility and the …

Recent Wetland Elevation Dynamics In Coastal Louisiana, Usa, Elizabeth Harris

LSU Master's Theses

Coastal marshes globally are increasingly vulnerable to accelerating relative sea-level rise (RSLR), which threatens their capacity to maintain elevation through feedbacks among sediment supply, vegetation productivity, hydrology, and soil processes. Although many marshes can persist under moderate rates of sea-level rise through vertical accretion and belowground biomass production, this resilience is strongly constrained by sediment availability and subsurface processes such as autocompaction and organic matter decomposition. High accretion is often assumed to confer marsh resilience; however, subsurface processes, particularly autocompaction driven by surface loading, can substantially offset elevation gains. Coastal Louisiana experiences among the highest rates of RSLR worldwide due …