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Une Analyse Intersectionnelle De L'Albinisme Dans L'Instinct De Survie D'Éveline Mankou Et Ses Implications Contemporaines, Gracious Ojiebun, Eiloghosa Enogiomwan

Tête à Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies

Grâce à l'inclusion numérique, l'éducation devient plus interactive, accessible et inclusive, néanmoins, les enfants atteints d'albinisme en sont souvent exclus en raison de préjugés socio-culturels, de l'écart numérique et des barrières sociales systémiques. L'article explore comment les liens entre la culture, la géographie, la religion, le genre et le statut socio-économique peuvent conduire à une marginalisation violente en se servant d'une évaluation critique de L'instinct de survivre d'Evline Mankou, et en utilisant la théorie de l'intersectionnalité de Crenshaw, 1989.

Le roman dépeint un monde où la superstition et les traditions patriarcales condamnent un enfant atteint d'albinisme, tout en offrant un …

A Data-Driven Framework For Mitigating Breast Cancer Overdiagnosis: From Estimation To Risk-Adjusted Computer-Aided Diagnosis, William M. Brown Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) of cancer, standard cost metrics (false-positives and false-negatives) fundamentally fail to account for overdiagnosis. Overdiagnosis is a critical scenario where a disease is correctly detected (true-positive) but is biologically indolent and would never have caused the patient harm or symptoms. While widely recognized in the medical community as a major healthcare crisis driving stressful and invasive overtreatment, overdiagnosis remains severely under-researched within computer science and engineering. This dissertation addresses this interdisciplinary gap by defining the three key computational challenges of overdiagnosis: (i) accurate estimation, (ii) harm quantification, and (iii) algorithmic mitigation. To overcome the estimation challenge, …

Scraping The Earth: Testing Ndvi As An Indicator Of Military Ground Maneuver Within The Israeli Invasion Of The Gaza Strip, Thomas A. Bergeron

LSU Master's Theses

The advancement of open-source (OSINT) and geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) has allowed independent researchers to study human conflict in new ways, with tools that were previously reserved only for state intelligence agencies. In order to advance methodologies, researchers must continue to evaluate new tools to study war.  Valued for its accessibility and moderate spatial resolution, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is one such tool that has not been widely systematically tested for its use in an open-source GEOINT investigation of modern conflict. This study tests NDVI as an indicator of military maneuver by leveraging a mixed-method approach against open-source kinetic …

Statistical Evaluation Of A New Orleans Historic Rainfall Dataset (1840–1893), Arielle C. Filostrat

LSU Master's Theses

This study evaluates the climatic credibility of a newly identified historical rainfall dataset for New Orleans, Louisiana, spanning 1840–1893. The New Orleans Historical Dataset (NOHD) is compared to a modern observational record from the Audubon rain gauge (1893–2024) to determine whether nineteenth-century rainfall observations are consistent with known precipitation behavior in the region. Establishing the reliability of early records is critical for extending climatological baselines and improving understanding of long-term rainfall variability.

Historical rainfall observations were first evaluated through archival review using the New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal and other nineteenth-century meteorological records to verify notable rainfall events. Daily …

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 …

Excavating Building C And Plaza A To Discover Ancient Activities At The Ancient Maya Salt Works Of Ch’Ok Ayin, Belize, Alex J. Broussard Jr.

LSU Master's Theses

Ch'ok Ayin is part of over 110 known ancient Maya salt works surveyed in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize. The salt works are associated with wooden architecture preserved below the sea floor and submerged due to sea level rise. The purpose of the excavations of Ch'ok Ayin Building C and Plaza A was to determine the function of the space based on recovered material remains.  An eleven meter transect was placed in Building C to extend inside and outside of the building to capture activity areas associated with the building. A 2 x 2-meter excavation was placed north of Building …

Lisa Cristiani: A Survey And Analysis Of Her Musical Travels Through The Russian Empire (1848-1853), Emilia González Dorantes

LSU Master's Theses

Information about French cellist Lisa Cristiani (1825–1853) and her travels through Imperial Russia has mainly reached us thanks to two articles in French periodicals published around the first decade since her death. These sources prioritized the journey itself, centering the narrative on her travels rather than on her musical activities. Recent scholarship on Cristiani has expanded our previously limited knowledge about her life. Scholars such as Hoffmann (2011) and Deserno (2018) have focused on biographical and feminist analysis, and DeVries (2014) has unveiled new documents from Russian sources. Nonetheless, a detailed examination of her musical performances within Imperial Russia has …

“Where All Is Playtime And Pleasure”: Feeling The Otherworldly In Late Medieval Literature, Anna K. Mcgill

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I present intra-, inter-, and extra-textual felt responses to encounters with the otherworldly as described in Late Medieval texts as a lens through which to consider personal, social, and national imaginative potential surrounding contemporary issues across genres and disciplines. I argue that the use of otherworlds and otherworldly agents as both personally and rhetorically compelling analogues through which contemporary issues can be explored. I start my discussion of the felt impacts of encounters with the Arthurian otherworldly, with a particular focus on Glastonbury and Arthur’s alleged grave there, and how they transmit affects of sovereign authority. Next, …

Spatial Narrative Beyond The Proscenium: Set Design As A Tool For Wellness, Christina Griffey

LSU Master's Theses

Inspired by a health crisis that led to spending time in medical settings, this thesis examines how our surroundings impact our well-being. By developing a framework that explores the topics of storytelling, space, place, theatre, and expanded scenography, I propose that set design can be used as a tool for wellness. I explore several disciplines through the lens of set design and highlight the disciplines, professionals, and designers that are contributing to the creation of therapeutic environments using scenographic practices.

Qualitative Versus Quantitative Analysis Of Entheses: Using An Ordinal Scale And 3d Scanned Metrics To Understand Entheseal Differences In The Charity Hospital Cemetery (16or108), Gillian Stewart

LSU Master's Theses

Using a sample from New Orleans’ Charity Hospital Cemetery (16OR108), an analysis between ordinal scores and digital quantitative analysis (DQA) measurements of the entheses (muscle attachment sites) was performed. The skeletal elements (n = 235) examined were the humerus, radius, femur, and tibia. The entheses were 3D scanned using an Artec Space Spider scanner and processed with the Artec Studio Professional© v.2018 and Geomagic Wrap® v.2021 software. Entheses were analyzed by: left and right sides, male and female, and distribution of scores across elements. The analyses yielded significant differences between proliferative and erosive score distribution. Scores between elements exhibited variation. …

Expanding Access To Latin American Art Song: A Study Of Theodoro Valcárcel's Andean-Influenced Art Songs, Douglas E. Perez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

EXPANDING ACCESS TO LATIN AMERICAN ART SONG: A STUDY OF THEODORO VALCÁRCEL’S ANDEAN-INFLUENCED ART SONGS advocates for the exploration and performance of underrepresented Latin American composers. Multiple methods of increasing access are discussed, including the creation of a central source for IPA, literal, and poetic translations of Latin American art songs; the study of seldom-performed composers, their output, and influences; and the application of these elements through informed performance. This document centers on the Peruvian composer Theodoro Valcárcel and analyzes the intersection of his indigenous heritage with his Latin American and European musical training as reflected in his compositional style …

Key Elements Of Mission-Based Urban Agriculture In The United States Aimed At Addressing The Social Determinants Of Health, Jordan Losavio

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Urban agriculture (UA) in the United States (U.S.) is increasingly positioned as a multi-domain strategy for addressing social determinants of health (SDOH), yet evidence is fragmented and often focused on participant outcomes rather than the organizational and environmental conditions that determine whether those benefits can be sustained, expanded, or maintained over time. This dissertation uses an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design to clarify (1) what SDOH outcomes are associated with UA in the peer-reviewed literature, (2) which internal and external factors leaders perceive as driving UA organizational success or failure, and (3) which factors predict comparative organizational functioning across a national …

Quantifying And Integrating Community Hardship Into Two-Stage Stochastic Grid Reliability Optimization With Battery Storage, Fredrica Arthur

LSU Master's Theses

Traditional reliability planning for conventional distribution systems is largely utility-oriented, with a focus on collective system performance metrics like Expected Energy Not Supplied (EENS), where implicitly all unserved energy is considered of equal weight in terms of post-outage economic hardship. Yet, it is well understood that extended outage durations cause an uneven level of hardship to socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. This thesis proposes a community-informed reliability planning framework where the hardship caused by outages is explicitly considered in the battery energy storage system (BESS) location and sizing problem. First, a hardship-weighted Energy Not Supplied (WENS) measure is proposed, where income, education, …

An Examination Of Trends And Factors Influencing Teen Retention In 4-H Youth Development Program: A Case Study, Bethany R. Corona

LSU Master's Theses

Teen participation in 4-H has declined nationally in recent years, raising concerns about long-term program sustainability and youth engagement. Understanding the factors that influence teens’ decisions to remain involved in 4-H is critical for informing program design and delivery. Guided by the theory of planned behavior, this qualitative study explored teen perceptions of 4-H programming, youth voice, social influences, communication, and barriers to participation. Data were collected through two group interviews with teen 4-H members representing multiple parishes. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using the constant comparative method through a three-phase coding process consisting of open, axial, …

Lsu General Catalog 2026-2027, 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

Rosenwald Rural School Libraries, Suzanne Marie Stauffer

Faculty Publications

The Rosenwald Rural School Libraries Program was created as an adjunct to the Rosenwald Rural Schools Program, which funded the construction of 4,977 rural Black school buildings in fifteen Southern states, 395 of them in Louisiana. However, it soon became apparent that providing textbooks was not enough to promote literacy and develop self-directed reading among students. The officers and agents of the Fund realized fairly early in the Rural Schools Program that there was a want of reading materials in the South in general. Beginning in 1927, the Rosenwald Fund began providing collections of graded fiction and non-fiction books to …

Examining The Pre-Columbian Use Of Psychotropic Plants In The South American Andes: Tobacco, Coca, And Ayahuasca, Jalayne Allison

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

This thesis offers a literature review that traces the origins and variations in the use of tobacco (Nicotiana sp.), coca (Erythroxylum coca spp.), and ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi) in the Andean highlands and Amazon region along the western coast of South America. This mountainous region stretches across seven countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Diverse South American Indigenous groups and ancient civilizations, such as the Inca Empire, have inhabited this area. This review delves into key concepts of Andean cosmology, especially those related to ecology and hydrology as interpreted through Inca beliefs. These concepts are pivotal in the application …

Property Insurance Losses: A Gulf Coast Hurricane Analysis, Abigail Williams, Jill Trepanier

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Many residents living along the U.S. Gulf Coast face the issue of rising costs for property insurance due to the increasing impacts from more intense hurricanes. This study evaluates how North Atlantic hurricane (>= 33 ms-1) landfall wind speed and storm surge impact property insurance losses along the U.S. Gulf Coast during different phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation from 1980 to 2024. The tropical cyclone data used in this study are obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North Atlantic HURDAT2 database. Insurance data come from a variety of sources including the Insurance Information Institute, the National …

Gullah Geechee, Progenitors For African North American Maternal Lineage, Jennifer Caldwell, Imani Sykes, Robbie Beyl, Tomilowo Abijo, Kiara Charles, Fatimah Jackson

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

African American ancestral lineages are marked by resilience, shaped by centuries of forced migrations, the Transatlantic and domestic slave trades, and subsequent movements within the United States. These historical events have influenced both the cultural and genetic diversity of Legacy African Americans. This study examined mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups among 189 participants—79 Gullah Geechee and 110 African Americans—to explore the Gullah Geechee as potential progenitors of other Legacy African North American lineages. Haplogroup analysis revealed L2 and L3 as the most frequent among both groups, comprising 34.6% and 38.8% in African Americans and 28.0% and 54.7% in Gullah Geechee, respectively. …

Quantifying Uncertainty In Landscape Evolution And Provenance Analysis: Insights From Statistical And Numerical Modelling, Vivian Carmello Grom

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Landscape evolution models (LEMs) and detrital zircon provenance are widely used to investigate Earth surface processes, yet both face challenges related to quantifying model behavior and interpreting sedimentary signals under realistic, heterogeneous conditions. This thesis addresses these challenges through analysis and case studies that develop and apply new approaches for analyzing landscape dynamics and assessing uncertainties in sediment provenance.

Chapter 1 introduces a quantitative framework for evaluating LEM outputs using Shannon Entropy, Moran’s I, and Geary’s C. Applied to simulations with steady uplift, periodic uplift, spatially variable uplift, and a timeseries of DEMs, these metrics capture spatial organization and information …

Equity-Aware Natural Hazards Resilience Assessment And Improvement Of Road Networks, Naqib Mashrur

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As climate change intensifies the frequency and severity of hurricanes, the resulting flood events pose escalating threats to transportation infrastructure and community well-being. This dissertation addresses the intersection of flood resilience, network connectivity, and social equity by integrating principles from network analysis, equity planning, and disaster resilience. The research begins by examining the social dimensions of accessibility loss during hurricane-induced flooding. Spatial and demographic analysis reveals that Native American and Hispanic populations in the case study region experience the most significant reductions in access to essential service facilities, highlighting inequities in systems.

Investigating a region southern Louisiana road network demonstrates …

Hurricanes And Human Health In Louisiana: Insights From Hurricanes Laura, Delta, And Ida, Shobha Kumari Yadav, Robert V. Rohli, M. E. Betsy Garrison, Elisabeth Ponce-Garcia, Nazla Bushra, Charleen Mcneill

Faculty Publications

Louisiana is one of the most disaster-prone states, with hurricanes ranking among the most destructive hazards. Hurricanes impede sustainability by straining hospital infrastructure, overwhelming emergency departments, and disrupting continuity of care. Louisiana’s healthcare system, characterized by high uninsured rates, limited rural access, and notable racial and socioeconomic disparities, is particularly vulnerable during disasters. This research explores trends of mental and respiratory health in Louisiana surrounding Hurricanes Laura (2020), Delta (2020), and Ida (2021). Analysis reveals a substantial increase in admissions after landfall of all three storms, with mental health conditions showing a larger surge than respiratory ones in already-vulnerable communities. …

A Big Data Approach To Mitigating The Maup In Measuring Excess Commuting, Cehong Luo, Yujie Hu, Fahui Wang

Faculty Publications

Excess commuting, defined as the inefficiency resulting from spatial mismatches between residential and employment locations, poses significant challenges for urban planning and transportation systems. This study uses big data from individual vehicle trips collected in Tampa, Florida, to quantify excess commuting more accurately than traditional zonal approaches. Through the application of Linear Programming (LP) and Integer Linear Programming (ILP) models, this research measures minimum and actual commuting patterns across different spatial scales—census tract, block group, and individual trip levels. The findings reveal a clear scale effect associated with the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP), as smaller spatial units consistently yield …

Rapid Decline And Mortality Of A Pleistocene-Aged Forest Now Submerged In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Usa, Grant L. Harley, Kristine L. Delong, Marcus Lofverstrom, Carl Andy Reese, Ellen V. Bergan, Samuel J. Bentley, Kehui Xu, Kelli Moran, Karen E. King, Alicia Caporaso

Faculty Publications

The Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains of the southern United States are characterized by a wide continental shelf that was subaerially exposed for ca. 80,000 years during glacial-interval marine regressions and transgressions. Given their present submergence, little is known about the vegetation dynamics, particularly at annual time scales, of these formerly terrestrial sites due to erosional processes associated with marine transgressions. Here, we present an annually resolved and well-replicated 489-year tree-ring chronology from macrobotanical specimens—anatomically identified as Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.—collected in situ from a recently exposed submerged forest in 18 m water depth in the northern Gulf of Mexico. …

Pedagogical Escapism And Western Performativity: A Psycho-Aesthetic Critique Of Belly-Dance Adaption Symbolics, Maryam Farahani

Comparative Woman

This paper addresses positionality misreading in Western pedagogical adaptions of belly dancing. Raqs Sharqi, known in the West as belly dancing, is a predominantly West Asian and North African discipline and performance art with multimodal varieties, globally taught and practiced while crossing sport, narratology, and story-telling boundaries. As a unique performance activity, it portrays a dynamic entertainment space to connect one’s multiple identities. I argue that Raqs Sharqi, not only as an aesthetic-educational art form but also, perhaps unwittingly, reiterated as an Orientalist communication trope in belly dancing, has forged East-West performativity models. However, the historical education-literature for Western women …

Beyond The Madrasah: Digital Pedagogies And Nigerian Yoruba Muslim Women's Engagement With Islamic Knowledge, Abdulgafar Olawale Fahm

Comparative Woman

This paper explores how digital pedagogies are reshaping the landscape of Islamic education among Nigerian Muslim women, with a primary focus on Yoruba communities in Southern Nigeria. Historically, Islamic learning in Nigeria has been rooted in traditional institutions, notably the madrasa, characterized by face-to-face instruction and rigid gender norms. However, the proliferation of digital technologies - particularly online madrasas, WhatsApp study groups, Zoom-based Qur’anic classes, and Islamic mobile applications - has significantly altered women’s access to religious knowledge. Utilizing ethnographic evidence and qualitative interviews, this interdisciplinary study examines how digital platforms enhance accessibility, overcome sociocultural barriers, and enable Nigerian Yoruba …

Examining Private Landowner And Stakeholder Attitudes, Perceptions, And Knowledge Of Prescribed Fire In Louisiana, Chloe E. Crawford

LSU Master's Theses

Periodic fire was a primary driver of ecosystems across the Southeastern United States for millennia; however, fire suppression policies have become pervasive in the United States and led to increased fuel loads in forests as well as reduced biodiversity and reduced disease resilience. Prescribed fire presents a risk mitigation strategy and land management tool whereby practitioners can apply fire to the landscape in a controlled manner, thus reaping the benefits of fire while minimizing the risks associated with fire. Land in Louisiana is primarily privately managed and owned, so state-level conservation goals cannot be met without private landowner participation. As …

State Courts, Public Opinion, And The Changing Abortion Landscape After Dobbs, Anna Gunderson, Chesani Askew, Jeong Hyun Kim, Nichole Bauer

Faculty Publications

The June 24, 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization represented a seismic shift in abortion policy in the United States. Since then, state courts have begun playing an integral role in expanding or restricting abortion access in their jurisdictions. What do these cases look like and how does the public respond to court decisions that are pro- or anti-abortion? We collect original data on state court abortion cases post-Dobbs and field two survey experiments pre- and post-Dobbs to investigate these questions. We find state courts have expanded their scope in abortion policy and that pro-abortion …

Comparing The Consistency Between Age Estimations Across Various Three-Dimensional Model Creation Methods In An Attempt To Find A Practical Proxy For Physical Remains, Jeanne R. Wood

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine whether digital three-dimensional models can serve as a viable alternative to physical human remains to allow continued research on fragile physical specimens. As digital three-dimensional models have become increasingly prevalent in anthropological and archaeological research, it is essential to assess their limitations and capabilities, particularly for subjective assessments that rely heavily on visual interpretation (Remondino & El-Hakim, 2006). While previous studies have focused on the use of digital three-dimensional models for quantitative measurements, their effectiveness for subjective analyses remains unclear (Cooper et al., 2003; Sholts et al., 2010; Stull et al., 2014; …

The Sensitivity Of Future Hydroclimate Projections To Topography And Large-Scale Dust Forcing In The Luquillo Mountains Of Eastern Puerto Rico, J. Preece, C. Johnson, T. Mote, P. Miller, M. Williams

Faculty Publications

Precipitation over Puerto Rico is expected to decline in coming decades, threatening an important source of surface water supply. However, earth system models neither resolve fine-scale orographic impacts nor the radiative effects of Saharan dust aerosols on precipitation over the island's mountains. Here, we use the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem) to downscale global climate model projections to a convection-resolving 4-km resolution for both dust and no-dust scenarios. We compare the regional hydroclimate during three periods: historical (2014–2018), mid- (2045–2049) and end-21st century (2085–2089), using output from an RCP8.5 simulation of the Community Earth System Model, …