Digital Commons Network^™

Latinx Youth Counterstories In A Court Diversion Program, Gerardo Mancilla

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

No abstract provided.

Using Double Consciousness As An Analytic Tool To Discuss The Decision Making Of Black School Leaders In Disrupting The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Ramon Goings, Sheree Alexander, Julius Davis, Nicole M. Walters

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

No abstract provided.

Restorative Justice As A Doubled-Edged Sword: Conflating Restoration Of Black Youth With Transformation Of Schools, Arash Daneshzadeh, George Sirrakos

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

No abstract provided.

Introduction: School-To-Prison Pipeline Special Issue, Ahmad Washington, Malik Henfield

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

No abstract provided.

Fundamental Limits On The Capacities Of Bipartite Quantum Interactions, Stefan Bäuml, Siddhartha Das, Mark M. Wilde

Faculty Publications

Bipartite quantum interactions have applications in a number of different areas of quantum physics, reaching from fundamental areas such as quantum thermodynamics and the theory of quantum measurements to other applications such as quantum computers, quantum key distribution, and other information processing protocols. A particular aspect of the study of bipartite interactions is concerned with the entanglement that can be created from such interactions. In this Letter, we present our work on two basic building blocks of bipartite quantum protocols, namely, the generation of maximally entangled states and secret key via bipartite quantum interactions. In particular, we provide a nontrivial, …

Temperature Transient Analysis For Reservoir Characterization, Yilin Mao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Recent developments in downhole temperature measurements open new alternatives contributing to reservoir characterization. In this dissertation, novel forward and inverse models to analyze production- and injection-induced temperature signals are developed for conventional and unconventional reservoir applications. Important limitations of the proposed models are addressed by accounting for fluid property variations and complex production strategies.

Forward modeling approaches involve making relevant assumptions that allow rigorous analytical solutions to be constructed using Laplace transform, Method of Characteristics, and control volume analysis. Our results of the analytical models are benchmarked with those from commercial numerical simulation software. Multiple possible scenarios of conventional reservoirs …

A Poetics Of Temperance: Gender, Genre, And Meaning-Making In Early Modern England, Cristina Maria Rosell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

For several hundred years, the scholarly discussion of temperance was dominated by the legacy of classical models. This dissertation, titled A Poetics of Temperance: Gender, Genre, and Meaning-Making in Early Modern England, develops said discussion in a new way by forging a language about ethics and aesthetics into a poetics of temperance. The term poiesis derives from Greek and signifies “to make, create, produce” (OED). Accordingly, Aristotle uses the Greek poietes, “from which our word ‘poet’ derives,” to denote a “maker” (Murray xxxii). In brief, this project understands the role of women in emergent genres as …

Search For Subsolar-Mass Ultracompact Binaries In Advanced Ligo's First Observing Run, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, B. Agarwal, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, A. Allocca, M. A. Aloy, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. V. Angelova, S. Antier, S. Appert, K. Arai, M. C. Araya

Faculty Publications

We present the first Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo search for ultracompact binary systems with component masses between 0.2 M-1.0 M using data taken between September 12, 2015 and January 19, 2016. We find no viable gravitational wave candidates. Our null result constrains the coalescence rate of monochromatic (delta function) distributions of nonspinning (0.2 M, 0.2 M) ultracompact binaries to be less than 1.0×106 Gpc-3 yr-1 and the coalescence rate of a similar distribution of (1.0 M, 1.0 M) ultracompact binaries to be less than 1.9×104 Gpc-3 yr-1 (at 90% confidence). Neither black holes nor neutron stars are expected to …

Using Deep Learning To Forecast Spatiotemporal Crime Patterns, Shuzhan Fan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The distributional patterns of crime occurrences are closely related to their spatial, temporal, and environmental contexts. It has been a hot topic for researchers and crime analysts to discover such complex relationships in order to forecast crime, both spatially and temporally. Many factors play a role in the occurrences of crimes. Conventional crime forecasting research has primarily relied on historical crime records and socioeconomic data, while ignoring the rich social media and other environmental context data. The large volume of data requires a more appropriate forecasting framework with the ability to take in massive multimodal data and possibly achieve better …

Louisiana Children’S Trust Fund: 2017-2018 Annual Report, Elizabeth Winchester, Jonathan Lomotey, Marmar Orooji, Jada Thomas-Smith, Aimee H. Moles, Kandra Colomb, Judith Rhodes

Reports

No abstract provided.

Recruiting, Retaining, And Promoting For Careers At Transportation Agencies, Christofer Harper, Susan Bogus, Raghava Kommalapati, Doeun Choe

Data

Corresponding data set for Tran-SET Project No. 17PPLSU07. Abstract of the final report is stated below for reference:

"State transportation agencies currently face complex challenges in recruiting and retaining the workforce necessary to function effectively. The situation exacerbates due to the number of employees from different generations that have to coexist with varying values, expectations, and principles. These agencies are primarily comprised of two generational groups: the baby-boomers, who are approaching retirement and occupy many managerial positions; and the millennials, who are demonstrating their interest in technology and demanding dynamism in their careers. This multiplicity of interest represents a challenge …

Investigating Problem Of Distracted Drivers On Louisiana Roadways, Xiaoduan Sun

Publications

Due to the escalating usage of cellphone and social networking, distracted driving is and will remain as one of the most serious problems faced by Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and law enforcement agencies. Under the aim of in-depth investigation of distracted driving crashes in Louisiana, the specific objectives of this study are: (1) reviewing the crash reports for the quality of distracted driving crash reporting, (2) analyzing distracted driving-related crashes through regression model and data mining algorithm to link the severity of distracted driving crashes with the contributing factors collected in crash data, (3) investigating the observable characteristics of distracted …

The Use Of A Celebrity In Advertising A Potentially Unhealthy Product: Using Psi And The Effects On Consumers’ Body Image, Oliver Taylor

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Challenges During Diapause And Anhydrobiosis: Mitochondrial Bioenergetics And Desiccation Tolerance, Steven C. Hand, Daniel S. Moore, Yuvraj Patil

Faculty Publications

© 2018 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology In preparation for the onset of environmental challenges like overwintering, food limitation, anoxia, or water stress, many invertebrates and certain killifish enter diapause. Diapause is a developmentally-programed dormancy characterized by suppression of development and metabolism. For embryos of Artemia franciscana (brine shrimp), the metabolic arrest is profound. These gastrula-stage embryos depress oxidative metabolism by ~99% during diapause and survive years of severe desiccation in a state termed anhydrobiosis. Trehalose is the sole fuel source for this developmental stage. Mitochondrial function during diapause is downregulated primarily by restricting substrate supply, as a …

On A Stochastic 2d Simplified Liquid Crystal Model Driven By Jump Noise, T. Tachim Medjo

Communications on Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Adoption Of Sustainable Agriculture Practices Among Farmers In Kentucky, Usa, Bijesh Mishra, Buddhi R. Gyawali, Krishna P. Paudel, Neelam C. Poudyal, Marion F. Simon, Siddhartha Dasgupta, George Antonious

Faculty Publications

© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Promoting the sustainable agricultural practices at an individual farm level is essential to ensure agricultural sustainability. This study analyzed whether and how various factors related to farm or farmers’ characteristics influence the adoption intensity of sustainable agriculture practices. We used a negative binomial regression model to fit the data collected from a mail survey of farmers in Kentucky, USA. Our results showed that the adoption intensity of sustainable agriculture practices varied significantly among agricultural districts in Kentucky. Farmers who grew row crops, had irrigation facilities, and were in favor of …

Effect Of Surrounding Vegetation On Microbial Survival Or Die-Off On Watermelon Surface In An Agriculture Setting, Vijay Singh Chhetri, Kathryn Fontenot, Ronald Strahan, Veerachandra K. Yemmireddy, Katheryn J. Parraga Estrada, Achyut Adhikari

Faculty Publications

Preharvest contamination of produce with food borne pathogens has been a major food safety issue. In this study, we investigated the effect of surrounding vegetation on the survival of natural and inoculated generic Escherichia coli on watermelon rinds in an agricultural field setting. There was no significant difference (p >.05) on the populations of natural generic E. coli (1–1.46 log Most Probable Number (MPN)/sample) and coliforms (<3.99 log CFU/cm2) on watermelons harvested from low, medium, and high levels of vegetation. However, the survival rate of generic E. coli inoculated on watermelon rind discs was variable with the level of vegetation. A significant reduction in generic E. coli count was observed within 12 hr at all vegetation levels. After 108 hr, discs placed at low vegetation level had a highest die-off reduction (3 log Colony Forming Units (CFU)/cm2) compared to medium and high vegetation levels. Practical applications: To ensure preharvest produce safety, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) produce safety rule has suggested a time interval between last irrigation and harvest for potentially contaminating microorganisms to die-off. However, a knowledge gap exists regarding the influence of surrounding vegetation on microbial die-off rates on produce in the agricultural field. The findings of this study emphasize the importance of considering the surrounding vegetation while making decisions for developing preharvest risk management strategies based on microbial die-off rate calculations.

Development Of Nanocomposite Adsorbents For Heavy Metal Removal From Wastewater, Bin Wang, Tingting Wu, Subramania Angaiah, Vignesh Murugadoss, Jong Eun Ryu, Evan K. Wujcik, Na Lu, David P. Young, Qiang Gao, Zhanhu Guo

Faculty Publications

Development of highly efficient, low cost adsorbents for heavy metal ion removal from wastewater is an enduring undertaking. Two major groups of nanocomposite adsorbents are reviewed here. The magnetic carbon family is first discussed including the preparation of such materials. Various carbon sources have been used in the preparation, and the structural characteristics have been analyzed. Cr(VI) removal studies unveil a wide range of performance. The second group adsorbents is polymer functionalized nanocomposites. One notable polymer is polyaniline which is a redox polymer. The redox nature allows the composite materials to facilitate Cr(VI) reduction to Cr(III) which is prone to …

Checking Facts And Fighting Back: Why Journalists Should Defend Their Profession, Raymond J. Pingree, Brian Watson, Mingxiao Sui, Kathleen Searles, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Joshua P. Darr, Martina Santia, Kirill Bryanov

Faculty Publications

Bias accusations have eroded trust in journalism to impartially check facts. Traditionally journalists have avoided responding to such accusations, resulting in an imbalanced flow of arguments about the news media. This study tests what would happen if journalists spoke up more in defense of their profession, while simultaneously also testing effects of doing more fact checking. A five-day field experiment manipulated whether an online news portal included fact check stories and opinion pieces defending journalism. Fact checking was beneficial in terms of three democratically desirable outcomes–media trust, epistemic political efficacy, and future news use intent–only when defense of journalism stories …

Understanding Fear Of Zika: Personal, Interpersonal, And Media Influences, Chun Yang, James Price Dillard, Ruobing Li

Faculty Publications

Fear of infectious disease often motivates people to protect themselves. But, it can also produce negative bio-social-psychological effects whose severity is on par with those of the disease. The WHO declaration of Zika as a world health crisis presented an opportunity to study factors that bring about fear. Beginning nine days after the WHO announcement, data were gathered from women aged 18–35 living in the southern United States (N = 719). Respondents reported experiencing fear of Zika at levels akin to those reported following other significant crises/disasters (e.g., the terrorist attacks of 9/11). Fear increased as a function of (1) …

Susceptibility And Resilience To Cyber Threat: Findings From A Scenario Decision Program To Measure Secure And Insecure Computing Behavior, Carl F. Weems, Irfan Ahmed, Golden G. Richard, Justin D. Russell, Erin L. Neill

Faculty Publications

Interest in the individual differences underlying end user computer security behavior has led to the development of a multidisciplinary field of research known as behavioral information security. An important gap in knowledge and the motivation for this research is the development of ways to measure secure and insecure cyber behavior for research and eventually practice. Here we report a study designed to develop a technique for assessing secure and insecure cyber behavior for broad research use. The Susceptibility and Resilience to Cyber Threat (SRCT) is an immersive scenario decision program. The SRCT measures susceptibility to cyber threat and malicious behavior …

Relationship Between Road Network Characteristics And Traffic Safety, Hatim Sharif, Samer Dessouky

Publications

The Transportation and Capital Improvement of the City of San Antonio, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and other related agencies often make several efforts based on traffic data to improve safety at intersections, but the number of intersection crashes is still on the high side. There is no one size fits all solution for intersections and the City is often usually confronted with doing best value option analysis on different solutions to choose the least expensive yet more advancements. The goal of this project was to obtain the relationship between road network characteristics and public safety with a focus on …

Development Of A Self-Powered Structural Health Monitoring System For Transportation Infrastructure, Aydin Karsilaya, Samer Dessouky, Athanassios Papagiannakis

Publications

Roadways and bridges play an important role in the economic and social health of society by connecting commerce and people. Economic growth and population expansion pose considerable burden on the aging infrastructure (i.e., pavements and bridges). There is a pressing need to develop structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies capable of collecting infrastructure utilization data. Doing so inexpensively with self-powered systems will revolutionize infrastructure monitoring technology, and will improve decision making enabling roadway and bridge preservation. In this study, a self-powered battery-less structural health monitoring (SHM) system was developed. It is powered by a thermal energy harvester equipped with thermoelectric generators …

Recruiting, Retaining, And Promoting For Careers At Transportation Agencies, Christofer Harper, Susan Bogus, Raghava Kommalapati, Doeun Choe

Publications

State transportation agencies currently face complex challenges in recruiting and retaining the workforce necessary to function effectively. The situation exacerbates due to the number of employees from different generations that have to coexist with varying values, expectations, and principles. These agencies are primarily comprised of two generational groups: the baby-boomers, who are approaching retirement and occupy many managerial positions; and the millennials, who are demonstrating their interest in technology and demanding dynamism in their careers. This multiplicity of interest represents a challenge for human resources (HR) in addressing workforce issues and providing the necessary means to recruit and retain qualified …

High-Throughput Assessment Of A Novel, Thiol-Acrylate Hydrogel For Tumor Spheroid Synthesis In A Microfluidic Device, Nathan Daniel Kersker

LSU Master's Theses

The extracellular environment plays an important role in regulating cell behavior. The mechanical, structural, and compositional properties of the extracellular matrix can determine the fate of the growing cells. Standard two-dimensional culturing in a flask fails to represent a native cellular environment. To create the native environment suitable for cells, hydrogels were previously studied. One of the most extensively studied synthetic hydrogels was a poly(ethylene glycol diacrylate) (PEGDA) hydrogel. However, the need for UV polymerization may introduce unwanted changes in cell morphology and viability. The hydrogel being proposed was a form of a thiol-acrylate hydrogel that can eliminate this problem …

Microbial Processes In The Weathering Crust Aquifer Of A Temperate Glacier, Brent C. Christner, Heather F. Lavender, Christina L. Davis, Erin E. Oliver, Sarah U. Neuhaus, Krista F. Myers, Birgit Hagedorn, Slawek M. Tulaczyk, Peter T. Doran, William C. Stone

Faculty Publications

© 2018 Author(s). Incident solar radiation absorbed within the ablation zone of glaciers generates a shallow perched aquifer and seasonal icebound microbial habitat. During the melt seasons of 2014 and 2015, borehole investigations were used to examine the physical, geochemical, and microbiological properties in the near-surface ice and aquifer of the temperate Matanuska Glacier (south-central Alaska). Based on temperature, solar forcing, and ice optical properties, the dissipation of shortwave radiation promoted internal melting and the formation of a weathering crust with a maximum depth of ∼2 m. Boreholes into the weathering crust provided access to water percolating through the porous …

Sexually-Relevant Visual And Chemosensory Signals Induce Distinct Behaviors And Neural Activation Patterns In The Social African Cichlid, Astatotilapia Burtoni, Karen E. Field, Christopher T. Mcvicker, Karen P. Maruska

Faculty Publications

© 2018 Field, McVicker and Maruska. Across vertebrates, the use of multimodal (multiple sensory modalities) signals has evolved to convey important information to receivers. Information content of multimodal signals can be the same as or different from information in each unimodal signal, and are classified as redundant or non-redundant, respectively, based on receivers’ behavioral responses. Despite the prevalence and importance of multimodal signaling across taxa, relatively little is known about how and where these signals are processed in the brains of receivers. We used the social African cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni, to investigate how sexually-relevant visual and chemosensory uni- and …

Mindfulness And Teen Behavior: Teenagers' Perceptions Of Behavior That Led To Expulsion, Michelle L. Lee

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of teaching specific mindfulness techniques to teens who have difficulty functioning in the classroom, using the Mindful Schools Curricula; the course includes 18 lessons on being mindful of sound, breath, movement, thoughts, and emotions. Specifically, the study was designed to determine whether a mindfulness course would be beneficial for South Parish High School teens who are expelled. The study design was mixed methods. Participants were administered pre- and post- scientific validated survey scales that measure mindfulness characteristics as one data source. Participants’ parents were given a questionnaire to return and …

For Every Mountain: A Phenomenological Study Examining The Experiences Of First-Generation, Low Socioeconomic Status, Black Males Excelling At Select Predominately White Institutions In Louisiana, Jovan Thomas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study is an attempt to examine the academic experiences among low SES, first-generation Black males who are excelling at select PWI’s in Louisiana. The images created of Black men in our society often confine them to environments shaped by drugs, crime, athletics, and academic failure. The path to upward mobility or economic success for African American men is often filled with obstacles and roadblocks. For a period of decades, there has been much research dedicated to African American male academic success and first-generation college students, whereas, the focus on low SES, first-generation Black males who excel at Predominantly White …

I Am Complicated, And So Is My Blackness: A Trifecta Exploration Of Educational Spaces And Identity Development, Kala Burrell-Craft

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Myriads of research studies have been written over the past 20 years highlighting the racial gap and disparities in educational opportunities and outcomes between Black and White students, but as revealed in a review of the literature, more studies need to be conducted that examine the intersection of race, space/place, and racial identity development. Using critical race theory as a framework, this study comprised of three separate, but related essays that explore the function of educational spaces in which Black Americans navigate, grow, and develop as it intersects with race, space/place, and identity development. Essay one is a critical narrative …