Digital Commons Network^™

Political Parties For Protection And Profit: Explaining Opposition Party Competition Under Electoral Authoritarianism, Michael David Toje

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite the presence of open elections and contestable political offices, opposition parties in electoral authoritarian regimes face barriers – formal and informal – that prevent them from attaining de facto power. Yet, these parties still decide to spend the time, money, and effort to run candidates in unfair elections. This dissertation seeks to uncover the reasons that opposition parties decide to compete in such an uncompetitive environment, and what sustains opposition parties though cycles of defeat. It proposes that opposition parties compete not for the purposes of unseating the ruling party, but rather for controlling their own local affairs away …

Stress And Suicidality: Effects Of Stressful Life Events, Contextual Socioeconomic Disadvantage, And Early Life Traumas, Muhammed Yildiz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Determining the risk factors and associated pathways that lead individuals to suicidal behavior is an important endeavor in developing appropriate intervention and prevention strategies. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this dissertation examines how stressful life events, contextual socioeconomic disadvantage, and major early life traumas are associated with suicidal tendencies of U.S. individuals. In addition to direct associations, some of the potential mediating mechanisms that these stressors exert their effects through were also investigated. The major findings indicated that stressful life events increased the risk of suicidal ideation and attempt among adolescents, both directly, …

Forget Me Not: Are Stronger Memories More Susceptible To Retrieval-Induced Forgetting?, Laura Lee Heisick

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Successfully retrieving information sometimes causes forgetting of related, but unpracticed, information, termed retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF). One explanatory mechanism of RIF suggests related, but currently irrelevant, information is inhibited during retrieval, resulting in poorer memory for competing representations. Critically, this perspective suggests stronger memories are more susceptible to RIF because stronger representations produce additional competition when unpracticed. To resolve this competition, strong competing items are inhibited, resulting in the counterintuitive prediction that stronger memories are more likely to be forgotten. The aim of the current experiments was to replicate and extend recent work suggesting non-typical objects and own-race faces, both of …

Factors Influencing Safety Performance Among Industrial Manufacturing Facilities In Louisiana, Sarah Emily Ragona

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected organizational, demographic, and safety practice factors on the number and types of injuries within the industrial manufacturing plants in eight parishes in southern Louisiana. The target population was industrial organizational facilities. The accessible population was industrial manufacturing plants in the eight parishes surrounding Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who are members of a trade association comprised of industrial manufacturers. The sample was 100% of the defined as the accessible population. The researcher contacted a trade organization to identify the data source, requested and was granted permission to both access …

Teachers As Change Agents: An Investigation Into The Literary Practices Of Effective Tier 2 Charter School Teachers In South Louisiana, Earlisha Jenkins Whitfield

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A Southern Louisiana charter school is in the initial phases of a Response To Intervention (RTI). General education classroom teachers are responsible for all Tier 1 and 2 instruction that included interventions in Tier 2. However, many teachers were unsure about the implementation, of RTI and had negative experiences with RTI, describing the process as frustrating and overwhelming. This case study examines teachers that have been effective in the process as evidenced by an increase in in reading levels and student interest. The research explores the teachers’ perceptions, experience, and knowledge of the current implementation of RTI. This qualitative research …

#Whyididntreport: Using Social Media Analysis To Inform Issues With Sexual Assault Reporting, Jordyn Warren

LSU Master's Theses

The #MeToo movement allowed victims of sexual assault to go public with their stories. When Dr. Christine Blasey Ford came forward with allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in September of 2018, she was scrutinized by President Trump for not reporting the incident to authorities “when it happened nearly 30 years ago.” Promptly, #WhyIDidntReport came to fruition on Twitter, uncovering the shame victims feel and the complexities behind why so many individuals didn’t and still don’t report their assaults. Victim-service agencies “provide victims with support and services to facilitate their physical and emotional recovery, offer protection from future victimizations, …

Living Shorelines As Alternative Methods Of Shoreline Protection, Hunter Shows

LSU Master's Theses

Louisiana’s marshes and coastal estuaries are losing habitat at an alarming rate. High rates of sea level rise coupled with coastal subsidence are turning once thriving marsh land into open water. The sediment starved Mississippi River Delta is drowning, making families homes, property, and livelihoods increasingly vulnerable every year. Significant funding is being allocated for projects to offset the increasing erosion including but not limited to diversions, marsh creation, ridge restoration, and shoreline protection projects.

Living shorelines, for the sake of this study, can be defined as a form of shoreline protection which helps shoreline stabilization and erosion reduction while …

A Decision-Making Tool For Incorporating Cradle-To-Gate Sustainability Into Pavement Design, Sujata Subedi

LSU Master's Theses

The need to continually maintain an aged and crumbling national roadway network, together with a growing demand for upgrading has resulted in major environmental and economic impacts around the nation. This has led to an interest in developing a structured framework to quantify the sustainability performance of pavements by balancing economic and environmental performance against engineering criteria. This study developed an Environment Product Declaration (EPD) based, decision-making framework to quantify the sustainability of pavement design alternatives. In this study, the sustainability of pavement is described in tandem with Environmental and Economic performance criteria. First, the Environmental analysis was inclusive of …

Field Drilling Data Cleaning And Preparation For Data Analytics Applications, Daniel Cardoso Braga

LSU Master's Theses

Throughout the history of oil well drilling, service providers have been continuously striving to improve performance and reduce total drilling costs to operating companies. Despite constant improvement in tools, products, and processes, data science has not played a large part in oil well drilling. With the implementation of data science in the energy sector, companies have come to see significant value in efficiently processing the massive amounts of data produced by the multitude of internet of thing (IOT) sensors at the rig. The scope of this project is to combine academia and industry experience to analyze data from 13 different …

Painterly Reality, Chao Ding

LSU Master's Theses

During my three years in the LSU M.F.A. painting program, I experimented with many different directions, but I have always returned to painterly figuration as the means best suited to the expression of my thoughts and feelings. Symbolism of alienation and isolation have always been extremely important to me, but as my painting has evolved formal issues of composition and color have become increasingly important, allowing me to address more complex metaphorical structures.

Transient Flow Analysis Of A Closing Blowout Preventer Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (Cfd), Daniel Barreca

LSU Master's Theses

Reliability of blowout preventers (BOPs) is crucial for drilling and production operations. Erosion of BOP components and hydrodynamic forces on rams may cause failure of BOP elements to seal the well. Transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of fluids within the wellbore and BOP offer quantitative and qualitative data related to this reliability during the closure of various BOP components. Since limited research has been published in transient CFD simulations of closing BOPs, this thesis discusses challenges and solutions to simulating closing blowout preventers. Single component fluids are simulated through several BOP geometries such as annular preventers, pipe rams, and …

A Low-Cost Experimental Testbed For Multi-Agent System Coordination Control, Victor Fernandez-Kim

LSU Master's Theses

A multi-agent system can be defined as a coordinated network of mobile, physical agents that execute complex tasks beyond their individual capabilities. Observations of biological multi-agent systems in nature reveal that these ``super-organisms” accomplish large scale tasks by leveraging the inherent advantages of a coordinated group. With this in mind, such systems have the potential to positively impact a wide variety of engineering applications (e.g. surveillance, self-driving cars, and mobile sensor networks). The current state of research in the area of multi-agent systems is quickly evolving from the theoretical development of coordination control algorithms and their computer simulations to experimental …

Abject Objects, Erfan Ghiasi

LSU Master's Theses

In this thesis paper, I explore Object-Oriented Ontology’s definition of aesthetic and its relation to Bertolt Brecht’s Epic theater in both theory and praxis by utilizing my artworks, as examples, presented in my thesis show entitled Abject Objects.

Influence Of Hydration Status On Running Performance And Makers Of Psychological And Physiological Stress In High School Cross Country Runners, Joshua Granger

LSU Master's Theses

Adequate hydration is an important attribute to an individual’s health and wellbeing. This is highlighted in athletic populations, who are at great risk for hypohydration, regardless of age, sex, and sport. The rampant hypohydration observed in athletes is present at all levels of competition, from professional athletes, with access to substantial monetary and nutrition support to division 3 and recreational athletes who often face monetary challenges. This trend continues to trickle down to lower levels of competition, such as high school, where athletes often practice and compete in dehydrated states. Practicing in these hypohydrated states can cause health issues such …

Interpreting Reality In The Anthropocene, Jake Philip Hamill

LSU Master's Theses

In this paper, I would like to propose that abundant beautification techniques in contemporary nature documentaries are counterproductive when attempting to address humans’ impact on our planet. By utilizing technology there could be a new way to educate ourselves about the Anthropocene on platforms such as Google Earth where one can view nature, statistics, and art by location. With limited data, learning about our effects on nature in its entirety is close to impossible but art can allow us to try and reveal new hidden connections.

Maximizing And Modeling Malonyl-Coa Production In Escherichia Coli, Tatiana Thompson Silveira Mello

LSU Master's Theses

In E. coli, fatty acid synthesis is catalyzed by the enzyme acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), which converts acetyl-CoA into malonyl-CoA. Malonyl-CoA is a major building block for numerous of bioproducts. Multiple parameters regulate the homeostatic cellular concentration of malonyl-CoA, keeping it at a very low level. Understanding how these parameters affect the bacterial production of malonyl-CoA is fundamental to maximizing it and its bioproducts. To this end, competing pathways consuming malonyl-CoA can be eliminated, and optimal nutritional and environmental conditions can be provided to the fermentation broth. Most previous studies utilized genetic modifications, expensive consumables, and high-cost quantification methods, making …

A Cup Of Breast Milk And A Warm Chair, Carlie A. Salomons

LSU Master's Theses

The work in the exhibition A Cup Of Breast Milk and A Warm Chair is a physical and ephemeral connection between mothers and daughters. It explores my personal connection to my maternal lineage. This connection is looked through the lens of common generational roles of women, ancestral inheritance and my childhood memories. I consider what it means to inherit and to be remembered outside of the standard androcentric genealogical structure. My inheritance from my maternal lineage comes in the form of women’s work, or handcrafts such as: crochet, knitting and sewing. In creating this body of work, I blend the …

Exploring The Role Of Gender And Race In Salary Negotiations, Chelsea D. Hightower

LSU Master's Theses

Research findings from the negotiation literature have revealed significant differences in the negotiation behaviors of men and women, specifically that women do not negotiate as often or as successfully as men do. This difference has been cited as one of many factors contributing to the persistence of the gender wage gap. A possible explanation for the differences is that men and women are treated differently when they negotiate. Thus, there is evidence that women negotiators tend to receive multiple forms of social and economic punishment (i.e., backlash) for engaging in behavior that is inconsistent with stereotype-based expectations of women in …

The Stanocola Refinery Band: Industry, Tradition, And Community, Katlin L. Harris

LSU Master's Theses

Following World War I, many American businesses began to sponsor musical ensembles to promote their commercial interests and boost the morale of their workers. Although these industry-sponsored ensembles were created to serve the needs of businesses, they often played vital roles in their communities. One such ensemble was a wind band in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, affiliated with the Standard Oil Company of Louisiana (known as “Stanocola”). The Stanocola Band (1919–1950) made its first public appearance in 1920. Under the auspices of the oil refinery in Baton Rouge, the band thrived throughout the Great Depression and World War II, only disbanding …

Reproductive Parameters And Methodologies For The Culture Of Golden Topminnows (Fundulus Chrysotus) And Bluenose Shiners (Pteronotropis Welaka), Jacob A. Fetterman

LSU Master's Theses

The global ornamental fish trade has expanded over the past 20 years, requiring captive rearing methods to be improved or developed for species of interest. Aquaculture of desirable species is preferable over wild harvest to conserve natural habitats and biodiversity. This thesis focused on improving culture methods for Golden Topminnows Fundulus chrysotus and developing culture methods for Bluenose Shiners Pteronotropis welaka, both native fishes of the southeastern United States with ornamental demand. A combination of reproductive metric analyses, examination of historical collections, and captive spawning trials were employed to target specific objectives for each species. In female Golden Topminnows, …

Phoenix For Orchestra, Niloufar Iravani

LSU Master's Theses

Phoenix for Orchestra consists of three movements of Life, Death, and Rebirth each presenting specific thematic and rhythmic elements. A variety of modes and textures are presented to depict mythology of the legendary bird phoenix as a tone poem. The first movement, Life, comprises five sections labeled as Sky, Sun, Beauty, Dignity, and Immortality. Each section features specific motives, structures, and textures. The second movement, Death, consists of three sections labeled as Fire, Destruction, and Grief and is based on the twelve-tone and whole tone collections. The third movement, Rebirth, comprises three sections labeled as Transformation, Renewal, and Immortality. The …

Phantasmatic: Interrogating The (Im)Materiality Of Bodies Through Wool And Clay, Alexandria J. Arceneaux

LSU Master's Theses

Phantasmaticis an exploration of materials and materiality which relies on the concept of the phantasmatic body elucidated in Gayle Salamon’s work Assuming a Body: Transgender and Rhetorics of Materiality. This thesis is an exploration of these ideas. In my work, I use wool and clay to represent the material (known) and phantasmatic (sensed) bodies in an effort to explore an expanded understanding of the body at large. My work is also an effort to expand my own understanding of my phantasmatic body and its relationship to (my) materiality.

Léon-Jean-Joseph Dubois, Antiquarian, Anna E. Dow

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines the life of Léon-Jean-Joseph Dubois (1780-1846), a French engraver, antiquarian, conservator, and restorer of antiquities. Dubois lived in Paris during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, in an era when Ancient Egyptian art and history became very popular. His life was overshadowed by the career of his friend Jean-François Champollion, the “Father” of Egyptology, who laid the foundations for the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphics in 1822. This thesis is the first to study Dubois, and the focus of this study will be on his life, his publications, his art, his relationships with other antiquarians, his museum …

Reproductive Capacity Evolves In Response To Ecology Through Common Changes In Cell Number In Hawaiian Drosophila, Didem P. Sarikaya, Samuel H. Church, Laura P. Lagomarsino, Karl N. Magnacca, Steven L. Montgomery, Donald K. Price, Kenneth Y. Kaneshiro, Cassandra G. Extavour

Faculty Publications

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Lifetime reproductive capacity is a critical fitness component. In insects, female reproductive capacity is largely determined by the number of ovarioles, the egg-producing subunits of the ovary [e.g., 1]. Recent work has provided insights into ovariole number regulation in Drosophila melanogaster. However, whether mechanisms discovered under laboratory conditions explain evolutionary variation in natural populations is an outstanding question. We investigated potential effects of ecology on the developmental processes underlying ovariole number evolution among Hawaiian Drosophila, a large adaptive radiation wherein the highest and lowest ovariole numbers of the family have evolved within 25 million years. Previous …

Searching For - And Finding! - Gravitational Waves, Gabriela González, Marie Kasprzack

Faculty Publications

We describe the search for gravitational waves of astrophysical origin with ground-based interferometric LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) and Virgo detectors, and we provide details about the successful detection of signals from the merger of black holes. Three signals from similar systems were detected on Earth on September 14 and December 26, 2015, and January 4, 2017. We also describe the exciting future of the field of gravitational wave astronomy.

Doubling Inequality And Nodal Sets For Solutions Of Bi-Laplace Equations, Jiuyi Zhu

Faculty Publications

We investigate the doubling inequality and nodal sets for the solutions of bi-Laplace equations. A polynomial upper bound for the nodal sets of solutions and their gradient is obtained based on the recent development of nodal sets for Laplace eigenfunctions by Logunov. In addition, we derive an implicit upper bound for the nodal sets of solutions. We show two types of doubling inequalities for the solutions of bi-Laplace equations. As a consequence, the rate of vanishing is given for the solutions.

Cost Effective, Highly Efficient Wireless Power Transfer Systems For Ev Battery Charging, Amir Masoud Bozorgi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The impact of changing inner diameter of wireless power transfer (WPT) coils on coupling coefficient is studied. It is demonstrated that at a certain outer and inner coil diameter, turn space variation has minor effect on the coupling coefficient. Next, two compensation networks, namely primary LCC and secondary LCC, which offer load-independent voltage transfer ratio and zero voltage switching for WPT, are presented. For both compensation networks, the condition for having zero voltage switching operation are derived. In addition, load-independent voltage transfer ratio (VTR) frequencies are obtained and VTR at each frequency is derived. Then, required equations for calculation of …

Sediment Identification Using Machine Learning Classifiers In A Mixed-Texture Dredge Pit Of Louisiana Shelf For Coastal Restoration, Haoran Liu, Kehui Xu, Bin Li, Ya Han, Guandong Li

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Basalt Tectonic Discrimination Using Combined Machine Learning Approach, Qiubing Ren, Mingchao Li, Shuai Han, Ye Zhang, Qi Zhang, Jonathan Shi

Faculty Publications

Geochemical discrimination of basaltic magmatism from different tectonic settings remains an essential part of recognizing the magma generation process within the Earth’s mantle. Discriminating among mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB), ocean island basalt (OIB) and island arc basalt (IAB) is that matters to geologists because they are the three most concerned basalts. Being a supplement to conventional discrimination diagrams, we attempt to utilize the machine learning algorithm (MLA) for basalt tectonic discrimination. A combined MLA termed swarm optimized neural fuzzy inference system (SONFIS) was presented based on neural fuzzy inference system and particle swarm optimization. Two geochemical datasets of basalts from …

The Link Between Purine Metabolism And Production Of Antibiotics In Streptomyces, Smitha Sivapragasam, Anne Grove

Faculty Publications

© 2019 by the authors. Stress and starvation causes bacterial cells to activate the stringent response. This results in down-regulation of energy-requiring processes related to growth, as well as an upregulation of genes associated with survival and stress responses. Guanosine tetra- and pentaphosphates (collectively referred to as (p)ppGpp) are critical for this process. In Gram-positive bacteria, a main function of (p)ppGpp is to limit cellular levels of GTP, one consequence of which is reduced transcription of genes that require GTP as the initiating nucleotide, such as rRNA genes. In Streptomycetes, the stringent response is also linked to complex morphological differentiation …