Digital Commons Network^™

Molecular Systematics Of Barbets And Trogons: Pantropical Biogeography African Speciation, And Issues In Phylogenetic Inference, Robert Glen Moyle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Modern phylogenetic methods and molecular data can be powerful tools for examining the evolution of organisms. Of particular interest are historical processes that influenced the diversity and distribution of modern taxa. I examined the evolutionary history of two families of birds, the barbets and toucans (Ramphastidae) and the trogons (Trogonidae). Both groups occur in three disjunct tropical regions, a pattern that offers no simple historical explanation. In addition to their distributions, these two families are also similar in that they are relatively ancient groups but have highly conserved and distinctive morphologies. DNA sequence data do not produce concordant phylogenies for …

Implementation Of An Integrated Quality Assurance Program For Ct-Tps Process, Junqing Wu

LSU Master's Theses

Systematic constancy and accuracy of a treatment planning system (TPS) are crucial for the entire radiation treatment planning process (TPP). The Quality Assurance (QA) of individual components does not necessarily lead to satisfying performance of the whole process due to the possible errors introduced by the data transfer process between components and other fluctuations. However, most of current QA for TPS is confined to the treatment planning computers. In this study, a time efficient and integrated CT-TPS QA procedure is presented, which starts at the beginning of the TPS input --- Computer Tomograhpy (CT). The whole QA procedure is based …

The Effects Of Fall Coldfront Passages On The Nekton Community In A Tidal Creek In Port Fourchon, La, As Monitored By Hydroacoustics, David J. Harmon

LSU Master's Theses

Split-beam hydroacoustic sampling with two, 420 KHz, 2x6 degree elliptical transducers was evaluated as a tool to quantify nekton movements in a Louisiana estuary. I measured the effects of atmospheric cold front passages on nekton in a tidal creek in Port Fourchon, LA during the fall of 2000. Six “fronts” were sampled between October 6 and December 18, 2000. Nekton density ranged from 0 to 24.4 fish/m³ with an overall mean of 2.44 fish/m³. Net samples were taken to supplement the acoustic data with species composition data. Species composition changed from October to December. A higher number …

Adult-Mediated Reading Instruction For Third Through Fifth Grade Children With Reading Difficulties, Randy Paul Lachney

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examined the efficacy of using minimally trained college undergraduates to tutor third- through fifth-grade students with reading difficulties. Tutors receiving four hours of training in scripted reading program based on the principles of Direct Instruction and emphasizing explicit instruction in phonological awareness and decoding. Thirty-six students from two elementary schools in a large southeastern city in the United States were selected and randomly assigned to treatment (tutoring) or contrast (non-tutoring) conditions. Treatment students received an average of fourteen and a half hours of tutoring over a twelve-week period. Data indicated that university students with minimal training successfully implemented …

The Effects Of Phytase In Nutritionally Adequate Diets, Diets Deficient In Calcium And Phosphorus, And The Interactive Effects Of Phytase And Eimeria Acervulina Infection In Broiler Chicks, Brandy Centrell Watson

LSU Master's Theses

Six experiments were conducted to determine the interactive effects of Eimeria acervulina (E. acervulina) infection and phytase, and the effects of phytase in nutritionally adequate diets and in diets deficient in Ca and available P (aP). Corn-soybean meal (C-SBM) diets were used. In Exp 1, treatments were: 1) C-SBM, 1.0% Ca and 0.45% aP; 2) C-SBM, 0.80% Ca and 0.25% aP; 3) Diet 1 + 600 FTU phytase/kg; 4) Diet 2 + 600 FTU phytase/kg; 5 to 8) Diets 1 to 4 but infected with coccidiosis. Weight gain (ADG), feed intake (ADFI), and gain:feed were reduced (P < 0.01) by the coccidial infection and the reduction in Ca and aP. Phytase increased (P < 0.02) ADG and ADFI, regardless of the Ca and aP content of the diet or the presence of coccidiosis. Gain:feed was increased by phytase but only in uninfected chicks (phytase x coccidiosis interaction, P < 0.02). Phytase increased (P < 0.02) bone ash percentage but only in diets deficient in Ca and aP (P < 0.01). Experiments 2 and 3 included only treatments 1 to 4 of Exp 1. The reduction in Ca and aP reduced (P < 0.01) ADG, ADFI, and gain:feed. Phytase addition increased (P < 0.02) ADG and ADFI in diets deficient in Ca and aP and in the nutritionally adequate diets. Experiments 4, 5, and 6 were conducted to determine the effects of phytase on intestinal transit time in broilers. Diets were: 1) C-SBM, 0.9% Ca and 0.35% aP; 2) C-SBM, 0.80% Ca and 0.25% aP + 600 FTU phytase/kg. Transit time on Day 1, but not on Day 7, was faster (P < 0.03) in chicks fed phytase. These data indicate that phytase is effective in the presence of a coccidial infection, but it may not be as effective as in uninfected chicks. Futhermore, phytase increases growth in diets deficient in Ca and aP and in diets formulated to be adequate in all nutrients. This increase in growth may be due to a faster transit time of feed through the digestive tract, resulting in a greater feed intake and gain.

Toward A Design Process, Joel Shay Aulie

LSU Master's Theses

This project presents an unconventional approach to an innovative design process. The thesis relates the challenges of adapting to the design studio environment. The author describes a personal journey into the design process, resulting from research and study of specific designers who have had high impact on the new creative approach to landscape design. The insight and knowledge gained from this search was instrumental in the evolutional process of design, incorporating a universal technique. The resultant process was then applied to a case study and evaluated for merit. The measure of a designer ultimately becomes the work he produces.

The Differences In Performance Of A Left Vs. Right Brained Golfer On A Curvilinear Golf Course, Robin Suzanne Jamison

LSU Master's Theses

Our everyday movement is reflected by those individuals who design the world in which we live. Ninety percent of the people who shape our everyday lives are right handed. Individuals perceive life differently, especially left and right handed individuals. One reason left and right-handed individuals interpret differently is due to the brains’ two hemispheres processing information separately. Can this difference in interpretation result in varying abilities of performance? Research has proven that those individuals who are right hemisphere dominant process and comprehend shapes better than left hemisphere dominant individuals. Golf is an activity that is exhibits the constant changing of …

Bacillus Anthracis Spore Concentrations At Various Carcass Sites, Pamala Rose Coker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of the disease anthrax, is a bacteria of great importance, both in the past and today. Despite this importance, many questions remain regarding defending against its use as a biological weapon, the bacteria's variation in virulence, and its epidemiology in nature. Using Etest strips (AB BIODISK, Solna, Sweden) to measure the MICs, 25 genetically diverse isolates of B. anthracis were tested to determine their susceptibility to seven clinically relevant antimicrobial agents. Using the NCCLS MIC breakpoints for staphylococci, three isolates were found to be resistant to penicillin and negative for beta-lactamase production. From a group …

Protection Of Female Prisoners: Dissolving Standards Of Decency, Martin A. Geer

Scholarly Works

Almost fifty years ago, the United Nations set standards that reached international consensus and limited male correctional employees’ activities in female inmate residences. These restrictions were of particular importance to women prisoners. It is well documented that female prisoners who are particularly vulnerable, are traumatized by unwanted touching, assault, harassment, and invasion of their physical privacy and integrity. Despite this population’s history and international legal standards, there was a significant turn around in penology. The resulting cross-gender supervision for housing units and body searches became the norm in the United States.

This article examines how the U.S. penal system transposed …

Beef Producer Perferences For Various Livestock Revenue Protection Products: A Conjoint Approach, Deacue Fields Iii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The federal government has recently approved legislation to develop revenue insurance products that are affordable and user-friendly for livestock producers. The features of the products will be the ultimate determinant of product acceptance among producers. The objective of the study was to determine the relative importance of livestock revenue insurance product attributes as well as to identify the characteristics of beef cattle producers who prefer certain levels of a given product attribute. Conjoint analysis was utilized to determine the importance of selected attributes. Conjoint Designer was used to develop eleven hypothetical insurance products from four attributes with three levels each. …

The Effect Of Nocturnal Sampling On Semen Quality And The Efficiency Of Collection In Bovine Species, Jennifer H. Yates

LSU Master's Theses

The objective of this study was to evaluate two semen collection schedules utilizing the assumed behavioral differences between bovine species. The efficiency was measured by bull behavior and semen quality parameters. Four Holstein and four Brahman bulls were collected each during a morning and a night collection time weekly. Ejaculates (n=64) were obtained via artificial vagina over four-weeks. To avoid masking benefits of night collection, the first collection of the week was alternated between night and day. Two collection teams were employed to reduce the time needed for collection, and the variability in collection method. Sampling order and collection team …

Recent Developments In Copyright Law: Technology And International Trade Play Starring Roles, Mary Lafrance

Scholarly Works

The once staid field of copyright law has undergone a dramatic revolution in recent years, as new technologies and international trade pressures have spurred legislative change, while challenging the federal courts to find answers to those questions that Congress has not resolved or, in some cases, to questions that recent acts of Congress have created. This article explores recent developments in copyright law in 2002.

“Owing To The Extreme Youth Of The Accused”: The Changing Legal Response To Juvenile Homicide, David S. Tanenhaus, Steven A. Drizin

Scholarly Works

In this essay, the authors seek to dispel the myth that the juvenile court was never intended to deal with serious and violent offenders; a myth that has largely been unchallenged, especially in the mainstream media, and one that critics of the juvenile court have used to undermine its legitimacy. The discovery of homicide data from the Chicago police department from the early twentieth century, the era in which modern juvenile justice came of age, provides us with new historical date with which to put this dangerous myth to rest, by showing that the nation’s model juvenile court—the Cook County …

Group Automorphisms And The Decomposition Of Plancherel Measures, David Slay

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this paper, a natural action of the automorphisms of a group on the space of irreducible unitary representations is used to decompose the Plancherel measure on the dual space as an integral of measures on homogeneous spaces. Explicit decompositions are obtained for the cases of free 2 and 3-step nilpotent Lie groups. These results are obtained using direct integral decompositions, induced representations, the Mackey Machine, and measure theory on homogeneous spaces.

Persecution In The Fog Of War: The House Of Lords’ Decision In Adan, Michael Kagan, William P. Johnson

Scholarly Works

International law requires that a refugee have a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group. It is not enough to be at risk of being persecuted, nor is it even enough to be a member of a particular race or religion. There must be a “nexus” between the danger and one of the five Convention-recognized reasons for persecution. In the 1998 decision in Adan v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, the House of Lords concluded that a man fleeing clan warfare in Somalia could not …

Fecal Coliform Decay And Regrowth Kinetics In An Anaerobic Dairy Wastewater Environment, Shufang Liu

LSU Master's Theses

The kinetics of fecal coliforms (FC) decay and regrowth were analyzed under laboratory conditions using filtered dairy wastewater under anaerobic conditions. The mean specific growth rates during the regrowth phase, µr , in the batch study were 1.79, 1.46, and 1.27d-1 for initial organic carbon concentrations of 478, 235 and 127 mg/L COD, respectively. The substrate concentrations had a significant impact on the FC regrowth. A maximum specific growth rate (mmax) of 1.92 d-1, and half-saturated coefficient (ks) of 60.92mg/L were determined from these data. The mean dark FC decay rate coefficients, kd , at 35oC in the batch study …

Pleasure Principles: The Social Construction Of Gambling And Sex Addiction Treatment, M. Kelly James

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The transformation of behavior into deviance requires many players, individuals, and institutions invested in the social construction process and its outcomes. Although considered private recreational matters by some, gambling and having sex are gaining spotlight in the addiction arena. With the growing availability of casino entertainment, lotteries, OTB venues, prostitution, internet pornography, and 900 numbers, gambling and sex are interpreted, labeled, and treated by addiction recovery specialists. Using ethnographic methods and face-to-face interviews, I explore a southern community’s institutions and practitioners providing services to gambling and sex addicts. I examine the community’s discourse and its methods for defining and controlling …

New Voices At Work: Race And Gender Identity Caucuses In The U.S. Labor Movement, Ruben J. Garcia

Scholarly Works

Recently, labor law scholars have examined the emergence of "identity caucuses," in unions and in nonunion workplaces. Some scholars have pointed to identity caucuses as a source of division in unions, while others have pointed to them as alternatives to traditional unions. The author argues that race and gender caucuses in unions are not a source of division in the labor movement today, nor are they a viable alternative to traditional unions. In spite of the National Labor Relations Act's subordination of minority rights to majority rule, the author determines that women and people of color in union-based identity caucuses …

Do Best Practices In Legal Education Include Emphasis On Compositional Modes Of Studying Law As A Liberal Art?, Linda L. Berger

Scholarly Works

Reporter's Notes on "A Liberal Education in Law: Engaging the Legal Imagination through Research and Writing Beyond the Curriculum."

Sediment Transport In Wind-Exposed Shallow, Vegetated Aquatic Systems, Allen Michael Teeter

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Ecosystems with submersed vegetation are relatively shallow, physically stable and of moderate hydrodynamic energy. Submersed vegetation affect hydrodynamic friction for currents and waves resulting in increased overall frictional loss. Seagrasses shelter the sediment bed and reduce wind-wave resuspension. Bed sheltering factors were estimated from previous flume data on Laguna Madre seagrass species. Data from Laguna Madre indicate that total suspended material levels for bare areas are about an order of magnitude higher than some areas with submersed vegetation. Waves in Laguna Madre at depths less than 2 m were found to be smaller than those expected for the same non-dimensional …

Fast Scalable Visualization Techniques For Interactive Billion-Particle Walkthrough, Xinlian Liu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research develops a comprehensive framework for interactive walkthrough involving one billion particles in an immersive virtual environment to enable interrogative visualization of large atomistic simulation data. As a mixture of scientific and engineering approaches, the framework is based on four key techniques: adaptive data compression based on space-filling curves, octree-based visibility and occlusion culling, predictive caching based on machine learning, and scalable data reduction based on parallel and distributed processing. In terms of parallel rendering, this system combines functional parallelism, data parallelism, and temporal parallelism to improve interactivity. The visualization framework will be applicable not only to material simulation, …

Aspects Of Jazz And Classical Music In David N. Baker's Ethnic Variations On A Theme Of Paganini, Heather Koren Pinson

LSU Master's Theses

David Baker's Ethnic Variations on a Theme of Paganini (1976) for violin and piano bring together stylistic elements of jazz and classical music, a synthesis for which Gunther Schuller in 1957 coined the term "third stream." In regard to classical aspects, Baker's work is modeled on Nicolo Paganini's Twenty-fourth Caprice for Solo Violin, itself a theme and variations. From Paganini,it borrows aspects of melody, harmony, and articulation, not only of the theme but also the variations. In regard to jazz, Baker transforms most variations (including the theme, which in comparison to Paganini's is already a variation) into distinct styles related …

Characterization Of Alligator, Ostrich And Emu Skins And Comparisons To Traditional Leathers, Terri M. Von Hoven

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Exotic skins and leathers have enjoyed a recent resurgence, as current fashion magazines illustrate. Louisiana would like to increase its niche in the exotic skins market by increasing alligator, ostrich and emu skin usage, mainly by inspiring designers to incorporate them into their repertoire. The possibilities are endless from apparel and trim to upholstery and other home furnishings to accessories; Louisiana exotic skins have significant market potential. In order to assist in these traditional textile applications, characterization of the various skin properties needs to be completed. The research was carried out in three stages. For the preliminary research, one emu …

Log-Derived Cation Exchange Capacity Of Shaly Sands : Application To Hydrocarbon Detection And Drilling Optimization, Gamze Ipek

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers at Louisiana State University, LSU, have introduced several petrophysical models expressing the electric properties of shaly sands. These models, to be used for hydrocarbon detection, are based on the Waxman and Smits concept of supplementing the water conductivity with a clay counterions conductivity. The LSU models also utilize the Dual Water theory, which relates each conductivity term to a particular type of water, free and bound, each occupying a specific volume of the total pore space. The main difference between these models and the other shaly sand models is that the counterion conductivity is represented by a hypothetical sodium …

Comparative Study Of Analog And Digital Hearing Aids, Adam Benjamin Lopez

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of the present study was to determine if objective and/or subjective differences between analog and digital hearing aids exist when blinding is utilized in the protocol and circuitry is controlled. Ten normal hearing and seven hearing impaired subjects were monaurally fitted with analog and digital hearing aids. Probe microphone measures were obtained at the plane of the tympanic membrane at two output levels (40 dB SPL and 70 dB SPL). Listener performance in quiet was evaluated via word recognition testing, listener performance in noise was evaluated via the Hearing in Noise Test, and listener preference was evaluated via …

Misguided By Experience: A Defense Of Custer's Actions At The Little Bighorn, Harold Douglas Baker

LSU Master's Theses

At midday on June 25, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer split his Seventh Cavalry Regiment into three elements and attacked an enormous village of hostile Indians situated along the Little Bighorn River in modern-day Montana. Custer and his immediate command of five troops, a total of 225 men, did not survive the fight. Immediately following the battle, officers-Reno, Benteen, Brisbin, Terry, Gibbon-began to recreate the history of the campaign's recent events in an effort to explain the disaster and clear themselves of responsibility. Their self-serving omission of facts and their convenient "remembrance" of things that had not happened fully …

Creating An Online Tutorial And Pathfinder, Peter A. Hook

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Mr Hook explores the educational potential of Web-based tutorials and pathfinders. He discusses how the multimedia environment can effectively reach a broad range of learner types, explaining how the disciplines of infor- mation architecture and information visualization can contribute to designing a successful tutorial and pathfinder.

Motivational Processes And Performance: The Role Of Global And Facet Personality Traits, James Haven Martin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The conscientiousness and neuroticism dimensions of the Five Factor Model (FFM) have been shown to be predictive of performance (Barrick & Mount, 1991; Paunonen & Ashton, 2001). This research examined three relatively unexplored issues, including (a) the impact of conscientiousness and neuroticism on motivational processes and performance; (b) the criterion-related validity of facet measures of conscientiousness and neuroticism as predictors of motivation and performance; and (c) whether conscientiousness, neuroticism, and their facets impact changes in motivational processes between performance episodes. Undergraduate psychology students (N = 220) completed measures of self-set goals and self-efficacy beliefs on two occasions, prior to the …

Use Of Actigraphy To Objectively Measure Motor Restlessness In Restless Legs Syndrome, Tai Anderson Istre

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a disorder characterized by disagreeable leg sensations, usually prior to sleep onset, which cause an almost irresistible urge to move the legs. A characteristic feature of this disorder is that the movements are partially or completely relieved with leg motions. Attempts to find the underlying pathology have been unsuccessful. Thus, there are no objective physiological tests to diagnose this condition. Using the Suggested Immobilization Test (SIT), the current study attempted to validate a new and practical method for quantifying the motor symptoms of RLS, actigraphy. To this end, the SIT with actigraphy was evaluated for …

Building Community: An Environmental Approach To Crime Prevention, Gustavo A. Barreto

LSU Master's Theses

Crime cannot be understood as a single-solution problem. Participation of the community is important to complement and make more efficient any program of crime control by police authorities or any other law enforcement agency. This thesis is intended to create consciousness among designers of the urban environment of their social role. Cities must include places to promote community interaction and formation of social bonds. As social bonds among residents increase, and bonds with the place begin building a sense of territoriality in the community, the residents become active defenders of the place against crime. A theory summary presents different and …