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Reliability And Concordance Of The Childhood Autism Rating Scale And Dsm-Iv In Adults With Severe And Profound Mental Retardation, Noha Farrah Minshawi

LSU Master's Theses

Researchers and clinicians have long treated autism as though it were a disorder that only affected children. As a result, little literature is available on the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of adults with autism. One of the first issues to address in this population is diagnosis. While several rating scales and diagnostic systems exist for surveying autistic behavior in children, researchers have not demonstrated the reliability of these scales for adults. The present study focused on two commonly used instruments, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). In the …

Spatial Analyses And Growth Of Trees In Selected Bottomland Hardwood Stands, Luben D. Dimov

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sustainable management and conservation of the extensive bottomland hardwood forest resource in the southeastern U.S. requires a good understanding of basic structural and competitive relationships within these forests. To gain an insight into these relationships, plot information from stands in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi were analyzed. The effects of individual tree attributes, distance-dependant, and distance-independent competition measures on 5-yr radial growth of red oak crop trees were examined. Selected species included cherrybark oak (Quercus pagoda Raf.), water oak (Q. nigra L.), and Nuttall oak (Q. nuttallii Palmer). Spatial continuity of tree variables was explored through geostatistical analysis. Finally, spatial distribution …

A Performer's Guide To Virgil Thomson's Five Songs From William Blake, Andrew David Whitfield

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Though perhaps his most well-known vocal works might be his operas, Four Saints in Three Acts and The Mother of Us All, American composer Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) did write nearly seventy songs for voice and piano, including several important song cycles. One of these cycles, the Five Songs from William Blake, represents an impressive composition for the baritone voice. Unfortunately, much of the previous scholarship about Thomson did not award these Blake songs adequate attention, nor was it able to draw upon many of the primary sources about Thomson’s life and work that are now available. The purpose of this …

Juvenile Recidivism: An Analysis Of Race And Other Socio-Demographic Predictors Within Three Intervention Modalities In The State Of Louisiana, Jospeter M. Mbuba

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Owing to the increasingly growing problem of juvenile crime and the recognition that adult criminals begin their criminal careers in their juvenile years, the need to contain juvenile offending has never before been so glaring. Delinquency of young offenders can be predicted and prevented. But the methods most often used to predict juvenile recidivism typically derive from stereotypical conceptions, which often yield very low accuracy levels. This study is an attempt to make up for this shortfall. It tracks one year recidivism of 2,810 juvenile offenders released from state custody of Louisiana between July 1999 and June 2000. Of these …

The Spectral Conforming Model And Its Applications, Jaeho Shim

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

It has been observed that finite element or finite difference model of order can approximate with fair accuracy less than one-third of the eigenvalues of the underlying continuous system corresponding to the low spectrum. The new discrete model, namely the spectral conforming model, is developed to predict the eigenvalues of continuous systems in both the low and high spectra. The spectral conforming models are developed using an inverse vibration method. The classical vibration problem is the direct method. In the direct approach, the characteristic behaviors of the system, i.e. frequency response, natural frequency, and steady state response are analyzed and …

Bezier Curves For Metamodeling Of Simulation Output, Harish J. Kingre

LSU Master's Theses

Many design optimization problems rely on simulation models to obtain feasible solutions. Even with substantial improvement in the computational capability of computers, the enormous cost of computation needed for simulation makes it impractical to rely on simulation models. The use of metamodels or surrogate approximations in place of actual simulation models makes analysis realistic by reducing computational burden. There are many popular metamodeling techniques such as Polynomial Regression, Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines, Radial Basis Functions, Kriging and Artificial Neural Networks. This research proposes a new metamodeling technique that uses Bezier curves and patches. The Bezier curve method is based on …

Numerical Methods For The Unsteady Incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations And Their Application To The Direct Numerical Simulation Of Turbulent Flows, Frank Herbert Muldoon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Two new methods for the efficient parallel computation of the unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are presented. Such efficient methods are desired for large scale parallel computations of unsteady turbulent flows such as Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS). The performance of the new methods has a distinct advantage over the artificial compressibility method, in that the methods exhibit robust convergence for a variety of flow problems without extensive need for tuning computational parameters. These methods and others have been implemented in a computer program designed for massively parallel computer architectures, written by the author and used to obtain all results in this …

Assessment Of Shearing Phenomenon And Porosity Of Porous Media Using Microfocus Computed Tomography, Bashar Adeeb Alramahi

LSU Master's Theses

Microfocus x-ray computed tomography (μCT) is a powerful non-destructive scanning technique to study the internal fabric of granular materials. In this thesis, μCT was applied to two cases. The first case involves studying the behavior of particles in a triaxial specimen during shearing. Three-dimensional translation and rotation of the particles were tracked throughout the shearing process, and they were used to calculate the local strain distributions. Moreover, the local dilatancy angle distribution was calculated throughout experiment. These distributions were compared to study the changes in the behavior of the particles at different stages of the test. It was noticed that …

Evaluation Of The Impacts Of Hurricane Hugo On The Land Cover Of Francis Marion National Forest, South Carolina Using Remote Sensing, Amit Kulkarni

LSU Master's Theses

Hurricane Hugo struck the South Carolina coast on the night of September 21, 1989 at Sullivan’s Island, where it was considered a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale when the hurricane made landfall (Hook et al. 1991). It is probably amongst the most studied and documented hurricanes in the United States (USDA Southern Research Station Publication 1996). There has been a Landsat TM based Hugo damage assessment study conducted by Cablk et al. (1994) in the Hobcaw barony forest. This study attempted to assess for a different and smaller study area near the Wambaw and Coffee creek swamp. The main …

Route Planning Of Automated Guided Vehicles For Container Logistics, Sanjay Shankarrao Gurav

LSU Master's Theses

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are widely used in container terminals for the movement of material from shipping to the yard area and vice versa. Research in this area is directed toward the development of a path layout design and routing algorithms for container movement. The problem is to design a path layout and a routing algorithm that will route the AGVs along the bi-directional path so that the distance traveled will be minimized. This thesis presents a bi-directional path flow layout and a routing algorithm that guarantee conflict-free, shortest time routes for AGVs. Based on the path layout, a routing …

Differentiating Beliefs Of Insured And Uninsured, Insurance-Eligible State Employees: A New Application Of The Health Belief Model, Jill Elizabeth Murray

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The increasing number of uninsured Americans is a crucial policy issue for the United States; however, there is a paucity of empirical social science research on the uninsured with which to guide the development of policy. Previous research indicates that when insurance is voluntary, whether offered through a state-initiated reform to reduce uninsurance or offered through an employer as a benefit, some people choose to remain uninsured. The literature calls for research to increase understanding of the factors that affect whether people offered insurance accept or decline that insurance. Research on the uninsured is lacking a theoretical framework to help …

The Lsat, Law School Exams And Meritocracy: The Surprising And Undertheorized Role Of Test-Taking Speed, William D. Henderson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Within the field of psychometrics, it is widely acknowledged that test-taking speed and reasoning ability are separate abilities with little or no correlation to each other. The LSAT is a univariate test designed to measure reasoning ability; test-taking speed is assumed to be an ancillary variable with a negligible effect on candidate scores. This Article explores the possibility that test-taking speed is variable common to both the LSAT and actual law school exams. This commonality is important because it may serve to increase the predictive validity of the LSAT. The author obtained data from a national and a regional law …

Book Review. Taking Coase Seriously: Neil Komesar On Law's Limits, Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Behavioral And Electrophysiological Assessment Of Children With A Specific Temporal Processing Disorder, Annette Hurley

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Auditory processing disorders (APDs) have received considerable attention over the past few decades. Much of the attention has focused on the controversy surrounding the operational definition of APD, the heterogeneous nature of APD, and an appropriate test battery for APD assessment. Temporal processing deficits are one characteristic of APD and are the focus of the present investigation. This investigation reports behavioral and early electrophysiological measures in a group of children with specific temporal processing difficulties and an age-matched control group. In an effort to better describe the subjects, two language tests and the SCAN-C were administered. Significant differences were found …

Morphological Evolution And Instabilities Of Solid Thin Films And Wires, Wanxi Kan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation can be divided into four parts. In part I (Chapter 2), the diffusion controlled growth of multiple compound phases is studied with the nonlinear Kirkendall effect included. This part analyzes the growth of N compound phases. The method of finding intrinsic diffusion coefficients from only the positions of interfaces is found for two layers. In addition, the asymptotic analysis valid for small concentration gradients is applied to the “multi-foil” method of measuring intrinsic diffusion coefficients and yields an analytic solution for the displacement curve. A bounded solid film on a substrate can breakup from the edge into islands …

The Influence Of State Merit-Based Aid On Access And Educational Experiences: An Exploration Of The Louisiana Tuition Opportunity Program For Students (Tops), Roderick L. Smothers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Access to higher education at the beginning of the new millennium faces unprecedented challenges. Although many of those challenges have been identified and addressed through research and federal and state policies, there still exists an inherent gap in the current and potential future success of today’s college students. This is particularly true for minority and lower-income students. Some of the identified challenges include: lack of financial assistance, persisting through and graduating from college, pre-college preparation, socioeconomic status, and family support/motivation. This study focuses primarily on the financial barriers that impede the process of providing equal access to all students, which …

Individual And Landscape-Level Effects Of Selective Herbicides, Mowing, And Prescribed Fire On Habitat Quality For Northern Bobwhite (Colinus Virginianus), Charles Lynn Kitts

LSU Master's Theses

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have been declining throughout their range during the past 30 years primarily because of a result of loss of early successional habitat. Specifically, intensive silviculture practices and reduction in the use of prescribed fire has led to this loss. I studied effects of management practices (selective herbicides, mowing, and prescribed fire) on male and covey distribution, and brood-rearing habitats on Jackson-Bienville Wildlife Management Area (JBWMA). Specifically, I used calling surveys to assess landscape characteristics associated bobwhite distribution. I also measured vegetation and arthropod response, using imprinted bobwhite chicks, pitfalls, and sweep nets, to different habitat …

The Effects Of Non-Focused Extracorporeal Shock Waves On Neuronal Morphology, Function And Analgesia In Horses, David Manuel Bolt

LSU Master's Theses

These studies were conducted to elucidate the regional analgesic effect that is observed clinically after treatment of orthopedic disorders with application of extracorporeal shock waves in horses. Regional analgesia after treatment with extracorporeal shock waves presents a concern because it may eliminate protective limiting mechanisms and may place equine athletes with predisposing lesions at risk of sustaining career- or life-ending injuries. Direct percutaneous application of non-focused extracorporeal shock waves to palmar digital nerves in the pastern area of horses resulted in decreased sensory nerve conduction velocities compared with untreated control nerves at 3, 7, and 35 days after treatment. Transmission …

Protein Aggregation Studies: Inhibiting And Encouraging Β-Amyloid Aggregation, Jed Paul Aucoin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This work demonstrates peptide-based aggregation mediation of fibril forming peptides, notably β-amyloid (1-40), Aβ_1-40. To achieve the goals of this work, Aβ_1-40 aggregation was governed by ionic strength, temperature, and pH. After controlling and reproducing Aβ_1-40 aggregate formation (fibrils), each peptide-based aggregation mediator was evaluated for its ability to self-aggregate and to possess surface-active properties. The incorporation of these mediators in Aβ_1-40 solutions changed the surface tension and produced aggregate complexes of mediator and Aβ_1-40. Evidence that Aβ_1-40 fibril formation may be mediated by disorder-to-order transitions has been observed by layer formation …

Trajectory And Window Width Predictions For A Cased Hole Sidetrack Using A Whipstock, Harshad Prakash Patil

LSU Master's Theses

The Trackmaster system manufactured by Smith Services consists of a multi-ramped whipstock and a trimill assembly used to perform a sidetrack from a cased well. Smith Services has observed evidence that the trimill assembly may prematurely leave the face of the whipstock and build excess inclination and dogleg severity or may fall into the original well immediately after leaving the end of the whipstock ramp thus creating a need to predict the borehole trajectory for sidetracking operations. The goal of this project was to predict the borehole trajectory and the window profile cut in the casing by the sidetracking equipment …

Development Of A True Triaxial Apparatus For Soil Testing, Heath Stuart Williams

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis presents the development of a True Triaxial Testing TTT Apparatus. The TTT apparatus developed has the capabilities of applying the three principal stresses to a rectangular prismoidal specimen independently. The minor principal stress is provided by the cell pressure. The major principal stress is provided by a load actuator traveling at a constant velocity. A LabView software program instantaneously reads instrumentation, makes calculations, and commands a second load actuator to induce an intermediate principal stress that maintains a constant b-value; where b-value is equal to the intermediate principal stress minus the minor principal stress divided by the major …

Haunted By The Uncanny - Development Of A Genre From The Late Eighteenth To The Late Nineteenth Century, Alexandra Maria Reuber

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation traces the development of the supernatural from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth-century. Since supernatural elements are unknown and unfamiliar, they easily arouse anxiety, fear, and even result in terror. As such they produce the effect of the uncanny and introduce the psychological component into the selected literary corpus taken from the English Gothic novel, the German Schauerroman, and the French littérature fantastique. The analysis of the selected material is based on a psychoanalytical approach using Sigmund Freud’s understanding of the uncanny, his dream analysis, and his view of the conscious and unconscious, but also considers Carl …

Dynamic Performance Of Bridges And Vehicles Under Strong Wind, Suren Chen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The record of span length for flexible bridges has been broken with the development of modern materials and construction techniques. With the increase of bridge span, the dynamic response of the bridge becomes more significant under external wind action and traffic loads. The present research targets specifically on dynamic performance of bridges as well as the transportation under strong wind. The dissertation studied the coupled vibration features of bridges under strong wind. The current research proposed the modal coupling assessment technique for bridges. A closed-form spectral solution and a practical methodology are provided to predict coupled multimode vibration without actually …

Development Of Dynamic Travel Demand Models For Hurricane Evacuation, Haoqiang Fu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Little attention has been given to estimating dynamic travel demand in transportation planning in the past. However, when factors influencing travel are changing significantly over time – such as with an approaching hurricane - dynamic demand and the resulting variation in traffic flow on the network become important. In this study, dynamic travel demand models for hurricane evacuation were developed with two methodologies: survival analysis and sequential choice model. Using survival analysis, the time before evacuation from a pending hurricane is modeled with those that do not evacuate considered as censored observations. A Cox proportional hazards regression model with time-dependent …

Rehabilitate The Age Discrimination In Employment Act: Resusciate The "Reasonable Factors Other Than Age" Defense And The Disparate Impact Theory, Judith J. Johnson

UC Law Journal

Contrary to earlier interpretations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, courts are currently allowing an employer to use age-correlated factors, such as seniority and high salary, to make unfavorable employment decisions. Most courts now hold that age-correlated factors are no longer probative at all of disparate treatment and that the disparate impact theory does not apply to the ADEA. Courts are thus allowing employers to use age-correlated factors to cut older workers from the workforce with impunity.

This article proposes a solution containing two components that, working together, could help deter the unjustified use of agecorrelated factors that exclude …

The Puzzle Of Comment J, David G. Owen

UC Law Journal

At the center of § 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts, the fountainhead of modern products liability law, lies a curious puzzle. Comment j to § 402A contains one sentence which says that a product bearing a warning is not defective. Some courts have read this sentence literally to mean that a manufacturer has no duty to design away product hazards - no matter how great, and no matter how simple to do so - if the manufacturer provides a warning of danger. In subordinating the duty of safe design to the duty to warn, this interpretation of comment …

Facilitating Auditing's New Early Warning System: Control Disclosure, Auditor Liability, And Safe Harbors, Lawrence A. Cunningham

UC Law Journal

This Article considers the interplay between new auditing standards governing audits of internal control over financial reporting and pre-existing legal standards governing auditor liability for audit failure. The interplay produces skewed liability incentives that, if unadjusted, threaten to impair the objective of this new control-audit regime. The regime's objective is, in part, to provide an early warning to financial statement users when current financial statements are reliable but control weaknesses indicate material risk of a company's future inability to produce reliable financial statements. To be meaningful, auditor disclosure of material weaknesses in control and their potential effects on financial statements …

The Effect Of The Implicit Theory Of Integrity On An Internal Auditor's Asessment Of Management Fraud Risk, Stephanie F. Watson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research project is to determine whether the implicit theory of integrity, a theory from the social psychology literature that predicts how social judgments and decisions are made, can explain internal auditors’ decisions. The implicit theory (Dweck and Leggett 1988) states that there are two types of people: (1) entity theorists and (2) incremental theorists. Entity theorists form strong inferences from observed behavior that are used to predict future behavior. Incremental theorists, on the other hand, do not infer characteristics from behavior, and therefore, do not attempt to predict future behavior. In an internal auditing context, the …

Metamorphosis Of A Songwriter, Troy Donnell Erickson

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Autobiographical Memory In Angry And Anxious Individuals, Jennifer Jordan

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.