Digital Commons Network^™

Learning Discrete Hidden Markov Models From State Distribution Vectors, Luis G. Moscovich

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) are probabilistic models that have been widely applied to a number of fields since their inception in the late 1960’s. Computational Biology, Image Processing, and Signal Processing, are but a few of the application areas of HMMs. In this dissertation, we develop several new efficient learning algorithms for learning HMM parameters. First, we propose a new polynomial-time algorithm for supervised learning of the parameters of a first order HMM from a state probability distribution (SD) oracle. The SD oracle provides the learner with the state distribution vector corresponding to a query string. We prove the correctness …

Comorbid Childhood Sexual Abuse And Substance Abuse Among Women: Knowledge, Training, And Preparedness Of Graduate Counselor Education And Social Work Students, Laurie Elizabeth Pennington

LSU Master's Theses

This descriptive-correlational study examined the knowledge, training and perceived preparedness of graduate social work and counselor education students in the area of comorbid childhood sexual abuse and substance abuse among women. Participants were 71 graduate social work and approximately 12 counselor education students scheduled to graduate in the spring semester of 2005. The study was analyzed using univariate and bivariate statistics. No significant differences emerged between graduate counselor education and social work students using independent-samples t-tests and a Fisher’s exact test on the measure of knowledge and training. Using a Mann Whitney U test, significant differences emerged between counselor education …

Distributed Airlift Systems Design With Application To Recirculating Soft Shell Crawfish Shedding Systems, Sripavani Gudipati

LSU Master's Theses

Soft shell crawfish, a seafood delicacy, has a potential market for growth in the aquaculture industry. Since the industry's collapse in the 1990's, the advent of new technologies like eyestalk ablation, automated hydraulic separation and distributed airlift systems has elevated the hope for restoration. In a distributed airlift system, airlifts and distribution pipes supply water to holding trays. Airlifts are simple devices used to pump water by injecting air at the bottom of an open pipe. The combination of airlifts and distribution pipes has potential economic benefits for low head applications in recirculating aquaculture systems. This thesis focuses on guidelines …

Modeling The Fate And Transport Of Chlorinated Benzenes In Baton Rouge Bayou, Sudheer Nimmagadda

LSU Master's Theses

Knowledge of the fate and transport of chlorinated benzenes is necessary at certain sites for effective remediation of contaminated soils using plants. Current research is examining the capability of wetland plants to catalyze degradation or attenuate migration, but again requires knowledge of the uptake of contaminants from an aqueous environment. A two stage model was used to estimate the rate of uptake of contaminants from sediments. The first stage of the model predicts pollutant leaching rates from sediments to the overlying water, which would then be fed into the plant or bioreactor model systems. In this study the flux from …

Improving Homework In Adolescents With Adhd: Comparing Training In Self- Vs. Parent-Monitoring Of Homework And Study Skills Completion, Kara J. Meyer

LSU Master's Theses

Self-monitoring has been proven to be effective in increasing performance, on task behavior, and homework completion in students with learning disabilities and other academic difficulties. Parent supervision and involvement in homework also has been shown to improve performance. However, the effectiveness of parent vs. self-monitoring of homework completion and test preparation has never been examined in adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The current study compared the effectiveness of self- and parent-monitoring of homework and study skills completion in middle school students with ADHD. Students were trained in the SQ4R study strategy and homework completion skills. In one group students monitored …

Evangelicals And The Republican Party: A Reinforcing Relationship For Israel, John Charles Tadayeski

LSU Master's Theses

In examining one’s level of religious involvement and orthodoxy of worship, several authors have found significant correlations between levels of these variables and an attachment to political parties, particularly the Republican Party (Layman, 1997). My analysis of a 2002 ABC News/Washington Post poll (ICPSR, 2002) finds that the same mechanism that is indicative of partisanship also influences and reinforces evangelicals’ sympathies toward Israel. While the Republican and Evangelical variables are statistically significant with respect to an elevated level of sympathy toward Israel, the interaction effect of these two variables is the most noteworthy product of this analysis. When subjects respond …

The Yes Men And Activism In The Information Age, Lani Boyd

LSU Master's Theses

Western history is filled with pranks and trickery intent on enlightening audiences by blending fiction with reality. The Yes Men, an Internet-based activist group, did just that, forging new ground and establishing themselves as political pranksters in a media-dominant global society. With an arsenal of parody, satire, interventions, and tactical obfuscation, the Yes Men attack those who they feel abuse their positions of power. They have impersonated public persons and infamous entities, including President George W. Bush, the World Trade Organization, and Dow Chemical. Their mimicry is so convincing that the audience cannot decipher between satire and the real thing. …

Diversity: A Fundamental American Principle, David Orentlicher

Scholarly Works

In this article, Professor David Orentlicher argues that following the U.S. Supreme Court's affirmative action decisions in June 2003, both the Court in its defense of diversity and the commentators in their critiques of the diversity rationale have misjudged the public interest in diversity . Rather than having insufficient weight to justify affirmative action or reflecting a limited educational interest, diversity is a critical principle for much of American constitutional and social structure. In particular, the federalist system of government rests in large part on the belief that a diversity of approaches by the fifty states will lead to better …

An Idea Whose Time Should Never Have Come, Roger B. Dworkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Effects Of White-Tailed Deer Herbivory On The Growth And Survival Of Seedlings In A Coastal Wetland Forest, Seth Taylor Bordelon

LSU Master's Theses

Studies in upland forests of the northeastern and upper mid-western U.S. indicate that high densities of white-tailed deer can reduce vegetation abundance, survival, and richness through over-browsing. In the southern U.S., few studies have examined the effects of deer herbivory on vegetation, and even fewer have done so in forested wetlands. At Jean Lafitte National Park's Barataria Preserve in south Louisiana, managers were concerned that white-tailed deer were concentrating and limiting forest regeneration near a walking trail, where hunting is not allowed. An exclosure study was started there in December 2002 and was conducted through July 2004 to quantify the …

Experimental Investigation Of Dynamic Interfacial Interactions At Reservoir Conditions, Wei Xu

LSU Master's Theses

Much of the research on wettability in the existing literature has been done using stocktank oils and at ambient conditions. The main objective of this study is therefore to examine the validity of ambient measurements in inferring in-situ reservoir wettability. For this purpose, Drop-Shape-Analysis for interfacial tension and Dual-Drop-Dual-Crystal (DDDC) contact angle measurements have been carried out using dolomite rock, Yates reservoir stocktank and live crude oils and Yates synthetic brine at Yates reservoir conditions of 82oF and 700 psi. Two types of surfactants (nonionic and anionic) in varying concentrations have been used to study the effect of surfactants on …

Enhanced Gas Recovery Using Pressure And Displacement Management, Thomas Walker

LSU Master's Theses

The work contained in this thesis combines two previous enhanced gas recovery techniques; coproduction of water and gas from water-drive reservoirs and waterflooding of low pressure gas reservoirs. These two techniques allow the control of reservoir pressure and sweep efficiency through planed production or injection of water. A recovery optimization method, which is applicable to any gas reservoir, was developed using the concept of pressure and displacement management (PDM). Two simulation studies were conducted, using Eclipse©, to investigate recovery optimization by coproduction and waterflooding. From the coproduction study it was determined that the water production rate needed to optimize recovery …

Pressure-Velocity Correlation Study On 1:50 Scale Model Of The Ttu Wind Engineering Research Field Lab Building, Praveen Kumar

LSU Master's Theses

The goal of the present study is to investigate the relationship between incident wind velocity fluctuations and the surface pressure fluctuations on the roof of a low rise building. The goal was fulfilled by studying the pressure velocity correlation on 1:50 scale model of a typical low rise building, the Wind Engineering Research Field Laboratory (WERFL) building located at Texas Tech University, Lubbock. The experimental study was carried out in the LSU Wind Tunnel Laboratory by simulating the boundary layer prevalent at the full-scale site. The velocity profile in the boundary layer was measured using the TSI Hot-Wire system with …

Covering The Revolution Of Roses (Differences And Similarities Between Georgia And Independent Television Companies), Nino Danelia

LSU Master's Theses

The study analyzed how independent and state media's news programs differ in the way they framed the Georgian Revolution of Roses. The paper analyzed what sources, frames and key words journalists used to describe the protest in order to investigate if the coverage was objective or biased in any particular direction. Study provides evidence that by framing protests in a different way, politicians and journalists give different meanings to the same issues and suggest what is at issue. Each party of the political elite tried to promote their own political viewpoints. By preferring sources from the ruling party and their …

The Riace Bronzes: A Comparative Study In Style And Technique, Jennifer Alaine Henrichs

LSU Master's Theses

Two monumental bronze statues were discovered by a diver in the remains of an ancient shipwreck in the Riace Marina off the coast of Calabria in 1972. After their recovery and extensive conservation in the Archaeological Museum in Florence, the Riace bronzes have now come to reside in the Reggio Calabria Museo Nazionale. Lacking any inscriptions and removed from their original context, the Riace bronzes have been the source of much conjectured debate throughout the art world. This paper examines the Riace bronzes on both technical and stylistic grounds by addressing such matters as the method of construction, the physical …

Power And Memory Optimization Techniques In Embedded Systems Design, Atef Khalil Allam

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Embedded systems incur tight constraints on power consumption and memory (which impacts size) in addition to other constraints such as weight and cost. This dissertation addresses two key factors in embedded system design, namely minimization of power consumption and memory requirement. The first part of this dissertation considers the problem of optimizing power consumption (peak power as well as average power) in high-level synthesis (HLS). The second part deals with memory usage optimization mainly targeting a restricted class of computations expressed as loops accessing large data arrays that arises in scientific computing such as the coupled cluster and configuration interaction …

Shaly Sand Interpretation Using Cec-Dependent Petrophysical Parameters, Fnu Kurniawan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research explores the characterization of petrophysical parameters such as cementation exponent, saturation exponent and effective porosity as a function of cations exchange capacity (CEC), and its impact on shaly sand interpretation. Experimental and field data were used in the study. The latest LSU model for shaly sand interpretation uses of two cementation exponents, mf and mc, to represent the tortuosity of electric current path in free water and clay bound water, respectively. Experimental measurements on three types of rock, clean sand, shaly sand and pure shale using different brine salinity, were conducted to validate the use of these two …

Teaching Tax Stories, Ajay K. Mehrotra

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Addressing Imperfections In The Tax System: Procedural Or Substantive Reform?, Leandra Lederman, Stephen W. Mazza

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In his book "Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich - and Cheat Everybody Else", David Cay Johnston, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times, covers a wide array of topics, including some that are quite complex, in a very readable way. The federal income tax system generally and tax compliance in particular are important focuses of the book, but the theme that implicitly connects chapters that otherwise appear unrelated is a variety of aspects of income inequality.

Although "Perfectly Legal" does not make a clear case that politicians and …

An "Ecolodge" In Thailand: A Site Design Based Upon The Local Vernacular Village, Pudtan Chantarangkul

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis began from my interest in using indigenous architectural and dwelling patterns of fishing villages in coastal Thailand as a model for a new sustainable community. The provincial government has a policy promoting longstay tourism for affluent retirees from other countries, enabling them to experience the natural, historical, and cultural heritage of the area at an economical cost. To fulfill the local government's policy and my intention to design such a facility, this thesis proposes to design an international "ecolodge" for a site near Yisan Village. The area is very peaceful yet it is not so far from downtown …

Palimpsest Encounters: A Baseline Study Of Federal, Antebellum, And Postbellum New Orleans Gardens Using The Notarial Archives Drawings, Cecilia L. Mcnab

LSU Master's Theses

The focus of this thesis is to establish a basis for a typology of New Orleans gardens from 19th Century Notarial drawings. Previous inquires of the New Orleans Notarial Archives drawings emphasized elite gardens of the Vieux Carré and Garden District. This baseline study investigates both vernacular and elite gardens of 159 drawings in the three oldest of the city Municipal Districts during the period 1810-1880, and identifies 19 garden templates. It sets the drawings in their social, political, and historical context to inform a critical understanding of the garden types. The inquiry examines 47 spatial and design variables, using …

Relative Efficacy Of School-Home Notes And Teacher Feedback In Minority Elementary Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Andrea Nichole Jurbergs

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

School-home notes have proven to be an effective and acceptable method for improving children’s classroom behavior. School-home notes require teachers to rate students on any number of target behaviors and parents to provide consequences based on the evaluation. School-home notes recently have been shown to increase attention in low income children with ADHD. Although successful at decreasing off-task behavior in the classroom, treatment integrity (parent providing earned consequences at home) is not always maintained at acceptable levels. The goal of the current research was to dismantle the proven school-home note to identify the efficacy of the teacher feedback component alone. …

Do Expectancies Influence Outcomes For Tailored Smoking Cessation Messages? A Placebo Tailoring Experiment, Monica S. Webb

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was an effort to replicate and extend findings from our previous research, which suggested that the efficacy of tailored messages is influenced by high levels of content personalization within the message and by individuals trait expectancies about tailored interventions. We tested whether tailoring-related expectancies regarding smoking-cessation booklets could be altered via a brief expectancy-priming intervention, and whether this would enhance the impact of the cessation materials. A 2x2 factorial design crossed personalization level and expectancy priming on evaluation of the intervention content, readiness to quit smoking, cessation self-efficacy, cognitive processing, and progress towards quitting. Smokers (N = 205) …

The Quest For A Formula : Parliamentary Remuneration In Western Australia, Michael J. Britton

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Western Australian Payment of Members Act 1900 was promulgated upon two tenets, namely, that Members of Parliament should be compensated for their services to society and that other Australian colonies were already receiving some form of compensation. The premise stipulated that all people, regardless of economic background should be given an opportunity to fulfil the honourable duly of a Representative. Remuneration in this thesis covers the minimalist advent of Parliamentary Remuneration whereby Mrs were compensated by way of a basic salary to the current multifaceted Parliamentary Remuneration which encompasses various structures, processes and is often overarched by complicated determinative …

Fibromyalgia And Bladder Irritability, Carolyn K. Brand

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Urinary tract sensory symptoms provide an additional symptomatic burden for women with fibromyalgia. The urogenital symptoms of both fibromyalgia and interstitial cystitis have been described as non-infective sensory disorders, suggesting the existence of substantial clinical overlap between the two conditions. Research suggests that although interstitial cystitis has been treated as a specific bladder condition, it may be part of the disorder of central processing of sensory information as seen in fibromyalgia.

The interstitial cystitis symptom index and problem index (ICSI/ICPI) have been used to measure lower urinary tract symptoms and to examine the impact of these symptoms in patients with …

A Study Of The Abundance, Distribution And Daily Activities Of The Australian Raven (Corvus Coronoides) In Urban Wetland Parks, Desiree L. Moon

Theses : Honours

Habitat destruction as a result of urbanisation has resulted in the population decline of some bird species. However, the Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides), has adapted well to the urban environment and is thriving. Although naturally occurring seasonal food sources are at times restricted in an urban setting, this adaptive species finds alternative food sources. As carrion-eaters this includes roadkill, as well as refuse discarded on the ground and into bins. Coupled with few natural predators, the species enjoys optimal conditions for breeding and survival. This biogeographical study investigated whether seasonal-influxes of populations of ravens cause problems at three urban wetland …

Nurses' Perceptions Of The Pharmacological Management Of Acute Pain Experienced By Patients Hospitalised In The General Ward Setting, Susan Slatyer

Theses : Honours

This study explored and described the experiences and perceptions of nurses managing acute pain in a Western Australian public hospital. The focus was nurses practising in the general ward setting and using current prescribing guidelines. The aim of this research was to explore nurses' attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about pain and pain pharmacology and how this practice setting influences efficient pain management. Qualitative methodology was selected for its ability to explore complex issues in order to build nursing knowledge and guide nursing practice. This study used a descriptive, exploratory design based on a phenomenological approach. The sample comprised ten Registered …

An Examination Of The Transitional Support Needs For Young People Leaving Detention, Kirsten Janke

Theses : Honours

A successful transition from detention to living in the community is a critical step in preventing young people from recidivism and entrenchment in criminal activity (Utting & Vennard, 2000). According to Outcare, an organisation that provides support services to offenders, ex-offenders and their families, there seems to be difficulty accommodating newly released young people in existing accommodation services: additionally, many of these young people are not able to access existing support services which contributes significantly to recidivist behaviour. The purpose of undertaking this qualitative study was to examine the transitional support needs for young people leaving detention. The investigation adopted …

The Inevitable Ageing Of The Population And The Implications Of Prolonging Employment For Older Adults, Monica Rose Cooper

Theses : Honours

One of the proposed solutions to Australia's ageing population (12% aged over 65 years in 1997 to 22% by 2031; Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS, 2000) and the perceived burden on the economy, is for older adults to remain in paid employment longer. The present study explored the perspectives of older adults concerning employment and working beyond the age of 65 years. A qualitative methodology was employed and data was collected through the use of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 11 participants aged between 60-75 years of age. Thematic content analysis was performed in order to identify core issues and themes. …

Horsepower : A Study Of Equine Influence On Female Adolescent Self-Efficacy, Vanessa Gay Hancox

Theses : Honours

Self-efficacy refers to the individual's belief in their capacity to exert control over themselves as well as situations which impact upon them: perceptions of self-efficacy influence cognitive development, behavioural capacity and emotional states. Low self-efficacy is often associated with problematic drug use, inappropriate sexual activity, low academic achievement, anxiety, depression, self-harming and suicidal behaviours during adolescence. Conversely, high self-efficacy is generally correlated with high academic achievement, positive social relationships and formation of sexual identity, increased self-regulatory ability and positive vocation selection. This study sought to examine the experiences of a group of five young women, aged between thirteen and seventeen …