Digital Commons Network^™

The Importance Of Vocabulary In The Classroom, Sherri Neofotist

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this review of the literature focused on two primary areas: (a) to examine the research findings as they related to vocabulary acquisition and instruction and (b) to determine the importance of the research findings regarding students' reading comprehension.This study also sought to provide educators with information as to what a comprehensive program of vocabulary instruction consists of as well as research-based vocabulary teaching strategies to use in the classroom to help students recognize and know words and word meanings and to improve students' comprehension.

The review examines the following three questions: (a) What is the relationship between …

Improving The Energy Behavior Of Block Buffering Using Compiler Optimizations, M. Kandemir, J. Ramanujam, U. Sezer

Faculty Publications

On-chip caches consume a significant fraction of the energy in current microprocessors. As a result, architectural/circuit-level techniques such as block buffering and sub-banking have been proposed and shown to be very effective in reducing the energy consumption of on-chip caches. While there has been some work on evaluating the energy and performance impact of different block buffering schemes, we are not aware of software solutions to take advantage of on-chip cache block buffers. This article presents a compiler-based approach that modifies code and variable layout to take better advantage of block buffering. The proposed technique is aimed at a class …

A Design-Based Research Strategy To Promote Scalability For Educational Innovations, Jody Clarke-Midura, C. Dede, D. J. Ketelhut, B. Nelson, C. Bowman

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This article offers insights into how the design of innovations can enhance their “scalability”: the ability to adapt an innovation to effective usage in a wide variety of contexts, including settings where major conditions for success are absent or attenuated. We are implementing the River City MUVE curriculum, a technology-based innovation designed to enhance engagement and learning in middle school science, in a range of educational contexts. Based on our studies of these scaling up activities, we offer examples of design strategies for scalability and describe our plan to develop a “scalability index.”

Comparison Of Selected Survey Instruments For Software Team Communication Research, Raghava G. Gowda, Donald J. Polzella

Psychology Faculty Publications

One of the factors that influence task productivity is communication pertaining to task, resources, and organizational issues. The objective of this research is to explore the availability of validated survey instruments in the area of organizational and team communication and assess their applicability in software development team research. Based on past studies, we have selected six comprehensive instruments. This paper provides a brief summary of the instruments and the various dimensions that they cover. The instruments are classified using a Group Variable Classification System (GVCS - input-process - output - feedback) model for team research. As most of the instruments …

Pure Extensions Of Locally Compact Abelian Groups, Peter Loth

Mathematics Faculty Publications

In this paper, we study the group Pext(C,A) for locally compact abelian (LCA) groups A and C. Sufficient conditions are established for Pext(C,A) to coincide with the first Ulm subgroup of Ext(C,A). Some structural information on pure injectives in the category of LCA groups is obtained. Letting K denote the class of LCA groups which can be written as the topological direct sum of a compactly generated group and a discrete group, we determine the groups G in K which are pure injective in the category of LCA groups. Finally we describe those groups G in K such that every …

Current Challenges In Autonomous Vehicle Development, Julianna Connelly Stockton, W. S. Hong, R. B. Mahoney, D. A. Sparrow

Mathematics Faculty Publications

The field of autonomous vehicles is a rapidly growing one, with significant interest from both government and industry sectors. Autonomous vehicles represent the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, combining decision-making with real-time control. Autonomous vehicles are desired for use in search and rescue, urban reconnaissance, mine detonation, supply convoys, and more. The general adage is to use robots for anything dull, dirty, dangerous or dumb. While a great deal of research has been done on autonomous systems, there are only a handful of fielded examples incorporating machine autonomy beyond the level of teleoperation, especially in outdoor/complex environments. In …

Good/Fast/Cheap: Contexts, Relationships And Professional Responsibility During Software Development, Marty J. Wolf, Frances S. Grodzinsky,

School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications

Engineering requires tradeoffs [23]. When engineering computer applications, software engineers should consider the costs and benefits to humans as an integral part of the software development process. In this paper we focus on reliability, a central aspect of software quality, and the influence of relationships and various software development contexts on the software developer.

Pyritized Tube Feet In A Protasterid Ophiuroid From The Upper Ordovician Of Kentucky, U.S.A., Alexander Glass

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

A single specimen of the protasterid ophiuroid Protasterina flexuosa from the Kope Formation (Cincinnatian, Upper Ordovician) of Kentucky exhibits three−dimensionally pyritized tube feet. This represents the first report of soft−tissue preservation in an echinoderm from the type−Cincinnatian series. The tube feet are solid and lack all internal structure. They consist of aggregated masses of small euhedral to subhedral pyrite crystals suggesting that pyritization, although decay−induced and mediated, did not necessarily replicate soft−tissues but might instead have formed inside the void−spaces left behind during the decay process. The discovery of pyritized soft−tissue as delicate as ophiuroid tube feet suggests that similar …

Geochronology And Tectonic Significance Of Middle Proterozoic Granitic Orthogneiss, North Qaidam Hp/Uhp Terrane, Western China, Chris G. Mattinson, Joseph L. Wooden, Juhn G. Liou, D. K. Bird, C. L. Wu

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Amphibolite-facies para- and orthogneisses near Dulan, in the southeast part of the North Qaidam terrane, enclose minor ultra-high pressure (UHP) eclogite and peridotite. Field relations and coesite inclusions in zircons from paragneiss suggest that felsic, mafic, and ultramafic rocks all experienced UHP metamorphism and a common amphibolite-facies retrogression. Ion microprobe U–Pb and REE analyses of zircons from two granitic orthogneisses indicate magmatic crystallization at 927 ± Ma and 921 ± 7 Ma. Zircon rims in one of these samples yield younger ages (397–618 Ma) compatible with partial zircon recrystallization during in-situ Ordovician-Silurian eclogite-facies metamorphism previously determined from eclogite and paragneiss …

Generalised E-Algebras Over Valuation Domains, Brendan Goldsmith, P. Zanardo

Articles

Let R be a valuation domain. We investigate the notions of E(R)- algebra and generalized E(R)-algebra and show that for wide classes of maximal valuation domains R, all generalized E(R)-algebras have rank one. As a by-product we prove if R is a maximal valuation domain of finite Krull dimension, then the two notions coincide. We give some examples of E(R)-algebras of finite rank that are decomposable, but show that over Nagata domains of small degree, the E(R)-algebras are, with one exception, the indecomposable finite rank algebras.

Extended Camassa-Holm Hierarchy And Conserved Quantities, Rossen Ivanov

Articles

An extension of the Camassa-Holm hierarchy is constructed in this letter. The conserved quantities of the hierarchy are studied and a recurrent formula for the integrals of motion is derived.

Buying White Beauty, Imani Perry

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that the global phenomenon of skin-bleaching is a manifestation of structural inequality rooted in race, poverty, and globalization. It critiques how the marketing and use of skin-whitening products perpetuate racial hierarchies and reflects broader societal power dynamics, emphasizing the need for legal and regulatory responses to address the health and social implications of this practice.

Parents Involved & Meredith: A Prediction Regarding The (Un)Constitutionality Of Race-Conscious Student Assignment Plans, Eboni S. Nelson

Denver Law Review

No abstract provided.

Through The Looking Glass: Judicial Deference To Academic Decision-Making, Douglas K. Rush

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

This paper will review the statutory mandates of Section 504 and the ADA and examine the extent to which courts are willing to defer to institutional decisions concerning program modifications to accommodate learning disabled students. Courts have long recognized that academic decision-makers are entitled to deference, especially when their decisions concern issues related to educational programs. Courts must be vigilant, however, to properly weigh their role as the enforcers of Congressional legislation against the judicial policy of deference to academic decisions. Section I of this article will review the federal statutory and regulatory frameworks governing disability accommodations as they relate …

Psychology, David E. Leary

Psychology Faculty Publications

Psychology, in a general sense, is age-old, extending back across all cultures to the beginnings of recorded time. The healing arts of ancient doctors and the conceptual musings of ancient sages often pointed toward factors that would be considered psychological today. Nevertheless, psychology in its specifically modern sense dates from the second half of the nineteenth century, when a self-consciously scientific, academic, professional discipline took shape in Europe and North America. This multiplex discipline grew and flourished in particular in the United States, where more than forty experimental laboratories, associated programs of research and study, and institutionalized means of communication, …

Habitat Use By Nekton In A Saltmarsh Estuary Along A Stream-Order Gradient In Northeastern Barataria Bay, Louisiana, Pablo Granados-Dieseldorff

LSU Master's Theses

Mesohaline estuarine regions in Louisiana play an important role in coastal ecosystems. To begin to understand how nektonic species and communities respond to environmental variables before habitat modification, I examined patterns of habitat use by fishes and decapod crustaceans in a seemingly pristine mesohaline system that drains into Bay Batiste, southeastern Louisiana. The study area was focused on a relatively unaltered core saltmarsh complex drained by intertidal and subtidal streams and it was representative of a larger surrounding system in terms of nekton community structure and associated environmental variables. Stratified monthly sampling (February – November 2004) along a stream-order gradient …

Strain To Strain Differences In The Growth, Survival And Adaptation Of Vibrio Vulnificus And Vibrio Parahaemolyticus In Broth, Veronica Elaine Burnham

LSU Master's Theses

Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus are natural inhabitants of estuarine environments of the Gulf of Mexico. V. vulnificus is the leading cause of death, while V. parahaemolyticus is a leading cause of foodborne gastroenteritis from the consumption of seafood in the United States. Refrigeration is commonly used as a preservation method to control the growth of microorganisms in food. The ability of some microorganisms to adapt, as a survival response when exposed to a downshift in temperature, could compromised efforts to use low temperature storage to reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses. Limited research is available on the growth characteristics …

Knowledge Representation Acquired In A Dynamic Process Control Task, Robert Prattini

LSU Master's Theses

The dissociation between explicit and implicit knowledge has been shown in a number of previous studies utilizing the process control task, where participants would learn to control the system well, but not be able to verbally articulate their knowledge (Berry & Broadbent, 1984; Berry & Broadbent, 1988; Mathews, Buss, Stanley, Blanchard-Fields, Cho, & Druhan, 1989; Roussel, 1999; Sun & Mathews, 2005). This study attempts to advance this basic research in the area of implicit learning by examining the type of mental knowledge representation acquired in implicitly learned tasks, and also assess the transfer of that knowledge to conceptually similar tasks. …

Modulating Lipolysis For Nutraceutical And Cosmeceutical Applications, Mary Katherine Caruso

LSU Master's Theses

The first study was conducted to determine if aminophylline cream application to the waist will reduce waist circumference compared to a control. Topical fat reduction from the thigh in women has been demonstrated, but local fat reduction in other areas or in men has not. Fifty men and women were randomized to 0.5% aminophylline cream to the waist twice a day or to no treatment to the waist. At week 12 there was a significant reduction in BMI from baseline that was not different between the groups. The reduction in waist circumference was 11 ± 1.0 cm in the aminophylline …

Simulations Of A Modified Micro-Scale Electrophoretron, Nada Elmajdoub

LSU Master's Theses

This paper presents theoretical analysis and numerical simulations of a modified micro-scale electrophoretron adapted for cycling reaction applications (PCR, LDR...). The electrophoretron consists of a closed-loop microchannel. If one part of the length of the channel has an electroosmotic mobility of an opposite sign than the remaining part, a continuous cyclic motion of the fluid can be sustained if a potential difference is applied on two electrodes strategically placed along the channel. Conservation of mass leads to the formation of a pressure gradient and a related hydrodynamic flow. Under appropriate combination of design parameters, the combined Electroosmotic -hydrodynamic flow contributes …

Admissions Brochure 2006-2007, William & Mary Law School

Admissions Brochures

No abstract provided.

Improved Abutment Dosimetry In Segmented-Field Electron Conformal Therapy, John Dudley Richert

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: Segmented-field electron conformal therapy is characterized by dose heterogeneity due to unmatched penumbra of abutted fields of differing energy. The present work investigates the potential to decrease dose heterogeneity by approximately matching beam penumbra using energy-specific source-to-collimator distances (SCDs). It was hypothesized that a clinically practical, variable-SCD method that utilizes Cerrobend® custom inserts can deliver segmented-field electron conformal therapy in the energy range of 6-20 MeV with less than ±5% variation in dose spread in the abutment regions of hypothetical planning target volumes (PTVs), i.e. constrain the PTV dose to 85%-105%. Methods: A Varian 15x15-cm2 electron applicator was modified …

Spatial Distribution Of Anthropogenic Environmental Hazards In The Louisiana Coastal Zone: Implications For Ecosystem Restoration, Melissa Ann Kroninger

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this project was to assess the spatial distribution of anthropogenic environmental hazards in the Louisiana coastal zone and implications of those hazards for coastal resources and restoration efforts. Several state and federal environmental databases publicly available on the internet were selected for inclusion in this study. The hazard sites were mapped in a Geographic Information System by geocoding addresses obtained from the databases. Sites with unmatched addresses were mapped to zip code centroid. Hazard types in databases lacking spatial data at the address level were totaled and mapped by parish. Buffers were created at 1, 2, 3, …

College Recruitment Receptions: Bringing The University To The Student, Jean Marie Gilman

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to see why students, who attended receptions in Texas, decided to enroll at Louisiana State University and to decide if the receptions are an effective method to recruit students in Texas. These receptions are considered special programming. While normal programming is effective, LSU has looked for ways to go above and beyond these methods. Special programming is another way to, “bring LSU to the student.” These informational receptions for Junior and Senior high school students and their parents have proven to yield students. This reception format needed to be evaluated from the student’s perspective. …

Improved Content Based Watermarking For Images, Arvind Kumar Parthasarathy

LSU Master's Theses

Due to improvements in imaging technologies and the ease with which digital content can be created and manipulated, there is need for the copyright protection of digital content. It is also essential to have techniques for authentication of the content as well as the owner. To this end, this thesis proposes a robust and transparent scheme of watermarking that exploits the human visual systems’ sensitivity to frequency, along with local image characteristics obtained from the spatial domain, improving upon the content based image watermarking scheme of Kay and Izquierdo. We implement changes in this algorithm without much distortion to the …

Modeling Fabrication And Characterization Of A Bio-Micro Thermoelectric Device For Highly Localized Temperature Control, Aparna Prabhakar

LSU Master's Theses

There is an ever expanding interaction between the fields of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and biology to develop devices to monitor, control and act on living systems. Particularly in the field of cryobiology, there is a need to monitor and control temperature at the cellular level. An important step towards achieving this aim is to fabricate an array of microscale thermoelectric actuators. As a first step for towards achieving such localized control of temperatures in cells and tissues, an array of individually addressable micro-thermoelectric coolers (µTECs) were modeled, characterized, and fabricated. Prefabrication experimentation and modeling were carried out to understand the …

Modeling Of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Confined Concrete Cylinders, Indrani V. Volety

LSU Master's Theses

Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) confined concrete columns have been developed for new construction and rebuilding of concrete piers/piles in engineering structures. Design of these FRP confined concrete columns requires an accurate estimate of the performance enhancement due to the confinement mechanism. Therefore, the key is to develop a confinement model, a model that relates the confined concrete strength with the unconfined concrete strength and the confining pressure provided by the FRP. Due to its closed-form expression and ease of application, design-oriented confinement models predominate in designing FRP confined concrete columns. Design oriented models are directly based on the interpretation of …

Laboratory And Field Measurements Of Bioturbation By Macrofauna In A Coastal Setting, Skyler Neylon

LSU Master's Theses

Two ophiuroid species, Hemipholis elongata and Ophiophragmus spp. were studied in laboratory microcosms to elucidate patterns of sediment mixing for key bioturbators in the Mississippi Sound, Mississippi. The effects of bioturbation on artificially stratified sediments in microcosms were traced via time-series digital x-radiography. Preliminary results indicate that for three population densities of the brittle stars (comparable to field densities), a steady state volumetric bioturbation rate of 1-2 cm3/d is reached within two months of introduction to a fresh system. The preservation quotient, q, a fractional measure of preserved primary fabric, reached a minimum of 0.5 during the 16-week experiment. Maximum …

Automatic Active Contour Modelling And Its Potential Application For Non-Destructive Testing, Srinath Vepathur Sitaraman

LSU Master's Theses

Active contouring techniques are very useful in medical imaging, digital mapping, non-destructive ultrasonic evaluation, etc. Therefore, we try to explore and investigate the advanced automatic active contouring methods, which can benefit the aforementioned applications. In this thesis work, we study the automatic active contour models adopted for the object characterization, whose extensions could include the potential defect analysis in the ultrasonic non-destructive testing. The active contouring scheme (also called a snake) or an energy minimizing spline, is an algorithm which is very sensitive to the manually marked initial points, and thereby requires an expertly operation. Therefore, we make new research …

Hydrate Dissociation During Drilling Through In-Situ Hydrate Formations, Erdem Catak

LSU Master's Theses

Natural gas hydrates are thought to be the future hydrocarbon source of the energy hungry world. Tremendous amount of research has been done to investigate the feasibility of gas production from the hydrate formations. In this direction, three basic production methods, thermal stimulation, depressurization and thermodynamic inhibitor injection have been proposed to produce hydrocarbons off the hydrates. On the other hand, they present high potential risk of drilling hazards, such as severe gasification of drilling fluid, casing collapse due to increase in pressure after dissociation of hydrate zone, and instability of ocean floor, which may cause a platform failure. Scientists …