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2007

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Visual Perception In Traumatic Brain Injury: Effects Of Severity And Effort, Luis Aguerrevere Dec 2007

Visual Perception In Traumatic Brain Injury: Effects Of Severity And Effort, Luis Aguerrevere

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies have found that poor effort can significantly impact psychometric performance by Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients. So far, this impact has been relatively well studied in attention and memory. However, this is not the case for visual perception functions. Thus, the goal of this study was to determine to what extent TBI severity affect visual perception after controlling for effort. Results showed that mild TBI good effort group did not differ from a demographically matched control group. In contrast, a mild TBI poor effort group, a moderate-severe TBI group and a right hemisphere cerebro-vascular (CVA) group performed worse …

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An Anatomy Of An Unsuccessful School Bond Election In A Rural School District, Leigh Barrett Mobley Dec 2007

An Anatomy Of An Unsuccessful School Bond Election In A Rural School District, Leigh Barrett Mobley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the failed bond attempt of the Community School District and investigate reasons for the failure. Specifically, the role of the superintendent, the opposition, the media, and the school board during the bond election process were examined to determine how their roles influenced the outcome of the election. This qualitative case study employed purposeful sampling. Data collection techniques included document analysis, audiovisual material analysis, and personal interviews. Participants included media representatives, community members who were opposed to the bond election, members of the bond election committee, members of the board of trustees at …

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African-American Legislators Post-Katrina: Race, Representation, And Voting Rights Issues In The Louisiana House, William T. Hoston Dec 2007

African-American Legislators Post-Katrina: Race, Representation, And Voting Rights Issues In The Louisiana House, William T. Hoston

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), the number of African- Americans competing for and holding state legislative offices has increased significantly. Their growth is most notable in southern state legislatures. A growing number of studies have been devoted to African-Americans in these state legislatures. Absent from previous studies is a comprehensive analysis of African-Americans in the Louisiana state legislature. In 2007 there were a total of 32 African-American legislators. Louisiana ranks among other states with the highest number, 32, and percentage, 22, of African-American legislators. Yet, despite their relatively large presence few scholarly studies have …

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The Impact Of Louisiana Intech Professional Development On Elementary School Leaders' Perceptions Of Change And Student Achievement, Sheryl Abshire Dec 2007

The Impact Of Louisiana Intech Professional Development On Elementary School Leaders' Perceptions Of Change And Student Achievement, Sheryl Abshire

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Each year, hundreds of Louisiana's teachers participate in state-sponsored Integration of Technology (INTECH) training. Although INTECH training and certification is acknowledged by the Louisiana Department of Education as the standard for technology-trained teachers, no research has been conducted to determine its impact on student achievement (Picard, 2000). The study's purposes were to examine perceptions of school leaders about Louisiana INTECH professional development as a change agent in schools and to determine the impact of this training on third grade mathematics and reading achievement. This study addressed the questions: Do elementary school leaders perceive INTECH professional development as a catalyst for …

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Exploring The Assessment Aspect Of Differentiated Instruction: College Efl Learners' Perspectives On Tiered Performance Tasks, Yeh-Uh Hsueh Chen Dec 2007

Exploring The Assessment Aspect Of Differentiated Instruction: College Efl Learners' Perspectives On Tiered Performance Tasks, Yeh-Uh Hsueh Chen

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

If human beings are believed to be individually unique, why are students evaluated with standardized tests? Differentiated instruction, honoring individual differences of each learner, provides an alternative answer to the question by employing tiered performance tasks to address personal needs in assessment situations. To explore the applicability of differentiated instruction in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) environment, this case study explored Taiwanese college students’ perspectives on tiered performance tasks and educational implications of the perspectives with regard to EFL learning and teaching at the tertiary level. Grounded in the humanistic stance of education and sociocultural view of learning, …

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Risk, Resilience, And Success In College For Students With Vision Disabilities, Rose Angelocci Dec 2007

Risk, Resilience, And Success In College For Students With Vision Disabilities, Rose Angelocci

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

College students with visual disabilities are less likely to graduate than their sighted counterparts. The purpose of this study was to understand the life experiences of successful college students with visual disabilities. Concepts of risk and resiliency were used as a conceptual framework for understanding how people can have positive outcomes in spite of adversity. Individual, family, school, and community influences were explored. In-depth interviews were conducted with six participants who have vision impairments and were nearing the completion or had recently completed a college degree. Data were analyzed for common themes and meanings using a phenomenological method advanced by …

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The Role Of Critical And Collaborative Reflection With Experienced Teachers (Via A Discussion Board) In The Professional Development Of Novice Teachers, Bridgt Foss Hagan Dec 2007

The Role Of Critical And Collaborative Reflection With Experienced Teachers (Via A Discussion Board) In The Professional Development Of Novice Teachers, Bridgt Foss Hagan

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this interpretative qualitative study was to explore the role of critical and collaborative reflection in the professional development of novice teachers. This study addressed the research question: What role does critical and collaborative reflection with experienced teachers play in the professional development of novice teachers? Participants in this study were three novice (0-5 years of experience) elementary teachers and three experienced (more than 10 years of experience) elementary teachers. Data were collected through interviews, an initial individual interview and a post focus group interview, written reflections submitted weekly for seven weeks by participants in response to researcher-provided …

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Luminescent Quantum Dots For Cellular Analysis, Lifang Shi Dec 2007

Luminescent Quantum Dots For Cellular Analysis, Lifang Shi

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Luminescent quantum dots have attracted great interest in recent years among biological researchers since they provide solutions to problems associated with use of organic fluorophores in cellular studies. Quantum dots show high photostability, high emission quantum yield, narrow and symmetric emission peaks and size-dependent wavelength tunability. The objective of my PhD studies was to develop CdSe/ZnS quantum dot-based probes and utilize them in cellular assays. The first phase of the work was to develop luminescent quantum dot fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) based probes for protease activity. The probes were based on FRET interactions between quantum dots that serve as …

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A Unified Measure Of Audio System Fidelity, Lawrence A. Tedesco Jr. Dec 2007

A Unified Measure Of Audio System Fidelity, Lawrence A. Tedesco Jr.

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A new technique to qualitatively measure distortion in dynamically controlled audio systems using non-stationary noise sequences is explored and compared to traditional methods based upon stationary test signals. This technique can easily be adapted to give a qualitative measure of distortion as a function of the perceived Sound Pressure Level (SPL).

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Development Of Novel Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Tandem Mass Spectrometry Approaches For The Structural Characterization Of Brevetoxins Including In Vitro Metabolites, Weiqun Wang Dec 2007

Development Of Novel Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Tandem Mass Spectrometry Approaches For The Structural Characterization Of Brevetoxins Including In Vitro Metabolites, Weiqun Wang

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Brevetoxins are natural neurotoxins that are produced by “red tide” algae. In this study, brevetoxin-1 and brevetoxin-2 were incubated with rat liver hepatocytes and rat liver microsomes, respectively. After clean-up steps, samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry (LC-ES-MS). Two metabolites were found for brevetoxin-1: brevetoxin-1-M1 (MW 900 Da), formed by converting one double bond in the E or F ring into a diol; and brevetoxin-1-M2 (MW 884 Da), a hydrolysis product of brevetoxin-1 involving opening of the lactone ring. The incubation study of brevetoxin-2 found two metabolites. Brevetoxin-2-M1 (MW 912 Da) was elucidated by negative mode LC-MS/MS to …

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Natural History Of The Pichi (Zaedyus Pichiy) In Mendoza Province, Argentina, Mariella Superina Dec 2007

Natural History Of The Pichi (Zaedyus Pichiy) In Mendoza Province, Argentina, Mariella Superina

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The pichi Zaedyus pichiy (Xenarthra, Dasypodidae) is a poorly known, diurnal armadillo inhabiting arid and semi-arid regions of Argentina and Chile that has endured substantial population declines. My objective was to elucidate different aspects of the natural history of Z. pichiy as a first step towards establishing a conservation plan. Wild and captive pichis were studied. Body temperature of wild pichis averaged 35.2±1.2 °C and was highly variable (range 32.2 – 38.3 °C). Temperature measurements of semi-captive males showed that pichis can survive energetically challenging periods by entering hibernation or daily torpor. Stomach contents of poached animals revealed that pichis …

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Merging Identities: A Glimpse Into The World Of Albert Wicker, An African American Leader In New Orleans, 1893-1928, Melissa Lee Smith Dec 2007

Merging Identities: A Glimpse Into The World Of Albert Wicker, An African American Leader In New Orleans, 1893-1928, Melissa Lee Smith

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The life and career of Albert Wicker, Jr. (1869-1928), reflects the growth of the new urban African-American middle class in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the early years of the twentieth century. He spent his career working for advances in education while using memberships in churches, Masonic groups, insurance companies, benevolent societies, and educational leagues to achieve his personal and professional goals. The networks created by him and others along the way illustrate not only complexity of black life in New Orleans but also the growing tendency of differing ethnic groups to work together to achieve common economic, political, social objectives.

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Scenic Design For An Original Script: Dinner With The Louminauts, Jessica Diane Cook Dec 2007

Scenic Design For An Original Script: Dinner With The Louminauts, Jessica Diane Cook

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the process for the scene design for the production of Dinner with the Louminauts by Jason Cutler. The University of New Orleans produced the show in the Fall of 2006. My graduate committee chose this project for me as partial fulfillment of my Masters of Fine Arts degree. This paper will serve as a record of the process, execution, and response of the scene design for this production. The text will be accompanied by all of my research, renderings, draftings, and other supporting materials that are applicable to the design process.

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African-American Legislators Post-Katrina: Race, Representation, And Voting Rights Issues In The Louisiana House, William T. Hoston Dec 2007

African-American Legislators Post-Katrina: Race, Representation, And Voting Rights Issues In The Louisiana House, William T. Hoston

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), the number of African- Americans competing for and holding state legislative offices has increased significantly. Their growth is most notable in southern state legislatures. A growing number of studies have been devoted to African-Americans in these state legislatures. Absent from previous studies is a comprehensive analysis of African-Americans in the Louisiana state legislature. In 2007 there were a total of 32 African-American legislators. Louisiana ranks among other states with the highest number, 32, and percentage, 22, of African-American legislators. Yet, despite their relatively large presence few scholarly studies have …

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Exploring An Monolingual English - Speaking Teacher's Perceptions Of Classroom Interventions To Foster Hispanic English Language Learners' Primary Language, Alexandra Joan Herques Dec 2007

Exploring An Monolingual English - Speaking Teacher's Perceptions Of Classroom Interventions To Foster Hispanic English Language Learners' Primary Language, Alexandra Joan Herques

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Although awareness of cultural diversity is slowly occurring, the need for multicultural curricula is increasing more each day as even more ethnically and linguistically diverse students enter into United States classrooms. The education of English Language Learners is a controversial topic due to people's mixed beliefs on the amount of English and primary language instruction needed to aid students' English language development. Due to the shortage of bilingual teachers many English Language Learners in the Unites States are learning English through the regular education classroom instructed by monolingual English-speaking teachers. This case study implemented qualitative research methods in order to …

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Language Dysfunction In Traumatic Brain Injury While Controlling For Effort, Matthew T. Heinly Dec 2007

Language Dysfunction In Traumatic Brain Injury While Controlling For Effort, Matthew T. Heinly

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The present study included three traumatic brain injury (TBI) groups (good effort mild TBI, poor effort mild TBI, and good effort moderate/severe TBI) and two neurologic control groups (dementia and unilateral left hemisphere stroke). Language impairment was examined using the following measures: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III Verbal Comprehension Index and the Vocabulary, Similarities, Information, and Comprehension subtests; the Boston Naming Test; the Phonemic and Semantic cue conditions of the Controlled Oral Word Association Test; the Auditory Comprehension subtest of the Cognistat; Wide Range Achievement Test-3 Reading subtest; and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. When effort was controlled, there was a …

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The Hydraulic Spline: Comparisons Of Existing Surface Modeling Techniques And Development Of A Spline-Based Approach For Hydrographic And Topographic Surface Modeling, Maik Flanagin Dec 2007

The Hydraulic Spline: Comparisons Of Existing Surface Modeling Techniques And Development Of A Spline-Based Approach For Hydrographic And Topographic Surface Modeling, Maik Flanagin

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Creation of accurate and coherent surface models is vital to the effective planning and construction of flood control and hurricane protection projects. Typically, topographic surface models are synthesized from Delaunay triangulations or interpolated raster grids. Although these techniques are adequate in most general situations, they do not effectively address the specific case where topographic data is available only as cross-section and profile centerline data, such as the elevation sampling produced by traditional hydrographic surveys. The hydraulic spline algorithm was developed to generate irregular two-dimensional channel grids from hydrographic cross-sections at any desired resolution. Hydraulic spline output grids can be easily …

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Feminist Perspectives On Liberation And Exploitation: A Phenomenological Study Of Performance, Nicole D. Troxell Dec 2007

Feminist Perspectives On Liberation And Exploitation: A Phenomenological Study Of Performance, Nicole D. Troxell

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes the experiences of exploitation and liberation for neo burlesque performers using feminist theory as the context for analysis. The project had the following goals: to identify using phenomenology, the essence of new burlesque participant experiences, to analyze those experiences using feminist theories of exploitation and liberation regarding sex work, to compare burlesque to stripping, and to compare new burlesque to classic burlesque for understanding how burlesque is different today. To obtain these goals, participant observations were done of neo burlesque shows and neo burlesque performers agreed to an interview in which questions were asked that highlight their …

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Magnetic And Transport Properties Of Oxide Thin Films, Yuanjia Hong Dec 2007

Magnetic And Transport Properties Of Oxide Thin Films, Yuanjia Hong

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation research focuses on the investigation of the transport and magnetic properties of transition metal and rare earth doped oxides, particularly SnO2 and HfO2 thin films. Cr- and Fe-doped SnO2 films were deposited on Al2O3 substrates by pulsed-laser deposition. Xray- diffraction patterns (XRD) show that the films have rutile structure and grow epitaxially along the (101) plane. The diffraction peaks of Cr-doped samples exhibit a systematic shift toward higher angles with increasing Cr concentration. This indicates that Cr dissolves in SnO2. On the other hand, there is no obvious shift of the diffraction peaks of the Fe-doped samples. The …

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Interactions Of The Striatal Gene Rhes With The Dopaminergic System In Rodents, Gabriel Quintero Dec 2007

Interactions Of The Striatal Gene Rhes With The Dopaminergic System In Rodents, Gabriel Quintero

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Mice that are incapable of expressing the small G protein Rhes have been generated and have shown to have abnormalities in behaviors mediated by the striatum, a region in which Rhes is highly expressed. Moreover, conditions that result in dopamine supersensitivity and a breakdown in D1/D2 synergism in rodents, consistently decrease rhes mRNA in striatum. Thus, Rhes may play have relevance in dopamine signal modulation. For evaluating the role of Rhes in anxiety, stereotypy and basal motor activity, adult male and female wild-type (WT) mice, Rhes knockout (KO) mice, and mice heterozygous for the KO and WT alleles (Het) were …

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Sandra Day O'Connor: Moderate Or Something More?, Patricia Arceneaux Dec 2007

Sandra Day O'Connor: Moderate Or Something More?, Patricia Arceneaux

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In 2006 an historic era of the Supreme Court came to a close with the retirement of its first female justice, Sandra Day O'Connor. This paper attempts to expand judicial behavior scholarship by examining O'Connor's policy preferences for possible ideological change during her twenty-five year tenure on the Court. Average liberalism scores for her overall and civil rights/civil liberties issue area votes show an increase in liberalism over time. The researcher employs time series cross section analysis with panel corrected standard errors to determine factors responsible for this increase. Issue change, interagreement with the other justices, changes in Court membership, …

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Magneto-Optical Study Of Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticles, Byron L. Scott Dec 2007

Magneto-Optical Study Of Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticles, Byron L. Scott

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A magneto-optical study of CoxFe1-xFe2O4 nanoparticles is presented, with cobalt molar ratio 0.x.1. The ferrite nanoparticles were produced using a generic wet-chemical synthesis procedure. Stoichiometric amounts of Fe2+, Fe3+ and Co2+ salts are dissolved in a non-aqueous polar medium (diethylene glycol). A coprecipitation reaction with sodium hydroxide produces ferrite nanoparticles with average diameter of 6 nm. The nanoparticles can be stabilized by tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide in water, or, alternatively, the nanoparticles can be treated with a hydrophobic capping ligand with a carboxylic acid or amine head group and suspended in a non-polar organic solvent. As a complete structural analysis of …

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Characterization Of Enzymes Involved In Bilin Attachment To Allophycocyanin In The Cyanobacterium Synechococcus Sp. Pcc 7002, Shervonda Williams Dec 2007

Characterization Of Enzymes Involved In Bilin Attachment To Allophycocyanin In The Cyanobacterium Synechococcus Sp. Pcc 7002, Shervonda Williams

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research is to identify and characterize enzymes involved in bilin attachment to the phycobiliprotein allophycocyanin in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Candidates for lyases responsible for attachment of phycocyanobilin to allophycocyanin are two cpeS-like genes termed cpcS and cpcU, and one cpeT-like gene termed cpcT. In vitro bilin attachment reactions were conducted in the presence of the recombinant substrate apo-allophycocyanin (HT-ApcAB). Size exclusion HPLC showed that CpcS and HT-CpcU form a 1:1 heterodimeric complex and that HT-ApcAB is present as a monomer (áâ). Absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy illustrated that both CpcS and HT-CpcU were required …

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When Decision Meets Estimation: Theory And Applications, Ming Yang Dec 2007

When Decision Meets Estimation: Theory And Applications, Ming Yang

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In many practical problems, both decision and estimation are involved. This dissertation intends to study the relationship between decision and estimation in these problems, so that more accurate inference methods can be developed. Hybrid estimation is an important formulation that deals with state estimation and model structure identification simultaneously. Multiple-model (MM) methods are the most widelyused tool for hybrid estimation. A novel approach to predict the Internet end-to-end delay using MM methods is proposed. Based on preliminary analysis of the collected end-to-end delay data, we propose an off-line model set design procedure using vector quantization (VQ) and short-term time series …

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U.S.-Austrian Relations In The Pre-Anschluss Period: Fdr's Unwillingness For War, John S. Berteau Dec 2007

U.S.-Austrian Relations In The Pre-Anschluss Period: Fdr's Unwillingness For War, John S. Berteau

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This paper evaluates the United States' decision not to come to Austria's aid prior to and during the Anschluss of 12 March 1938. The uniqueness of this work is the two-front evaluation of both the internal/domestic affairs of the United States and the foreign policy of the US Government vis-à-vis Hitler's aggressive foreign policy. As this paper will show, Anschluss might have been prevented, but at a cost neither the United States nor European powers were willing to pay. The domestic situation in the United States was too fragile, as was the lack of public support for war for FDR …

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Assessing The Effectiveness Of Louisiana's Freshwater Diversion Projects Using Remote Sensing, Michael G. Metzger Dec 2007

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Louisiana's Freshwater Diversion Projects Using Remote Sensing, Michael G. Metzger

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Southern Louisiana is experiencing a dramatic loss of freshwater wetlands as a result of natural and man-made changes in the landscape. Multitempral remotely sensed data were used to examine the impact of the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion Structure, built in 1991 to divert water to Breton Sound. Satellite imagery data covering the period from 1974 to 2006 were analyzed by computing several spectral indices including NDVI, VI, IR/R, Sqrt IR/R, T-NDVI, and NDWI, as well as principle component analysis. The resulting enhanced images were classified into two classes, vegetation or open water. The ratios of vegetation to open water were then …

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To Whom Much Is Given, Rachel Trujillo Dec 2007

To Whom Much Is Given, Rachel Trujillo

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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The Lsuno Workshop Theatre: The Little Theatre That Could, Pamela Graham Tanner Dec 2007

The Lsuno Workshop Theatre: The Little Theatre That Could, Pamela Graham Tanner

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This brief history of the Workshop Theatre at Louisiana State University in New Orleans (LSUNO -- now UNO) relates events that played an important part in defining the racial integration of all student extracurricular activities at the university and the genesis of the current University of New Orleans (UNO) Department of Film, Theatre, and Communication Arts, during the period between the early 1950s and the early 1970s. The origin of the university is discussed briefly to inform the reader about the university's origin, its location, and how racial integration was advanced by actions at the Workshop Theatre. The remainder of …

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The Village Of River Ranch: A Post Occupancy Evaluation Of A Traditional Neighborhood Development In Lafayette, Louisiana, Elizabeth A. Tomlinson Dec 2007

The Village Of River Ranch: A Post Occupancy Evaluation Of A Traditional Neighborhood Development In Lafayette, Louisiana, Elizabeth A. Tomlinson

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The proponents of New Urbanism claim the neighborhoods they design, called Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs), promote community, sense of place, physical health, and environmental sustainability. Critics assert that community is stressed at the expense of individuality, that design unity has become rigid uniformity, and that the neighborhoods are orchestrated and do not reflect real life. This thesis, a post occupancy evaluation (POE), examines how one TND works for its residents and whether it accomplishes the goals of the architect/planner. An additional, essential purpose of this POE is to serve the "feed-forward" role of informing future neighborhood planning projects. The Village …

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Geomorphic History Of The Atchafalaya Backwater Area: Upper Deltaic Plain Development, Louis D. Britsch Dec 2007

Geomorphic History Of The Atchafalaya Backwater Area: Upper Deltaic Plain Development, Louis D. Britsch

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Earlier researchers have produced conceptual models of Mississippi River delta plain development which divide the deltaic plain into upper and lower reaches. The upper deltaic plain has been described as an area composed mainly of lacustrine, lacustrine delta, backswamp, and crevasse channels, with minimal distributary development. The lower deltaic plain is characterized by numerous distributaries forming distributary systems and lobes. Detailed geomorphic mapping and chronologic reconstruction within the Atchafalaya Backwater Area of the upper deltaic plain of the Mississippi River has led to the recognition of a complex network of distributary development related to three distinct distributary systems that formed …

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