Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2007

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 45961 - 45990 of 46421

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

The Sociomoral Atmosphere Rating Template (Smart): An Investigation Of Reliability And Validity, Richard Sean Durham Jan 2007

The Sociomoral Atmosphere Rating Template (Smart): An Investigation Of Reliability And Validity, Richard Sean Durham

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study describes the development of the Sociomoral Atmosphere Rating Template (SMART), an instrument designed to rate the sociomoral atmosphere in early childhood classrooms, and an investigation of the instrument's reliability and validity. Results indicate that individuals can be trained to reliably use the SMART and that the measure is internally consistent. In addition to its face validity, results indicate that the SMART has convergent validity when compared to the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale - Revised (Harms, Clifford, & Cryer, 1998) and the Teacher Interaction Scale (Arnett, 1989). Comparisons at the subscale level suggest discriminant validity. Implications and plans …


Reducing False Alarms In Searches For Gravitational Waves From Coalescing Binary Systems, Andres Rodri­Guez Jan 2007

Reducing False Alarms In Searches For Gravitational Waves From Coalescing Binary Systems, Andres Rodri­Guez

LSU Master's Theses

LIGO observatories in Livingston, LA and Hanford, WA may detect gravitational waves emitted from coalescing binary systems composed of two compact objects. In order to detect compact binary coalescence (CBC) events, LIGO searches utilize matched filtering techniques. Matched filtering is the optimal detection strategy for stationary, Gaussian noise, however, LIGO noise is often non-stationary, non-Gaussian. Non-stationary noise result in an excess of false candidate events, commonly known as false alarms. This thesis develops the r2 test to reduce the false alarm rate for LIGO CBC searches. Results of the search for primordial black hole binary systems (where each object …


Evaluation Of Compliance With The Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule, Racquel Rena Douglas Jan 2007

Evaluation Of Compliance With The Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule, Racquel Rena Douglas

LSU Master's Theses

Cryptosporidium is a common protozoan parasite that causes cryptosporidiosis, a severe gastrointestinal disease. Currently, there is no antibiotic available to treat the disease. Cryptosporidium has been responsible for several waterborne disease outbreaks in the United States. The largest cryptosporidiosis outbreak in United States history occurred in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in spring 1993. The vulnerability of the United State drinking water supply to waterborne disease outbreak is still prevalent nearly 15 years after the Milwaukee outbreak. In order to effectively control Cryptosporidium, the EPA has strengthened the regulations on turbidity control for filtration performance by implementing the Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface …


Isolation And Characterization Of The Siamese Family: A Novel Class Of Cell Cycle Regulators In Plants, Michelle Lynn Churchman Jan 2007

Isolation And Characterization Of The Siamese Family: A Novel Class Of Cell Cycle Regulators In Plants, Michelle Lynn Churchman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Recessive mutations in the SIAMESE (SIM) gene of Arabidopsis result in multicellular trichomes harboring individual nuclei with a low ploidy level, a phenotype strikingly different from that of wild-type trichomes, which are single cells with a nuclear DNA content of approximately 16-32C. These observations suggested that SIM is required to suppress mitosis as part of the switch to endoreplication in trichomes. We demonstrate that SIM encodes a novel 14kD protein that is part of a small Arabidopsis gene family comprised of four members. Homologs exist in other dicots and in monocots, although no obvious animal homologs have been identified. SIM …


Culture-Independent Identification Of Gut Bacteria In Fourth-Instar Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis Invicta Buren, Larvae, Albert Hon-Yu Lee Jan 2007

Culture-Independent Identification Of Gut Bacteria In Fourth-Instar Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis Invicta Buren, Larvae, Albert Hon-Yu Lee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Red imported fire ants (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta Buren, are medical, urban, and agricultural pests from South America. Fourth-instar larvae are used by the colony to digest solid food and then regurgitate it for consumption by workers and queens. Larvae are an ideal source of investigations of obligate endosymbiotic bacteria possibly involved in nutrient distributions. I attempted to first identify what bacteria species are in the guts of larvae followed by antibiotic and microscopy work to further study their roles in the ants. The composition of the bacterial community in fire ant larvae was described with culture-independent methods utilizing 16S rDNA …


Relationships Between Macroinvertebrate Communities And Environmental Characteristics Of Headwater Streams In Central Louisiana, Adrienne Viosca Jan 2007

Relationships Between Macroinvertebrate Communities And Environmental Characteristics Of Headwater Streams In Central Louisiana, Adrienne Viosca

LSU Master's Theses

Headwater streams are an integral part of any watershed system because they strongly influence the physical, chemical, and biological components of downstream reaches. Little information exists about macroinvertebrate community structure, spatiotemporal variation, or their relationships with environmental factors in low-gradient headwater streams of the subtropical coastal plain region in the Southern US. These headwater streams are typically slow moving, capable of accumulating large amounts of organic material, and often become intermittent during the dry season. Research is needed to understand the effects of these unique characteristics on stream health and ecology. This study aimed to determine aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure, …


Dragons Behind Glass: Views Of China And Japan In Three American Museums, Kristina Elaine Polizzi Jan 2007

Dragons Behind Glass: Views Of China And Japan In Three American Museums, Kristina Elaine Polizzi

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis will focus on three museums: the American Museum of Natural History in New York, New York, the Mobile Museum of Art in Mobile, Alabama and the Morikami Museum in Del Ray Beach, Florida. Overall the museums took surprisingly different approaches to designing their exhibits. The American Museum of Natural History gave a general overview of Japan and China. The Mobile Museum of Art focused only on pottery and the Morikami Museum focused on the Japanese immigrants that settled in Del Ray Beach. Differences and similarities of these museums and what these exhibits tell the viewer about the two …


The Relationship Between Participation In Professional Development And Level Of Social Capital, Sylvia Caillier Melancon Jan 2007

The Relationship Between Participation In Professional Development And Level Of Social Capital, Sylvia Caillier Melancon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between level of social capital and the extent of participation in professional development activities for professional employees of a profit-based organization located in the Southeastern United States. The researcher used survey methodology to determine the extent of participation in professional development activities within a 12 month period and the level of social capital within an organizational setting. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine if a model exists to explain a significant portion of the variance in the extent of participation in professional development activities from selected demographic …


African Art Music For Flute: A Study Of Selected Works By African Composers, Wendy Kristin Hymes Onovwerosuoke Jan 2007

African Art Music For Flute: A Study Of Selected Works By African Composers, Wendy Kristin Hymes Onovwerosuoke

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Recent years have witnessed an increase in the number of Western classical music performers actively programming works employing multi-cultural musical idioms. Though there exist many compositions by African composers, African art music is not often programmed by Western performers because of the lack of exposure these compositions have received, lack of commercially-available recordings, and the difficulties of obtaining information about African musical styles. The information presented in this research aims to aid performers in their preparation and approach to performing African art music compositions, specifically those for the western flute. This research includes biographical information and compositional philosophies of five …


Balch Internet Research And Analysis Tool Development Case Study, Charles V. Balch Jan 2007

Balch Internet Research And Analysis Tool Development Case Study, Charles V. Balch

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Internet has become increasing popular as a vehicle to deliver surveys. An essential objective of research is to collect accurate data and there has been little work to insure that Internet survey systems are employing best practices as defined by academic and professional research to collect data. My dissertation reviews the current literature relating to best practices in Internet survey design and best practices in software design and development. I then document the development and deployment of an Open Source and publicly licensed Internet survey system that allows researchers to easily create, deploy, and analyze the results of Internet …


Using Time-Lapse And Stroboscopic Photography To Enhance Student Understanding Of Plant Growth, Structure, And Pollination: An Inquiry-Based Study, Louis John Schultz Jan 2007

Using Time-Lapse And Stroboscopic Photography To Enhance Student Understanding Of Plant Growth, Structure, And Pollination: An Inquiry-Based Study, Louis John Schultz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of allowing students to generate their own images in a science class as opposed to using pre-existing images. The participants in the study were 7th grade science students enrolled in a small, rural, Louisiana school. A mixed methods design was used so that call available data was collected and analyzed. The lessons used in the study were based on plant structure, growth, and propagation which fit into the mandated 7th grade science curriculum. The students were involved in the taking of still, time-lapse, and stroboscopic images throughout the study. Although an analysis …


The Relationship Of Selected Personal Characteristics Of E-Faculty To Their Perceived Technological Knowledge, Myriah Christin Clark Jan 2007

The Relationship Of Selected Personal Characteristics Of E-Faculty To Their Perceived Technological Knowledge, Myriah Christin Clark

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated the technological development of e-faculty at five randomly selected Carnegie classified (2006) Doctorate-Granting Research Universities with very high research activity (RU/VH) in the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). The majority of e-faculty report that they do not have release time/reduced teaching load for preparing web-based materials/courses, nor do they have graduate or teaching assistants available for assisting with web-based learning. However, a little over half of them reported having instructional designers or curriculum developers to help with the designing of web-based materials and a large majority reported having adequate institutional research resources (library holdings that are accessible …


A Performer's Guide To The Songs For Soprano By The Austro-American Composer Eric Zeisl (1905-1959), Katharina Roessner Jan 2007

A Performer's Guide To The Songs For Soprano By The Austro-American Composer Eric Zeisl (1905-1959), Katharina Roessner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This written document presents an introduction to the soprano songs by the Austro-American composer Eric Zeisl. Songs chosen comprise published songs (Der Schäfer, Die Fünf Hühnerchen, Vergiss Mein Nicht, Vor Meinem Fenster) as well as unpublished songs (Der Briefmark, Der Tag Erwacht, Immer Leiser Wird Mein Schlummer, Kommst Du Nicht Herein, Reiterliedchen). The thesis begins with a brief biographical outline of the composer and a discussion of his song style and his musical influences. Subsequent chapters include a discussion of the poets used in the chosen songs, as well as an analysis of these songs. Appendices provide translations, IPA transcriptions, …


Unwelcome Neighbors? Industrial Growth And Water Pollution In Lake Charles, Louisiana, 1940-1960, Jonathan Zachary Delaune Jan 2007

Unwelcome Neighbors? Industrial Growth And Water Pollution In Lake Charles, Louisiana, 1940-1960, Jonathan Zachary Delaune

LSU Master's Theses

This paper focuses on the industrialization of Lake Charles, Louisiana during World War Two and the resulting shifts in pollution-related policy and public perceptions of pollution. A major impetus for the industrialization of the South was federal investment during the war. This is especially true for Lake Charles, a city where industrial agglomeration began with war-time financing of manufacturing plants to combat the shortages of aviation fuel and rubber. By tracing the public response to offensive pollution and the resulting shift in public policy, this paper will reveal a fundamental conflict between development-minded government institutions and a population interested in …


The Importance Of The Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service As Perceived By Local Governing Bodies In Louisiana, Peter Charles Cannizzaro Jan 2007

The Importance Of The Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service As Perceived By Local Governing Bodies In Louisiana, Peter Charles Cannizzaro

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the importance of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service (CES) as perceived by members of local governing bodies in Louisiana. The fundamental objective of the CES is the development of people by means of educational programs. Local governing body members (defined as Police Jury/Council Members) throughout the state of Louisiana were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the importance of the Cooperative Extension Service regarding awareness, attendance of programs/events, use of information and if the needs of local residents were being met by the LCES programs and services. Results of the study …


Behavior Problems Exhibited In Institutionalized Persons With Intellectual Disabilities And Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders, Ryan Thorson Jan 2007

Behavior Problems Exhibited In Institutionalized Persons With Intellectual Disabilities And Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders, Ryan Thorson

LSU Master's Theses

Although our understanding of dual diagnosis has improved in recent years, a deficit exists in our knowledge of how schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) manifest themselves in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). We also know very little about the behavioral problems present with the ID population based on the existence of psychopathology. The present research attempted to extend the literature by comparing behavior problems of individuals with intellectual disability with SSD, any form of psychopathology, and no psychopathology. Utilizing the Behavior Problems Inventory (BPI), three areas of problem behaviors were examined (self-injurious behavior, stereotypic behavior, and aggressive/destructive behavior) and a total …


Juvenile Crawfish (Procambarus Clarkii) Lc50 Mortality From South Louisiana Crude, Peanut And Mineral Oil, Okey Umejuru Jan 2007

Juvenile Crawfish (Procambarus Clarkii) Lc50 Mortality From South Louisiana Crude, Peanut And Mineral Oil, Okey Umejuru

LSU Master's Theses

Nearly every continent has species of crawfish that inhabit wetlands or are near coastal areas where petroleum and other oils are produced, transported, and accidentally released. Most crawfish cannot tolerate polluted water. Thus, they could serve as biomonitors of fossil fuel, biofuel, and other oil releases and assess potential negative impacts such oils have on wetland and coastal ecosystems. The objectives of this study were to estimate the acute toxicity of three oils to juvenile crawfish and determine if toxicity was due to poisoning or interference with oxygen transfer across the gills. Juvenile crawfish (Procambarus clarkii) were tested for acute …


Multidimensionality Of Partisan Identification Revisited, Amanda Swanner Jan 2007

Multidimensionality Of Partisan Identification Revisited, Amanda Swanner

LSU Master's Theses

In this paper I retest the assertion that party identification is multidimensional by using the 2000 American National Election Survey. Variables relevant to partisanship are used to examine how voters connect their evaluations of the two parties. The findings support the theory of multidimensionality. The data show that the multidimensional conceptualization of party identification is better for understanding the attitudes and behavior of partisans.


Parenting Experiences Of Eastern European Immigrant Professionals In The U.S.: A Qualitative Study, Olena Nesteruk Jan 2007

Parenting Experiences Of Eastern European Immigrant Professionals In The U.S.: A Qualitative Study, Olena Nesteruk

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In 2004, the nation’s foreign-born population numbered approximately 35 million comprising about 12% of the total U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005). Most studies of immigrants primarily research the two largest immigrant groups, those from Latin America and Asia, while little has been done with the less visible population of immigrants from Eastern Europe. Also, we know much about the experiences of low-income immigrants of color, but little about the experiences of white immigrant families in the professional ranks. A qualitative study was conducted with immigrant professionals from Eastern Europe to explore their experiences with raising children in a new …


Displacement And The Text: Exploring Otherness In Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, Maryse Condé'S La Migration Des Coeurs, Rosario Ferré'S The House On The Lagoon, And Tina De Rosa's Paper Fish, Melody Boyd Carriere Jan 2007

Displacement And The Text: Exploring Otherness In Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, Maryse Condé'S La Migration Des Coeurs, Rosario Ferré'S The House On The Lagoon, And Tina De Rosa's Paper Fish, Melody Boyd Carriere

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a study of how some displaced Caribbean and Italian American women examine identity within a literary tradition that considers them "Other." I have chosen four culturally diverse novels to explore, each one written by a different female author: Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, Maryse Condé's La migration des cœurs, Rosario Ferré's The House on the Lagoon, and Tina De Rosa's Paper Fish. I identify the causes of the protagonists' displacement, and analyze the actions they take to make themselves heard in a tradition that has formerly silenced them. The role of the mother is especially important in …


Lanthanide Complexes As Fluorescent Indicators For Neutral Sugars And Cancer Biomarkers, Onur Alpturk Jan 2007

Lanthanide Complexes As Fluorescent Indicators For Neutral Sugars And Cancer Biomarkers, Onur Alpturk

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Simple water soluble lanthanum and europium complexes are effective at detecting neutral sugars as well as glyco- and phospholipids. In solutions at physiologically relevant pH the fluorescent lanthanum complex binds neutral sugars with apparent binding constants comparable to those of arylboronic acids. Interference from commonly occurring anions is minimal. The europium complex detects sialic acid-containing gangliosides at pH 7.0 over an asialoganglioside. This selectivity is attributed, in large part, to the cooperative complexation of the oligosaccharide and sialic acid residues to the metal center, based on analogous prior studies. In MeOH, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a biomarker for several pathological conditions …


Xanthene/Benzoxanthene Dyes: Novel Synthetic Metholologies, Applications In Molecular Recognition, Cellular Imaging And The Design Of A Tunable White (Rgb) Light Emitter, Youjun Yang Jan 2007

Xanthene/Benzoxanthene Dyes: Novel Synthetic Metholologies, Applications In Molecular Recognition, Cellular Imaging And The Design Of A Tunable White (Rgb) Light Emitter, Youjun Yang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

My graduate work has focused on the development of new fluorophore materials towards addressing several interdisciplinary research problems. Selective detection of sialic acid via a boron-amide interaction. Concentration changes of sialic acid can be monitored ratiometrically in the visible region using a boronic acid based chemosensor. The technique shows great promise for the detection of sialic acid, a critical cell surface residue involved in cancer, graft rejection and virulence in certain bacteria. There is no interference from commonly occurring oligosaccharides, aminosugars and most carboxylic acid-containing compounds. Improved synthetic methodology and studies of novel molecular probe architectures. I have developed a …


Use Of An Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution Model To Assess Impacts Of Development And Management Practicies [Sic] In An Urban Watershed, John Admiral Cross Jan 2007

Use Of An Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution Model To Assess Impacts Of Development And Management Practicies [Sic] In An Urban Watershed, John Admiral Cross

LSU Master's Theses

A Geographical Information System (GIS) linked to a Non-Point Source (NPS) model are being used to predict the effectiveness of storm water management strategies and examine the impact of proposed land use changes on Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) attainment. This study tests a methodology for analyzing land use changes and management using GIS analyses of impervious surfaces and AGricultural Non-Point Source (AGNPS) pollution modeling in an approximate 1100 acre urban watershed located in East Baton Rouge Parish (EBRP), Louisiana. The GIS analyses of Total Impervious Area (TIA) quantified increases in urbanization and provided land use data utilized in AGNPS …


Computer-Aided Weld Inspection By Fuzzy Modeling With Selected Features, Sean Najm Ghazavi Jan 2007

Computer-Aided Weld Inspection By Fuzzy Modeling With Selected Features, Sean Najm Ghazavi

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis develops a computer-aided weld inspection methodology based on fuzzy modeling with selected features. The proposed methodology employs several filter feature selection methods for selecting input variables and then builds fuzzy models with the selected features. Our fuzzy modeling method is based on a fuzzy c-means (FCM) variant for the generation of fuzzy terms sets. The implemented FCM variant differs from the original FCM method in two aspects: (1) the two end terms take the maximum and minimum domain values as their centers, and (2) all fuzzy terms are forced to be convex. The optimal number of terms and …


Georges De La Tour's Flea-Catcher And The Iconography Of The Flea-Hunt In Seventeenth-Century Baroque Art, Crissy Bergeron Jan 2007

Georges De La Tour's Flea-Catcher And The Iconography Of The Flea-Hunt In Seventeenth-Century Baroque Art, Crissy Bergeron

LSU Master's Theses

This essay performs a comprehensive investigation of the thematic possibilities for Georges de La Tour's Flea-Catcher (1630s-1640s) based on related artworks, religion, and emblematic, literary, and pseudo-scientific texts that may have had a bearing on it. The results of my research are grouped into two categories that embrace the range of interpretations for the work: religion and sexuality. While religious iconography characterizes most of La Tour's extant creations, the hypothetically religious content of his Flea-Catcher is difficult to discern. However, it is possible to analyze the iconography, as well as some of the ancillary motifs found in La Tour's painting, …


Building A Better Mousetrap, Jonathan Pellitteri Jan 2007

Building A Better Mousetrap, Jonathan Pellitteri

LSU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT To me the phrase “building a better mousetrap” implies that a needless change has been made to something that already sufficiently serves its purpose. These words identify my thoughts about how over the past three years I have begun to replace trusted means of communication with newer technologies. My thesis work examines my relationship to these new modes of communication and how, as I see others around me making them useful parts of their lives, I am continually snared by the promise of their convenience. Ultimately, however, they distract and frustrate me with the countless hours I allow them …


An Analysis Of The Processor Preferences For The Adoption Of Potential Crawfish Peeling Machines, Darius J. Lewis Jan 2007

An Analysis Of The Processor Preferences For The Adoption Of Potential Crawfish Peeling Machines, Darius J. Lewis

LSU Master's Theses

Over the past decade, the peeling segment of the Louisiana crawfish industry has faced the challenge of remaining competitive in an increasingly global market. Since the mid-1990’s, there has been escalated discussion among Louisiana crawfish processors on the need for a crawfish peeling machine. The International Trade Commission determined that the U.S. crawfish industry had been “materially injured” by the imported tailmeat and ruled China was, in fact, dumping crawfish in the U.S. by selling below fair market value in the host country. The development of a suitable crawfish peeling machine could potentially increase production and lower cost of production, …


Quantifying The Edge Effects Associated With Predator Removal Blocks On The Nesting Success Of Upland Ducks In North Dakota, Margaret Jean Kuhn Jan 2007

Quantifying The Edge Effects Associated With Predator Removal Blocks On The Nesting Success Of Upland Ducks In North Dakota, Margaret Jean Kuhn

LSU Master's Theses

Much evidence suggests that nest success is one of the key drivers of duck production. Accordingly, for the past thirty years, waterfowl managers have focused their efforts on increasing nest success. One way to increase nest success is through predator trapping. Previous studies have shown that predator trapping increases nest success on different sized trapped blocks. This study attempted to answer the question: does trapping affect nest success on areas directly adjacent to trapped block boundaries? I hypothesized that predator abundance outside trapped blocks would be reduced. I predicted that nest success would decline with distance from the boundary while …


Gulf Coast Journalists And Hurricane Katrina: Mounting Challenges To The Work Routine, Shearon Roberts Jan 2007

Gulf Coast Journalists And Hurricane Katrina: Mounting Challenges To The Work Routine, Shearon Roberts

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore through sourcing and framing the changes Gulf Coast journalists made in their news reporting as a result of directly experiencing Hurricane Katrina. Data for this study was obtained through the archives of The New Orleans Times-Picayune and through the Nexis/Lexis database. Many Gulf-Coast journalists lost their homes and were affected by the storm in various degrees with one case of a reported suicide attempt. The daily newspapers of the cities of New Orleans, La. and Biloxi, Miss., received Pulitzer Prizes for Public Service for ceaseless and tireless reporting of the disaster. This …


An Exploration Of The Impact Of Picture Book Illustrations On The Comprehension Skills And Vocabulary Development Of Emergent Readers, Judy Lavender Nicholas Jan 2007

An Exploration Of The Impact Of Picture Book Illustrations On The Comprehension Skills And Vocabulary Development Of Emergent Readers, Judy Lavender Nicholas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The formal instruction process of teaching reading to emergent and beginning readers needs to incorporate a much more multimodal approach. People today, not only in America but in many other countries as well, are more graphically oriented than any other generation has ever been. Children in our society expect to experience pictures and images in almost everything they encounter. This graphic orientation needs to be taken advantage of and incorporated into the educational process in ways that can be beneficial to the learning environments of children in our schools. Reading programs need to forego one-dimensional teaching methods and learn how …