Digital Commons Network^™

Modeling Of An Adaptive Parallel System With Malleable Applications In A Distributed Computing Environment, Sheikh Khaled Ghafoor

Theses and Dissertations

Adaptive parallel applications that can change resources during execution, promise increased application performance and better system utilization. Furthermore, they open the opportunity for developing a new class of parallel applications driven by unpredictable data and events. The research issues in an adaptive parallel system are complex and interrelated. The nature and complexities of the relationships among these issues are not well researched and understood. Before developing adaptive applications or an infrastructure support for adaptive applications, these issues need to be investigated and studied in detail. One way of understanding and investigating these issues is by modeling and simulation. A model …

On The Determination Of Building Footprints From Lidar Data, Henry C. George

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A new approach to improve the determination of building boundaries through automatic processing of light detection and ranging (LIDAR) data is presented. The LIDAR data is processed and interpolated into a grayscale image of intensity values corresponding to height measurements. Ground measurements are separated from non-ground measurements by using a progressive morphological filter. With these measurements now distinct, further separation of non-ground measurements into building and non-building measurements is performed by growing regions with similar characteristics. These building areas are then refined, resulting in a ground plan representation of building boundaries, known as building footprints. Several algorithms are then implemented …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Influence Of Urban Form, Socio-Demographics, And Transit-Oriented Development On Journey-To-Work Characteristics, Jason Daniel Sappington

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A growing consensus among planners and policy-makers is that the automobile-oriented city, one that dominates the American landscape, is no longer sustainable. Such concerns demand a search for ways to promote alternative forms of travel. To this end, this study employs a multiple linear regression analysis in order to determine the relationships between the share of public transit and walking/bicycle commuting and variables representing three categories: urban form measures, socio-demographic and household characteristics, and the presence of a transit-oriented development. These relationships were examined in thirteen metropolitan regions.

Potential Transportation Improvements And Land Use Impacts In The Elysian Fields Corridor, Caroline Lanford

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study examines potential transportation improvements in the Elysian Fields Avenue Corridor, and the benefit that these improvements may produce. Data for the study area are compiled and analyzed. Conceptual plans for the implementation of different transit technology alternatives were developed and assessed in terms of user benefits, cost, potential land use impacts, potential economic impacts, and feasibility. Case studies and relevant literature are reviewed. The intent of this thesis is to provide an overview of the study area prior and subsequent to Hurricane Katrina, develop plans for the implementation of transit alternatives in the Elysian Fields Avenue Corridor, and …

Urban Growth With Limited Prosperity: A History Of Public Housing In Laredo, Texas -- 1938 To 2006, Carlos Valle Jr.

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Public housing in the United States has been a controversial sociopolitical topic since the years of the Great Depression. The issue of appropriate and secure habitation for the country's "deserving poor" continues to be of great importance as government subsidies become scarce in the early 21st century. This dearth of support for public housing is even more evident and prominent along the United States-Mexico border of South Texas, a territory described as having a third world environment. The dissertation is a narrative history of public housing in Laredo, Texas, a border community. Compiled from news media records and the archives …

Microstructure-Property Relations Throughout The Powder Metallurgy Process, Laura Arias Tucker

Theses and Dissertations

To produce crack free powder compacts with desirable mechanical properties and uniform densities, a predictive finite element simulation of the powder metallurgy process is necessary (compaction and sintering). The finite element method, through the use of appropriate constitutive material models captures the microstructure-property history after compaction and sintering. A FC-0205 cylinder and FC-0208 automotive main bearing cap were compacted to investigate the microstructure changes at different locations within the parts. Measurements of the pore volume fraction, pore size, pore nearest neighbor, pore aspect ratio, and grain size were performed after compaction for the cylinder after compaction and after compaction and …

Flexural And Tensile Properties Of Thin, Very High-Strength, Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Panels, Michael Jason Roth

Theses and Dissertations

This research was conducted to characterize the flexural and tensile characteristics of thin, very high-strength, discontinuously reinforced concrete panels developed by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. Panels were produced from a unique blend of cementitous material and fiberglass reinforcing fibers, achieving compressive strength and fracture toughness levels that far exceeded that of typical concrete.The research program included third-point flexural experiments, novel direct tension experiments, implementation of micromechanically based analytical models, and development of finite element numerical models. The experimental, analytical, and numerical efforts were used conjunctively to determine parameters such as elastic modulus, first-crack strength, post-crack modulus …

The Vehicle Routing Problem With Simultaneous Pick-Up And Deliveries And A Grasp-Ga Based Solution Heuristic, Arif Volkan Vural

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, the vehicle routing problem and one of its variants, the vehicle routing problem with simultaneous pick up and deliveries (VRPSPD) are studied. The traditional vehicle routing problem (VRP) consists of constructing minimum cost routes for the vehicles to follow so that the set of customers are visited only once. A lot of effort has been devoted to research on developing fast and effective solution methods for many different versions of this problem by different majors of engineering profession. Thus, a structuring effort is needed to organize and document the vast literature so far has accumulated in this …

Effect Of Sparger Design On Hydrodynamics Of A Gas Recirculation Anaerobic Bioreactor, Rajneesh Varma, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Effects of Sparger Design and Gas Flow Rate On, Gas Holdup Distribution and Liquid (Slurry) Recirculation Velocity Have Been Studied in a Surrogate Anaerobic Bioreactor Used for Treating Bovine Waste with a Conical Bottom Mixed by Gas Recirculation. a Single Orifice Sparger (SOS) and a Multi-Orifice Ring Sparger (MORS) with the Same Orifice Open Area and Gas Flow Rates (Hence the Same Process Power Input) Are Compared in This Study. the Advanced Non-Invasive Techniques of Computer Automated Tomography (CT) and Computer Automated Radioactive Particle Tracking (CARPT) Were Employed to Determine Gas Holdup, Liquid Recirculation Velocity, and the Poorly Mixed …

And This, Our Measure: Figurative Realism And Workaday Culture., Perry Walter Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Man has created vast and powerful systems. These systems and their associated protocols, dogmas, and conventions tend to limit rather than liberate. Evaluation based on homogeneity threatens the devaluation of our humanity. This paper and the artwork it supports examine contemporary culture and its failings in the stewardship of the humanist ideal.

My paintings referenced herein are satirical narratives. The story told is one of alienation and evisceration. The visual subject matter is the human figure and environments dominated by architectural geometry. The male figures are conspicuously turned from view, a visual cue to their estrangement. Parallel and subordinate thoughts …

Chaos In Clinton., Heather Flood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The integration of Clinton High School, located in Clinton, Tennessee captivated the nation in the fall of 1956. This paper depicts the events that occurred during that period. Also included are the events that occurred prior to the desegregation of the high school, the understanding of which is necessary to fully appreciate the events that unfolded in Clinton.

Localization Of A Microsporidia Adam (A Disintegrin And Metalloprotease Domain) Protein And Identification Of Potential Binding Partners., Carrie E. Jolly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Microsporidia are spore-forming, obligate intracellular pathogens typically associated with opportunistic infections in immunocompromised individuals. Treatment options for microsporidia infections in humans are limited and additional research is necessary to create better therapeutic agents. For many pathogenic organisms, adhesion to the host cell surface is a prerequisite for tissue colonization and invasion. Our previous research has demonstrated a direct relationship between adherence of microsporidia spores to the surface of host cells and infectivity in vitro. In an effort to better understand adherence, we have turned our attention to determining what proteins may be involved in this process. Examination of the …

Perceptions Of Educational Equality In Tennessee: A Comparison Of City School Systems Vs. County School Systems In Northeast Tennessee., Timothy Wade Harrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The majority of city and county school systems throughout Tennessee and the United States at one time or another experience a budget crisis. In the state of Tennessee, school systems are funded through the Basic Education Program, established in 1992 as part of the Tennessee Education Improvement Act. The lawsuit of 1988, Tennessee Small School Systems v. McWherter, created the Basic Education Program. Through the years, the Basic Education Program has provided extra teaching positions, materials, and supplies and has provided the funding formula for school systems throughout the state. Many high-ranking administrators contend that the Basic Education Program …

Historic Preservation Leading To Heritage Tourism As An Economic Development Strategy For Small Tennessee Towns., Robert A. Justice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historic preservation has been a successful economic development tool that has led to heritage tourism in some Tennessee towns but not in others. The problem studied was to determine if there was a set of tangible attributes a town must possess to be successful in using historic preservation as an economic development tool. Through an extensive literature review, 59 predictor variables were identified and arranged into 6 research questions looking at the tangible attributes related to town demographics, geography, organizational structure, historic preservation organizations, heritage tourism organizations, and town financial structure. Data were collected from a mailed survey of 32 …

The Virginia Sol Eighth Grade Writing Test In Relationship To The National Commission On Writing Recommendations, Grade Configuration, Region, And Socioeconomic Status., Jeffrey R. Comer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine Virginia Standards of Learning 8^th grade writing assessments to determine if there was any association between school passing rates and the recommendations suggested by the 2003 National Commission on Writing to improve writing proficiency. This study further examined the possible differences in school passing rates that may exist due to the grade configuration of a school, the location of a school, the availability of a comprehensive writing plan, and the student percentage on free and reduced-price lunch. Data collection consisted of a self-administered survey sent to all 364 schools in …

Principal Leadership And Its Perceived Influence On Teacher Morale In Elementary Schools., Anne Runyan Littleford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to construct a theoretical framework explaining the connection between principal leadership practices and the phenomenon of teacher morale. The study also focused on principal leadership practices and the perceived effects that style has on how teachers feel about themselves and their jobs. First, a review of extant literature defined what constitutes effective leadership in school related environments. Second, the researcher defined teacher morale, both high and low, and how it relates to work performance. Third, the researcher attempted to explore how teacher morale and the leadership style of their principals relate.

This qualitative …

Women And The Men Who Oppress Them: Ideologies And Protests Of Redstockings, New York Radical Feminists, And Cell 16., Meggin L. Schaaf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American civil rights movement created a ready environment in which exploited people protested their social status and demanded change. Among the forefront, women contended against their male oppressors and demanded autonomy. Ultimately, however, women disagreed amongst themselves regarding the severity of their oppression and the ideal route to implement change. Thereafter, radical feminism became a strong force within the women's liberation movement. Group members denied that capitalism oppressed women, and countered that women's status as a sex-class remained the essential component in their subjugation. To obtain true freedom, women had to reject the deeply ingrained social expectations. As radical …

"Reclaiming The Child": Mountain Mission School As A Successful Appalachian Home Mission., Rachel Rebecca Hood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mountain Mission School of Grundy, Virginia, founded by Samuel Robinson Hurley in 1921, is an anomaly of the mission school era of 1880 to 1940. Unlike other mission schools, Mountain Mission School was independent from its inception and was founded by a self-taught, self-made millionaire from southwest Virginia. The school's purpose to "reclaim" the child from material and spiritual poverty lay in Hurley's desire to develop a child's mind, body, and soul through a Christian, industrial education. Through personal commitment to the school and tireless fund-raising efforts for the school, he inspired others to continue the mission he began. Primary …

The Status Of Public Relations In Russia., Inga Lvovna Ragozina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the status of public relations in the fledgling democratic Russian Federation. The purpose was to determine: whether public relations practitioners in Russia practice Grunig and Hunt's (1984) press agentry, public information, two-way asymmetrical, and two-way symmetrical models of public relations; how public relations has contributed to the political and economic transformation in Russia; and how the former communist propaganda has affected contemporary public relations.

Telephone interviews were conducted with 10 Russian public relations practitioners. The findings revealed that the 4 models of public relations are practiced in Russia; communist propaganda affected contemporary public relations; and, the field …

Mechanism Of Transcriptional Regulation Of C-Reactive Protein Gene Expression., Bhavya Voleti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein produced by hepatocytes whose serum concentration increases in inflammatory conditions including cardiovascular complications. Statins that are used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases to reduce cholesterol also lower serum CRP levels. In human hepatoma Hep3B cells, CRP is induced in response to cytokines IL-6 and IL-1β. The objective of the study was to determine the mechanism of regulation of CRP gene expression in Hep3B cells in response to cytokines and to determine the effect of statins on CRP expression. Key findings of our research were: 1. IL-1β-activated NF-κB p50/p65 acted synergistically with …

The Rise And Fall Of The Hillbilly Music Genre, A History, 1922-1939., Ryan Carlson Bernard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research will examine the rise in popularity of the hillbilly music genre as it relates to the early part of the twentieth century as well as its decline with the arrival of the western hero, the cowboy.

Chapter 1 examines the origins of traditional music and how instrumental the fiddle and banjo were in that development. Chapter 2 looks closely into the careers of recording artists who recorded what would later be called hillbilly music. Chapter 3 examines the string band and the naming of the hillbilly genre. Chapters 4 and 5 look at the aspect of radio programming …

Socioeconomic Development In The Southeast Region Of The United States From 1995 - 2000: A Structural Equation Modeling And A Gis Modeling Approach, Erdenechimeg Eldev-Ochir

Theses and Dissertations

This research presented in this study demonstrates that county level population growth, economic growth, and localized social structure are interrelated. An analysis of the spatial distribution of these factors in the Southeast Region of the United States during the period of 1995-2000 also indicates the importance of differences in rural versus urban and coastal versus non-coastal areas as well as the importance of such factors as highways, large cities, and universities in economic, population, and social structure interrelationships. An extensive dataset is used in the analysis as a number of analysis tools including statistical analysis, econometric models, spatial econometric models, …

Natural Hazards In Mississippi: Regional Perceptions And Reality, Patrick Lee Threatt

Theses and Dissertations

This study comprised of a survey of 807 students in geosciences classes at Mississippi State University to determine the perceived level of threat from eight natural hazards: hurricanes, hail, lightning, tornadoes, earthquakes, ice storms, floods, and wildfires. Responses were analyzed to detect spatial differences in perceptions of threats across the state of Mississippi for comparison. Actual occurrences of the natural hazards and preparations for dealing with these hazards were recorded by county and MEMA districts. Threat perceptions for hurricanes, ice storms, floods, and lightning showed spatial differences, whereas threats from hail, tornadoes, earthquakes, and wildfire showed no spatial differences. All …

Postsecondary Transitions Of Mississippi Band Of Choctaw Indians Tribal Scholarship Program Students, Gregory A. Carlyle

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the postsecondary education transition experiences of graduates of Choctaw Central High School (CCHS) who received support from the Tribal Scholarship Program (TSP) to better understand the barriers to successful postsecondary completion and the means to overcoming those barriers. Successful transitions are key for students to persist to academic completion. Studies show that American Indian students have low rates of college completion and experience a variety of factors attributed to withdrawal from college. This study provided insight into college success experienced by American Indian students and an understanding of the opportunities for a …