Digital Commons Network^™

Growth And Properties Of Metal-On-Metal Nanostructures: Ag On Cu(110) And Co On Ag(110), Indrajith Chandima Senevirathne

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Heteroepitaxial nanostructures have a diverse array of applications and show novel phenomena that arise from the exotic physics exhibited in reduced dimensions. We have investigated two nano-structured systems in order to gain insights into the dynamics of their nucleation, growth and have observed striking differences, due in part to a competition between lattice strain, surface and interfacial free energies. When Ag is deposited on clean, single-crystal Cu(110), it initially wets the surface with a (111) monolayer, and spontaneously nucleates nanowires as the coverage is increased. The nanowires nucleate at defects and step edges and grow aligned along the [1–10] direction. …

Effects Of Burning On Henslow's Sparrow (Ammodramus Henslowii) Density And Habitat Quality In Louisiana, Laura M. Palasz

LSU Master's Theses

The Henslow’s Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii) is a grassland species of concern that winters in prairies and open pine savannas across the Gulf Coastal Plain. Previous studies have indicated that these birds occur at higher densities in recently burned habitats in winter, but this has never been examined over a large geographic area containing multiple habitat types. The objectives of the study were to identify areas of important winter habitat in Louisiana, to examine the relationship between time since burn, bird density, and bird condition, and to determine vegetation structure and composition used by birds. We found most of the new …

Representation & Its Limit, Neal Anderson Hebert

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis is an investigation into traditional accounts of aesthetic representation. Using the work of Noel Carroll as an exemplar of the definition put forward in canonical philosophical accounts of aesthetic representation, I look at how Carroll’s account must work. By examining both the definition in abstract and how this definition is instantiated into existent and hypothetical works of art, it becomes apparent that Carroll’s definition is overly stringent and relies upon a counterintuitive distinction between aesthetic representation and aesthetic expression. This distinction is problematic insofar as the distinction seems to be a largely semantic distinction: the mechanism by which …

Chemical Analysis Of Polymer Blends Via Synchrotron X-Ray Tomography, Heath Alan Barnett

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Material properties of industrial polymer blends are of great importance. X-ray tomography has been used to obtain spatial chemical information about various polymer blends. The spatial images are acquired with synchrotron X-ray tomography because of its rapidity, good spatial resolution, large field-of-view, and elemental sensitivity. The spatial absorption data acquired from X-ray tomography experiments is converted to spatial chemical information via a linear least squares fit of multi-spectral X-ray absorption data. A fiberglass-reinforced polymer blend with a new-generation flame retardant is studied with multi-energy synchrotron X-ray tomography to assess the blend homogeneity. Relative to other composite materials, this sample is …

How Not To Incorporate Voluntary Standards Into Smart Regulation: Iso 14001 And Ontario's Environmental Penalties Regulations, Stepan Wood, Lynn Johannson

All Faculty Publications

In June, 2007 the province of Ontario, Canada, released environmental penalties (EPs) regulations. EPs (or administrative penalties, as they are called in the US) are the environmental equivalent of speeding tickets for facilities that violate pollution laws. They are found in numerous jurisdictions and are widely understood as part of a move toward smart regulation. The Ontario regulations offer reduced EPs to facilities with an environmental management system (EMS) that meets the requirements of ISO 14001 or the chemical industry's Responsible Care initiative. We argue that non-governmental, consensus-based standards such as ISO 14001 can and should play a constructive role …

This Is To Whom It May Concern: A Guantánamo Narrative, 1 Depaul J. Soc. Just. 153 (2008)., Marc D. Falkoff

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Phylogenetic Analyses Of Two Mitochondrial Metabolic Genes Sampled In Parallel From Angiosperms Find Fundamental Interlocus Incongruence, Melvin R. Duvall, J.W. Robinson, J.G. Mattson, A. Moore

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Plant molecular phylogeneticists have supported an analytical approach of combining loci from different genomes, but the combination of mitochondrial sequences with chloroplast and nuclear sequences is potentially problematic. Low substitution rates in mitochondrial genes should decrease saturation, which is especially useful for the study of deep divergences. However, individual mitochondrial loci are insuffi ciently informative, so that combining congruent loci is necessary. For this study atp1 and cox1 were selected, which are of similar lengths, encode components of the respiratory pathway, and generally lack introns. Thus, these genes might be expected to have similar functional constraints, selection pressures, and evolutionary …

Beyond Cardboard Clients In Legal Ethics, Katherine R. Kruse

Scholarly Works

This Article argues that the construction of cardboard clients in legal ethics has disserved legal ethics by obscuring what is arguably a more central problem of legal professionalism: the problem of legal objectification. The problem of legal objectification is the tendency of lawyers to "issue-spot" their clients as they would the facts on a blue-book exam, overemphasizing the clients' legal interests and minimizing or ignoring the other cares, commitments, relationships, reputations and values that constitute the objectives clients bring to legal representation. This Article proposes an alternative ideal of legal professionalism for "three-dimensional clients" based on helping clients articulate and …

In Re Gault And The Promise Of Systemic Reform, Katherine R. Kruse

Scholarly Works

The right to counsel for juveniles in delinquency cases that the Supreme Court declared in In re Gault can be seen as an effort at systemic reform - a purposeful alteration of the structure, procedure, or resources of a law-administering system that aims to better align the system's operation with the principles or ideals on which it is based. Although the Court articulated the benefits of counsel in terms of individual representation, juvenile defenders are increasingly called upon to expand their role to include broader forms of advocacy aimed at reforming juvenile justice system practice and procedure. The predominant stakeholder …

Measurement Of Nutrient Availability In Feedstuffs For Florida Pompano And Development Of Formulated Diets For Pompano Aquaculture, Craig Gothreaux

LSU Master's Theses

Consistently high market demand combined with low commercial catches have made Florida pompano, Trachinotus carolinus, one of the highest valued finfish from the Gulf of Mexico. Economic incentive has spurred interest in pompano culture since the 1950s, yet the body of nutritional research on pompano is still sparse. This study was conducted to measure the apparent digestibility of nutrients among a selection of common feed ingredients, and determine the optimum dietary protein level for juvenile Florida pompano at a fixed protein-to-energy ratio, in order to formulate nutritionally complete, cost-effective diets. The four ingredients tested in the digestibility trial were soybean …

The Human Dignity Of Clients, Katherine R. Kruse

Scholarly Works

This essay reviews David Luban's forthcoming book, Legal Ethics and Human Dignity. At the heart of this new book is an argument that interactions between lawyers and clients ought to be at the center of jurisprudential inquiry. Pointing out that most cases do not go to trial and that much transactional work occurs outside the litigation context, he argues that law's defining moments occur when a "client sketches out a problem and a lawyer tenders advice," rather than when a judge decides a litigant's case. This review essay examines how Luban might elaborate a new "jurisprudence of lawyering" by examining …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of The Response To Instruction Model For English Language Learners By Utilizing A Non-Language-Based Intervention, Chisato Komatsu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the current investigation was to examine the use of the Response to Intervention (RTI) model for English Language learners (ELLs) by using a computerized constant time delay procedure (CTD) that de-emphasized the use of language. Forty-five ELLs, 22 native English speakers, and five students with a diagnosis of mild mental retardation participated in the study. A computer-administered CTD procedure was utilized for paired associate tasks. The study found differences and patterns in students’ performances that could be used to differentiate responders and non-responders to intervention. An interesting finding was that once the students were divided into groups …

Searching For Gravitational Waves From Binary Systems In Non-Stationary Data, Chad Hanna

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The gravitational wave detectors at the LIGO Observatories have achieved record sensitivity to gravitational-waves produced by astrophysical systems. The LIGO Scientific Collaboration has analyzed data taken in several science runs, searching for different signals. We describe a search for black holes with less than a solar mass in the LIGO data taken from February 22 to March 24, 2005. No gravitational waves were found, and an upper limit was set on the rate of mergers of such binary systems. This search, as well as other searches for binary systems, are affected by non-stationary noise. We describe the sophisticated pipeline that …

A Comparison Of Fall-Related Psychological Measures In A Community-Based Setting, Delilah Susanne Moore

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Falls and the fall-related psychological concerns associated with these events pose a serious public health problem among aging adults. Fall-related psychological instruments can be useful in quantifying important endpoints for fall prevention programs (Jorstad et al., 2005), yet no research currently exists to justify the use of these psychological instruments in a community-based falls risk screening. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to examine the psychometric properties of several fall-related psychological measures in a falls risk screening context by: (a) examining the reliability and validity of the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC), modified Survey of Activities …

Function Based Interventions Versus Non-Function Based Interventions Within A General Education Setting, Michael J. Vance

LSU Master's Theses

Functional Behavioral Assessment is a multi-method set of strategies used to determine a particular behaviors purpose. This method, currently seen as the gold standard for creating behavioral interventions, has since 1997 been required by law for a number of special education concerns. While there is a great deal of data supporting the use of function based interventions for populations with low incidence disabilities, little has been done to analyze their effectiveness for more typically developing children. Given that functional behavioral assessment can be quite time consuming and requires prior training the purpose of this study is to compare function based …

The Detection Of Malingered Mental Retardation In High- And Low-Cognitive Ability Individuals, Daniel Anthony Proto

LSU Master's Theses

The detection of malingering is an area of research that has received increasing attention in recent decades. Neuropsychologists in particular are often asked to assess the validity of symptoms such as cognitive impairment due to brain injury or toxic chemical exposure. Additionally, given the decision of the U.S. Supreme court in Atkins v. Virginia (2002), incentive to feign mental retardation in order to avoid capital punishment has greatly increased. However, few measures of malingering detection have been thoroughly studied for their applicability to mentally retarded individuals, and for their ability to accurately distinguish between malingerers, normal controls, and individuals with …

Systematically Increasing Contextual Interference Is Beneficial For Learning Novel Motor Skills, Jared Marak Porter

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Traditionally, contextual interference (CI) has been investigated by the use of extreme low and high levels of CI (blocked and random practice schedules); with results generally suggesting that higher rather than lower amounts of CI facilitated motor skill learning (Magill & Hall, 1990). To better understand the CI effect, two experiments were conducted investigating an alternative form of practice schedule. Practice using this alternative schedule provided novices experiences with systematic increases in CI, which were compared to traditional blocked and random scheduling. Experiment 1 tested the hypothesis that practicing variations of the same tasks with systematic increases in CI would …

Neuroimaging Research Into Disorders Of Consciousness: Moral Imperative Or Ethical And Legal Failure?, Stacey A. Tovino

Scholarly Works

This article explores the ethical and legal implications of enrolling individuals with disorders of consciousness (DOC) in neuroimaging research studies. Many scientists have strongly emphasized the need for additional neuroimaging research into DOC, characterizing the conduct of such studies as morally imperative. On the other hand, institutional review boards charged with approving research protocols, scientific journals deciding whether to publish study results, and federal agencies that disburse grant money have limited the conduct, publication, and funding of consciousness investigations based on ethical and legal concerns. Following a detailed examination of the risks and benefits of neuroimaging research involving individuals with …

The Effect Of Contamination, Sediment Source And Salinity On The Uptake, Distribution, And Excretion Of Metals By Spartina Alterniflora, Sarahfaye Mahon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Spartina alterniflora, the dominant vegetation in many salt marshes, has the potential to remobilize metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) from sediment to the local salt marsh environment. My research determined the influence of sediment metal concentration, sediment type and salinity on the uptake, distribution and accumulation of metals by S. alterniflora tissues and excreted salts. Spartina alterniflora was cultivated at a constant salinity in natural and dredge sediments with three levels of metal additions (control, low, and high). The distribution and concentration of metals in S. alterniflora was influenced by both metal treatments and sediment type; however, the …

The Culture Of Conservative Protestantism And Income Inequality: A Multilevel Analysis, Skylar Craig Gremillion

LSU Master's Theses

Despite major advances in equality of rights, women still earn less money than men. Social science researchers see sex-based income inequality as an issue of discrimination. While the problem has been identified, its causes are a matter of debate. In this study I offer one possible influence on this discrimination. I theorize that conservative Protestant culture has a strong effect on local norms and business practices. Those norms are a part of the institutional environment, and manifest themselves as allocative and valuative discrimination, keeping women out of high paying jobs or paying women in high skilled jobs less than men …

Avian Diversification In The Afrotropics, Ben D. Marks

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Widespread bird species endemic to the lowlands of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest of Africa have traditionally been thought to lack substantial intraspecific structure. This view owes largely to their widespread distributions coupled with the absence of discrete geographic variation in plumage. In the following chapters I examine the phylogeographic patterns of three such species using a combination of molecular and morphometric data. The three species investigated are the Green Hylia (Hylia prasina), the Red-tailed Bristlebill (Bleda syndactylus), and the Yellow-whiskered Greenbul (Andropadus latirostris). Using the phylogeographic patterns from these data, I assess 1) models of rainforest species diversification, 2) current taxonomy, …

Only Skin Deep: The Cost Of Partisan Politics On Minority Diversity Of The Federal Bench: Why Care Whether Judges Look “Like America” If, Because Of Politics, A “Voice Of Color” Has Become A “Whisper Of Color”?, Sylvia R. Lazos

Scholarly Works

This article explores the difficulties encountered in diversifying the federal bench and why the partisanship of the confirmation process decreases the diversity of viewpoints on the bench. Presidents value diversity in nominating judges. While Bill Clinton and George W. Bush had very contrasting political styles and judicial philosophies, the judges appointed by these two presidents now account for almost 80% of the current active federal minority judges. There has been progress in the area of descriptive diversity; currently 18% of the active federal bench is made up of minority judges according to data compiled from the Judicial Center. However, there …

Sulphur Removal Using Regenerable Sorbents Of Rare Earth/Transition Metal Oxides, Vikram Reddy Kalakota

LSU Master's Theses

Hot gas desulfurization of gases from primary gasifier can be accomplished using sorbents composed Zn, calcium and transition metal oxide sorbents. The problem with metal oxide sorbents alone is that they are easily reduced at high temperature above 873 K to metallic state under reducing atmosphere decreasing their desulfurization capacity. Sorbents studied for hot gas desulfurization were based on Ce/La/M (M = transition metal) oxides and Ce/La/RE (RE = a rare earth) oxide. Sorbents were prepared using sol-gel method and the rare earth oxides were doped with transition metals using incipient wetness impregnation. Sulfidation experiments were carried out at 873 …

When Shakespeare Meets Al Gore: Imagine Interactions, Communication Competence, And Immediacy Traditional And Online-Based Distance Education, Tammy L. Croghan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The growth of distance education, in its many forms, has had consequences for both online universities as well as more traditional universities. This study examines instructional behaviors and communication strategies used in face-to-face and online educational settings. The purpose of this study is to explore student perceptions of instructor immediacy, motivation, and communicator competence in addition to their own motivation and intrapersonal communication use in higher education settings. This dissertation follows a social scientific organizational pattern: introduction, literature review, methods, results, and discussion. The first two chapters examine the purpose of the study and the appropriate research on distance education, …

Neglecting Parameter Changes In Garch Option Pricing Models And Var, Burak Hurmeydan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In GARCH models, neglecting parameter changes in the conditional volatility process results in biased estimation. The estimated sum of the autoregressive parameters of the conditional volatility converges to one. In Chapter 2, I analyze the effect of changes in the parameters of conditional volatility on European call option prices when these parameters are estimated ignoring the change-points. Simulation studies show that ignoring parameter changes in the conditional variance process of GARCH(1,1) models leads to biased estimates of option prices. The bias, measured in percentages, is most pronounced for out-of-the-money options, substantial for at-the-money options, and vanishes as options move deep-in-the-money. …

The Automobile Exception In Nevada: A Critique Of The Harnisch Cases, Thomas B. Mcaffee, John P. Lukens, Thaddeus J. Yurek Iii

Scholarly Works

This Article offers a critique of Nevada's Harnisch cases and calls for the Nevada Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling. The authors begin by examining the historical development of the automobile exception, beginning with Carroll v. United States. There the Supreme Court reasoned that both probable cause and the exigency of the mobility of automobiles justified a search without a warrant. But almost seventy-five years later, in Maryland v. Dyson, the Court clarified its conclusion that the automobile exception has no separate exigency requirement. In turn, the authors will then examine Nevada's application of the automobile exception prior to 1998's …

Claims To Information Qua Information And A Structural Theory Of Section 101, Kevin Emerson Collins

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this article, I start from the premises that claims to inventive information qua information are not and should not be patentable, and I pursue two lines of inquiry. First, I argue that a structural theory of Section l0l of the Patent Act provides a policy-driven, conceptually coherent and statutorily justified interpretation that explains why claims to inventive information qua information should be excluded from the realm of patentable subject matter. In brief, patentable subject matter must be restricted in this manner to preserve the duality of claiming and disclosing upon which the entire patent regime is constructed.

Second, I …

The Reach Of Literal Claim Scope Into After-Arising Technology: On Thing Construction And The Meaning Of Meaning, Kevin Emerson Collins

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Broadly speaking, courts and commentators have offered two theories to explain the relationship between the literal scope of a patent claim and after-arising technology (AAT), i.e. technology that is not discovered until after a claim has been filed. The fixation theory asserts that claim scope is and/or should be fixed on the date a claim is filed and that this fixation makes it impossible for the claim to encompass AA T because a claim must grow in some sense after the filing date in order to encompass AA T. In stark contrast, the growth theory argues that literal claim scope …

The Effect Of Consistency Of Price Promotion Cues On Retailer Credibility, Product Quality, Value Of A Deal And Purchase Intentions, Igor Makienko

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research on price promotions suggests that higher discounts often result in more favorable deal evaluations. However, consumers’ reactions do not always follow a consistently linear path when evaluating the deal. Price promotions offering “too high” or “too low” value may result in adverse deal evaluations. In this dissertation we investigate consumers’ reactions and possible evaluations of price promotions when they are provided information on the two primary price promotion attributes - discount and time restrictions. If the price promotion attributes, acting as cues, are consistent with consumers’ expectations (e.g., a high discount with a short time period, or vice versa), …

Off-Line Maldi Mass Spectrometry Of Bioaerosols, Jae-Kuk Kim

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used for off-line analysis of bioaerosols. The overall goal of the work is to develop methods and instrumentation to minimize sample treatment and maximize sensitivity and selectivity for bioaerosol analysis. This work is divided into three parts: sample preparation, test bioaerosol analysis, and instrument development. Untreated silicon wafer substrates were used as an alternate to conventional stainless steel targets and proved to be excellent substrates for large molecule analyses as well as small molecule analyses with excellent spot-to-spot and shot-to-shot reproducibility, which is useful for high-throughput and automated sample analysis. MALDI sample preparation …