Digital Commons Network^™

It's Not Rocket Science: Nasa's Crisis Communication Efforts As A Public Sector Organization Following The Columbia Shuttle Disaster, Emily Ann Schult

LSU Master's Theses

Seventeen years after the Challenger accident, the space shuttle Columbia and its crew were only forty miles from Kennedy Space Center when the shuttle exploded during re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere. The explosion killed all seven astronauts onboard. NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations immediately jumped into action, declaring a contingency and following the Agency Contingency Action Plan for Space Flight Operations. As a public sector organization, one that must report to Congress and the American public, NASA is held to different standards than private organizations when it comes to releasing information. To understand how public sector organizations handle …

The Impact Of Self-Reported Physical Activity Levels On The Prediction Of Body Fatness From Bmi In White And Black College Students, Michael Zanovec

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that self-reported physical activity (PA) levels quantified from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) could be used to improve the prediction of percent body fat (%BF) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) from body mass index (BMI), gender, and race in White and Black college students. A total of 278 students, aged 18 – 24 yr, volunteered to participate. There were 133 males (85 White and 48 Black) and 145 females (77 White and 68 Black). Total activity levels were quantified in MET-hours per week (MET-hrs•wk-1) using the IPAQ short …

Recruiting Sexual Minorities And People With Disabilities To Be Dean, Joan W. Howarth

Scholarly Works

As our day-to-day work lives make abundantly clear, a law faculty is a many-headed creature: an assortment of people with a variety of interests, strengths, foibles, personalities, and identities. Within the legal academy, a dominant consensus acknowledges that a strong faculty embodies diversity along multiple axes, including, for example, race, gender, religion, age, political ideology, research and teaching methodologies, and subject matter expertise.

The dean, however, stands alone, and stands above. Thus, issues of expectation, representation, comfort with and fear of difference operate quite differently when deans are selected, and when they do their jobs. The dean exercises authority over …

Playing With Fire: The Science Of Confronting Adverse Material In Legal Advocacy, Kathryn M. Stanchi

Scholarly Works

The Article seeks to use the science to determine what treatment of adverse information is most beneficial to the client's position. A careful study of the science reveals that, overall, it is advantageous for the advocate to volunteer negative information and rebut it early, and that a direct and in-depth confrontation of negative information is generally more effective than an indirect and cursory treatment.

A close look at the finer points of the data, however, reveals that the question of disclosure is a complicated one. Therefore, legal advocates should learn about the research findings and the theories underlying the research …

Hierarchical Linear Modeling Against The "Gold Standard" Of Visual Analysis In Single-Subject Design, Elizabeth S, Godbold

LSU Master's Theses

Visual analysis is the “Gold Standard” for single-subject data because of two assumptions: a low Type I error rate and consistency across raters. However, research has shown it less reliable and accurate than desired. Autocorrelation, variability, trend, lack of obvious mean shift, and differences in the physical presentation of graphs contribute to inconsistencies and higher error rates. Statistical analysis has been advocated as a judgmental aid to visual analysis, but an appropriate statistic has not been found. In the present study, the accuracy of Hierarchical Linear Modeling was compared to raters’ visual analysis of previously published data using Receiver Operating …

Enhancing Security In Quantum Cryptography, Partha Basuchowdhuri

LSU Master's Theses

Quantum Key Distribution was named as one of the top ten emerging technologies by Technology Review Journal in 2003 in their annual edition. The growth in quantum cryptography since the beginning of the millennium has been expedited by new theories and ideas. The introduction of practical quantum cryptosystems offered by USA based company MagiQTech and its European rival idQuantique has changed the face of cryptography. With active experimental research in USA, Europe, Japan and Singapore, the scope of quantum cryptography seems to be growing daily. When Bennett and Brassard proposed their BB84 protocol in Bangalore in 1984, no one would …

An Evaluation Of The Perceived Obstacles For Policy Officials Regulating The Post Harvest Treatment Of Raw Oysters To Control The Human Health Vibrio Vulnificus Problem, Amy Leah Oestringer

LSU Master's Theses

Vibrio vulnificus is the leading pathogen linked to seafood-associated deaths. This naturally occurring marine bacterium presents a human health risk when it is consumed in raw oysters. Hospitalization is necessary in 90 % Vibrio vulnificus illnesses and 40% end in death. (CDC) Several guidelines and regulations have been enacted to combat this human health issue, but have failed to reduce the steadily rising illness rate. Post-harvest processing requirements for raw oysters could be used to reduce illness rates. A survey was conducted to measure the perceived obstacles that regulators and industry representatives of the raw oyster industry face in policymaking …

The Color Appearance Of Stimuli Detected Via Short-Wavelength-Sensitive Cones: Comparisons With Visual Adaptation And Visual Field Data For Peri- Or Post-Menopausal Women Under 70 Years Of Age, Alvin Eisner, Maureen D. Toomey

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Dynamics of foveal light adaptation for vision mediated via short-wavelength-sensitive (SWS) cones were compared for two groups of healthy amenorrheic (peri- or post-menopausal) women not using hormonal medication. Each subject was assigned to a group based on the color name – “lavender” (~2/3 of all subjects) or "white" (~1/3 of all subjects) – chosen in a forced-response paradigm to best describe a threshold-level 440-nm test presented on a larger 3.6 log td 580-nm background that had been viewed for ~5 minutes. During the first 20–30 seconds after this 3.6 log td background abruptly replaced a much dimmer background, the threshold …

No Brown Towns: Anti-Immigrant Ordinances And Equality Of Educational Opportunity For Latina/Os, Tom I. Romero Ii

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Making Much Ado About Theory: The Chinese Trademark Law, Leah Chan Grinvald

Scholarly Works

Although the United States has had an active hand in the implementation of trademark law in China over the past century, the same frustrations that marked the turn of the twentieth century are reflected in the twenty-first century. This Article posits that one of the reasons that the United States has not seen the desired level of progress in China's protection of trademarks lies in the imposition of an American theory of trademarks, which has inhibited U.S. reform efforts in China to date. This imposition is understandable, as little thought has been given to the Chinese theoretical justification for their …

All The President's Lawyers: How To Avoid Another "Torture Opinion" Debacle, Dawn E. Johnsen

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Accommodating Respectful Religious Expression In The Workplace, Nantiya Ruan

Scholarly Works

This Article makes the case for judicial recognition of respectful religious expression in the workplace as more consistent with the Court's Establishment Clause jurisprudence and also more true to the legislative intent of the religious accommodation provisions of Title VII. Respectful religious pluralism in the workplace should become the norm through judicial requirements of best practices in the workplace. Such a view should be wholly supported by the majority of the Justices because it is consistent with their expressed views, in the Establishment Clause case law, that religion fosters moral good and that in a pluralistic society religious expression cannot …

"Ain’T No Sunshine”: Examining Informality And State Open Meeting Acts As The Anti-Public Norm In Inner-City Redevelopment Deal Making, Patience A. Crowder

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Crude Birth Rates Among New York City’S Racial/Ethnic Groups And Latino Nationalities In 2002, Victoria Stone

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report analyzes crude birth rates among women in the three primary racial/ethnic groups, White, Black, and Latina, and further examines birth rates by age-specific groups in the five boroughs of New York City in 2002. In addition, this report presents the crude birth rates for six Latino nationalities: Mexican, Ecuadorian, Dominican, Colombian, Puerto Rican and Cuban.

Methods: The data examined here was derived from the NYC Vital Statistics 2002 Report and the Census 2000 SF4 table on Sex by Age by race and Latino nationality. The birth rates were calculated by dividing live birth numbers (Vital Statistics report) …

Hispanic Citizenship, Registration, And Voting Patterns: A Comparative Analysis Of The 2000 And 2004 Presidential Elections, Debora Upegui

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This study examines citizenship, registration, and voting patterns among Latinos in the 2000 and 2004 Presidential Elections.

Methods: Data on Latinos and other racial/ethnic groups were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa. Cases in the dataset were weighted and analyzed to produce population estimates.

Results: There is no doubt that the Hispanic population in the United States has consistently grown in the last two decades and continues to be the largest growing minority group within the United States. According to the 2004 census, …

Reference Retooled: How Google Tools Strengthen And Streamline Reference Service, Jill Cirasella

Publications and Research

This slideshow examines the role of Google and various Google tools (circa 2008) in reference librarianship. It looks at the ways in which Google can be an active and equal participant in the reference interview and help with various kinds of ill-formed questions.

Race, Civil Rights, And Hate Speech In The Digital Era, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

The emergence of the digital era has had unintended consequences for race, civil rights, and hate speech.This chapter looks at the prevalence of both overtly racist sites, such as Stormfront, and at "cloaked" sites, that purport to advocate civil rights but disguise a racist agenda.

A Transnational Conversation On French Colonialism, Immigration, Violence And Sovereignty, Miriam Ticktin, Ruth Marshall, Paolo Bacchetta

Publications and Research

This conversation was transcribed from a panel discussion that took place at The Scholar & Feminist Conference XXXII, “Fashioning Citizenship: Gender and Immigration,” held on March 24, 2007 at Barnard College.

The Valuation Of Agricultural Biotechnology: The Real Options Approach, Ian Marshall Flagg

Agribusiness and Applied Economics

This study develops a real options model of agbiotechnology and is applied to three genetically modified (GM) traits. Each trait is evaluated as growth options where technical or marketing milestones must be completed before management can exercise the option to invest further in trait development. The real options values are evaluated by employing a binomial tree which is simulated using distributions for random elements within stages of the growth option. Mean option values were negative for the discovery stage for fusarium-resistant wheat and for all but the regulatory submission stage for Roundup Ready wheat. The length of the regulatory submission …

Productivity Growth In The U.S. Trucking Industry, Steven Condon

Agribusiness and Applied Economics

The performance of the trucking industry is very important to the economy given that it moves nearly 70 percent of the nation's freight (Tall et al. 2005). The more efficient and productive trucking fins are, the less the shipping costs are for the trucking firm managers and the end consumers or businesses. Consequently, it has become vital to keep the trucking industry running efficiently and continuing to improve productivity. Productivity change of 115 of the largest firms in the United States was determined for the years 1999 and 2003. The Malmquist Productivity Index was decomposed into technical efficiency change and …

Plagioclase Populations And Zoning In Dacite Of The 2004–2005 Mount St. Helens Eruption: Constraints For Magma Origin And Dynamics, Martin J. Streck, Cindy A. Broderick, Carl R. Thornber, Michael A. Clynne, John S. Pallister

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

We investigated plagioclase phenocrysts in dacite of the 2004–5 eruption of Mount St. Helens to gain insights into the magmatic processes of the current eruption, which is char­acterized by prolonged, nearly solid-state extrusion, low gas emission, and shallow seismicity. In addition, we investigated plagioclase of 1980–86 dacite.

Light and Nomarski microscopy were used to texturally characterize plagioclase crystals. Electron microprobe analy­ses measured their compositions. We systematically mapped and categorized all plagioclase phenocrysts in a preselected area according to the following criteria: (1) occurrence of zones of acicular orthopyroxene inclusions, (2) presence of dissolution surface(s), and (3) spatial association of 1 …

Factors Influencing Potato Production In North Dakota, Zoe Taryn Margaux Roberson Zetina

Agribusiness and Applied Economics

Spatial shifts and structural changes continue to occur in the United States agricultural industry. Researchers have documented that the potato industry has changed in response to demands of consumers, expectations of producers and improvements in research and development. The aim of this study was to provide empirical evidence that both institutional and infrastructural factors are important to potato production in North Dakota. Using secondary county-level potato production data for North Dakota, an empirical model was designed to estimate the direction and impact of growers' expectations of prices, yields and costs on their decision to produce potatoes. The results confirmed that …

Examination Of North Dakota's Production, Cost, And Profit Functions: A Quantile Regression Analysis, Jacklin Beatriz Marroquin

Agribusiness and Applied Economics

This thesis estimates the production, cost, and profit functions for North Dakota agriculture using state-level input-output quantity and price data for the period 1960-2004. A Cobb-Douglas functional form with Hick-neutral technology change is used to measure the contribution of capital, land, labor, materials, energy, and chemical inputs quantities and output quantity using the primal production function; contribution of capital quantity, land quantity, output quantity, labor price, materials price, energy price, and chemical price to cost using the dual restricted cost function; and the contribution of capital quantity, land quantity, labor price, materials price, energy price, chemical price, output price to …

Admissibility Regimes The Opinion Rule And Other Oddities And Exceptions To Scientific Evidence The Scientific Revolution And Common Sense, David L. Faigman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Patent And Antitrust Differing Shades Of Meaning, Robin Feldman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Formal Structure Of Patent Law And The Limits Of Enablement, Jeffrey A. Lefstin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Making The State Do Justice Transnational Prosecutions And International Support For Criminal Investigations In Post Armed Conflict Guatemala, Naomi Roht-Arriaza

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Coerced Confessions Self Policing In The Shadow Of The Regulator, Jodi L. Short, Michael W. Toffel

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

How Does Culture Count In Legal Change?: A Review With A Proposal From A Social Movement Perspective, Setsuo Miyazawa

Faculty Scholarship

We have in this volume four articles on legal change in China and Japan written by four distinguished authors. These articles vary with regard to subject state, specificity of issues, and breadth of analytical scope. They commonly discuss one factor, however: culture. The purpose of this Comment is to examine the way each article uses culture in its explanations of legal change. The Comment concludes with a brief suggestion, from a social movement perspective, on employing culture as an explanatory tool in a non-essentialist way.

Will Penal Populism In Japan Decline?: A Discussion, Setsuo Miyazawa

Faculty Scholarship

I intend to play the role of discussant at a session where five papers have been presented and to draw implications from the perspective I presented in Miyazawa (2007a ). I revise my thesis about penal populism in Japan slightly using the concept of "leadership from the front "presented by Johnson .However, I still conclude that penal populism in Japan is not likely to decline in the near future.