Digital Commons Network^™

Fast 3-D Thermal Analysis Of Complex Interconnect Structures Using Electrical Modeling And Simulation Methodologies, Chuan Xu, Lijun Jiang, Seshadri K. Kolluri, Barry J. Rubin, Alina Deutsch, Howard Smith, Kaustav Banerjee

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Accurate and fast estimation of VLSI interconnect thermal profiles has become critically important to estimate their impact on circuit/ system performance and reliability, which is necessary for reducing product development time and achieving first-pass silicon success. Present commercial thermal analysis tools are incapable of simulating complex structures, particularly in the 3-D domain and are also difficult to integrate with existing design tools. Existing analytical thermal models are not perfect either: they are either not accurate enough or oversimplified. This paper uses a methodology, which exploits existing electrical resistance solvers for thermal simulation, to allow fast acquisition of thermal profiles of …

When The Lawyer Knows The Client Is Guilty: Client Confessions In Legal Ethics, Popular Culture, And Literature, Michael Asimow, Richard H. Weisberg

Articles

The article explores the ethical dilemma faced by criminal defense lawyers when they know their client is factually guilty but the client insists on a vigorous defense. It examines the tension between the lawyer’s duty of zealous representation and the duty of candor toward the court, proposing a compromise that allows lawyers discretion to choose between strong or weak adversarial approaches based on the context. The analysis draws on historical cases, such as the Courvoisier case of 1840 and the modern case of Steven Feldman, as well as insights from popular culture and literary sources, to argue that the discretionary …

Demographic, Behavioral And Perceptual Comparisons Of The U.S. Visitor Experience With Group Package Tours And Free Independent Travel To China, Mark A. Bonn, Howook Chang, Jerome Agrusta, H. Leslie Furr, Woo Gon Kim

Management: Faculty Publications

U.S. visitor demand for the China travel experience is anticipated to rise significantly through 2105, causing the Chinese government to employ 100 million service providers over the next six years and raising concern about service delivery and perceptions of the on-site China experience. In an effort to better understand these issues concerning U.S. visitors, this study investigated two specific types of U.S. travelers to China: Group Package Tour (GPT) visitors and Free Independent Travel (FIT) visitors. Results indicated that GPT visitors were more likely to be older and have higher household income than FIT visitors. Four trip-related characteristics of GPT …

The Effectivness [Sic] Of Reader’S Theater In Improving Vocabulary Skills In Children With Language Disorders, Leanne Marie Kaiser-Wehling

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Reader's Theater has been gaining in popularity recently as a way to promote reading fluency and to increase motivation for reading. Reader's Theater can be used for children of all ages, and the main goal of Reader's Theater is to improve reading fluency. Vocabulary improvement has not previously been studied using Reader's Theater. One important component of literacy is vocabulary skills. Children who have extensive vocabulary knowledge have a better ability to infer the meaning of new vocabulary words and this knowledge helps promote learning. Research supports teaching vocabulary through direct and indirect methods. Currently there is a large number …

Part 2: The Hotel Industry In Hampton Roads, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Stagnant or declining patronage and excess capacity have made this a very challenging time for an industry that is vital to our future.

Subpathwayminer: A Software Package For Flexible Identification Of Pathways, Chunquan Li, Xia Li, Yingbo Miao, Qianghu Wang, Wei Jian, Chun Xu, Jing Li, Junwei Han, Fan Zhang, Binsheng Gong

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

With the development of high-throughput experimental techniques such as microarray, mass spectrometry and large-scale mutagenesis, there is an increasing need to automatically annotate gene sets and identify the involved pathways. Although many pathway analysis tools are developed, new tools are still needed to meet the requirements for flexible or advanced analysis purpose. Here, we developed an R-based software package (SubpathwayMiner) for flexible pathway identification. SubpathwayMiner facilitates subpathway identification of metabolic pathways by using pathway structure information. Additionally, SubpathwayMiner also provides more flexibility in annotating gene sets and identifying the involved pathways (entire pathways and sub-pathways): (i) SubpathwayMiner is able to …

Studies Of States And State Transitions In Low Mass X-Ray Binaries, Charles Bradley

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

We investigate the model of a disk/coronal accretion flow into a black hole. We build a numerical code to ascertain whether the inner regions of an accretion disk in X-ray binaries can transform from a cool standard disk to an advection-dominated flow through the known properties of Coulomb interaction in a two-temperature plasma, taking into account viscous heating, standard radiation processes, and thermal conduction. A hot, diffuse corona covering the whole disk is powered by accretion, but it exchanges energy with the underlying cool disk through radiative interactions and conduction. If the accretion rate is low enough, at some intermediate …

Integrated Model-Centric Decision Support System For Process Industries, Daira Aragon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

To bring the advances in modeling, simulation and optimization environments (MSOEs), open-software architectures, and information technology closer to process industries, novel mechanisms and advanced software tools must be devised to simplify the definition of complex model-based problems. Synergistic interactions between complementary model-based software tools must be refined to unlock the potential of model-centric technologies in industries. This dissertation presents the conceptual definition of a single and consistent framework for integrated process decision support (IMCPSS) to facilitate the realistic formulation of related model-based engineering problems. Through the integration of data management, simulation, parameter estimation, data reconciliation, and optimization methods, this framework …

The Role Of Hurricane Exposure And Life Disruption As Predictors Of Child Post-Traumatic Stress Symptomatology Following Hurricane Katrina, Angie Lynn Pellegrin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

While many children emotionally recover following a disaster (Salzer & Bickman, 1999), possibly one-third of children will experience significant psychological distress or post-traumatic stress symptoms which cause interference with their daily school and home functioning (Vernberg, La Greca, Silverman, & Prinstein, 1996). Research supports the role that exposure, loss, and disruption play in increasing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) severity in children following disasters (La Greca, Silverman, Vernberg, Prinstein, 1996; Verberg et al., 1996). However, there are no assessments or questionnaires that have investigated what type of events during and following a hurricane are most predictive of post-traumatic stress reactions. Using …

Topics In Quantum Optical Metrology, Aravind Chiruvelli

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Quantum optical metrology deals with estimation of an unknown parameter by exploiting the non-classical properties of the light. The unknown parameter that we are trying to estimate is the optical phase. Precise optical phase measurement has been a well-known problem and has many applications, most notably the gravitational wave detection. In this thesis we investigate the interferometric measurement schemes. We consider the parity detection for a class of input states that have been shown to exhibit sub-shot noise limited phase estimate with their respective detection schemes. Our results indicate that the parity detection applies to all these strategies with various …

Does Practice Of Multi-Directional Stepping With Auditory Stimulation Improve Movement Performance In Patients With Parkinson's Disease, Zahra Kadivar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder causing many physical limitations. Rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) influences motor complications not alleviated by medicine and has been used to modify straight line walking in this population. However, motor complications are exacerbated during more complex movements including those involving direction changes. Thus immediate RAS effects on direction switch duration (DSD) and other kinematic measures during a multi-directional step task were investigated in PD patients. Long term RAS application was also explored by evaluating functional gait and balance and kinematic step measures before and after 6 weeks of multi-directional stepping either with (Cue, …

The Extended Picture Group, With Applications To Line Arrangement Complements, Charles Richard Egedy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

We obtain the picture group as the quotient with a torsion subgroup, of an extended picture group, which is isomorphic to the kernel of a precrossed module homomorphism. In addition to expanding the notion of a picture group, the new formulation gives a natural way to construct homomorphisms between picture groups by describing deformations of one-vertex subpictures. The extended picture group thus provides a convenient way to describe generators for the second homotopy group of line arrangement complements as well as homomorphisms between these groups. In particular, we show that the homomorphisms relate to a lattice structure corresponding roughly to …

Community Social Capital And Suicide Rates, Anna Cutlip

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The integrating capacity of social institutions on community organization and the consequential benefits of community cohesion are well-known, i.e. lower crime rates, better health outcomes, economic and social stability. Drawing on the civil society and civic community literatures, this study applies the theory of social capital to study of suicide. Rather than focus on individual level data, macro-level data are analyzed to determine the relationship between the social capital of an area and the prevalence of suicide. Negative binomial regression is used to examine U.S. counties of 100,000 residents or more (urban) and counties of 1,000 to 25,000 residents (rural) …

Anthropogenic And Natural Perturbations On Lower Barataria Bay, Louisiana: Detecting Responses Of Marsh-Edge Fishes And Decapod Crustaceans, Agatha-Marie Fuller Roth

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Barataria Bay, Louisiana is a dynamic estuary with ongoing disturbances that is in need of restoration. Development and validation of a lower Barataria Bay index of biotic integrity (IBI) for the summer season was the focus of my research. This IBI was created using 2005 data and evaluated with 2006 and 2007 data to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach in coastal Louisiana. The IBI successfully distinguished sites with differing levels of degradation using nine fish metrics. While pursuing this effort, two serendipitous events occurred when an oil spill then a hurricane impacted the study area. This gave me opportunities …

Women And Science In Development: A Longitudinal Analysis Of Gender, Networks, And Information Technology In Ghana, Kenya, And India, Beverly Paige Miller

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the gendered nature of the scientific career for researchers in universities and national research institutes in Ghana, Kenya, and Kerala India. Employing panel data, I analyze three issues related to the diffusion of ICTs in the scientific communities of less developed areas: 1) access; 2) interaction; 3) and involvement. More specifically, I examine the way in which human capital, family structure, travel experiences, contextual factors, and technological antecedents interact with gender to influence access to and use of personal computers, email, and the Web. From there, I incorporate technological behavioral changes to predict interaction within professional networks. …

Multiple Dataset Visualization (Mdv) Framework For Scalar Volume Data, Gaurav Khanduja

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Many applications require comparative analysis of multiple datasets representing different samples, conditions, time instants, or views in order to develop a better understanding of the scientific problem/system under consideration. One effective approach for such analysis is visualization of the data. In this PhD thesis, we propose an innovative multiple dataset visualization (MDV) approach in which two or more datasets of a given type are rendered concurrently in the same visualization. MDV is an important concept for the cases where it is not possible to make an inference based on one dataset, and comparisons between many datasets are required to reveal …

"Why Do I Have Fifty Pairs Of Shoes?": Characterizing And Explaining Acquisitive Buying Behavior, Mousumi Bose Godbole

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Why do some of us have the fourteenth black shoe? Fifty pens? Thirty fishing rods? While some motivations relate to compulsive, impulsive or excessive buying, others relate to collecting, hoarding, fixated buying and stockpiling. However, there is a set of consumers who purchase recurrently, have an inventory far greater than that of a typical consumer and yet do not share the negative characteristics of the extreme buyers mentioned earlier. This set of consumers is termed ‘acquisitive buyers’ and little research exist to understand them. This dissertation establishes the significance of acquisitive buying as a new buying type in terms of …

Micro Characterization Of Deformations In Granular Materials During Shear, Alsidqi Hasan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

One of the greatest challenges in studying the engineering behavior of granular materials is the lack of tools for an unobstructed view of a large quantity of microscopic particles. This dissertation presents a thorough characterization of deformations in sheared granular materials. The investigation involves experimental programs, utilization of computed tomography (CT) techniques, and application of Distinct Element Method (DEM). The investigation was conducted at multi-scale (macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic) to better understand the physical properties and constitutive behavior of granular materials during shear. The experiments include conducting a series of axisymmetric triaxial, miniature axisymmetric triaxial, and biaxial experiments. They were …

Computational Studies On Fatty Acid Synthesis: From Mechanisms To Drug Design, Matthew Edward Mckenzie

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The first committed steps of the Fatty Acid synthesis pathway involves the de/carboxylation reactions of biotin. By understanding this step, potential novel antimicrobial agents could be discovered. The current tools of drug discovery can only help the research in finding and modifying potential hits. Finding a lead candidate from these programs are often equated to finding a needle in a haystack, which is due to the many assumptions used in molecular docking. The fundamental reaction kinetics can not be described by these techniques and a detailed study of the decarboxylation reaction is investigated using ab initio molecular dynamics. In this …

Compilation And Scheduling Techniques For Embedded Systems, Hassan Salamy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Embedded applications are constantly increasing in size, which has resulted in increasing demand on designers of digital signal processors (DSPs) to meet the tight memory, size and cost constraints. With this trend, memory requirement reduction through code compaction and variable coalescing techniques are gaining more ground. Also, as the current trend in complex embedded systems of using multiprocessor system-on-chip (MPSoC) grows, problems like mapping, memory management and scheduling are gaining more attention. The first part of the dissertation deals with problems related to digital signal processors. Most modern DSPs provide multiple address registers and a dedicated address generation unit (AGU) …

Factors Influencing The Perceived Usefulness Of An Information Delivery Website Among The United States Resident Viewership, Frederick Joseph Piazza

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the World Wide Web (Web) has become a major media outlet for disseminating information. Government and Higher Education institutions have both embraced Web technologies to serve the needs of their clientele. Thus, a method of developing targeted Web-based material that is optimized for the viewer to provide the greatest impact in terms of usefulness is needed. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected demographic characteristics on the perception of usefulness among United States resident viewers of an information delivery website. The accessible population for this study was all viewers …

The Informational Content Of Canonical Disjoint Np-Pairs, Christian Glaßer, Alan L. Selman, Liyu Zhang

Computer Science Faculty Publications

We investigate the connection between propositional proof systems and their canonical pairs. It is known that simulations between propositional proof systems translate to reductions between their canonical pairs. We focus on the opposite direction and study the following questions.

Q1: For which propositional proof systems f and g does the implication hold, and for which does it fail?

Q2: For which propositional proof systems of different strengths are the canonical pairs equivalent?

Q3: What do (non-)equivalent canonical pairs tell about the corresponding propositional proof systems?

Q4: Is every NP-pair (A, B), where A is NP-complete, strongly many-one equivalent to the …

A Divided-Attention Timed Stepping Accuracy Task As A Procedural Learning Intervention Improves Balance And Functional Performance In Healthy Older Adults, Susan Joy Leach

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

For both healthy individuals and individuals at high risk of falling, certain environments, such as a dual-task situation, require more resources than others to prevent a loss of balance. Stepping assessment tasks can be used to predict falls, and it has been suggested that impaired voluntary stepping may be a contributing factor to falls (Lord & Fitzpatrick, 2001). In this research, a stepping task was used not as an assessment, but as a therapeutic intervention. The purpose of this research was to determine how training with a task that provides a procedural learning environment can affect balance and functional outcomes. …

Measuring The Impact Of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Intervention On Perceived Stress And Study Skills Of Social Work Graduate Students, Margot H. Hasha

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This multi-component study incorporated the following: (1) an integrated study measuring the impact of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction intervention (MBSR) on potential stressors, appraised stress levels and adaptation to stress of MSW students enrolled in the Louisiana State University School of Social Work through a pretest posttest group design using time-series data to evaluate meditation practice; (2) a pretest posttest group design which examined changes in self-regulated learning skills; and (3) a cross-sectional survey which explored students self-reported reasons for not participating in the MBSR randomized control group study offered prior to the current study. Sample size for the integrated …

Effects Of Three Early Literacy Interventions In The Preschool Classroom: Comparing Phonological Awareness Training, Dialogic Reading, And A Combination Condition In Small Groups, Jennifer Koenig Longwell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Phonological awareness, oral language, alphabet knowledge, and print awareness are the building blocks for emergent literacy. These skills can be divided into embedded and explicit domains of early literacy interventions. Dialogic reading, a well-researched embedded method of reading intervention, incorporates oral language and print awareness through adult-child storybook reading. Phonological awareness interventions utilize explicit skills such as phonemic instruction and letter knowledge to increase early literacy. The current study examined three early literacy interventions, dialogic reading, phonological awareness, and a combination condition, in comparison with each other and a control condition. Thirty-seven preschool children were randomly assigned to a condition …

Quantum Nonlinear Optics: Applications To Quantum Metrology, Imaging, And Information, Ryan Glasser

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The fields of quantum and nonlinear optics have given rise to a variety of nonclassical states of light that have been proven to surpass certain limitations set by classical physics. Namely, certain squeezed and entangled states have been shown to beat the shot-noise limit when making precision phase measurements in interferometry, as well as write lithographic patterns that are smaller than classically allowed by the Rayleigh diffraction limit. Additionally, single-photon sources and entangled photon pairs have given rise to provably secure quantum key distribution for cryptography. Producing these quantum states of light has proven a difficult task. Nonlinear crystals, when …

Factors That Influence Course Completion Of Individuals Enrolled In Craft-Training Courses Offered By A Large Organization Of Member Construction Companies, Alvin James Justelien, Iii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The construction industry is one of the largest providers of jobs in the United States. Between 2009 and 2013, approximately 20% of the 7.7 million Americans employed in construction related jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2009) would be eligible to retire. The industrial construction industry must attract, train, and retain a significant number of people to the construction industry. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected personal demographic characteristics and academic behaviors of individuals participating in craft training courses offered by a large organization of member construction companies who successfully completed or left …

Atom-Based Computer Simulation Studies Of Gas-To-Liquid Nucleation In Atmospherically Relevant Systems: Clarifying Discrepancies And Elucidating Mechanisms, Ricky Bendanillo Nellas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

For over a century, nucleation for all systems was thought simplistically to be a process that advances through the formation of critical clusters with a well-defined composition. Our results show intriguing nucleation mechanisms that challenge the aforementioned notion. We employed the simple TraPPE-UA (transferable potential for phase equilibria – united atom) force field and the AVUS-HR approach (a combination of aggregation-volume-bias Monte Carlo, umbrella sampling, and histogram reweighting), to investigate the homogeneous vapor-to-liquid nucleation of various nucleating systems. We found out that these systems could nucleate through a variety of unique non-ideal mechanisms. Alongside existing experimental investigations, this dissertation presents …

Particle-Chemical Interactions And Environmental Chemodynamics Of Fine And Ultrafine Particles In A Natural Disaster Scenario, Nicholas A. Ashley

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The interactions of fine and ultrafine particles with chemicals play a dominant role in determining the mobility and availability of pollutants in the environment. Fine particles in sediments can sequester chemicals from the water column, and release volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds to the gas phase upon exposure to air. Ultrafine particles which are photoreactive can degrade these vapor-phase contaminants, and may transform the molecules into species which are more toxic or hazardous than the parent. As the widespread, commercial use of ultrafine particles becomes more common, understanding the chemodynamics of these particles and their interactions with chemicals in the …

Examining The Influence Of Popular Music And Poetry Therapy On The Development Of Therapeutic Factors In Groups With At-Risk Adolsecents, Leah Olson-Mcbride

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this study, music and poetry were combined to form a client-centered therapeutic approach to group psychotherapy with at-risk youth that encourages connection, communication, and self-expression. This specialized poetry therapy intervention utilizes popular music and creative writing activities to facilitate group discussion about feelings, life experiences, goals, and values. The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of such an intervention on group formation and development, with a specific focus on the development of factors, such as self-disclosure, which contribute to therapeutic change over the course of the intervention. A multiple embedded case study approach was utilized to …