Digital Commons Network^™

Pliny's Defense Of Empire, Thomas Raymond Laehn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite perennial interest in Pliny the Elder’s Natural History as a record of the prodigious, the quotidian, and the useful in Rome in the first century AD, for over half of a millennium Pliny has been considered little more than an inept compiler of facts and marvels intellectually incapable of formulating a cogent argument supported through the selective marshalling of his materials. It is my contention that Pliny’s encyclopedic text is in fact a first-rate work of political philosophy constituting an apology for Roman imperial expansion grounded in a sophisticated conception of man as the only being capable of passing …

Modeling Thermal Phenomena And Searching For New Thermally Induced Monitor Signals In Large Sale Gravitational Wave Detectors, Rupal Shashikant Amin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) array’s 4 km detectors have transitioned from an initial configuration (iLIGO) to an enhanced configuration (eLIGO) [1]. Both configurations relied on high circulating laser powers to achieve sensitivity goals between 150 Hz and 8 kHz. These power levels were sufficient to induce thermally driven focal affects in the primary optics. Since the detectors were designed to achieve maximum sensitivity when laser light was optimally coupled (mode matched) into the antenna, small deviations in focal parameters influenced performance. A laser based thermal compensation system (TCS) was installed for use in both configurations to counteract excessive …

Optimal Control And Nonlinear Programming, Qingxia Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this thesis, we have two distinct but related subjects: optimal control and nonlinear programming. In the first part of this thesis, we prove that the value function, propagated from initial or terminal costs, and constraints, in the form of a differential equation, satisfy a subgradient form of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation in which the Hamiltonian is measurable with respect to time. In the second part of this thesis, we first construct a concrete example to demonstrate conjugate duality theory in vector optimization as developed by Tanino. We also define the normal cones corresponding to Tanino's concept of the subgradient of …

Orthogonal Grassmannians And Hermitian K-Theory In A¹-Homotopy Theory Of Schemes, Girja Shanker Tripathi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this work we prove that the hermitian K-theory is geometrically representable in the A^1 -homotopy category of smooth schemes over a field. We also study in detail a realization functor from the A^1 -homotopy category of smooth schemes over the field R of real numbers to the category of topological spaces. This functor is determined by taking the real points of a smooth R-scheme. There is another realization functor induced by taking the complex points with a similar description although we have not discussed this other functor in this dissertation. Using these realization functors we have concluded in brief …

Pharmaceutical Compounds In Treatment Wetlands: Potential Removal And Effects On Microbial Processes, Jeremy Landon Conkle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

active compounds (PhACs) have been detected in the aquatic environment as a result of loading from various sources. In Louisiana, USA, many municipalities treat wastewater using natural systems, such as lagoons and wetlands, rather than using conventional wastewater treatment technologies and may discharge PhACs into the environment. These treatment systems are not designed to remove PhACs from wastewater, nor is it currently a regulatory requirement. Research on the fate of PhACs in the environment is needed to understand impacts on Louisiana’s important coastal system. Wastewater sampling for PhACs at the Mandeville, LA wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) determined that this system …

The Impact Of Overfitting And Overgeneralization On The Classification Accuracy In Data Mining, Huy Nguyen Anh Pham

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Current classification approaches usually do not try to achieve a balance between fitting and generalization when they infer models from training data. Such approaches ignore the possibility of different penalty costs for the false-positive, false-negative, and unclassifiable types. Thus, their performances may not be optimal or may even be coincidental. This dissertation analyzes the above issues in depth. It also proposes two new approaches called the Homogeneity-Based Algorithm (HBA) and the Convexity-Based Algorithm (CBA) to address these issues. These new approaches aim at optimally balancing the data fitting and generalization behaviors of models when some traditional classification approaches are used. …

Investigation Of Network Architecture Development And Properties In Thermoset Matrices, Jeremy Owen Swanson

Dissertations

Matrices employed in composite materials directly influence overall composite properties. In all thermoset materials, molecular level interactions and transformations during cure result in heterogeneous architecture. Variability in connectivity results from the often dramatic spatial and topological changes that occur during the crosslinking process. Compatibility (fillers, pigments, additives), temperature gradients and reactivity differences in the precursors only serve to increase the complexity of network formation. The objective of the research herein is to characterize and understand the relationships between cure conditions, conversion, connectivity, network architecture and properties in glassy thermosetting matrix resins.

In this research, epoxy and vinyl ester resins (VERs) …

Edaphic And Vegetative Controls On Mercury Cycling In Oligohaline Wetlands, Jonathan M. Willis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

With the expansion of the human population and associated industries there is a concomitant increase in both resource utilization and the production of waste and deleterious by-products. Mercury is a naturally-occurring toxic metal with a complicated and unique biogeochemical cycle, and is often a contaminant of ecotoxicological concern in unindustrialized aquatic habitats. The research described herein was designed to elucidate multiple aspects regarding the behavior of mercury in oligohaline wetland habitats, particularly with respect to edaphic and vegetative effects, through a monitoring and characterization study as well as a series of manipulative experiments. The observational study, conducted in the wetlands …

Rank-Based Attachment Leads To Power Law Graphs, Jeannette Janssen, Paweł Prałat

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

We investigate the degree distribution resulting from graph generation models based on rank-based attachment. In rank-based attachment, all vertices are ranked according to a ranking scheme. The link probability of a given vertex is proportional to its rank raised to the power ―α, for some α ∈ (0, 1). Through a rigorous analysis, we show that rank-based attachment models lead to graphs with a power law degree distribution with exponent 1 + 1/α whenever vertices are ranked according to their degree, their age, or a randomly chosen fitness value. We also investigate the case where the ranking is based on …

Model Based Analysis Of Some High Speed Network Issues, Suman Kumar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The study of complex problems in science and engineering today typically involves large scale data, huge number of large-scale scientific breakthroughs critically depends on large multi-disciplinary and geographically-dispersed research teams, where the high speed network becomes the integral part. To serve the ongoing bandwidth requirement and scalability of these networks, there has been a continuous evolution of different TCPs for high speed networks. Testing these protocols on a real network would be expensive, time consuming and more over not easily available to the researchers worldwide. Network simulation is well accepted and widely used method for performance evaluation, it is well …

Mass Transfer And Mergers In Double White Dwarf Binaries, Wesley Paul Even

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

We have developed a self consistent field (SCF) technique similar to the one described by Hachisu, Eriguchi, & Nomoto (1986b) that can be used to construct detailed force-balanced models of synchronously rotating, double white dwarf (DWD) binaries. This SCF technique can be used to construct model sequences that mimic the last portion of the detached inspiral phase of DWD binary evolutions, and semi-detached model sequences that mimic a phase of conservative mass transfer. In addition, the SCF models can be used to provide quiet initial starts for dynamical studies of the onset of mass transfer in DWD systems. We present …

Microfluidic Devices Interfaced To Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry For Proteomics, Jeonghoon Lee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Microfluidic interfaces were developed for off-line matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI). Microfluidic interfaces allow samples to be manipulated on-chip and deposited onto a MALDI target plate for analysis. For this research, microfluidic culturing devices and automated digestion and deposition microfluidic chip platforms were developed for the identification of proteins. The microfluidic chip components were fabricated on a poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA, wafer using the hot embossing method and a molding tool with structures prepared via micromilling. One of the most important components of the chip system was a trypsin microreactor. An open channel microreactor was constructed in a 100 µm …

Gamma Ray Burst Redshift Catalog And Applications, Limin Xiao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The measurement of redshifts for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is an important issue for the study of the high redshift universe and cosmology. We developed a program to estimate the redshifts for GRBs from the original light curves and spectra, aiming to get redshifts for bursts without spectroscopic or photometric redshifts. We derive the luminosity indicators from the light curves and spectra of each burst, including the lag time between low and high photon energy light curves, the variability of the light curve, the peak energy of the spectrum, the number of peaks in the light curve, and the minimum rise …

Probabilistic Models For Short Term Traffic Conditions Prediction, Yan Qi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Accurate short-term prediction of traffic condition on freeways and major arterials has become increasingly important because of its vital role in traffic management functions and various trip decisions. Given the dynamic nature of freeway traffic, this study proposed two stochastic model approaches, Hidden Markov Model (HMM) and One-Step Stochastic Model, for short-term traffic prediction during peak periods. The data used in the study are real-time traffic monitoring data gathered over 6 years on a 40-mile segment of Interstate-4 in Orlando, Florida. Both approaches are based on the traffic state transition probabilities. The HMM approach defines traffic states in a two …

Homogenization Of Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations, Silvia Jiménez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is concerned with properties of local fields inside composites made from two materials with different power law behavior. This simple constitutive model is frequently used to describe several phenomena ranging from plasticity to optical nonlinearities in dielectric media. We provide the corrector theory for the strong approximation of fields inside composites made from two power law materials with different exponents. The correctors are used to develop bounds on the local singularity strength for gradient fields inside microstructured media. The bounds are multiscale in nature and can be used to measure the amplification of applied macroscopic fields by the …

Carbon Nanotube Interconnect Modeling For Very Large Scale Integrated Circuits, Yao Xu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this research, we have studied and analyzed the physical and electrical properties of carbon nanotubes. Based on the reported models for current transport behavior in non-ballistic CNT-FETs, we have built a dynamic model for non-ballistic CNT-FETs. We have also extended the surface potential model of a non-ballistic CNT-FET to a ballistic CNT-FET and developed a current transport model for ballistic CNT-FETs. We have studied the current transport in metallic carbon nanotubes. By considering the electron-electron interactions, we have modified two-dimensional fluid model for electron transport to build a semi-classical one-dimensional fluid model to describe the electron transport in carbon …

A Conductor's Analysis Of Theodore Morrison's War And Reconciliation, Alissa Ann Mercurio Rowe

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Theodore Morrison (b. 1938) was involved with music at a very young age as singer, organist, and choirmaster. As his musical career prospered he grew as a teacher, conductor, and composer. His compositional output includes several large works for chorus, soloists and orchestra, and a substantial body of shorter works. The smaller works encompass an overture for wind ensemble, chamber pieces for woodwinds and strings, a sonata and a set of variations for organ, several works for chorus and organ, an a cappella mass, three song cycles, and numerous choral pieces and songs. This document presents a brief biographical introduction …

Dynamic Model Of Ecological Factors Impacting The Gulf Of Mexico Dead Zone, Jimmie Arnold Brumfield Ii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The industrial agriculture complex of the Mississippi River Drainage Basin has the positive effect of feeding more individuals with less land via the use of chemical nutrients, pesticides and drainage. The negative effects of the agricultural nutrient load are carried by the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. After the flood of 1927 the Flood Control Act of 1928 began changing the Mississippi River into a navigation and flood control project. While successful, the river was turned into a channel where nutrient input was discharged into the Gulf of Mexico. Nitrogen compounds discharged from the Mississippi are claimed to …

Outlook Magazine, Spring 2010

Outlook Magazine

No abstract provided.

Evidence-Based (Or Not!) Practices Used For Reading Instruction In Oral Deaf Education Schools, Geeta Vijay Shandilya

Independent Studies and Capstones

This descriptive study aims at determining the most widely used reading instructional practices that are used by teachers of the deaf in oral deaf education schools.

2010-2011

Lambuth Bulletins and Catalogs

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Expenditures Per Student On Academic Achievement : North Dakota Juniors On Math, Reading, And Science Proficiency, Josh Lindenberg

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Three Perspectives On Standards: Positivism, Panopticism, And Intersubjectivism, Cheu-Jey Lee

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

Perhaps no other words occur more frequently than standards in today’s discourse on educational reform. There is much debate about standards. Instead of taking sides on the debate, this paper argues that the problem with standards does not lie so much in standards themselves as in how they are viewed by those who make them and those who are held accountable by them. Specifically, what we believe about standards has a tremendous impact on the role standards play in our practices. This paper examines standards critically from the perspectives of positivism, panopticism, and intersubjectivism. Depending on the perspective taken, standards …

Geometry Examples Encountered In Various Everyday Experiences, R. W. Farley

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

Reflections On What You Have Learned: A Rapporteur's Report On Virginia's "What We Have Learned Symposium", D. B. Erchick

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

In this Rapporteur's Report on Virginia's "What We Have Learned Symposium" about a statewide Mathematics Specialist program, I discuss emergent topics resulting from presentations and discussion at the Symposium. Topics include defining Mathematics Specialists and coaches, addressing mathematics content in the program, providing ongoing support for Specialists and coaches, and supporting principals. I also provide suggestions, discuss absences in the program, and comment on cautions in revision and needs in dissemination.

Moving Toward A Culture Of Inquiry, Ralph Martin

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

Keynote Address

Understanding The Diminishing Academic Advantage Of Full-Day Kindergarten, Randall S. Davies, Susan Cress

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

Most people agree that young children benefit academically from attending kindergarten; however, some research suggests that any academic advantage attributed to attending full-day kindergarten compared to half-day programs will disappear as early as third grade. Based on the results of this study which looked at students in typical classroom settings, a likely explanation for this is that teachers often provide considerable remedial assistance to low achieving students. Once students meet benchmark expectations, instruction tends to broaden to other instructional objectives. We also found that in practice distinguishing between full- and half-day programs based solely on time in school is problematic. …

Keeping Native Languages In Esl Class: Accounting For The Role Beliefs Play Toward Mastery, Michael S. Yough, Ming Fang

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

Students’ native language is a valuable resource in the English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. Use of native languages may increase a student’s sense of efficacy for learning English by: (a) facilitating vocabulary acquisition, (b) aiding learners in comprehension, (c) encouraging self-regulation, (d) making routines and explanations clear so as to direct attention and free up working memory for tasks in English, (e) modeling communication in environments where students may be reluctant to initiate conversation, and (f) setting the tone in situations where students have come to view English as exceedingly difficult.

Interdisciplinary Curricular Conversations Examining Arts And Academics: Teacher Implementation And Student Outcomes, Angela Miller, Delane Bender-Slack, Robert Burroughs

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

This qualitative study examined the integration of arts and academic curricula at a performing arts school by focusing on the curriculum as it is understood and perceived by the students. The study centered on five students at a performing arts magnet school who were chosen based upon contrasts in their arts classes in order to represent a range of participation in the various performing arts. Findings indicated that students were unable to recognize the integration of arts in the teaching materials, strategies, and interaction in academic courses. Results also indicated that the more teacher-centered instructional materials and pedagogical strategies utilized …

Single-Case Designs And Qualitative Methods: Applying A Mixed Methods Research Perspective, John H. Hitchcock, Bonnie K. Nastasi, Meredith Summerville

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to describe a design that mixes single-case (sometimes referred to as single-subject) and qualitative methods, hereafter referred to as a single-case mixed methods design (SCD-MM). Minimal attention has been given to the topic of applying qualitative methods to SCD work in the literature. These two approaches potentially can be integrated using a mixed methods perspective to yield a powerful approach for understanding localized causality and describing intervention application. The SCD-MM also can be used within the context of action research if the purpose of such work is to investigate a causal question.