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2011

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Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Substrates Based On Nanoporous Silicon And Pattern Transfer, Pallavi Rao Malempati Jan 2011

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Substrates Based On Nanoporous Silicon And Pattern Transfer, Pallavi Rao Malempati

LSU Master's Theses

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering enhances the weak Raman scattering by using a roughened metal-coated surface as a catalyst. Roughness in the nanometer range provides the best enhancement. The nanostructures for the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates, in this work, are generated using an electrochemical etching process on silicon substrates. The patterns of nanoporous silicon thus generated are transferred onto transparent polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates using the “lift-off” process. An incomplex sputtering technique is employed to coat this substrate with a ~20 nm aluminum layer. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecules, when adsorbed to this metal surface, form the final SERS substrate that undergoes Raman …

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Improving The Characterization Of Initial Condition For Ensemble Streamflow Prediction Using Data Assimilation, Caleb Matthew Dechant, Hamid Moradkhani Jan 2011

Improving The Characterization Of Initial Condition For Ensemble Streamflow Prediction Using Data Assimilation, Caleb Matthew Dechant, Hamid Moradkhani

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Within the National Weather Service River Forecast System, water supply forecasting is performed through Ensemble Streamflow Prediction (ESP). ESP relies both on the estimation of initial conditions and historically resampled forcing data to produce seasonal volumetric forecasts. In the western US, the accuracy of initial condition estimation is particularly important due to the large quantities of water stored in mountain snowpack. In order to improve the estimation of snow quantities, this study explores the use of ensemble data assimilation. Rather than relying entirely on the model to create single deterministic initial snow water storage, as currently implemented in operational forecasting, …

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Impact Of Embalming And Burial On Decomposition Rates And Diffusion Of Volatile Fatty Acids In Kentucky, Bonnie Charlana Mcquinn Jan 2011

Impact Of Embalming And Burial On Decomposition Rates And Diffusion Of Volatile Fatty Acids In Kentucky, Bonnie Charlana Mcquinn

LSU Master's Theses

Six still-born fetal pigs were divided into two groups (three were embalmed, and three non-embalmed) to determine a postmortem interval on decomposing remains in eastern Kentucky. One pig from each group was placed on the surface, one from each group was interred at a depth of two feet, and one from each group was buried at four feet. This study focused on observing necrophagous insect succession as well as how far on both a horizontal and a vertical plane volatile fatty acids leach from a body. Soil samples were taken from near all specimens at the time of respective termination …

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Essays On The Random Parameters Logit Model, Tong Zeng Jan 2011

Essays On The Random Parameters Logit Model, Tong Zeng

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research uses quasi-Monte Carlo sampling experiments to examine the properties of pretest and positive-part Stein-like estimators in the random parameters logit (RPL) model based on the Lagrange Multiplier (LM), likelihood ratio (LR) and Wald tests. First, we explore the properties of quasi-random numbers, which are generated by the Halton sequence, in estimating the random parameters logit model. We show that increases in the number of Halton draws influence the efficiency of the RPL model estimators only slightly. The maximum simulated likelihood estimator is consistent and it is not necessary to increase the number of Halton draws when the sample …

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Gay-Marriage In 2004 U.S. Presidential Election, James Dunphy Jan 2011

Gay-Marriage In 2004 U.S. Presidential Election, James Dunphy

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis looks at the factors that affected individual turnout and vote choice in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Regarding the outcome of the election, a point of dispute among scholars pertains to whether evangelical Christians played a meaningful role in helping re-elect then-President Bush to a second term in 2004. The gay-marriage issue played a prominent role in the presidential campaign, due in part to a ruling the Massachusetts Supreme Court rendered in November 2003 that legalized the marrying of same-sex couples within the state’s borders. The Court’s decision had a reverberating effect, particularly among evangelicals, and subsequently, it …

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The Long-Term Effect Of A Brief Motivational Alcohol Intervention For Heavy Drinking Mandated College Students, Meredith Ashley Terlecki Jan 2011

The Long-Term Effect Of A Brief Motivational Alcohol Intervention For Heavy Drinking Mandated College Students, Meredith Ashley Terlecki

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The study evaluated the long-term impact of a brief motivational intervention (BMI) among college undergraduates mandated to treatment relative to heavy drinking volunteer students. Participants (N = 225; 61% male) were randomized to a BMI (n = 115) or a control group (n = 110). Alcohol consumption (drinks per week, drinking frequency, typical drinks, peak drinks), alcohol-related problems, and readiness to change (RTC) were collected at baseline, 4 weeks, 3, 6, and 12 months posttreatment. BMI participants significantly decreased drinks per week (treatment, M change = 7.33; control, M change = 3.60), typical drinks (treatment, M change = 1.46; control, …

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Marriage In Seventeenth-Century French Theater, Adam Michael Babin Jan 2011

Marriage In Seventeenth-Century French Theater, Adam Michael Babin

LSU Master's Theses

In seventeenth-century France, social and political confusion abounded. Absolute monarchy, which was principally created by Richelieu and glorified by Louis XIV, began gradually replacing the medieval feudalism that remained popular among the nobles. Likewise, préciosité, a proto-feminist literary and cultural movement that was not in line with official political ideals, emerged in France during this century. The institution of marriage was an important element of the complicated sociopolitical tapestry of seventeenth-century France. Through the depiction of marriage in Pierre Corneille’s Le Cid (1636), Jean-Baptiste Poquelin de Molière’s L’École des femmes (1662), and Jean Racine’s Andromaque (1667), three works of the …

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Emotion And Rhetoric In Bioshock, Jason Liban Rose Jan 2011

Emotion And Rhetoric In Bioshock, Jason Liban Rose

LSU Master's Theses

In this paper, I tie four concepts together to form a defense both of videogames as art, and of rhetoric as a value-neutral tool of expression, that can be both positive and useful for society. (1) In the first chapter, I explain the Platonic view of rhetoric as an “empty knack” and how it differs from other accounts of rhetoric, ancient and modern. (2) In the second chapter I present a nuanced understanding of the role emotion plays in practical moral reasoning under a computational model of the mind, as described by Antonio Damasio’s neurological somatic marker theory in Descartes’ …

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An African American Discourse Community In Black & White: The New Orleans Tribune, Kristi Richard Melancon Jan 2011

An African American Discourse Community In Black & White: The New Orleans Tribune, Kristi Richard Melancon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In An African American Discourse Community in Black & White: The New Orleans Tribune, an archival study of the first black-owned daily newspaper in the United States, I argue that the newspaper rhetorically constructed a literate African American discourse community worthy of citizenship and equal political rights within the public sphere of Reconstruction United States. Although contemporaneous media in the South depicted blacks as both unable to read and write and as culturally illiterate, I demonstrate how articles across the lifespan of the Tribune represented, as well as encouraged and enabled, multiple literacies within the African American community. I ultimately …

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Climate Change Displacement And Global Governance: A Case Study Of Three Intergovernmental Organizations And The Conflict Between The Member States And Bureaucracy, Andrea C. S. Berringer Jan 2011

Climate Change Displacement And Global Governance: A Case Study Of Three Intergovernmental Organizations And The Conflict Between The Member States And Bureaucracy, Andrea C. S. Berringer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Climate change is a topic most often broached by environmental scientists and activists and its effects are discussed in terms of animal populations and atmospheric events. However, its direct effect on human life is yet to garner such attention. A changing climate will affect how people are able to use their environment, if at all. Sea level rise and desertification will force a shift in human habitation. How the world seeks to deal with this shift is yet to be seen. The global governance of climate change-induced displacement is currently at the stage of ad hoc development. Legal and conceptual …

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Improving Math Instruction In Schools That Serve The Poor, John, L. Jr. Sims Jan 2011

Improving Math Instruction In Schools That Serve The Poor, John, L. Jr. Sims

LSU Master's Theses

Public alarm concerning how well U.S. schools are performing in mathematics compared to other developed nations is increasing. Reports of inadequate teaching, poor curriculum design, and low performance on standardized test have been fueled by the media. These issues in American mathematics classrooms are far compounded in schools that serve the poorest in America. When comparing mathematical proficiency rates of U.S. schools with other countries, schools with less than 25% free and reduced lunch score competitively with counterparts in other countries. In contrast, schools with rates of free and reduced lunch higher than 50% score dismally in comparison. Conditions such …

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Modern Myth In Performance: Claiming Identity Through A Reading Of Fantasy Withcraft, Jessica Satterwhite Gray Jan 2011

Modern Myth In Performance: Claiming Identity Through A Reading Of Fantasy Withcraft, Jessica Satterwhite Gray

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I create a Wiccan dramaturgical lens to analyze three key fantasy sites: The Wizard of Oz film and stage adaptations (especially the Broadway musical Wicked), The Chronicles of Narnia film and theatrical adaptations, and the Harry Potter films and paratheatrical adaptations. These three fantasy stories have significant cultural impact and strong images of folkloric witches. My alternative reading shows how a subgroup can appropriate popular images for their own identity formation. I will analyze how signs, themes, and narrative tropes that otherwise seem ancillary or even anti-witch become highlighted and privileged, creating a different but equally legitimate …

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Writing William Burroughs, Performing The Archive, John Lebret Jan 2011

Writing William Burroughs, Performing The Archive, John Lebret

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Between 1958 and 1972, author William S. Burroughs undertook a series of radical experiments with alternative compositional modes based on the aleatory form of the Cut-up. Burroughs sold the entirety of his work from the period, assembled into an archive, to a collector in 1972. This study uses performative writing to document a year of archival research in Burroughs' collection, currently housed by The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature at the New York Public Library. Melding Bakhtin's theories of the chronotope and the grotesque body with creative writing and experimental modes of scholarly …

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The Influence Of Business Ownership And Selected Demographic Characteristics On The Perceived Effectiveness Of An Entrepreneurship Training Program Among Female Participants, Carol A. Carter Jan 2011

The Influence Of Business Ownership And Selected Demographic Characteristics On The Perceived Effectiveness Of An Entrepreneurship Training Program Among Female Participants, Carol A. Carter

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and entrepreneurship is of critical importance to women because it provides a means to becoming self-sufficient, in charge of one’s own career path, and as a way to rise about the “glass ceiling” of the corporate world. Women who perceive themselves as having the necessary skills and knowledge to start their own companies have a higher likelihood of starting a business than those who do not. Therefore, it is important to understand the training needs and perceptions regarding the efficacy of entrepreneurship training programs specifically targeted to women. The primary purpose …

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The Effect Of Habitat Change On Nutrient Removal In The Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana, Amy E. Scaroni Jan 2011

The Effect Of Habitat Change On Nutrient Removal In The Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana, Amy E. Scaroni

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers are the major sources of freshwater and nutrients to the Gulf of Mexico. Increased nutrient loads from these rivers exacerbate eutrophication in coastal receiving waters and contribute to the large area of hypoxia that develops seasonally in the Gulf. Levees along the Mississippi River have reduced contact between the river and the historic floodplain; this limits the ability of floodplain wetlands to naturally mitigate excess nutrients. However, the Atchafalaya River diverges from the Mississippi 217 km from the Gulf and enters a large river floodplain with a widely spaced levee system. This enhances the ability …

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Social Graces: The Natchez Garden Club As A Literacy Sponsor, June Graham Jan 2011

Social Graces: The Natchez Garden Club As A Literacy Sponsor, June Graham

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study asks (1) how did the Natchez Garden Club conceptualize and promote literacy in their club and in the community?, (2) how might educational practices of select Southern, White, elite women be theorized in the lives of the Natchez Garden Club and its members during the 1930s, 40s and 50s?, and (3) how does an examination of the Natchez Garden Club illuminate understandings of select Southern, White, privileged women and the ways they took on roles as informal educators? To answer these questions, the study examined The Natchez Garden Club, an elite White women’s club in the South and …

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Nietzsche, Unconscious Processes, And Non-Linear Individuation, Damon Paul Mcgregor Jan 2011

Nietzsche, Unconscious Processes, And Non-Linear Individuation, Damon Paul Mcgregor

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis attempts to create an ontology of the self using Nietzsche’s concept of will-to-power forces, which operate in the individual unconsciously, leading to non-linear individuation resulting from responding or participating in chance events. Individuation results non-linearly because of Nietzsche’s claim that the “Deed has no doer” and that subjects and thoughts rely on fictitiously created causal chains, but that in actuality there are nothing but chance events and competing forces of nature which shape the individual into non-linear directions. The individual can only respond as creatively as possible to moments which arise, once loss of ultimate control is embraced. …

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Modeling The Population Effects Of Hypoxia On Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias Undulatus) In The Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico, Sean Brandon Creekmore Jan 2011

Modeling The Population Effects Of Hypoxia On Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias Undulatus) In The Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico, Sean Brandon Creekmore

LSU Master's Theses

The northwestern Gulf of Mexico currently experiences a large hypoxic area (“dead zone”) during the summer. While the local effects of hypoxia on organisms have been documented, the population-level effects are largely unknown. I developed a spatially-explicit, individual-based model to analyze how hypoxia effects on Atlantic croaker reproduction, growth, and mortality in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico could lead to population-level responses. The model follows the hourly growth, mortality, reproduction, and movement of individuals on a 300 x 800 spatial grid of 1 km2 cells for 100 years. Chlorophyll-a concentration, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen were specified daily for each …

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Situation Comedies And The Single Woman On Television, Ashli Leeann Dykes Jan 2011

Situation Comedies And The Single Woman On Television, Ashli Leeann Dykes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Through an historical overview of the never-married female character in twentieth century situation comedies and an in-depth analysis of three twenty-first century American sitcoms, this dissertation investigates how television creators, writers, producers, and actors have interpreted the figure of the single woman and attempted to make her appealing and acceptable to a broad viewing audience. Because of its traditionally family-friendly offerings and preponderance of female characters in comparison to other popular culture genres, the situation comedy presents a significant case study for the analysis of female representations on television. Through its encouraged identification with characters and portrayals of issues that …

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The Relationship Between Music And Visual Arts Formal Study And Academic Achievement On The Eighth-Grade Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (Leap) Test, Richard Allen Baker Jr. Jan 2011

The Relationship Between Music And Visual Arts Formal Study And Academic Achievement On The Eighth-Grade Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (Leap) Test, Richard Allen Baker Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the policy implications allowing administrators to exempt a student from required arts instruction if the student obtained unsatisfactory scores on the high-stake state mandated tests in English and mathematics. This study examined English language arts and math test scores for 37,222 eighth grade students enrolled in music and/or visual arts classes and those students not enrolled in arts courses. There were more than 12,000 students who were eligible, but not enrolled in arts courses. Methodology consisted of comparing the mean scores of students receiving music and visual arts instruction with the mean …

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Teaching High School Geometry With Tasks And Activities, Margaret Ann Fazekas Jan 2011

Teaching High School Geometry With Tasks And Activities, Margaret Ann Fazekas

LSU Master's Theses

Task-based learning is an instructional method in which students complete coherently-structured activities in order to meet objectives set by the educator. This thesis illustrates learning communities as the ideal environment for a task-based learning classroom. It discusses the teacher’s role in a task-based classroom. This paper also describes three examples of tasks performed in my high school geometry classroom along with my observations of students’ interactions and discussions.

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A C0 Interior Penalty Method For The Von Kármán Equations, Armin Karl Reiser Jan 2011

A C0 Interior Penalty Method For The Von Kármán Equations, Armin Karl Reiser

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation we develop a C0 interior penalty method for the von Kármán equations for nonlinear elastic plates. We begin with a brief survey on frequently used finite element methods for the von Kármán equations. After addressing some topics from functional analysis in the preliminaries, we present existence, uniqueness and regularity results for the solutions of the von Kármán equations in Chapter 3. In the next chapter we review the C0 interior penalty method for the biharmonic problem. Motivated by these results, we propose a C0 interior penalty method for the linearized von Kármán equations in …

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"We Live In A Used World": Cultural Geographies Of American Garage Sales, Gentry Powell Hanks Jan 2011

"We Live In A Used World": Cultural Geographies Of American Garage Sales, Gentry Powell Hanks

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis seeks to understand the emotional geographies of American garage sales, which I argue are liminal. Through a methodology of narrative surveys (open-ended questionnaires), mental maps, participant-observation, and interviews, I make the case that garage sales, through absent and/or present items, narratives, and exchanged histories, can reveal much in terms of identity, values, and cultural practices. These archives on the margins hold stories, artifacts, and performances of a distant or near past, giving geographers an innovative lens through which to explore the intricacies of materiality, place, and representation. This thesis provides a range of theoretical and practical perspectives on …

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Stay Calm And Tweet: A Best Practice Approach To The Use Of Social Media In A Crisis Situation, Elizabeth Barrow Tadie Jan 2011

Stay Calm And Tweet: A Best Practice Approach To The Use Of Social Media In A Crisis Situation, Elizabeth Barrow Tadie

LSU Master's Theses

At some point in its history every organization will face a crisis situation. How an organization responds to a crisis incident decides its survival. As Internet technology flourishes, public relations practitioners are provided with additional tools to manage crisis situations. This study investigates the role that emerging social media components play in the field of crisis management. It presents a best practice approach to using new technology in times of emergency. A qualitative study of Louisiana public relations practitioners analyzes how and why social media is being integrated into crisis communication plans. Social media components are used to quickly communicate …

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Analysis Of Major Hydrologic Events In Ascension Parish, La, Jessica Irene Mason Jan 2011

Analysis Of Major Hydrologic Events In Ascension Parish, La, Jessica Irene Mason

LSU Master's Theses

Ascension Parish is located in Southern Louisiana and is characterized by low slope and low elevation. This combination allows for much hydrologic storage during a flood event. Because Ascension Parish is one of the most rapidly growing areas in the United States, it is necessary to accurately predict the hydrologic and hydraulic properties of flow and accurately model them. Several processes within a hydrologic model greatly influence the output flow hydrographs so selecting correct methods and parameters is important. Transform methods describe how excess precipitation is transformed into runoff. There are several methods that can be used as a transform …

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Transport Properties Of Nanometer-Sized Assemblies Through Nanofluidic Channels With Single Entity Electrical Detection, Franklin Ifeanyichukwu Uba Jan 2011

Transport Properties Of Nanometer-Sized Assemblies Through Nanofluidic Channels With Single Entity Electrical Detection, Franklin Ifeanyichukwu Uba

LSU Master's Theses

Recently, there have been reports on biological and solid-state nanopores that identify single biopolymers or their constituent monomers by analyzing changes in ionic current blockades when they block the flux of buffer ions while travelling through the nanopores. Nevertheless, there have been several limitations in their application, especially as DNA detectors; Poor confinement of the DNA strand within the nanopore (~0.1 % of a 10 kilobase (kb) DNA), poor signal sensitivity and random motion experienced by the DNA in solution that results in a large amount of noise in the signal. These have led to the development of nanochannel-based devices, …

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Modeling Effects Of Coupled Convection And Co2 Injection In Stimulating Geopressured Geothermal Reservoirs, Tatyana Plaksina Jan 2011

Modeling Effects Of Coupled Convection And Co2 Injection In Stimulating Geopressured Geothermal Reservoirs, Tatyana Plaksina

LSU Master's Theses

Geopressured geothermal brines are a vast geothermal resource in the US Gulf of Mexico region. In particular, geopressured sandstones near salt domes are potential sources of geothermal energy because salt diapirs with high thermal conductivities may pierce younger, cooler strata. These characteristics enhance transfer heat from older, hotter strata at the base of the diapir into shallower strata. Moreover, widespread geopressure in the Gulf region tends to preserve permeability, enhancing productivity. As an example, the Camerina A sand of South Louisiana was chosen as a geomodel for a numerical simulation study of effects of CO2 injection and coupled convection as …

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Proteomic Analysis Of The Blood Of Alligator Mississippiensis, Lancia Nadinia Fallen Darville-Bowleg Jan 2011

Proteomic Analysis Of The Blood Of Alligator Mississippiensis, Lancia Nadinia Fallen Darville-Bowleg

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

My research focus was to investigate alligator blood using mass spectrometry-based proteomics methods to understand their innate immune systems. The first goal was to sequence peptides and proteins from the blood serum and leukocytes using tandem mass spectrometry and de novo sequencing. The second goal was to determine the function of these biological molecules and their relationship to the immune system. One- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to separate proteins from alligator leukocytes, which were enzymatically digested. The peptides were measured using reversed phase nano-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (nano-HPLC-MS/MS) followed with de novo sequencing. …

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Moral Dilemmas In Contemporary Virtue Ethics, Nicholas Schroeder Jan 2011

Moral Dilemmas In Contemporary Virtue Ethics, Nicholas Schroeder

LSU Master's Theses

A simple definition of a moral dilemma is a situation where an agent ought to do two different things but can only do one. Though this definition may seem straightforward enough, it has created a stir over the last fifty years. Bernard Williams first used the concept of moral dilemmas to call the adequacy of the major ethical theories into question, challenging the possibility of consistent ethical systems. More recently, virtue ethicists, like Rosalind Hursthouse, have used moral dilemmas to challenge the two dominant schools of moral philosophy: deontology and utilitarianism. These attacks have been instrumental in setting up virtue …

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The American Empire: A Content And Textual Analysis Of The Media Coverage Of The 2009 U.S. And Colombia Military Base Agreement, Britt Don Christensen Jan 2011

The American Empire: A Content And Textual Analysis Of The Media Coverage Of The 2009 U.S. And Colombia Military Base Agreement, Britt Don Christensen

LSU Master's Theses

The United States maintains a worldwide network of military bases and spends more on military expenses than the rest of the world combined. This project seeks to analyze how the U.S. mainstream media cover and discuss the American Empire both broadly and specifically. I conducted a quantitative content analysis and a qualitative textual analysis of the Media coverage of the 2009 U.S. – Colombian military base agreement, which was protested by Latin American leaders. I analyzed the coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN.com, and The Miami Herald regarding the US military’s use of bases in Colombia in …

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