Digital Commons Network^™

Osmoregulation And Acid-Base Tolerance In Fish, Shujun Zhang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The gill, with a large surface area in intimate contact with the environment, is the primary organ of ion and acid-base regulation in fish. These same characteristics make the gill epithelium particularly susceptible to a number of environmental perturbations, including osmotic challenges and metabolic acidosis. For most freshwater fish, the active uptake of the strong ions, sodium and chloride, are intimately linked with the excretion of acid and base equivalents, respectively. However, fish from the genus Fundulus, are unique in their apparent lack of active chloride uptake at the gills. This unique feature makes limiting Cl- loss through paracellular pathways …

Paradoxes And Consumer Decision-Making, Carolyn Popp Garity

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Consumers often find themselves faced with conflicting evaluations in which they identify both positive and negative aspects of a purchase or consumption experience. A paradox occurs when the individual is aware of the conflicting evaluations and experiences tension as a result. While there are strong potential implications of paradox, marketing research has been slow to study consumption paradoxes. As a result, many deficiencies exist in the literature, including no consensus as to the definition of consumer paradox, insufficient quantitative measurement, and limited knowledge of the antecedents and consequences of paradox. This dissertation was conducted to address these shortcomings. Essay one …

Investigating The Role Of Genetic Variation In Long Run Economic Outcomes, Charles Justin Cook

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation empirically tests whether adaptations resulting from the Neolithic Revolution, or the widespread adoption of sedentary agriculture for sustenance, have led to economic differences. The development of sedentary agriculture constituted an environmen- tal shift from the previous sustenance method of hunting and gathering. This environmental shift resulted in the natural selection of certain traits. I seek to exploit differences in these traits to measure differing economic outcomes. Two main adaptations are considered in this work: the ability to consume milk, or lactose tolerance, and resistance to infectious Eurasian diseases, which is the result of genetic variation. The first essay …

Aggregate Analyst Forecast Errors, Price Delay, And Business Cycle, Ping-Wen Sun

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two essays. The first essay, “Stock market liquidity, aggregate analyst forecast errors, and the economy,” is motivated by Næs, Skjeltorp, and Ødegaard (2011), who suggest that stock market liquidity is a good leading indicator of the economy. To further understand the mechanism in the economic forecastability of stock market liquidity, we hypothesize that analyst earnings forecast errors have a systematic component, which is predictable and related to changes in the economy, and that smart investors exploit analyst forecast errors, which leads to the economic forecastability of stock market liquidity. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find that …

Investigations Into The Role Of Natural Organic Matter As An Interface Between Aquatic Organisms And Environmental Pollutants, Caroline Lillian Schneider

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The impact of the continuous pollution of freshwater environments by multiple pollutants has not been well-studied. The goal of this research was to evaluate the toxicity of several modern pollutants in a model environment. The prokaryotic, unicellular blue-green algae Synechocystis WT6803 and the eukaryotic, multicellular Utterbackia imbecillis mussel larvae were studied along with Suwannee River natural organic matter (NOM). The toxicity response of the blue-green algae Synechocystis sp. was measured through changes in growth rates. The inorganic pollutant silver nanoparticles (0.044 μM) were toxic. Gold nanoparticles did not affect the growth rate. The addition of 15 mg/L NOM partially inhibited …

Two Essays On Information In Trading, Yanhao Fang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation comprises of two essays. The first essay, ‘Index Price Discovery in the Cash Market’, employs Hasbrouck’s (2003) information share method to analyze the flow of information in equity markets. In particular I compare trading in Index ETFs with that of their underlying securities. Surprisingly, ETFs seem to play a significant role in the price discovery process, rather than serving as passive indexing/hedging vehicles. Using TAQ data I reconstruct the second-by-second intraday price series for the S&P 500 using its component stocks. Results show that the ETF contributes almost half of the price formation of S&P 500 in the …

Three Essays On The Efficiency Of Rural Hospitals In The United States, Iustin Cristian Nedelea

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Program was created in response to the dramatic deterioration of financial conditions and the potential threat of closure of small rural hospitals under the Prospective Payment System (PPS). CAHs receive cost-based reimbursement for services provided to Medicare patients in exchange for accepting a number of restrictions. The PPS, which pays a fixed price per case, provides an incentive for hospitals to reduce costs and increase efficiency. In the first essay, I examine the impact of conversion to CAH status on hospital efficiency. The estimated results show that CAHs are less cost and allocatively efficient than …

Canning Foods And Selling Modernity: The Canned Food Industry And Consumer Culture, 1898-1945, Kristi Renee Whitfield

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

At the turn of the twentieth century, Americans feared commercially canned foods. From the Spanish American War until well into the 1920’s, canned foods received a barrage of media attacks and accusations of unhealthiness, lack of cleanliness, and a lack of transparency and regulation in processing. Moreover, as gastrointestinal distress was quite prevalent among American society, many Americans feared that it was commercial foods that were making them sick. By the time Americans were coming home from World War II, the climate of opinion concerning commercially canned foods had changed, and this was in large part due to the unyielding …

Direction Of Mistuning, Magnitude Of Cent Deviation, And Timbre As Factors In Musicians' Pitch Discrimination In Simultaneous And Sequential Listening Conditions, Norman Alan Clark

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The main purpose of this study was to investigate high school and college wind instrumentalists’ pitch discrimination when judging pitch pairs separated by 0, 5, 7.5, and 10 cents. Participants listened via headphones to a pre-recorded two section perception test; each section (one sequential and one simultaneous) containing 56 tone pairs. Each pair consisted of an in-tune reference tone followed by a test tone of the same pitch (B-flat4 or E4), which was either identical in tuning or altered to one of six mistunings. Tones also varied in timbre (square or sawtooth wave) with the reference and test tones being …

An Investigation Into Urban Elementary Teachers' Educational Beliefs In Regards To Teaching Writing: Comparing Experiences And Self-Reported Beliefs To Teacher Practices, Shalanda Stanley

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This six week study investigated six urban elementary teachers’ educational beliefs in regards to teaching writing, comparing their personal histories as writers with their self-reported beliefs on writing and teaching writing, with that of their teacher practices. A further analysis examined how closely aligned their teacher practices were to research-validated practices. During this ethnographic case study, three questions were explored. These questions were: (a) How do teachers’ personal histories with writing inform their beliefs regarding writing in general, as well as their beliefs on teaching writing?, (b) How do teachers’ educational beliefs in regards to teaching writing inform their instructional …

Effects Of Rhyming Instruction On Learning The Alphabetic Principle, Phonemic Awareness, And Rhyming Complexity Skills With At-Risk Prekindergarten Students, Crystal Randolph

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

At-risk prekindergarten students (i.e., low SES, speech-language impaired) typically lag behind their peers in phonological awareness and other emergent literacy skills such as letter knowledge and vocabulary (Duursma et al., 2008; Lundberg, 2009). However, there is a limited amount of research that has studied the efficacy of phonological interventions for at-risk children (Ziolkowski & Goldstein, 2008). Because of the long-lived debate concerning the role of rhyme versus the role of phoneme awareness, it is uncertain whether learning rhyming skills will provide the most facilitative context to learn other emergent literacy skills (e.g., letter knowledge, phonemic awareness). The current study investigated …

Invasion Of Smooth Brome Into North American Tall-Grass Prairies: Impact On Native Plant/Herbivore Species And Mechanisms Responsible For Successful Invasion, Forrest Paul Dillemuth

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research in invasion ecology has focused on developing ecological theory that can predict how invasive species interact with invaded communities. However, empirical support for theoretical predictions has been inconsistent. Inconsistencies may be attributed to the lack of data in three core areas; (1) field data with enough resolution to determine population dynamics of invasive species in relation to native species, (2) manipulative field experiments that encapsulate natural variation found among micro-habitats, and (3) field data that incorporate effects of invasive species within and among spatial scales. This dissertation has addressed these concerns by examining the mechanisms responsible for the successful …

Beliefs And Technology - Does One Lead To The Other? Evaluating The Effects Of Teacher Self-Efficacy And School Collective Efficacy On Technology Use In The Classroom, Elaine Studnicki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory mixed method study builds upon previous research to investigate the influence of teacher self- and collective efficacy on technology use in the classroom. This population was purposefully sampled to examine first- and second order technology barriers, instructional strategies, and human influences on technology. The quantitative finding was supported by qualitative analysis of the teacher interviews and led to the conclusion that even thought there were strong teacher tendencies towards a belief in using technology actual practice demonstrated a lack of productivity or transference of that belief into classroom practice. A high self- and collective efficacy had no effect …

Explaining The Role Of Scripture In The Economy Of Redemption As It Relates To The Theological And Hermeneutical Contributions Of David Tracy, Hans Frei, Kevin Vanhoozer And Henri De Lubac, Kevin Storer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the hermeneutical impasses which have resulted from the recent debates about the theological interpretation of Scripture between revisionist theologian David Tracy and postliberal theologian Hans Frei and suggests that locating the role of Scripture in the economy of redemption would ease many of these methodological tensions. The works of Evangelical theologian Kevin Vanhoozer and Ressourcement theologian Henri de Lubac, it is argued, provide helpful resources for these discussions as these theologians explicitly seek to explain the role of Scripture in mediating the relationship between Christ and the Church. The dissertation suggests that examining the role of Scripture …

Challenges In The Discovery And Characterization Of Magnetic Intermetallics, William A. Phelan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The crystal growth and characterization of four families of compounds, LnFeSb3 (Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, and Tb) and CeCo(Sb, Sn)3, Ln2Fe4Sb5 (Ln = La – Nd and Sm), LnCu2(Al,Si)5 (Ln = La and Ce), and Ln(Cu,Al,Ga)13 (Ln = La – Pr and Eu), are presented in this dissertation. Special emphasis is placed on describing their structure-magnetic properties correlations. Discoveries and studies of these systems were motivated by their structurally related predecessors, which are comprised of complex structural subunits and exhibit unusual physical properties. The magnetic behaviors exhibited by a selection of these intermetallics include the large magnetoresistances and …

An Investigation Of The Additive Benefits Of Parent Dialogic Reading Techniques In Older Preschool Children, Sarah O'Neill Switalski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the additive benefit of parent dialogic reading techniques in older, high-risk preschool children using multiple baseline design across participants, a single subject research design, as was as well as pre-test and post-test measures. Five preschoolers age-eligible to begin kindergarten the following school year participated. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (PPVT-4) and Expressive Vocabulary Test, Second Edition (EVT-2) were administered pre-intervention and post-intervention implementation. Consistent with multiple baseline design, all students received weekly progress monitoring using the Picture Naming (PN) Individual Growth and Development Indicator (IGDI) throughout the entire investigation. Caregivers received in-person video-based training in …

Conduct Issues With Fraternities And Sororities: University Processes Evaluated At Four-Year Universities, Jonathan Burnard Sanders

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to discover the types of conduct processes that are being utilized when fraternities and sororities violate alcohol, hazing, and other policies at four-year universities. Many negative issues have been tied to Greek letter organizations and have become a national concern, such as hazing, alcohol consumption, and other types of risky behavior (Bruce & Keller, 2007). Research on the type of processes being used by universities is needed in order to analyze current practices and whether there needs to be a change in conduct processes. A survey instrument was developed by the researcher and sent …

Law Student Knowledge Of Legal Interviewing: A Case Study Of Self-Evaluation Using Video Annotation, William Taggart Monroe

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Video has long been used to support learner reflection in professional education programs in law, health, and education. Emerging video analysis tools offer learners the ability to highlight segments of video and focus their attention to specific moments or aspects of performance. These emerging tools afford opportunities for more systematic observation, analysis, and deliberate reflection on learner performance than was available previously. Expertise research has found that representative, rigorous tasks followed by immediate feedback and error correction constitute deliberate practice. Training environments that incorporate deliberate practice and emerging video annotation and analysis tools provide opportunities for learners pinpoint strengths and …

The Impact Of An Informal Science Learning Environment On The Environmentally Responsible Behavior Of Adults: A Case Study, Kathryn Ann March

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Since environmental education’s emergence in America, the field has been primarily focused on increasing environmental awareness, attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behavior. Yet the nation’s overall level of environmental literacy, especially with regard to the performance of environmentally responsible behaviors, continues to be low (Coyle, 2005). Unlike school-based education programs, which only reach a segment of the population, informal sites have the potential to influence learners of many ages and diverse backgrounds (NRC, 2009). Informal science learning environments (ISLEs) have been shown to provide personally meaningful learning experiences and have the potential to impact environmentally responsible decisions and actions (Falk, 2005). …

Inside The Seed Of School Accountability: An African-Centered Analysis, Rodrick Lerone Jenkins

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

I use Marimba Ani’s Asili concept as defined in Yurugu to examine the school accountability model. By school accountability model, I mean the school model that consists of privately managed “public schools” regulated by state testing programs. I argue that school accountability is essentially oppressive and its success depends on the falsification of African and African American history. Ani explains that Asili is a Kiswalhili term meaning “beginning,” “origin,” “source,” “nature (in the sense of the ‘nature’ of a person or thing),” “essence,” or “fundamental principle.” Furthermore, Ani writes that seed is an “ubiquitous African analogical symbol in African philosophical …

Stock Liquidity, Price Informativeness, And Accruals-Based Earnings Management, Jing Fang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

We examine the effect of stock liquidity on accruals-based earnings management. Finance literature suggests that stock liquidity leads to price efficiency. If prices are efficient, more future earnings should be reflected in current prices. Therefore, gain from shifting accruals across periods should be low and managers should have less incentive to manage earnings. We find that higher stock liquidity is associated with higher future earnings response coefficient and lower accruals-based earnings management. Our finding has important implication for the decline in accruals-based earnings management during 2001-2005 documented in prior study. Our additional trend analysis suggests that instead of SOX and …

Fatigue Performance Of Existing Bridges Under Dynamic Loads From Winds And Vehicles, Wei Zhang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

During the life cycle of bridges, varied amplitude of stress ranges on structural details are induced by the random traffic and wind loads. The progressive deteriorated road surface conditions might accelerate the fatigue damage accumulations. Micro-cracks in structural details might be initiated. An effective structural modeling scheme and a reasonable fatigue damage accumulation rule are essential for stress range acquisitions and fatigue life estimation. The present research targets at the development of a fatigue life and reliability prediction methodology for existing steel bridges under real wind and traffic environment with the capability of including multiple random parameters and variables in …

Multiscale Viscoplastic-Viscodamage Analysis Of Shape Memory Polymer Fibers With Application To Self Healing Smart Materials, Amir Shojaei

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Self-healing smart material systems have been introduced into the research arena and they have already been deployed into industrial applications. The Close-Then-Heal (CTH) healing mechanism for polymeric self-healing systems is addressed herein and then a new generation of Shape Memory Polymer (SMP) based self-healing system is proposed in this work. This system incorporates SMP fibers to close the cracks while the embedded Thermoplastic Particles (TPs) are diffused into the crack surfaces upon heating and provide a molecular level of healing. The SMP fiber manufacturing procedure is briefly addressed in this work in which the bobbin of SMP fibers are heat …

Chinese Piano Music: An Approach To Performance, Xi Chen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Since the piano was introduced in China, in the nineteenth century, many Chinese composers have composed specifically for it. As a result of greater communication and cultural exchange between East and West, Western pianists have begun including Chinese piano pieces in their repertoire. This paper will suggest approaches for the pianist to gain a greater understanding of Chinese piano music. These approaches will include a detailed analysis of each piece, addressing cultural aspects pertinent to an understanding of the music, as well as compositional background, harmony, texture, and piano technique. In addition, each piece will be provided with suggestions intended …

Thermal Oxidative Stability Of Middle Distillate Fuels: Chemistry Of Deposit Formation & Stabilization, Christopher Kabana

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The thermal oxidative stability of middle distillate fuels is a topic of considerable concern. There are several examples of ambient temperature oxidation of fuel, leading to particulate matter and filtration issues. It is shown that particulate matter values vary globally based on region and fuel type, suggesting the problem is more than mere inorganic matter. The variability of filtration times is not dependent on absolute particulate matter present; it is suggested to be dependent upon the nature or morphology of deposit.

For a more thorough understanding of the chemistry responsible for deposit formation, flask oxidation was employed to test the …

The Influence Of The Introduction Of Baccalaureate Degree Programs On The Awarding Of Associate Degrees At Public Community Colleges, David Joseph Wesse

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Little research has been done to examine how the awarding of bachelor’s degrees, by community colleges, influences the traditional associate degree-granting role of these institutions. This quantitative study investigates the impact of this change on the community colleges that have been allowed to award bachelor’s degrees, examining how this change affects the traditional associate degree granting output of these institutions. The population for this study is all public community colleges in the United States that offer associate degrees, including those awarding bachelor’s degrees. A data query was used to collect the data for this study from the Integrated Postsecondary Education …

Diverse Sample Analysis And Sample Preparation Studies Utalizing Ap - Maldi-Tof-Ms, Sara May Kallop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sample preparation and analysis for atmospheric pressure matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (AP- MALDI-TOF-MS) was investigated. By investigating the effects that sample preparation has upon MALDI signal, better analysis can be carried out. The influence of sample deposition was studied by not only observing the signal intensity produced but also by quantitation. Isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) was used for the quantitation of three different analytes. The results indicated that not only was signal greatly affected by sample deposition but the effect on quantitation error was also statistically significant among the three different sample deposition …

Investigating The Physiological Roles Of Yqja And Yghb: Members Of The Conserved Deda Membrane Protein Family In Escherichia Coli, Rakesh Sikdar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this dissertation is to characterize the physiological roles of E. coli YqjA and YghB, which belong to the ancient and conserved DedA protein family of hitherto unknown functions. YqjA and YghB are inner membrane (IM) proteins with 61% amino acid identity and share partially redundant functions. Such characterization is achieved by addressing the phenotypes exhibited by strain BC202 with in-frame deletions of yqjA and yghB. BC202 exhibits cell division defects, inability to grow at temperatures above 42°C and an altered phospholipid composition. The cell division defect of BC202 is attributed to the inefficient secretion of periplasmic amidases …

Theory Of Mind, Pragmatic Language, And Social Skills In Male Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Gary Koch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized a core triad of symptoms: impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests (APA, 2000). Impairments in social development, however, have been considered the most salient and handicapping aspect of ASD and, traditionally, the primary deficit from which the diagnosis results. From a cognitive standpoint, it has been argued that these social impairments in individuals with ASDs arise as a result of deficits in Theory of Mind (ToM) development. The degree to which impairment in ToM corresponds to real-world social-communicative impairments has received little …

Infrared Laser Ablation For Biological Mass Spectrometry, Fan Huang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Instrument and technique development and modeling of ionization methods using infrared (IR) laser desorption and ablation for mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of chemical and biochemical samples are described. Infrared lasers are highly efficient at sample removal and post-ablation ionization of materials removed by IR laser can be used to improve ionization efficiency. Fundamental studies of the physical processes in laser ablation mass spectrometry can help elucidate the mechanism. In this research, an infrared/ultraviolet two-laser matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) MS was developed for analysis of biomolecules. An infrared laser was used to ablate a mixture of analyte and matrix, and …