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2012

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Inside And Outside, Joshua Harry George Jan 2012

Inside And Outside, Joshua Harry George

LSU Master's Theses

The boxing paintings and drawings are not about fighting as much as they are about the fighter’s existence. Many of the images show the boxer training or in an isolated environment in order to show how methodical their lives become. I see boxers as sacrificial athletes, not only because their health is at risk, but also because they must separate themselves from loved ones during training, as well as abstain from certain foods in order to maintain a certain weight. Every boxer is an underdog, in a sense. They are all at risk of losing something, whether it is their …

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Investigation Of Electroosmotic Flow Dynamics And Reproducibility In Capillary Electrophoresis, Funda Kizilkaya Jan 2012

Investigation Of Electroosmotic Flow Dynamics And Reproducibility In Capillary Electrophoresis, Funda Kizilkaya

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to investigate electroosmotic flow (EOF) and electric field dynamics during capillary electrophoresis (CE) experiments using methods based on periodic photobleaching of fluorophores added to the separation buffer at nanomolar concentrations. The methods provide time resolved EOF and local electric field information during an experiment, which can be applied to fundamental studies to provide better understanding of CE techniques. The potential of the EOF monitoring method to improve CE migration reproducibility was investigated in Chapter 2. The EOF monitoring method and four other methods from the literature were applied to the same electrophoretic separations, and …

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Impact On The Engagement Of At-Risk Students: Evaluation Of Postsecondary Living Learning Communities, Monique Fondren Cain Jan 2012

Impact On The Engagement Of At-Risk Students: Evaluation Of Postsecondary Living Learning Communities, Monique Fondren Cain

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Colleges and universities have first-year residential living learning programs that use academic and social programming to contribute to students’ academic success. While a variety of students choose to live in these living learning communities (LLCs), there is little research on the benefits derived by specific groups of students. Students who are classified as at-risk, including first generation and / or from families challenged by low income levels were targeted for this research. The engagement of these at-risk students participating in LLCs was the focus of this mixed methods study. The research questions addressed by this study were directed toward understanding …

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Reductive Dechlorination Of High Concentrations Of 1,2-Dichloroethane, 1,2-Dichloropropane, And 1,1,2-Trichloroethane By Dehalogenimonas Sp., Andrew D. Maness Jan 2012

Reductive Dechlorination Of High Concentrations Of 1,2-Dichloroethane, 1,2-Dichloropropane, And 1,1,2-Trichloroethane By Dehalogenimonas Sp., Andrew D. Maness

LSU Master's Theses

The research goals presented here were to evaluate the solvent concentrations over which Dehalogenimonas lykanthroporepellens strain BL-DC-9T and Dehalogenimonas sp. IP3-3 are able to reductively dechlorinate 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA), 1,2-dichloropropane (1,2-DCP), and 1,1,2-trichloroethane (1,1,2-TCA). Both of these novel bacteria were isolated from contaminated groundwater at the PetroProcessors of Louisiana, Inc. Superfund site located near Baton Rouge. Both cluster in the phylum Chloroflexi, related to, but distinct from, the widely studied, reductively dechlorinating “Dehalococcoides” strains .

Although previous research demonstrated that strains BL-DC-9T and IP3-3 are able to reductively dechlorinate a variety of polyhalogenated alkanes, the solvent concentration at which the strains …

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Improving Nitrogen Management In Sugarcane Production Of The Mid-South Using Remote Sensing Technology, Joshua Lofton Jan 2012

Improving Nitrogen Management In Sugarcane Production Of The Mid-South Using Remote Sensing Technology, Joshua Lofton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In Louisiana, current N rate recommendations for sugarcane production are based on multiple year N response trials and refined based on soil and crop variables. Without accounting for current growing conditions, recommendations can potentially lead to over- or under-application of N. The objectives of this research were to 1) determine the ability of an in-season response index value (RINDVI) to estimate sugarcane yield response index (RIHarvest), 2) determine if sugarcane yield potential could be determined using normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI), and 3) estimate the optimum N rate and application timing for sugarcane production in Louisiana. Experiments were established in …

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Rapid Microwave Drying Of Non-Food Agricultural Feedstock For Improved Biofuel Production, Laura A. Picou Jan 2012

Rapid Microwave Drying Of Non-Food Agricultural Feedstock For Improved Biofuel Production, Laura A. Picou

LSU Master's Theses

Due to limited supply of traditional fossil based fuels, and increased interest in air and water quality along with other environmental concerns, there has been a rise in the utilization of biomass based energy sources. Many agricultural materials can be used for the production of biofuels, including materials that are typically underutilized such as sweet sorghum bagasse and otherwise nuisance species such as Chinese tallow tree seeds. The goal of this project was to examine the relationship between the dielectric properties of sweet sorghum bagasse and Chinese tallow tree (CTT) seeds, respectively, and frequency and moisture content; to determine pertinent …

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Sugarcane Growth, Sucrose Content, And Yield Response To The Ripeners Glyphosate And Trinexapac-Ethyl, Albert Joseph Orgeron Jan 2012

Sugarcane Growth, Sucrose Content, And Yield Response To The Ripeners Glyphosate And Trinexapac-Ethyl, Albert Joseph Orgeron

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Under Louisiana climatic conditions, production of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is limited to a maximum growth period of nine months. To increase sucrose concentration in the crop, ripener is applied prior to harvest. The chemical ripeners, glyphosate and trinexapac-ethyl were applied to the sugarcane cultivars HoCP 96-540, L 99-226, L 99-233, HoCP 00-950, and L 01-283 eight weeks prior to harvest. When glyphosate was applied at 210 g ae/ha, TRS for the cultivars was increased 10 to 28% compared with the nontreated. Increases in TRS with glyphosate were greatest for HoCP 96-540 and L 99-226 and least for HoCP 00-950 and …

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An Exploratory Case Study Of Racial Climate In An Academic Unit At A Predominantly White, Southern Institution, Mark A. Dochterman Jan 2012

An Exploratory Case Study Of Racial Climate In An Academic Unit At A Predominantly White, Southern Institution, Mark A. Dochterman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research describes faculty of color as a key to an equitable future for higher education. However, this approach problematically places the responsibility for multiculturalism on the shoulders of these individuals. This embedded, critical case study explored the racial climate of an academic unit in a southern, predominantly white institution. Through the lens of critical race theory I examined how the racial climate of the unit impacted the perceptions, roles, and relationships differently for faculty of color, doctoral students of color, white faculty, and white doctoral students and how the case in question exemplified Rankin and Reason’s (2008) six dimensions of …

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Turn-On's And Edible Friends: An Imaginal Menagerie, Matthew Ryan Henderson Jan 2012

Turn-On's And Edible Friends: An Imaginal Menagerie, Matthew Ryan Henderson

LSU Master's Theses

Turn-on’s and Edible Friends explores alternative sexual behavior. Societal standards have an overwhelming interest in imposing judgment upon sexual identity. The imagery is influenced by taboo and peculiar sexual fetishes. Animal personifications of the fetish are used as satire to detach the viewer from the action, and also as a metaphor for the reins with which the general public takes control over our private relationships. Thus the work becomes confrontational with the viewer and forces them to question their perceptions and comforts about sexual identity.

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The Existence Of Preference Outlier Committees In The 1999-2008 Louisiana House Of Representatives, Trisha Mari Sandahl Jan 2012

The Existence Of Preference Outlier Committees In The 1999-2008 Louisiana House Of Representatives, Trisha Mari Sandahl

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years the complexity of understanding the politics of committee assignment, has led to lively scholarly debates. At the heart of this debate lie three theories of legislative committee development: the distributive, informational, and major party cartel theory. Each of these theories attempts to explain legislative committee assignments through one single legislator motivation: legislator interest, party, or institutional interest. This dissertation argues that one single motivation as espoused in the distributive, informational, and major party cartel theory is not likely to explain all legislator committee assignments. Instead, Legislators committee assignments are likely to be a reflection of multiple motivations, …

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The 'Anti-Photographic' Photography Of Pablo Picasso And Its Influence On The Development Now Known As Cubism, Dana Statton Jan 2012

The 'Anti-Photographic' Photography Of Pablo Picasso And Its Influence On The Development Now Known As Cubism, Dana Statton

LSU Master's Theses

By examining the relationship between photography and painting at the turn of the nineteenth century, it becomes clear that the two mediums have more in common than art historians acknowledge. The two share obvious formal qualities such as form, perspective, depth, and spatial relationships. These formal qualities make it easier to see the potential overlap between the two mediums, as Picasso did during the summer of 1909. Although Picasso is not well known for his photography, the large collection of photographic imagery found in his estate now makes it possible to firmly establish the place of photography within his oeuvre. …

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Teacher Insights On High-Stakes Standardized Assessments: The Impact Of School Reform Policy On The Classroom, Jennifer Timmer Jan 2012

Teacher Insights On High-Stakes Standardized Assessments: The Impact Of School Reform Policy On The Classroom, Jennifer Timmer

LSU Master's Theses

Education reform policies have focused on high-stakes assessments primarily utilizing standardized tests for accountability purposes. As testing practices have evolved due to a variety of factors throughout the past century or so, they have become fully integrated into public schooling in the United States. These tests are having a marked impact on teachers and education, as teachers feel pressure to produce exceptional student results and modify their instructional practices, often “teaching to the test” and narrowing the curriculum in order to focus on the requirements of the mandates. This study examines a survey of public school teachers to ascertain their …

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Determining The Performance Of Breakwaters During High Energy Events: A Case Study Of The Holly Beach Breakwater System, Andrew Keane Woodroof Jan 2012

Determining The Performance Of Breakwaters During High Energy Events: A Case Study Of The Holly Beach Breakwater System, Andrew Keane Woodroof

LSU Master's Theses

Breakwaters have been constructed in many areas along Louisiana’s coastline to protect the shoreline from wave energy and erosion. During normal conditions, these breakwaters can typically be analyzed using traditional empirical methods for emergent breakwaters. However, Louisiana’s coastline is under constant threat from tropical storms and hurricanes, during which breakwaters can frequently become overtopped or submerged systems. Recent studies show that the type of shoreline response to a breakwater system may vary depending on the crest height of the breakwater in relation to the mean water level. Though emergent breakwaters typically induce sediment accretion along the shoreline, studies using laboratory …

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A Performer's Guide To Stephen Paulus' Mad Book, Shadow Book: Songs Of Michael Morley, Jin Hin Yap Jan 2012

A Performer's Guide To Stephen Paulus' Mad Book, Shadow Book: Songs Of Michael Morley, Jin Hin Yap

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Stephen Paulus is a prolific American composer of the twenty-first century. Together with his primary collaborator Michael Dennis Browne, an English born, American poet, he has produced numerous compositions ranging from choral works to operatic. This document introduces Paulus’ early song cycle for tenor "Mad Book, Shadow Book: Songs of Michael Morley" (“Michael Morley Creaked,” “Falling Asleep in the Afternoon,” “I Feel Good Running,” “Morley’s Root Song,” “Calm, Calm,” and “Et in Arcadia, Morley”). Included is biographical and stylistic information about the composer and the poet, general information about the song cycle, and a performer’s guide to the songs, followed …

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Holding-Responsible And Liability, Luke Kosinski Jan 2012

Holding-Responsible And Liability, Luke Kosinski

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis is an attempt to separate holding-responsible from accountability, where accountability is understood as being the substratum or ground of one’s acts, the subject-cause. It begins from François Raffoul’s rethinking of responsibility in his book, The Origins of Responsibility, as separate from accountability and asks if holding-responsible is possible on such an account. Holding-responsible is examined through the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, Harry Frankfurt, and Martin Heidegger. In Nietzsche, the phenomenological roots of the terms are examined in the breeding of an animal that can promise, the relationship between a creditor and an ower, and the belief that debt …

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Improving Discourse Structure Identification, Jamie Allison Guidry Jan 2012

Improving Discourse Structure Identification, Jamie Allison Guidry

LSU Master's Theses

Rhetorical Structure Theory (Mann et al. 1988), a popular approach for analyzing discourse coherence, suggests that coherent text can be placed into a hierarchical organization of clauses. Identification of a text’s rhetorical structure through automatic discourse analysis is a crucial element for many of today’s Natural Language Processing tasks, but no sufficient tool is available. The current state-of -the-art discourse parser, SPADE (Soricut et al. 2003), is limited to parsing discourse within a single sentence. HILDA (Hernault et al. 2010) extends the parsing abilities of SPADE to the document level, but with a decrease in performance. This study achieved document-level …

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New Orleans Center For Creative Arts: A History In Progress, Suzanne Michelle Blanchard Chambliss Jan 2012

New Orleans Center For Creative Arts: A History In Progress, Suzanne Michelle Blanchard Chambliss

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the state of Louisiana, a quality education for secondary school students can be hard to come by in any area of study much less in the areas of the arts. The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) provides a quality education to those talented students who audition and are accepted into the program. NOCCA has only existed since 1974 and in its relatively short life it has become a model for half-day pre-professional training programs throughout the United States and it has proven that it is possible to receive a quality education in Louisiana.

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Effects Of Varying Land Use On Headwater Stream Fish Assemblages And In-Stream Habitats In Southwestern Louisiana, Alexandra Marie Fitzgerald Jan 2012

Effects Of Varying Land Use On Headwater Stream Fish Assemblages And In-Stream Habitats In Southwestern Louisiana, Alexandra Marie Fitzgerald

LSU Master's Theses

Although watershed land use effects on in-stream fish habitat and fish-macrohabitat associations have been widely studied in the past, low-gradient, coastal Louisiana streams have been poorly described in the literature. In this thesis, I report the results of a two-year study exploring relationships among regional land use, in-stream physical habitat, and headwater stream fish assemblages. In chapter two, I examined in-stream habitat variables such as depth, flow, and substrate combined with three-pass electrofishing depletion estimates at thirteen 100-m stream sites. I used a combination of principle component analysis and structural equation modeling to determine if trends were present in the …

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Advances In Quantum Optical Metrology And The Establishment Of An Invisible Quantum Tripwire, Steven Blane Mccracken Jan 2012

Advances In Quantum Optical Metrology And The Establishment Of An Invisible Quantum Tripwire, Steven Blane Mccracken

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis presents a summary of the foundation and background of the field of quantum optics, and an analysis of some recent discoveries in various fields of which I have aided in furthering investigative research and advancement through publications. Such topics include numerical optimization of generalized quantum states used in phase sensitive quantum metrology, an analysis of object detection through the use of quantum interferometry in the presence of lossy conditions, and the use of the latter technique to propose an invisible quantum tripwire. First is a collaborative effort to numerically optimize quantum optical states for quantum metrological applications. We …

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Determining Impact: Using Formative Evaluation In A Professional Development Program For Teachers Of Mathematics And Science, Tiah B. Alphonso Jan 2012

Determining Impact: Using Formative Evaluation In A Professional Development Program For Teachers Of Mathematics And Science, Tiah B. Alphonso

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a professional development (PD) program for middle and high school teachers of mathematics and science which is funded by a $5 million National Science Foundation grant. The evaluation was internal and formative in nature and took place in two separate phases. The focus of the evaluation was not only on program improvement but also to extend the body of existing knowledge in the area of teacher professional development. Both the needs of project stakeholders and the findings of previous research in the areas of professional development and program evaluation were drawn on …

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La Place Et Le Rôle De La Mère Dans La Construction Identitaire De Ken Dans Le Baobab Fou De Ken Bugul, Natacha Jeudy Jan 2012

La Place Et Le Rôle De La Mère Dans La Construction Identitaire De Ken Dans Le Baobab Fou De Ken Bugul, Natacha Jeudy

LSU Master's Theses

At a time when francophone women writers are hardly published, the Senegalese author Ken Bugul becomes the talk of the town with her 1982 novel Le baobab fou. At that point, not only is she becoming a francophone literary precursor to other francophone writers, she also imposes a style which explores and contradicts traditional views. Indeed from the beginning of the story in rural Senegal where the mother is traditionally defined and held responsible for educating her children so that the tradition can endure, Ken has to face her mother’s disappearance when she is just a child. The lack of …

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Texting Laws And Cell Phone Users: Motivations For Texting While Driving, Jonathan Ferrante Jan 2012

Texting Laws And Cell Phone Users: Motivations For Texting While Driving, Jonathan Ferrante

LSU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT Legal scholars, academics, and industry researchers have indicated that using cell phones when driving is among the most dangerous hazard faced by motorists today. This relatively new technology is embedded in the lives of most people, at all times of the day, including when behind the wheel of a car. Harvard and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration researchers have exposed the dangers of cell phones and driving, but a solution to curtail the problem has yet to be found. This study seeks to understand the motivations and mediating factors affecting texting and driving law compliance by cell phone users. …

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Drinking With Friends: A Cellular Automata Approach To Modeling Peer Influence On Binge Drinking Behavior, Piper Jackson, Andrew Reid, Niki Huitson, Kathryn Wuschke, Vahid Dabbaghian Jan 2012

Drinking With Friends: A Cellular Automata Approach To Modeling Peer Influence On Binge Drinking Behavior, Piper Jackson, Andrew Reid, Niki Huitson, Kathryn Wuschke, Vahid Dabbaghian

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this project, we adopt Cellular Automata (CA) modeling as a means to focus solely on the elements of concern: individual state (binging) and local interactions (peer pressure). CA models are well suited for exploring the dynamics that occur within a population, and are useful for visualizing the clustering behaviour of communities. With this more abstract approach, it is possible to simulate large populations with reasonable computational requirements.

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A Single-Subject Study Examining The Effects Of A Behavioral Intervention For Verbal Recurrent Perserveration, Jenifer Juengling-Sudkamp Jan 2012

A Single-Subject Study Examining The Effects Of A Behavioral Intervention For Verbal Recurrent Perserveration, Jenifer Juengling-Sudkamp

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Approximately 1 million people in the United States suffer from aphasia and > 50% of those people may demonstrate recurrent perseverations. No consensus has been forthcoming on whether (1) a therapy that directly confronts clients with imminent pre-articulatory automatisms (the perseverations) or (2) a more typical neuropsychological therapy that eschews any direct confrontation with automatic behaviors works best. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the treatment efficacy of a non-confrontational picture naming intervention on naming ability in individuals with aphasia and recurrent perseverations. METHODS: This is a prospective single-subject ABAB multiple baseline design replicated across 3 right-handed …

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Turbine Blade Internal Cooling: Trailing Edge, Coolant-Passage Entry, Bend Effect And Improvement In Thermal Performance, Krishnendu Saha Jan 2012

Turbine Blade Internal Cooling: Trailing Edge, Coolant-Passage Entry, Bend Effect And Improvement In Thermal Performance, Krishnendu Saha

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Efficient cooling of gas turbine blade is imperative for safe operation of the gas turbine engine at high temperatures. In the present work, two converging lattice structures suitable for trailing edge applications are tested and their performance is compared with a conventional pin-fin configuration. Another constant cross section lattice structure is tested to see the cooling efficiency of lattice channels with different number of sub-channels. Converging lattice structures show higher heat transfer enhancement and comparable or higher thermal performance than traditional pin-fin cooling used in gas turbine trailing edge. The highest pressure drop incurred in a multi-pass channel is at …

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Advice In Troubles Talk Conversations Between Strangers: The Role Of Problem Seriousness And The Impact Of Advice On Helper Supportiveness And The Desire For Future Interactions, Andrea Jean Vickery Jan 2012

Advice In Troubles Talk Conversations Between Strangers: The Role Of Problem Seriousness And The Impact Of Advice On Helper Supportiveness And The Desire For Future Interactions, Andrea Jean Vickery

LSU Master's Theses

In troubles talk conversations, problems are disclosed and discussed. When responding to problem disclosures, advice is one common response where the respondent recommends how to think, feel or act in response to a problem. This thesis focuses on extending our understanding of advice messages, with a main research question focused on determining if advice occurs in initial interactions between strangers. Through an analysis of 125 transcribed conversations, advice was present in 38.4% (n = 44) of the conversations. Advice was offered in response to less serious problems, supporting the first hypothesis. There was no support found for the positive association …

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En(Gendering) Policy: Gender Policies In Former Soviet Republics, Natasha Lachelle Bingham Jan 2012

En(Gendering) Policy: Gender Policies In Former Soviet Republics, Natasha Lachelle Bingham

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines gender policies in former Soviet republics. Gender policies are depicted as traditional policies (including such policies as child support, spousal support, and inheritance rights), violence against women policies (domestic violence, marital rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment), and human trafficking policies. It builds upon previous works with a multi-methodological approach (content analysis, logistical regression, and qualitative survey analysis). The focus here is on the factors that influence adoption of formal policies in former Soviet republics from 1993-2008. I explore variance across both countries and policy areas, assessing whether (and why) certain post-Soviet states are more likely to …

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New Coding/Decoding Techniques For Wireless Communication Systems, Yonas Gebregziabher Debessu Jan 2012

New Coding/Decoding Techniques For Wireless Communication Systems, Yonas Gebregziabher Debessu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Wireless communication encompasses cellular telephony systems (mobile communication), wireless sensor networks, satellite communication systems and many other applications. Studies relevant to wireless communication deal with maintaining reliable and efficient exchange of information between the transmitter and receiver over a wireless channel. The most practical approach to facilitate reliable communication is using channel coding. In this dissertation we propose novel coding and decoding approaches for practical wireless systems. These approaches include variable-rate convolutional encoder, modified turbo decoder for local content in Single-Frequency Networks, and blind encoder parameter estimation for turbo codes. On the other hand, energy efficiency is major performance issue …

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Measurement Of Pain, Pain Disability, And Pain Beliefs Of Morbidly Obese Adults, Brooke Louise Barbera Jan 2012

Measurement Of Pain, Pain Disability, And Pain Beliefs Of Morbidly Obese Adults, Brooke Louise Barbera

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Both obesity and pain are pervasive public health problems, contributing to significant disability in the United States and worldwide. Studies have demonstrated a positive association between obesity and pain, with increasing BMI related to increasing levels of pain intensity; however, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not well understood. The present study assessed the presence of pain, pain-related disability, and pain beliefs in a morbidly obese (BMI > 40 kg/m2) sample participating in a medically-supervised, nonsurgical weight loss intervention. After controlling for demographic variables and depression, pain was reported in 36.7% of the sample (N = 390). Results indicated that greater …

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Influences On Behavior Adaptations To Reduce Exposure To Environmental Hazards Among Residents Of Louisiana's Upper Industrial Corridor, Corrinthia Marie Hinton Jan 2012

Influences On Behavior Adaptations To Reduce Exposure To Environmental Hazards Among Residents Of Louisiana's Upper Industrial Corridor, Corrinthia Marie Hinton

LSU Master's Theses

Over the past century, the growth in petrochemical manufacturing within Louisiana’s Upper Industrial Corridor brought economic development, but also introduced toxic emissions and environmental exposure risks to residents of the area. For the citizens living in close proximity to multiple facilities there is the added risk of chemical exposure from environmentally hazardous accidents. This study seeks to gain insights into patterns of risk-reducing behaviors of residents in East Baton Rouge Parish so that better educational outreach programs can be developed. This research addresses the following questions: To what extent are residents of Baton Rouge taking steps to reduce environmental exposure …

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