Digital Commons Network^™

Thermal Field Investigations And Applications To Integral Abutment Bridges With Frp Panels, Bo Kong

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Expansion joints are often considered as one of the most vulnerable elements affecting the sustainability of traditional jointed bridges. Over the past several decades, a new type of integral abutment bridge (IAB) has been proposed, where the joints are eliminated at the abutments and/or along the length of the bridges. Although with wide acceptances, the IABs have not been largely applied in practice. Many arguments are unsettled and there are no national design guidelines currently. Among all, the thermal behavior is one of the most concerned issues, and that, to a large extent, limits the maximum length of IABs that …

Development Of An Estradiol-Dopamine Anagonist Protocol For Inducing Ovulation In Seasonally Anovulatory Mares, Pamela Boliew Mitcham

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Five experiments were conducted to assess potential improvements in a protocol for inducing ovulation in seasonally anovulatory mares based upon estradiol pretreatment followed by dopamine antagonist injection. The first experiment compared various doses of estradiol cypionate (ECP) and domperidone (in biodegradable microparticles), as well as additions and deletions to the protocol. It was concluded that as little as 75 mg ECP and as little as 1.5 g of domperidone could be used with success, but that both components were required. In the second experiment, timing of the injection (1, 6, or 11 days apart) and ECP dose were assessed. It …

The Role Of Forensic Nurses In Communities Experiencing Environmental Contamination, Wendy Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to provide an understanding of the self-perceived physiological and psychosocial needs of persons living in communities which have been exposed to environmental contamination, and to provide an understanding of how forensic nurses can be utilized in these communities.

Background

This study was conducted to provide an opportunity for forensic nurses to advance their profession by finding ways that they can move beyond their traditional roles. Dixon and Dixon's Integrative Environmental Health Model was the theoretical framework.

Research Design

This cross-sectional triangulated study used quantitative and qualitative methods. The Community Environmental Health and Rights …

The Effect Of Resveratrol On Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Dopaminergic Deficits And Bv-2 Cell Activation, Katherine Marie Rose

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neuroinflammation is a common pathology found in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). PD involves a loss of dopamine (DA) neurons and an increase in activated microglia with subsequent proinflammatory cytokine secretion in the substantia nigra (SN) and striatum. A loss of DA neurons is found in the offspring of animals exposed prenatally to the bacteriotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (Ling et al., 2002). Activation of the extracellular regulated kinases, ERK1/2 and ERK5, the downstream targets in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, has been shown to be involved in the dysregulation of the inflammatory process (Cuschieri and Maier, 2005). Consequently, LPS-induced activation …

A Baseline Study Of Chemical Parameters And Microbial Diversity Of Two Streams In The Ten Mile Creek Watershed In Southwestern Pennsylvania, Jennifer Rutter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale becomes increasingly prevalent, both human safety and environmental concerns have arisen. The aim of this study was to assemble an environmental baseline to make an accurate assessment of its possible impacts. Water samples and chemical parameters were collected from Bates Fork, a stream with Marcellus Shale drilling activity and Fonner Run, a sister stream with no drilling activity, on a monthly basis beginning in the summer of 2010. Bacterial DNA was also extracted from water collected at each site and then amplified using primers for the variable ribosomal internal transcribed spacer …

Two Sides Of The Ancient Vase: Eastern And Western Principles In The Works Of Keiko Abe, Christopher K. Hoefer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Keiko Abe is recognized as one of the leading marimba virtuosos of the Twentieth century. As a composer, she has been writing for solo marimba since the early 1960s and continues composing for the medium today. Her music became popular with Western percussionists after the publishing of Works for Marimba in 1987. This was her first compilation of works for the five-octave marimba. These pieces have become a constant source of repertoire for collegiate and professional performers. Despite Abe’s popularity and influence, little research has examined her compositions. This document features analysis and background of Abe and her music and …

Teacher-Child Interaction Therapy: Efficacy With A Clinical Preschool Population, Kristen Friedrich Schaffner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teacher-Child Interaction Therapy (TCIT), which is an adaptation of the empirically-based treatment of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), addresses the needs of children and teachers through increasing positive teacher-child interactions while educating teachers on effective discipline techniques. The theoretical and empirical basis for PCIT provides the foundation for the appropriate and effective application of the adaptation of this treatment model for use with teachers.

The efficacy of Teacher-Child Interaction Therapy (TCIT) with a clinical preschool population was evaluated through a single subject A-B design conducted across subjects. The current study examined the impact of the intervention, TCIT, on child behavior, teacher …

An Evaluation Of The Perceptions Of Multicultural Knowledge And Multicultural Awareness Between Graduating Counselor Education Students With Beginning Counselor Education Students Who Have Recently Completed A Course In Multicultural Issues And Strategies In Counseling, Tad P Santos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This was a study of student perceptions and retention of multicultural counseling awareness and knowledge. All of the graduate students of a medium sized, private university in Pennsylvania, in the counselor education program (included marriage and family, school counseling, and community counseling tracks) were required to take the Multicultural Issues and Strategies in Counseling course. This study examined whether or not graduate students retain multicultural counseling knowledge and awareness from the completion of a beginning course in multicultural counseling through to graduation. This investigator hoped to contribute to the field of counselor education by examining if multicultural counseling competencies are …

Thermal Stress Analysis Of Jointed Plain Concrete Pavements Containing Fly Ash And Slag, Yoonseok Chung

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

With the current demand for Portland cement concrete (PCC) sustainability, supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are used in concrete mixtures. The SCMs positively impact the environmental and economic aspects of concrete mixtures and improve the mixture properties in both fresh and hardened concrete. In this research, one control and twenty-four ternary mixtures, with various combinations of fly ashes (Class C and F), slags (Grade 100 and 120), and Portland cement were fabricated. The thermal properties (coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), thermal conductivity, and heat capacity) and mechanical properties of the selected ternary mixtures were measured at various ages. Temperature gradients were …

Examining Relational Aggression And Conflict Resolution Skills In Overtly Aggressive Non-Caucasian Females, Jessica R Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the researcher sought to examine the differences in relational and social aggression for a non-Caucasian adolescent at-risk population across three different groups. Specifically, the study seeks to determine if the Goodwill Girls Curriculum will decrease covert bullying behaviors (i.e., relational and social aggression) in youth who have been removed from their home school districts due to aggressive behaviors including acts of bullying. A secondary aim of this study will be identify the effects of the Goodwill Girls Curriculum on increasing conflict resolution skills within the sample.

The Goodwill Girls curriculum is designed to be implemented alongside a …

Grace In Intimate Interpersonal Communication: C.S. Lewis On Its Presence And Practice, Celeste Seymour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project builds a theory of the presence and practice of grace in intimate interpersonal communication utilizing the writings of C.S. Lewis and his intellectual mentors. Lewis, who wrote extensively on the theory and practice of love, offers a compelling approach to understanding human relationships from a Christian philosophical perspective.

The first chapter begins with major questions and themes in the interpersonal literature concerning human discourse, relation, and action. Lewis frames human relationships in a robustly theoretical and practical manner, characterizing the conditions of our discursive relational selves as difficult yet joyful. He argues that the work of intimate interpersonal …

Biomass Energy Production In Louisiana: A Gis Study On The Supply Chain, Anil Raj Kizhakkepurakkal

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

One major drawback of biomass fuel is its bulky nature and the resulting high cost of transporting the fuel to the facility where the energy is being produced. Hence, supply chain of biomass residues plays a crucial role in determining the financial viability of bioenergy production. Transporting biomass for energy purposes more than 50 miles (80 km) is not considered economically feasible in most conditions. In the wood energy scenario, the maximum distance is more often restricted to distances of less than 200 km between production and consumption (via road). A study was done to determine logging residues and agricultural …

Human Trafficking And Health Care Professionals: Assessment Of Medical And Nursing Education Programs' Curricula On Recognizing And Helping Victims Of Human Trafficking, Nurlanbek Sharshenkulov

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted with the focus on medical and nursing education programs in the U.S. in order to learn if they include training for their students on dealing with victims of human trafficking. In order to address this goal, the survey among professors and instructors of 650 randomly selected medical and nursing education programs was conducted, where they were asked if their programs' curricula include training on recognizing victims of trafficking, as well as providing them with health care services and assistance to escape from their traffickers. The analysis of 116 received responses revealed that the majority of medical …

Graduate Recital, Violin, Caitlin Shroyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sonata in C Major for Violin

J.S. Bach

Bach began composing his six sonatas and partitas for solo violin while in Weimar, but completed the set during his time as Kapellmeister in Köthen. Although completed in 1720, during a time in which the solo violin repertoire was actively growing, these works were not published until 1802 and did not gain recognition until Josef Joachim began performing them. Today the six sonatas and partitas are an essential part of the violin repertoire and have served as an example for later polyphonic compositions for solo violin. The Sonata in C Major is …

Examining The Relationship Between The Exchange Rate, Foreign Direct Investment And Trade, Shanta Parajuli

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Extensive research has been carried out on the relationships among foreign direct investment (FDI), exports, the exchange rate, and economic growth. However, these research findings are mixed and inconclusive. Therefore, further research and discussion are needed on this topic. This study focused on Mexico, since it is one of the major FDI recipient countries in Latin America and much of its trade is a result of its free trade agreements. This study examines the relationship between FDI, exports, and economic growth in the context of FDI from developed to developing countries (Mexico). The second chapter analyzes the relationship of FDI …

Graduate Recital, Violin, Anton Smirnov

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The program consisted of musically and technically challenging pieces. Ballade, Sonata No. 3 Op. 27 By Eugene Ysaye is a very demanding and intense work where the tension is growing throughout the piece into a furious culmination. Sonata in A major for piano and violin by Cesar Franck is a romantic melancholic work that was composed as a wedding gift for Eugene Ysaye's wedding. It prompts feelings of tenderness and nostalgia in 1st and 4th movement. The energetic and vigorous fantasia-like 3d movement follows the energetic and vigorous 2d movement. Strauss sonata for violin and piano is a very challenging …

Graduate Recital, Trumpet, Stephen Slivka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My concept for this recital was to pay tribute to the trumpet lineage of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. I owe a great deal to Blakey, as some of the trumpeters in this group are my biggest influences. Lee Morgan made such an impact on Bobby Timmons' "Moanin" that future Messengers horn players would quote the beginning and ending of Lee's solo. This tune became synonymous with the Jazz Messengers. Horace Silver's composition "Nica's Dream" was recorded on an album featuring trumpeter Donald Byrd. The beautiful Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach ballad "Yesterdays" was a personal favorite of Kenny …

Queer Utopian Geographies And Cold War Poetry, Brigitte Natalie Mccray

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Queer Utopian Geographies and Cold War Poetry intervenes in the general narrative about Cold War culture, made even more famous by such recent popular shows like Mad Men and Pan Am, that describes the era as a repressed society in desperate need of liberation. While indeed Cold War America was a time of paranoia and loyalty oaths, even before the Stonewall Riots of 1969 gay men and lesbians found subtle ways to resist popular media and government discourse that perpetuated the myth that the homosexual was the anti-citizen. A number of gay men and lesbians traveled extensively to escape this …

Perceptions Of School Climate And Connectedness:The Impact Of A Cross Age Peer Mentoring Program, Kathleen Staude-Sites

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this research is to determine the impact of a peer mentoring/tutoring program on parent perceptions of school climate and connectedness and standardized test scores, report card grades and attendance of at risk elementary students. Peer mentoring has been found to be effective in addressing some of the concerns regarding at risk student performance in the school environment and eventual school outcomes. This study uses quantitative methods to determine the effect of this intervention on this population. A school climate/connectedness survey completed by parents of the students participants in a Cross Age Peer Mentoring Program (CAPM Program) and …

Beta-Diketone And Beta-Ketoenamine Based Molecular Squares, Jackson Kiplagat Cherutoi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract This dissertation focuses on synthesis of β-diketone and β-ketoenamine ligands for molecular polygons. Previous work with the bis(β-diketone) m-pbaH2 showed that it can be converted to a copper molecular square, Cu4(m-pba)4, but its use in host-guest reactions was limited by its low solubility in most organic solvents. Accordingly, in the present work, the m-pbhxH2 ligand, with pentyl chains replacing the methyl groups in the β-diketone moieties of m-pbaH2, was successfully prepared beginning with 6-dodecyne. This ligand reacts with Cu2+ to make the molecular square Cu4(m-pbhx)4, which is soluble in a wider range of solvents. Host-guest reactions of Cu4(m-pbhx)4 with …

Interpreting Material Cooperation As A Function Of Moral Development To Guide Ministry Formation, Steven Squires

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While not exactly back room political bargaining, the traditional use of cooperation has been by moral theologians attempting to define the level of cooperation for a particular situation. This chosen definition, in turn, may help focus the range of appropriate actions in response to the situation's circumstances. In this customary usage, an organization's associates (employees) may assist the implementation of relevant responses to a cooperation analysis, whether the issue is clinical or organizational in nature. They have not been integral to the decision-making process - until now. Cooperation has been the proverbial candle under the bushel (Matthew 5:15). This paper …

Nurse Educators' Perceptions About The Culture Of Nursing And Their Role In Bringing Students Into That Culture: A Focused Ethnography, Susan Maria Strouse

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to discover nurse educators' perceptions about the culture of nursing and how they bring students into that culture.

Background: Although the extant literature addresses the process of socialization to the profession, literature exploring socialization as enculturation is scant. Nurse educators' perspectives on the culture of nursing needed further exploration, as their voice on this topic is relatively silent and they provide the first formal enculturation to the profession. Viewing nursing as a professional culture may more effectively enable faculty to clarify and explicate for students the values, behaviors, symbols, and beliefs inherent in …

John Henry Newman And Georges Florovsky: An Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue On The Development Of Doctrine, Daniel Lattier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the idea of doctrinal development in the writings of John Henry Newman and Georges Florovsky, who are both representative thinkers in their respective Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. Newman's theory of doctrinal development proposes that divine revelation has been given once and for all, but that the Church is still growing in its understanding of this revelation. This growth sometimes results in new doctrinal definitions, which require confirmation of their truth by an infallible authority. The essence of Newman's theory has been received as compatible with Roman Catholic theology, and constitutes a hermeneutical lens through which …

Challenging The Nation: English Women's Novels, 1915-1927, Jennifer L. Lauren

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In World War I and the decade following, England faced the unraveling of the Empire and waning global supremacy. A proliferation of nationalist rhetoric marks this period, much of it centered on ideas of England's racial superiority and women's role in maintaining it. The white, middle-class, English woman's body emblematized Mother England and was the also site of intense anxiety about sexuality and national stability and supremacy. Woolf, Warner, and West penned their novels in the face of this rhetoric, recognizing the possibilities this era was affording women socially, politically, and culturally. The Voyage Out (1915), The Return of the …

On New Rhetoric, John Henry Newman And The Language Of Metaphors: Implications For Branding Higher Education, Jennifer Lynn Lawler-Brunner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project interprets how John Henry Newman's (1801-1890) system of thought informs the philosophical and theoretical grounds for rhetorical praxis in the marketplace. His seminal lessons in "An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent"(1870) and "The Idea of a University" (1873 ed.) demonstrate the metaphoric power of words with regard for diverse modes of epistemology. Newman's scholarship on the unifying role of imagery grounds his theory of language on three claims: a holistic engagement of knowledge, communicable notions, and formative praxis. These essential principles correspond with fostering identity and promoting a public good. Specifically, Newman's philosophical perspective and …

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 …

Executive Function Variance In A School-Based Behavioral Screener, Ryan Lenz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The implementation of school-wide behavior supports is considered typical educational practice. A main component of school-wide behavior support is the systematic screening for behavioral and emotional problems. Students' ability to utilize executive functions greatly affects both academic and social success and it is associated with behavior and emotional problems (Lehto, Juujarvi, Kooistra, & Pulkkinen, 2003). This study uses a sample of fourth grade students to analyze the relationship between executive function skills and a screening measure of behavior. This study will examine if deficits in executive function may account for variance in the first level of behavior support screening systems. …

The Ethical Significance Of The Virtuous Organization Inspired By Catholic Mission For The Delivery Of Health Care, Theadora Krause

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Virtuous organizations are those displaying behaviors and works consistent with social norms, organizational core values, and mission. Through relationships and behaviors, organizations formulate character for which they are known. This dissertation has proposed three secular components essential to the character of a virtuous organization: agency, social responsibility and ethical environment. When Catholic mission is the impetus to organizational purpose, the secular components of the virtuous organization are deepened from that faith perspective's mission related religious teachings. A discussion of the secular and religious discourse pairs agency with sanctity of human person, social responsibility with common good, and ethical environment with …

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.

Student Peer-Group Focusing In Psychology Training: A Phenomemological Study, Amanda Burleigh Lowe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study is an empirical phenomenological investigation of the influence of peer group Focusing practice (Gendlin, 1981) on doctoral psychology students' senses of their developing clinical expertise. Focusing, a therapeutic bodily awareness and symbolization practice, was proposed as a method that would support the development of student self-reflection, self-assessment, and self-care. The present study investigates the experiences of three female doctoral students who participated in a peer-initiated and peer-run Focusing group for five semesters. The methodological procedures for a reflective empirical phenomenological study as articulated by Giorgi and Giorgi (2003), Robbins (2006), and Wertz (1984) were followed. Procedures adapted …