Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Detrital Subsidy On Arthropod Communities In Louisiana Rice Fields And Predation On Rice Water Weevil (Lissorhoptrus Oryzophilus), Nathan Mercer

LSU Master's Theses

The rice water weevil (RWW), Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus (Kuschel), is the most important insect pest of rice in the United States. Integrated pest management strategies for RWW in Louisiana consist of cultural controls, resistant cultivars and chemical insecticides. The fourth component of IPM, biological control, is largely absent from the literature for RWW, making exploration of biological control a logical next step in developing a full set of IPM strategies. The three main types of biological control are augmentation, classical and conservation. With little known about RWW predators, conservation biological control makes the most sense as local natural enemy abundance is …

British Masculinity And Propaganda During The First World War, Evan M. Caris

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this research is to address how the issue of masculinity functioned in British propaganda during the First World War, and how it affected individuals. Propaganda relied on prewar conceptions of masculinity to appeal to audiences for reasons such as enlistment or continued support for the war. Propaganda often amplified these conceptions of prewar masculinity, and men would internalize propaganda’s message. The British state, however, did not create propaganda uniformly, and there existed major differences between the goals of propaganda posters and propaganda films. It will be demonstrated that posters and film addressed separate issues despite reaching similar …

Using Taxes To Improve Cap And Trade, Part I: Distribution, David Gamage, Darien Shanske

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this article, the first of a series, we analyze the distributional issues involved in implementing U.S. state level cap-and-trade regimes. Specifically, we will argue that the structure of California’s AB 32 regime will unnecessarily disadvantage lower-income Californians under the announced plan to give away approximately half of the permits to businesses and pollution-emitting entities.

Seismic Velocity Characteristics Of Partially Saturated Unconsolidated Sediments, Jie Shen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Seismic velocity models of the near-surface (< 30 m) better explain seismic velocities when all elements of total effective stress are considered, particularly in materials with large cohesive and soil suction stress such as clays. Traditional constitutive elastic models assume interparticle and soil suction stresses are negligible. This study proposes a new methodology which corrects total effective stress in Hertz-Mindlin theory for interparticle and soil suction and calculates the elastic moduli by extending Biot-Gassmann theory to include pressure effects induced by water saturation changes and cohesion. The proposed model predicts seismic velocities that correlate well with measured field velocities from the literature. Soil density, porosity, elastic moduli and the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) are important properties for soil characterization. Currently, geotechnical and laboratory tests for soil properties are costly and limited to point sampling sites. Seismic surveys can potentially provide laterally continuous soil property values that may complement geotechnical borehole tests with low cost. We propose a new method to invert for soil properties and the SWCC from seismic P- and S-wave velocity-vs.-depth profiles interpreted from shallow (< 25 m depth) unconsolidated sediments under conditions of near-full saturation (> 99%). The results from seismic soil property inversion are validated by comparison to geotechnical and laboratory results conducted independently in the same area as the seismic survey. Knowledge of homogeneous and heterogeneous fluid-distribution patterns is important for the estimation of oil reserves, reservoir simulation, the interpretation of time-lapse seismic, and the selection of remediation techniques for groundwater contamination. Problems exist in determining in-situ fluid-distribution patterns in unconsolidated sediments because laboratory tests on core samples may not be representative of in-situ conditions. We propose a new method to determine in-situ fluid-distribution patterns by inverting …

Essays On The Effect Of Trade Facilitation On Bilateral Agricultural Trade, Trina Biswas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation offers three independent studies that each contributes to the literature on trade facilitation. The papers are built on the gravity model framework where the relationship between trade facilitation variables and the volume of agricultural exports across the border are examined. To deal with the issue of endogeneity, instrumental variable regression is used. The study also corrects for sample-selection bias present in the trade data. The first paper examines the role of e-governance on bilateral agricultural trade. The study finds that better quality of e-governance promotes agricultural exports. Specifically, according to the findings of the paper, the quality of …

Reupholstery: A Guide For Prop Masters, Kathryn Leigh Brittingham

LSU Master's Theses

Upholstery is something that is often looked upon as a daunting task. With a full guide to reinforcement for stage use, options in foundations, and charts to compute fabric yardages, this thesis will provide professional prop masters with a guide to heighten their standards of upholstery onstage. Featuring options and ideals for varying skill sets; it will assist prop masters with more information regarding the topic with options particular to the theatrical profession. In lieu of an expansive library of upholstery books that feature a variety of techniques, the information included in this document will serve as a supplemental guide …

Race, Federalism, And Voting Rights, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, Guy-Uriel Charles

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Feminism In Yellowface, Stewart Chang

Scholarly Works

This article analyzes the relationship between sexualized stereotypes of Asian women, specifically the Asian prostitute epitomized in the Suzie Wong stereotype, and the tendency of American immigration law, even in pro-women legislation such as the TVPA, to promote conservative norms regarding female sexuality and domesticity. Part I explains the significance of Asian prostitution in the history and evolution of United States immigration policy. In the nineteenth century, the Asian prostitute was constructed as the antithesis to normative American sexuality, as a foreign peril that threatened the integrity of the American domestic unity and therefore required rejection and exclusion. Part II …

Always Already Suspect: Revising Vulnerability Theory, Frank Rudy Cooper

Scholarly Works

Martha Fineman proposes a post-identity "vulnerability" approach that focuses on burdens we all share; this article argues that theory needs to incorporate recognition of how invisible privileges exacerbate some people's burdens. Vulnerability theory is based on a recognition that we are all born defenseless, become feeble, must fear natural disasters, and might be failed by social institutions. It thus argues for a strong state that takes affirmative steps to insure substantive equality of opportunity. While vulnerability theory might help explain and remedy situations like Hurricane Katrina, it also might be susceptible to an argument that racial profiling is a necessary …

A Market-Based Approach For Valuing Ecosystem Services On Coastal Properties, Michelle A. Savolainen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As part of ongoing efforts to assess ecosystem services provided by wetlands, this research focuses on estimating the private monetary value of wetland services to residential property owners in Louisiana and Alabama using a hedonic price model. Understanding that tradeoffs must be made with limited resources, valuing ecosystem services is important for policy and decision making purposes, such as determining how much public and private financial resources should be put towards wetland maintenance and restoration. Data on property transactions, wetland coverage, and built infrastructure were collected for the analysis. Based on theory and results from a Box-Cox model, the log-linear …

Distribution And Female Reproductive State Differences In Orexigenic And Anorexigenic Neurons In The Brain Of The Mouthbrooding African Cichlid Fish, Astatotilapia Burtoni, Danielle Tiffany Porter

LSU Master's Theses

The integration of reproduction and metabolism is necessary for the survival and continuation of a species. While the neural circuits controlling energy homeostasis have been well-characterized, the signals controlling the relay of nutritional information to the reproductive axis are not conclusively defined. The cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni is ideal for studying the neural regulation of feeding and reproduction because during their parental care phase, females undergo a two-week period of forced starvation while holding developing young in their buccal cavity. To test the hypothesis that candidate neuropeptides known to be involved in feeding and energy homeostasis in mammals show conserved …

The Relationship Between Supervision, Job Satisfaction, And Burnout Among Live-In And Live-On Housing And Residence Life Professionals, Tracy Latonya Reed

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The current study investigated the relationship between supervision, job satisfaction, and burnout among live-in and live-on Housing and Residence Life professionals. The literature review consists of empirical research for each construct presented (supervision, job satisfaction, and burnout). The study sample consisted of live-in and live-on Housing and Residence Life professionals employed at colleges and universities across the United States and abroad. Multiple regression and Multivariate analyses were used to answer specific research questions. Results confirmed that there was a statistically significant relationship between supervision, job satisfaction, and burnout. Findings are thoroughly reviewed and compared to previous research in the field. …

Food-Based Activities Versus Material Possessions: Alternatives To Consumption, Robin René Wikoff, Madeleine E. Pullman

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

We examine how food-related experiential activities offer different types of intrinsic pleasures, create an alternative path to consumerism, and subsequently affect happiness and well-being. Participant’s perspectives on these activities are compared to those of their favourite material possessions to explore the differences in meaning and motivations. Phenomenological interviews centred on food activities and material possessions revealed that experiential food-related hobbies are valued highly and a source of great life satisfaction because of meeting a variety of psychological needs. These activities offer an alternative conception of what it is to flourish and to enjoy a ‘high’ standard of living as they …

A Descriptive Study Of Teens’ Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy, Cherie S. Roger

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine if differences exist between 4-H members and non 4-H members in a south Louisiana parish on career decision making self-efficacy. This study may help youth recognize experiences that help them make career decisions. This was a cross-sectional study designed to describe 4-H and non-4-H members on career decision making self-efficacy. This study describes the information obtained from a one-time pencil/paper survey. All participants will remain anonymous. There was a statistically significant positive association between career decision making outcome expectancy/intentions and goals and years in 4-H as well as total club membership. As …

Connected Vehicle Technology: User And System Performance Characteristics, Osama Abdulmonaem Thabet Osman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The emerging connected vehicle (CV) technology plays a promising role in providing more operable and safer transportation environments. Yet, many questions remain unanswered as to how various user and system characteristics of CV-enabled networks can shape the successful implementation of the technology to maximize the return on investment. This research attempts to capture the effect of multiple factors such as traffic density, market penetration, and transmission range on the communication stability and overall network performance by developing a new CONnectivity ROBustness (CONROB) model. The model was tested with data collected from microscopic simulation of a 195 sq-mile traffic network and …

An Exploration Of How Closely Upper Elementary Magnet School Reading Teachers' Perceptions Of Evidence-Based Practices In Reading Compared To Actual Practices In Their Classrooms, Rhonda Ann Cross

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how closely upper elementary magnet school reading teachers’ perceptions of evidenced-based practices in reading compared to actual practices in their classrooms. Literacy instruction, beginning in the third grade, places more emphasis on comprehension and higher expectations on the students than in the early elementary grades. There has been little research conducted on how teacher beliefs about reading and their actual instructional practices affect reading scores on national tests. Perhaps in the understanding of teachers’ beliefs about evidenced-based practices and the actual instructional practices used in the classroom can help in the development …

The Influence Of The Lower Trapezius Muscle On Shoulder Impingement And Scapula Dyskinesis, Christian Louque Coulon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation contains three experiments all conducted in an outpatient physical therapy setting. Shoulder impingement is a common problem seen in overhead athletes and other individuals and associated changes in muscle activity, biomechanics, and movement patterns have been observed in this condition. Differentially diagnosing impingement and specifically addressing the underlying causes is a vital component of any rehabilitation program and can facilitate the individuals return to normal function and daily living. Current rehabilitation attempts to facilitate healing while promoting proper movement patterns through therapeutic exercise and understanding each shoulder muscles contribution is vitally important to treatment of individuals with shoulder …

Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study Of Single Dna Nucleotides Transport Through Nanoslits, Kai Xia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

There is potential for flight time based DNA sequencing involving disassembly into individual nucleotides which would pass through a nanochannel with 2 or more detectors. Molecular dynamics simulation of electrophoretic motion of single DNA nucleotides through 3 nm wide hydrophobic slits was performed. Electric field strength (E) varied from 0.0 to 0.6 V/nm. Slit walls were smooth or had a roughness similar to nucleotide size. Multiple nucleotide-wall adsorptions occurred. The electric field did not influence the nucleotide adsorption and desorption mechanism for E ¡Ü 0.1 V/nm, but influenced nucleotide orientation relative to the field direction. The nucleotide-wall interactions differed due …

Assessing The Use Of Concept Maps In The Science Classroom, Paige Russell

LSU Master's Theses

Graphic organizers have been used in the classroom since the late 1960’s. Several studies have been published on the effects of graphic organizers on cognitive learning and yet the traditional method of teaching in the science classroom still remains strongly focused on traditional lecture and note taking. This study shows that relative to traditional methods graphic organizers maintain equivalent learning gains, but increase excitement and engagement among the students. The purpose of this study was to assess traditional lecture vs. traditional lecture with the addition of concept maps to determine if concept maps affect learning gains in the high school …

A Comparative Assessment Of Ergonomic Risk Factors In University Personnel Using Rula And Reba Aiming To Study The Cause And Effect Relationship, Nabila Chowdhury

LSU Master's Theses

The aim of this research was to conduct an ergonomic assessment of working postures and the design of computer workstations of the employees in Louisiana State University. The purpose of the study was threefold- (1) to determine the major ergonomic issues in university employees while working on computer workstations, (2) to compare the two ergonomic assessment tools (RULA and REBA) to see how similarly or differently they assess the risks present in the same working condition and (3) to develop a model that correlates between working condition, work posture and computer workstation design with their effects on musculoskeletal system. This …

Driver Response And Safety Effect Of Three-Foot Bicycle Passing Laws, Nelida Andreina Herrera

LSU Master's Theses

The long and tragic history of vehicle-bicycle crashes in the United States has increasingly led to calls for legislative action to provide greater protections for bicyclists on the nation’s roadways. Among the most common of these actions are the three-foot passing laws. Recent history suggests that these laws may contribute to reducing the number of vehicular/bicycle-related collisions as well as their accompanying deaths and injuries, but few, if any, studies have shown how they substantively affect driver behavior. This thesis builds upon the results of recent research quantifying the effects of the three-foot passing laws by comparing key behavioral aspects …

Evaluating Technical Adequacy Features Of Sentence Verification Technique As A General Outcome Measure Of Content Knowledge, Ren&Eacutee E. Lastrapes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Once students have mastered the mechanics of reading, they are expected to learn new material by reading. This new material, however, becomes increasingly more complex as students enter upper elementary and especially middle and high school. If students fail to comprehend what they read, they risk failure in content courses such as science and social studies. Early assessment of risk and appropriate response to that risk is a goal of effective education. One problem with the risk reduction sequence is that there are limited formative assessments that have been validated as technically adequate for assessing content knowledge. The present study …

A Monte Carlo Approach To Studying The Hydrogen Storage Capabilities Of Potassium Magnesium Hydride (Kmgh3), Brandon L. Borill

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations and the weighted histogram analysis method (WHAM) were employed at selected temperatures and pressures in the study of the hydrogen storage capabilities of KMgH3. A specially tailored addition/removal algorithm was employed to add hydrogen directly at the lattice sites. Agreement between experimental results was obtained through GCMC simulations. WHAM type studies were employed to obtain probability distributions for the purpose of learning the probability of finding hydrogen atoms at specific temperatures and hydrogen pressures. The radial distribution function was employed to study the changes in the structure of KMgH3 for the selected model as …

First-Principles And Many-Body Methods: Implementations And Applications To Study Spintronic Materials, Ryky Nelson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMSs) and magnetoresistive materials are instrumental for the development of spintronic technology. Before we are able to engineer spintronic devices, it is necessary to understand the properties of materials from which spintronic devices are made, otherwise time and other resources will be wasted. In this thesis, we investigate some aspects of diluted magnetic semiconductors and a magnetoresistive material Ta2PdSe6 with first-principle and many-body methods. Particularly, we investigate the Mn valence in (Ga,Mn)N and derive low-energy models of (Ga,Mn)N by making use of a first-principles Wannier-function analysis. Additionally, we also study the disorder-driven localization in DMSs with the …

Money, Power, Respect: Philanthropic Giving Of African American Alumni Of Predominately White Institutions, Melvin Jonathan Jackson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As colleges and universities throughout the United States face economic downturns that translate into budget reductions, hiring freezes, and academic program dissolution, it is becoming increasingly more pertinent to secure valuable alumni donations to meet the financial and budgetary needs of these institutions. African American alumni of Predominately white Institutions (PWIs) have often been an overlooked resource for colleges and universities soliciting philanthropic donations. This study will explore the relationship between African American alumni and their Predominately white alma maters and how this relationship affects philanthropic giving to the institutions. In addition to exposing the stimulus for giving to their …

Expression And Characterization Of Mouse Notch1 Abruptex Egf Repeats In E. Coli, Amid Paudyal

LSU Master's Theses

Notch1 is a transmembrane protein involved in cell signaling, which is found to be linked to various genetic and neurodegenerative diseases. The extracellular domain of the Notch1 protein consists of 36 tandem epidermal growth factor-like (EGF) repeats, which are directly involved in ligand binding and are heavily glycosylated. EGF 24-29 repeats lie in the Abruptex region of the Notch1 protein, and regulate the ligand binding activity through structural changes. The role of glycosylation in ligand binding events and the overall structure of the Abruptex region are not known. Also, the role of calcium binding in Notch activation or inhibition is …

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Dynamics In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Puspa Lal Adhikari

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are introduced into the marine environment via oil seeps/spills, riverine discharges, continental runoff, coastal erosion, and atmospheric deposition. An estimated 2.1 x 1010g of PAHs entered into the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in 2010. It became evident following the oil spill that accurate quantification of ultimate fate of these potentially carcinogenic and/or mutagenic organic pollutants is extremely challenging. In general, very little is known about PAHs fate, distribution and accumulation in the open ocean ecosystems. This study determines the upper ocean vertical fluxes and sedimentary PAHs accumulation rates …

Chemical Structure And Dynamics In Laminar Flame Propagation, Mohsen Ayoobi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation is to investigate fundamental aspects of premixed flame structures as well as flame dynamics that arise due to conjugate heat transfer in narrow channels. Laminar premixed combustion simulations in narrow 2D channels show that conjugate heat transfer allows for combustion of mixtures at small scales that are not flammable at normal conditions. To investigate the impact of conjugate heat transfer, preheated 1D cases with premixed H2/Air fuel are simulated for a wide range of operating conditions based on inlet temperature and equivalence ratio. For post-processing, Chemical Explosive Mode Analysis (CEMA, an eigen-analysis technique) is used …

A Neuro-Genetic Hybrid Approach To Automatic Identification Of Plant Leaves, Oluleye Hezekiah Babatunde

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Plants are essential for the existence of most living things on this planet. Plants are used for providing food, shelter, and medicine. The ability to identify plants is very important for several applications, including conservation of endangered plant species, rehabilitation of lands after mining activities and differentiating crop plants from weeds.

In recent times, many researchers have made attempts to develop automated plant species recognition systems. However, the current computer-based plants recognition systems have limitations as some plants are naturally complex, thus it is difficult to extract and represent their features. Further, natural differences of features within the same plant …

Multiple Drivers Of Decline In The Global Status Of Freshwater Crayfish (Decapoda: Astacidea), Nadia I. Richman, Monika Bohm, Susan Adams, Fernando Alvarez, Elizabeth A. Bergey, John J.S. Bunn, Quinton Burnham, Jay Cordeiro, Jason Coughran, Keith A. Crandall, Kathryn L. Dawkins, Robert J. Distefano, Niall E. Doran, Lennart Edsman, Arnold G. Eversole, Leopold Fureder, James M. Furse, Francessa Gherardi, Premek Hamr, David M. Holdich, Pierre Horwitz, Kerrylyn Johnston, Clive M. Jones, Julia P.G. Jones, Robert L. Jones, Thomas G. Jones, Tadashi Kawai, Susan Lawler, Marilu Lopez-Mejia, Rebecca M. Miller, Carlos Pedraza-Lara, Julian D. Reynolds, Alastair M.M. Richardson, Mark B. Schiltz, Guenter A. Schuster, Peter J. Sibley, Catherine Souty-Grosset, Christopher A. Taylor, Roger F. Thoma, Jerry Walls, Todd S. Walsh, Ben Collen

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Rates of biodiversity loss are higher in freshwater ecosystems than in most terrestrial or marine ecosystems, making freshwater conservation a priority. However, prioritization methods are impeded by insufficient knowledge on the distribution and conservation status of freshwater taxa, particularly invertebrates. We evaluated the extinction risk of the world's 590 freshwater crayfish species using the IUCN Categories and Criteria and found 32% of all species are threatened with extinction. The level of extinction risk differed between families, with proportionally more threatened species in the Parastacidae and Astacidae than in the Cambaridae. Four described species were Extinct and 21% were assessed as …