Digital Commons Network^™

Buyers In The Baby Market: Toward A Transparent Consumerism, Jody L. Madeira, June Carbone

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This Article assesses the forces on the horizon remaking the fertility industry, including greater consolidation in the health care industry, the prospects for expanding (or contracting) insurance coverage, the likely sources of funding for future innovation in the industry, and the impact of globalization and fertility tourism. It concludes that concentration in the American market, in contrast with other medical services, may not necessarily raise prices, and price differentiation may proceed more from fertility tourism than from competition within a single geographic region. The largest challenge may be linking those who would fund innovation, whether innovation that produces new high …

Caregiver Choice In Autism Intervention: Selections And Influential Factors, Hilary Lynn Adams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Although research on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) continues to increase, there is not yet a “cure” for the disorder. There is a lack of consensus regarding most effective treatments, much less an accepted treatment plan or course. Families may feel alone and lost in the treatment decision process. In order to best assist caregivers, psychologists must understand the selections caregivers make, their sources of information, and what influences them in their decision-making process. With this knowledge, clinicians may best effect change in caregiver choice by encouraging informed decision-making and use of empirically-based interventions. Thus, the purpose of the current study …

Developments In The Law Affecting Electronic Payments And Financial Services, Sarah Jane Hughes, Stephen T. Middlebrook

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Same-Actor Inference Of Nondiscrimination: Moral Credentialing And The Psychological And Legal Licensing Of Bias, Victor D. Quintanilla, Cheryl R. Kaiser

Articles by Maurer Faculty

One of the most egregious examples of the tension between federal employment discrimination law and psychological science is the federal common law doctrine known as the same-actor inference.

When originally elaborated by the Fourth Circuit in Proud v. Stone, the same-actor doctrine applied only when an “employee was hired and fired by the same person within a relatively short time span.” In the two decades since, the doctrine has widened and broadened in scope. It now subsumes many employment contexts well beyond hiring and firing, to scenarios in which the “same person” entails different groups of decision makers, and the …

An Investigation Of Environmentally Persistent Free Radical (Epfr) Formation In Contaminated Soils Using Surrogate-Based Model Systems, Ugwumsinachi Godwin Nwosu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) have recently attracted attention due to their properties that detrimental to the health of living organisms. Earlier studies devoted to the formation of combustion generated particulate matter (PM) showed that EPFRs formed as a result of the association of aromatic chlorinated hydrocarbons with transition metal centers. Based on our previous studies, the amounts of EPFRs formed at Superfund soil sites contaminated with pentachlorophenol (PCP) are ~30 times higher compared to those formed at the neighboring uncontaminated soil sites, showing that EPFR formation is not confined to combustion generated particle. In order to design viable remediation …

Beyond Dirks: Gratuitous Tipping And Insider Trading, Donna M. Nagy

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Did an investment banker who gratuitously shared material nonpublic information with his brother, with no expectation of receiving anything in return, commit securities fraud? And is the investment banker's brother-in-law jointly liable for trading securities on the basis of what he knew to be gratuitous tips? The Supreme Court is poised to answer those questions in Salman v. United States, after steering clear of insider trading law for nearly two decades. It has been even longer still since the Court last addressed securities fraud liability relating to stock trading tips-it articulated a "personal benefit" test for joint tipper-tippee liability in …

Websites Vs. Apps: A Comparison Of Consumer Acceptance Of Apparel Mass-Customization Across Channels, Yuli Liang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

After 20 years of industrial practice, consumers now can shop for mass-customized apparel in various channels including websites and smart device applications (apps). Online apparel mass-customization (OAMC), which provides platforms and convenience for customers to communicate with retailers effectively, provides retailers with a growing opportunity in today’s evolving omni-channel environment. Meanwhile, product value and experiential value delivered to consumers will help increase customer satisfaction and lower the return rate. However, little is known about consumers’ beliefs, attitudes, and purchase intentions of mass-customized apparels when using different channels. Two studies were intended to fill the research gap. Study 1 is an …

Evaluation Of Ammonia Volatilization And Zinc Nutrition Of Experimental Zinc Sulfate Coated Urea Fertilizers In A Drill-Seeded Delayed Flood Rice Production System, Nutifafa Adotey

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Approaches in controlling nitrogen (N) loss from preflood fertilizer applications in delayed flood rice (Oryza stiva) production in the mid-southern U.S.A. typically involves treating urea with urease inhibitors like N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT). Limited research exists on managing N utilizing the combined effects of treating urea with a urease inhibitor and subsequently adding a physical zinc (Zn) sulfate coating. Zinc deficiency is also a major soil fertility constraint in flooded rice production. The objectives of this study were to: (i) determine the ammonia volatilization potential of experimental zinc sulfate coated urea (ZSCU) fertilizers on four rice soils in a controlled …

Immune Gene Variation And Susceptibility To Upper Respiratory Tract Disease In Gopher Tortoises, Jean Pierre Elbers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The immune system defends the host from bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. The immune system is partially under genetic control through immune response genes, such as those of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) whose nucleotide variation influences the host’s ability to recognize foreign pathogens and can influence disease susceptibility. Populations of threatened species generally possess low levels of genetic variation, and genetically depauperate hosts may be at greater risk of infectious disease contributing to extirpations because they also possess low immunogenetic variation. My dissertation examines the relationship between immunogenetic variation and disease susceptibility and the factors that influence innate immune …

Advanced Monte Carlo Methods For The Study Of Nucleation, Troy David Loeffler

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The process of nucleation is an essential part of understanding and controlling phase changes in a wide array of systems. In the past theories such as Classical Nucleation Theory have been used as a tool to aid experimentalist in the study of phase mechanisms. However, recent studies have shown in detail that theories such as this are not reliable, given that it can mispredict nucleation rates by several orders of magnitude. As a result newer methodologies must be developed into order to improve upon these deficiencies. In this study we use atomistic simulations to examine the non-ideal deviations from classical …

The Bread She Earns With Her Own Hands: An Examination Of Lincoln's Political Economy, Rodolfo K. Hernandez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on how Abraham Lincoln’s idea of “liberty to all” affected his political thought about the intersection of government and the economy. It is a search for Lincoln’s political economy. While contemporary economists focus on a single aspect of the person such as self-interest, Lincoln following thinkers such as Francis Wayland viewed economics as a moral science. I do this by examining the speeches and deeds of Abraham Lincoln. I explore topics such as what he meant by “liberty to all”, his valuing of a commercial society over an agrarian one, and his understanding of the importance of …

The Influence Of Guilt Cognitions On Taxpayers’ Voluntary Disclosures, Jonathan Farrar, Cass Hausserman, Paul Dunn

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Guilt is a powerful emotion that is known to influence ethical decision-making. Nevertheless, the role of guilt cognitions in influencing restorative behaviour following an unethical action is not well understood. Guilt cognitions are interrelated beliefs about an individual’s role in a negative event. We experimentally investigate the joint impact of three guilt cognitions – responsibility for a decision, justification for a decision, and foreseeability of consequences – on a taxpayer’s decision to make a tax amnesty disclosure. Tax amnesties encourage delinquent taxpayers to self-correct to avoid severe penalties that would result if their tax evasion were discovered. Our findings suggest …

Ceramic Technology, Production, And Exchange As Seen Through Macroscopic Analysis Of Pottery Fragments From The Early Horizon Center Caylán, Nepeña Valley, Peru, Michelle Nicole Miller

LSU Master's Theses

In this thesis, I examine the production, use, and decoration of ceramic vessels at the Early Horizon center of Caylán (800-1 B. C. E.) on the Peruvian North Central-Coast. Pottery sherds are artifacts ubiquitously recovered at archaeological sites, especially in sedentary agrarian societies. Most studies of ceramics in Peru have focused on typological sequences. Recently investigators in the Nepeña Valley have focused on ceramic pastes and technologies. The materials examined in this thesis were excavated from Caylán. Caylán is an incipient urban center, which developed during the Early Horizon (900-200 B. C. E.). Caylán’s dense urban core consists in 43 …

La Philosophie Poétique D'Édouard Glissant, Un Monisme Vitaliste, David Llorca

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Édouard Glissant (1928-2011) is a world famous poet and novelist from French Island Martinique who, following the footsteps of Aimé Césaire, tried to heal the traumatic disruption and resolve the identity crisis of Creole people after the abominations of slavery and colonization by poetic sublimation and engaged thoughts. How is Glissant a philosopher? How does he articu-late poetry and philosophy together? What does he understand by “Relation”, why is it central in his thought and how does the articulation of all his concepts around it make a philosophical en-semble? How original and cohesive is this ensemble? Also, as we know …

The Mechanisms Of Auditory Distraction: The Roles Of Interference-By-Process And Attention Capture, Danielle A. Lutfi-Proctor

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

It is generally believed that there are two main mechanisms of auditory distraction: attention capture and interference-by-process. Attention capture is said to occur when sounds drag your attention away from what you are attempting to focus on and harm performance as a consequence. Interference-by-process, meanwhile, states that the processing of the sounds can conflict with the processing needed to complete the task of interest. Whether or not the two mechanisms can jointly lead to distraction is unclear at this time. The following dissertation examined the roles of both distraction mechanisms in a cross-modal variant of the Stroop task, in which …

Spectral Properties Of Photonic Crystals: Bloch Waves And Band Gaps, Robert Paul Viator Jr

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The author of this dissertation studies the spectral properties of high-contrast photonic crystals, i.e. periodic electromagnetic waveguides made of two materials (a connected phase and included phase) whose electromagnetic material properties are in large contrast. A spectral analysis of 2nd-order divergence-form partial differential operators (with a coupling constant k) is provided. A result of this analysis is a uniformly convergent power series representation of Bloch-wave eigenvalues in terms of the coupling constant k in the high-contrast limit k -> infinity. An explicit radius of convergence for this power series is obtained, and can be written explicitly in terms of the …

Walter Lippmann's Search For A Sustainable Liberalism, Eric Schmidt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Walter Lippmann’s intellectual journey represents the journey of American liberalism in the 20th century: an attempted return from infatuation with the progressive ideals of inevitable historical development and scientific progress to the stability of human rights and freedom. America’s path to defining its brand of liberalism finds expression in the philosophical works of Lippmann, who was at the center of this struggle. Lippmann was a defender of the liberal democratic state whose value as a thinker derives from his attempt to understand the problem of political freedom (are people competent to self-rule in a mass democracy?) throughout this critical time …

Ben Moore's "Dear Theo," For Tenor Voice And Piano: A Performer's Guide, Gregory Michael Gallagher

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

American composer Ben Moore (b. 1960) is a well-regarded painter, pianist, and composer whose compositions have been sung by leading singers of the Metropolitan Opera. This document serves as a performer’s guide to Moore’s song cycle Dear Theo. The song cycle utilizes Moore’s own text adaptations of letters written by Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo. Chapter 1 presents a biographical sketch of Vincent van Gogh and his path to becoming a painter. Chapter 2 provides a brief life history of Ben Moore based on personal interview. Chapter 3 details the process of creating the song cycle Dear Theo. …

Recoverable Resources Calculation Using Non-Linear Methods: A Comparative Study, Matthew Cobb

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The prediction of recoverable resources at an operating manganese mine is currently undertaken using univariate ordinary kriging of the target variable manganese, and 5 deleterious variables. Input data densities at the time of this calculation are considerably lower than at the time of final selection (grade control), and the potential for unnacceptable conditional bias to be introduced through the use of linear geostatistical methods when determining grade estimates over a small support has led to assessment of the potential benefit of employing the local change of support methods Localised Uniform Conditioning (LUC) and Conditional Simulation (CS). Allowances for the operating …

Skill Mastery And The Formation Of Graduate Identity In Bachelor Graduates: Evidence From Australia, Denise Jackson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Mastery of certain generic skills and the successful formation of pre-professional identity are widely considered to influence graduate work-readiness and job attainment. Given their links with enhanced productivity, performance and innovation, skill development and graduate identity appear critical amidst ongoing global stagnation in advanced economies. This paper focuses on the success of higher education in developing generic skills and graduate identity using national data (n = 80,891) for 51 providers. It investigates the influence of certain demographics, study and degree characteristics on these important areas of undergraduate curricula. Furthermore, it gauges recent graduate perceptions on the importance of skill development …

A Preliminary Investigation Into Worry About Mental Health: Development Of The Mental Health Anxiety Inventory, Della Commons, Kenneth M. Greenwood, Rebecca A. Anderson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background:

Worry about physical health is broadly referred to as health anxiety and can range from mild concern to severe or persistent anxiety such as that found in DSM-IV hypochondriasis. While much is known about anxiety regarding physical health, little is known about anxiety regarding mental health. However, recent conceptualizations of health anxiety propose that individuals can experience severe and problematic worry about mental health in similar ways to how people experience extreme worry about physical health.

Aims:

Given the paucity of research in this area, the aim of the current study was to explore anxiety regarding mental health through …

Controlled Access To Cloud Resources For Mitigating Economic Denial Of Sustainability (Edos) Attacks, Zubair A. Baig, Sadiq M. Sait, Farid Binbeshr

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Cloud computing is a paradigm that provides scalable IT resources as a service over the Internet. Vulnerabilities in the cloud infrastructure have been readily exploited by the adversary class. Therefore, providing the desired level of assurance to all stakeholders through safeguarding data (sensitive or otherwise) which is stored in the cloud, is of utmost importance. In addition, protecting the cloud from adversarial attacks of diverse types and intents, cannot be understated. Economic Denial of Sustainability (EDoS) attack is considered as one of the concerns that has stalled many organizations from migrating their operations and/or data to the cloud. This is …

Sea Surface Temperature Variability In The Central-Western Mediterranean Sea During The Last 2700 Years: A Multi-Proxy And Multi-Record Approach, Merce Cisneros, Isabel Cacho, Jaime Frigola, Miquel Canals, Pere Masque, Belen Martrat, Marta Casado, Joan Grimalt, Leopoldo Pena, Giulia Margaritelli, Fabrizio Lirer

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study presents the reconstructed evolution of sea surface conditions in the central-western Mediterranean Sea during the late Holocene (2700 years) from a set of multi-proxy records as measured on five short sediment cores from two sites north of Minorca (cores MINMC06 and HER-MC-MR3). Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) from alkenones and Globigerina bulloides Mg / Ca ratios are combined with δ¹⁸O measurements in order to reconstruct changes in the regional evaporation–precipitation (E–P) balance. We also revisit the G. bulloides Mg / Ca–SST calibration and re-adjusted it based on a set of core-top measurements from the western Mediterranean Sea. …

Individual And Population-Level Responses To Ocean Acidification, Ben P. Harvey, Niall J. Mckeown, Samuel P. Rastrick, Camilla Bertolini, Andy Foggo, Helen Graham, Jason M. Hall-Spencer, Marco Milazzo, Paul W. Shaw, Daniel P. Small, Philippa J. Moore

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Ocean acidification is predicted to have detrimental effects on many marine organisms and ecological processes. Despite growing evidence for direct impacts on specific species, few studies have simultaneously considered the effects of ocean acidification on individuals (e.g. consequences for energy budgets and resource partitioning) and population level demographic processes. Here we show that ocean acidification increases energetic demands on gastropods resulting in altered energy allocation, i.e. reduced shell size but increased body mass. When scaled up to the population level, long-term exposure to ocean acidification altered population demography, with evidence of a reduction in the proportion of females in the …

Examining The Potential Clinical Value Of Curcumin In The Prevention And Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's Disease, K. G. Goozee, T. M. Shah, Hamid R. Sohrabi, Stephanie Rainey-Smith, B. Brown, Guiseppe Verdile, Ralph Martins

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Curcumin derived from turmeric is well documented for its anti-carcinogenic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Recent studies show that curcumin also possesses neuroprotective and cognitive-enhancing properties that may help delay or prevent neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Currently, clinical diagnosis of AD is onerous, and it is primarily based on the exclusion of other causes of dementia. In addition, phase III clinical trials of potential treatments have mostly failed, leaving disease-modifying interventions elusive. AD can be characterised neuropathologically by the deposition of extracellular β amyloid (Aβ) plaques and intracellular accumulation of tau-containing neurofibrillary tangles. Disruptions in Aβ metabolism/clearance contribute to …

Preparation Of Biomass Derived Porous Carbon: Application For Methane Energy Storage, Yong Sun, Guangzhi Sun

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The porous carbon with high specific surface area of 3001 m2/g and pore volume of 1.59 cm3/g using corncob was prepared for methane storage. The low and high pressure adsorption equilibria were tested using the prepared carbon. The capacity of methane storage is evaluated using Tóth model with correction of fugacity using Benedict-Webb-Rubin equation of state in high pressure range. The theoretical maximum adsorption amount is achieved to be approximately 3.3 mmol/g. The adsorption process indicates physisorption dominates the adsorption with heterogeneous adsorption characteristic of sites on the surface of adsorbent at low pressure. The resultant carbon is ideal adsorbent …

Using Technology, Bioinformatics And Health Informatics Approaches To Improve Learning Experiences In Optometry Education, Research And Practice, Vivek K. Gupta, Veer B. Gupta

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Rapid advances in ocular diagnostic approaches and emerging links of pathological changes in the eye with systemic disorders have widened the scope of optometry as the front line of eye health care. Expanding professional requirements stipulate that optometry students get a meticulous training in relevant information and communication technologies (ICT) and various bioinformatics and health informatics software to meet current and future challenges. Greater incorporation of ICT approaches in optometry education can facilitate increased student engagement in shared learning experiences and improve collaborative learning. This, in turn, will enable students to participate in and prepare for the complex real-world situations. …

Applying Grounded Theory Methods To Digital Forensics Research, Ahmed Almarzooqi, Andrew Jones

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Deciding on a suitable research methodology is challenging for researchers. In this paper, grounded theory is presented as a systematic and comprehensive qualitative methodology in the emergent field of digital forensics research. This paper applies grounded theory in a digital forensics research project undertaken to study how organisations build and manage digital forensics capabilities. This paper gives a step-by-step guideline to explain the procedures and techniques of using grounded theory in digital forensics research. The paper gives a detailed explanation of how the three grounded theory coding methods (open, axial, and selective coding) can be used in digital forensics research. …

Food Quality Induces A Miscible Disease With Relevance To Alzheimer’S Disease And Neurological Diseases, Ian J. Martins

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Food and nutrition guidelines for the handling and processing of fresh fruit, bread, and vegetables are essential and fresh produce may require cold preservation procedures to prevent minimal bacterial and fungi contamination of food. Bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) corrupt lipoprotein and amyloid beta (Aβ) metabolism in diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and various neurological diseases. In the developing world the increased plasma LPS levels induce non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases and interfere with albumin and Aβ interactions with spontaneous Aβ oligomer formation in the cerebrospinal fluid and brain that leads to neuronapoptosis by inactivation of Starling’s equation that is responsible for the maintenance …

Old Testament Survey, Steelman Library, Gerry White Dr.

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.