Digital Commons Network^™

Nurses' Perceptions Of Diagnosis And Prognosis-Related Communication: An Integrative Review, Amy Rose Newman

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Disclosure of diagnostic and prognostic information has become the standard in the United States and increasingly around the world. Disclosure is generally identified as the responsibility of the physician. However, nurses are active participants in the process both intentionally and inadvertently. If not included in initial discussions regarding diagnosis and prognosis, the nurse may find it challenging to openly support the patient and family.

Objective: The aim of this study is to synthesize published literature regarding nurses’ perceptions and experiences with diagnosis and prognosis-related communication.

Methods: The Whittemore and Knafl method guided the integrative review process. …

Polytopes Of Large Rank For Psl(4,Q), Peter A. Brooksbank, Dimitri Leemans

Faculty Journal Articles

This paper examines abstract regular polytopes whose automorphism group is the projective special linear group PSL(4,q). For q odd we show that polytopes of rank 4 exist by explicitly constructing PSL(4,q) as a string C-group of that rank. On the other hand, we show that no abstract regular polytope exists whose group of automorphisms is PSL(4,2^k).

Editors' Conclusion: Disasters In History And The History Of Disasters Some Key Issues, Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr, Michael D. Pante, Angelli F. Tugado

History Department Faculty Publications

This concluding article identifies some of the salient themes that run across the articles in this special double issue on “Disasters in History.” The common themes include (a) disasters as catalysts of different types of change in society, the state, and science; (b) the relationship between disasters and social inequality; (c) the attribution to nature of the ability as an actor in history, which raises questions about how to conceptualize nature’s agency; (d) disasters as constituting a specific type of modern discourse; and (e) the limitations to the geographical frame of the national discourse on disasters.

Giving Over Taking/Receiving In Volunteer Tourism The Impact Of Motivation, Attitude, And Subjective Norm On Stage Of Readiness And Its Implication On Social Marketing, Usep Suhud, Greg Willson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of motivation, attitude, and subjective norm on stage of readiness to be involved in volunteer tourism and its implication on social marketing. Volunteer tourism is a tourism product that combines volunteerism and tourism activities in a destination and commonly offered by an international volunteer organisation. In this study the author examine the influence of motivation, subjective norm, and attitude towards volunteer tourism concept on stage of readiness to be involved in volunteer tourism. Motivation is treated as two different variables - taking/receiving and giving motivations. Taking/receiving represents self-interest whereas …

Measuring The Value Of Cultural Activity In Regional Western Australia, Helen Rusak

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This research represents the collaboration between Country Arts Western Australia (CAWA) and Edith Cowan University (ECU) to measure the intrinsic value of presenting cultural programs that have benefitted from the Royalties for Regions investment in regional WA. This investigation is informed by value-based methodologies. It has thus far involved developing data gathering instruments to measure the intrinsic value of cultural activities supported by CAWA in 2016 and test them in four of the nine regions of WA. It involves capturing public values data on the contribution of the arts in regional WA. In doing so it seeks to articulate the …

Journalism Capstone Units Based On Agreed Principles And Standards, Trevor A. Cullen

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The concept of capstone units is gaining currency within the Australian Higher Education system, with a growing focus on enhancing graduate employability and assuring graduate outcomes. The aim of this paper is to report on an 18-month study of undergraduate journalism capstone units in Australian universities. Just over half of the universities in Australia that teach journalism (16 out of 30), embed capstone units in their programmes, and the study, which began in September 2015, is part of part of an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellowship. It is divided into three stages. The first stage involved face-to-face interviews with journalism …

A Multi-Point 2d Interface: Audio-Rate Signals For Controlling Complex Multi-Parametric Sound Synthesis, Stuart James

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper documents a method of controlling complex sound synthesis processes such as granular synthesis, additive synthesis, timbre morphology, swarm-based spatialisation, spectral spatialisation, and timbre spatialisation via a multi-parametric 2D interface. This paper evaluates the use of audio-rate control signals for sound synthesis, and discussing approaches to de-interleaving, synchronization, and mapping. The paper also outlines a number of ways of extending the expressivity of such a control interface by coupling this with another 2D multi-parametric nodes interface and audio-rate 2D table lookup. The paper proceeds to review methods of navigating multi-parameter sets via interpolation and transformation. Some case studies are …

Food Intake And Caffeine Determine Amyloid Beta Metabolism With Relevance To Mitophagy In Brain Aging And Chronic Disease, Ian J. Martins

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In the global world diabetes and mitochondrial disease is expected to cost the developing world in the next 30 years US $400 million. In diabetes an absent peripheral sink amyloid beta clearance pathway is now relevant to amyloid beta induced mitochondrial apoptosis. The quality of food consumed has raised major concerns with increased levels of plasma bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) that induces amyloid beta aggregation and mitochondrial apoptosis with programmed cell death linked to non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and many organ diseases. The amount, nature and time of day of fat consumption in diabetes has become important with relevance …

Geriatric Medicine And Heat Shock Gene Therapy In Global Populations, Ian J. Martins

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

No abstract provided.

Location And Associated Carbon Storage Of Erosional Escarpments Of Seagrass Posidonia Mats, Oscar Serrano, Paul Lavery, Lourdes Lopez-Merino, Enric Ballesteros, Miguel A. Mateo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Seagrasses of the genus Posidonia can form an irregular seascape due to erosional processes exposing thick walls of organic matter-rich soils. However, little is known about the location and characteristics of these particular formations. Here we provide comprehensive estimates of organic carbon (C_org) storage in Posidonia oceanica and Posidonia australis meadows, while providing insight into their location and mechanisms of formation, and highlighting future research directions. Erosional reef escarpments are restricted to shallow highly productive P. oceanica meadows from the Mediterranean Sea and P. australis meadows from the Indian Ocean, and sustain the existence of C_org-rich …

Asal Usul Formasi Savana: Tinjauan Dari Nusa Tenggara Timur Dan Hasil Penelitian Di Baluran Jawa Timur [Origin Of Savanna Formation: Literature Review From East Nusa Tenggara And Research Results From Baluran East Java Indonesia], Sutomo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Savannas are ecosystems mostly confined to tropical and subtropical regions that are characterized by a continuous cover of C₄ grasses that have different characteristics based on seasonality and where woody plants are also an important feature, but with sparse cover and no closed canopy. This is common formation in the driest part of Indonesia such as East Nusa Tenggara, however savana can also be found in Java Island: Baluran Savanna in East Java. There has been considerable amount of debat among scientists, botanists in Indonesia regarding the origin of Indonesian savanna. Using literature study and also field observation at …

Identifying And Supporting Numeracy Needs Of First Year Undergraduate Education Students, Fiona Budgen, John West

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Currently Australian pre-service teachers’ levels of personal numeracy are under a great deal of scrutiny. There are calls for universities to raise entry standards into teaching degrees and counter-calls that the output of universities should be gauged rather than inputs. In 2015, doubts about the ability of graduate teachers to convey the desired skills, knowledge and attitudes in mathematics led the Australian Government to mandate the introduction of the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students. From 2017, all pre-service teachers in Australia will be required to pass prior to graduation. The present research sought to identify specific …

Team Training In Safety And Security Via Simulation : A Practical Dimension Of Maritime Education And Training, Michael Baldauf, Dimitrios Dalaklis, Aditi Kataria

Conference Papers

In the rather extended maritime domain, a term that should be the epicentre of any successful careerbuilding path is tailor-made training via cutting-edge simulators. To cut a long story short, the breadth of operations on the various types of ships has expanded to such a large extent that extensive practical training drills are becoming a compelling need to contribute to competent seafarers. This type of training can guarantee the positive outcome in their decision-making process and help the seafarers often being under continuous pressure, to suitably respond to the various safety and security threats on-board a vessel. The several conventions …

Predictors Of Sun Protection Behaviours And Sunburn Among Australian Adolescents, Simone Pettigrew, Michelle Jongenelis, Mark Strickland, Carolyn Minto, Terry Slevin, Geoffrey Jalleh, Chad Lin

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

Excessive sun exposure and sunburn increase individuals’ risk of skin cancer. It is especially important to prevent sunburn in childhood due to the higher relative risk of skin cancer across the life span compared to risk associated with sunburn episodes experienced later in life. This study examined demographic and attitudinal factors associated with engagement in a range of sun protection behaviours (wearing a hat, wearing protective clothing, staying in the shade, and staying indoors during the middle of the day) and the frequency of sunburn among Western Australian adolescents to provide insights of relevance for future sun protection campaigns. …

Tracing The Development Of Willie Stark And Its Place In American Opera, Betsy Marie Uschkrat

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Highly praised American composer Carlisle Floyd (b. 1925), well known for his musical dramas Susannah (1955) and Of Mice and Men (1970), wrote Willie Stark (1981), commissioned by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and later Houston Grand Opera. Floyd’s libretto and musical score was based upon Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-Winning novel All The King’s Men. Despite the vast amount of publicity it received at the premiere, this opera has only occasionally been performed in the last 35 years. Chapter One discusses Carlisle Floyd’s creation of Willie Stark. Chapter Two discusses the workshop performance of the piece. Chapter …

Human Norovirus In Artificial And Environmental Marine Water: Development Of Antibody Based Rapid Methods, Morgan Maite

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Norovirus (NoV) is the principal cause of viral gastroenteritis in the United States. It has been linked to filter-feeding molluscan shellfish, that bioaccumulate the virus from contaminated surrounding waters. The consumption of raw or undercooked contaminated oysters may result in acute gastroenteritis. We investigated the occurrence of NoV GI and GII and microbial indicators of fecal contamination in oysters and harvesting water from areas along the Louisiana Gulf Coast. We developed a filtration and concentration method for the detection of NoV from oyster harvesting waters. Lastly, this body of work compares commonly used molecular techniques (RT-PCR) and a commercial enzyme …

String Quartets By Revueltas: In Search Of A Critical Edition In "Musica De Feria", Rafael Galvan-Herrera

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Música de Feria (1932) is the fourth and last string quartet written by the Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas Sánchez (1899-1940). The descriptive title of the piece, given by the composer himself, suggests the depiction of a Mexican “Fair” or “Festival” with its implied chaos, crowds, noises, dances, and of course, music. The single movement piece takes the listeners into a high energized journey with its sudden changes of tempo, color, and texture, all of this achieved in just under ten minutes of music. This quartet is by far the most popular, performed, and recorded of all four. Nevertheless, Música de …

Relationship Between Metabolic By-Products And Nervous System Failure/Fatigue, Tyler Mitchell Farney

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Fatigue has generally been defined as an acute impairment of exercise/sport performance that includes both an increase in the perceived effort necessary to exert a desired force or power output, and the inability to produce the desired force or power output. The majority of research to date looking at fatigue has focused upon substrate utilization, however, what is relatively unknown is the contribution the nervous system has upon fatigue. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to investigate potential mechanisms that relate to neural fatigue. An additional purpose was to determine if there were any relationships between metabolic by-products and …

Competencies Of Outstanding Executive Coaches: A Grounded Theory Approach, Kent Mayo Blumberg

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The personal, business, and executive coaching industry is large and growing. In spite of the size and growth of the industry, the coaching research literature reveals a lack of understanding about the competencies of outstanding executive coaches. This grounded-theory study sought to discover a model of executive coach competencies, through in-depth interviews with coaches rated as outstanding by a large purchaser of coaching services. Sixteen coaches participated in the recorded and transcribed interviews. A line-by-line analysis of the transcripts led to a competency model for executive coaching. For the coaching research community, this study will fill a key gap in …

Librarians’ Use Of Instructional Design Methods In Creating Information Literacy Instruction, Michael W. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to determine whether instruction librarians in the United States and Canada were using instructional design (ID) methods, and to identify potential explanations for their adoption or rejection of those methods. The theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985) served as the theoretical framework for the study. Research questions examined the relationship between respondents’ reported use of ID methods and the following factors: (a) behavioral, normative, and control beliefs, (b) demographic factors, and (c) professional identity as teachers. A survey adapted from Ajjan and Hartshorne (2008) and from Julien and Genuis (2011) …

Relative Resistance To Breaking Of Pinus Taeda L. And Pinus Palustris, Cory Glenn Garms

LSU Master's Theses

Patterns from hurricane damage give an indication that longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) is more windfirm than loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). Tree windfirmess has been attributed to many factors including species and material properties like wood strength and stiffness. Because longleaf pine wood is stronger and stiffer than loblolly pine wood, this study used static winching methodology to see if these properties account for differences in windfirmness by measuring bending force required to break stems (MMAX). Stress-strain diagrams were constructed for pulled trees to explore how they behave under increasing loads. Based on these diagrams, it appears that living trees can …

Social Media Network Data Mining And Optimization, Neha Clare Jose

LSU Master's Theses

Many small social aid organizations could benefit from collaborating with other organizations on common causes, but may not have the necessary social relationships. We present a framework for a recommender system for the Louisiana Poverty Initiative that identifies member organizations with common causes and aims to forge connections between these organizations. Our framework employs a combination of graph and text analyses of the organizations' Facebook pages. We use NodeXL, a plugin to Microsoft Excel, to download the Facebook graph and to interface with SNAP, the Stanford Network Analysis Platform, for calculating network measurements. Our framework extends NodeXL with algorithms that …

The Effects Of Carbon Nanotubes On Cells In A Synthetic Oxygen Carrier Enriched Alginate Scaffold, Joshua Paul Tate

LSU Master's Theses

Abstract Huge progress has been made in the development of three dimensionally printed tissue structures. With the use of cells, three dimensional printers, and CAD drawing software, donor identical structures can be fabricated. However, cell scaffolds currently lack significant mechanical integrity which can result in reduced cellular survival, attachment, and nutrient delivery. For this reason, multiple strategies have been developed to increase and improve mechanical stability within engineered constructs without having to sacrifice cell viability. The hypothesis of this paper was that incorporating Perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA), a greenhouse gas, with single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), a allotrope of carbon with a …

The Role Of Nadph Oxidase 2 (Nox2) In High-Fat Diet-Induced Adiposopathy And Brain Dysfunction In A Mouse Model, Jennifer Kathleen Pepping

LSU Master's Theses

Obesity can have numerous detrimental consequences, namely metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. The pathogenesis and physiologic consequences of obesity are unknown, but they are often associated with increased inflammation and oxidative stress in both the body and in the brain. One factor that has been implicated in causing inflammation associated with a high fat diet is the enzyme NADPH oxidase, or NOX, specifically the subunit NOX2. Two studies were performed in order to assess the effects of a high fat diet in combination with a universal NOX2 deficiency and a NOX2 deficiency targeted to …

Results Of Operation Full Stop: Terminix Service Co. Inc., Control Of Formosan Subterranean Termites (Coptotermes Formosanus) In The French Quarter Of New Orleans, Edward Joseph Martin Iv

LSU Master's Theses

In New Orleans alone, the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus, causes $300 million in damages annually. Formosan subterranean termites are the most destructive subterranean termite in the world wherever they occur. From 1998- 2011 Operation Full Stop was implemented in five phases. Basic parameters were set up through the LSU AgCenter. French Quarter Residents were allowed to select their own licensed pest control operator for approved termite treatments. The United States Department of Agriculture in New Orleans provided funds to Operation Full Stop to pay the pest control operator for initial treatment and yearly renewal of termite contracts. Terminix Service …

Detection Of Antibiotic Resistance Clostridium Difficile In Lettuce, Yi Han

LSU Master's Theses

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is regarded as the major cause of infectious diarrhea in humans after antimicrobial treatment. C. difficile has been reported to be widely isolated from food animals and meat. The main purpose of this study was to characterize C. difficile isolates from retail fresh vegetable (lettuce), test the antibiotic-resistance property using five common clinical-selected antibiotics (metronidazole, vancomycin, clindamycin, erythromycin, and cefotaxime). Lettuces (grown in California, Arkansas, and Louisiana) were purchased from retail stores. Toxigenic C. difficile was isolated from 13.8% (41/297) of the lettuce samples. Among the toxigenic isolates, 82.9% (34/41) only produce toxin B, and 17.1% …

Can We Make Chinatown A More Sustainable Environment: Rethinking And Remaking Chinatown, San Francisco?, Zhen Wang

LSU Master's Theses

Since nineteen century, Chinese immigrants in the United States had a great contribution to the economy and transformation of landscape by gold mining, transcontinental railroad construction and agriculture cultivation, applying techniques that were learned from ancestors thousands years ago in China. And Chinatown as the first destination of continuing Chinese immigrants transformed from a ghetto to the top tourist attraction of the city in San Francisco with commercial-oriented development in more than a hundred years. This paper will explore the transformation of the image and representation of Chinatown by analyzing Chinese culture influences, American confinement, and pop culture impact, to …

Developing A Mathematically Informed Approach To Musical Narrative Through The Analysis Of Three Twentieth-Century Monophonic Woodwind Works, Wesley James Bradford

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project applies mathematically informed narrative to monophonic music in the twentieth century, with a focus on three works for solo woodwinds: Debussy’s Syrinx (flute), Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for Clarinet, and Britten’s “Bacchus” from Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Op. 49 (oboe). This music poses difficulties for traditional analytical methods due to a lack of explicit harmonies and unusual pitch language that is neither functionally tonal nor serially atonal. Additionally, these pieces present a variety of challenges due to differences in length, number of movements, and presence or absence of programmatic elements. Therefore, nontraditional methods could be beneficial for understanding these …

Coastal Flood Risk In A Changing Climate Along The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Matthew Vernon Bilskie

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Coastal regions around the world are experiencing increased vulnerability from natural and manmade disasters. It is anticipated that coastal flood risk will increase due to the effects of climate change, and sea level rise (SLR) in particular. A dynamic, physics-based, framework to compute coastal flood inundation maps under various climate change scenarios was developed. The novel modeling system includes not only SLR, but considers future projections of shoreline evolution and primary dune morphology, upland migration of intertidal marsh, and land use land cover change. A present day hurricane storm surge model was generated for the Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida panhandle …

Identification Of Genes Associated With Resistance To Brown Rust In Sugarcane And Prevalence Of One Major Gene, Mavir Carolina Avellaneda Barbosa

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Development of resistant cultivars is the main control measure against sugarcane brown rust caused by Puccinia melanocephala. Durability is uncertain, since the pathogen possesses adaptive ability to overcome host plant resistance. A differential gene expression study utilizing suppressive subtraction hybridization was conducted to improve understanding of brown rust resistance mechanisms in sugarcane. The expression patterns of 11 unigenes representing biosynthetic pathways, defense-related genes, and signaling genes were analyzed in L 99-233, a cultivar exhibiting quantitative resistance, L 01-299, a resistant cultivar with the major resistance gene Bru1, and two susceptible cultivars, Ho 95-988 and L 09-125, at 24 h, 48 …