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Some Modal Insights From A Defense Of The Principle Of Sufficient Reason, Daniel Kim

LSU Master's Theses

The Principle of Sufficient Reason has a long history, but basically put, states that everything that exists has a reason or explanation for its existence. This principle has been a controversial one as it has been used to argue for the existence of God and have been accused of entailing determinism. In this thesis, I will be defending a version of the PSR advocated by Alexander Pruss, that all true contingent propositions need an explanation. I will also argue that the principle of sufficient reason should be restricted to our phenomenal experiences, just like Kant does.

This is in response …

The Living Archive: Photography, Social Media, And The New Frontier Of Activism, Lundyn C. Herring

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis seeks to analyze the discursive field and technology of photography and its multi-faceted role in the oppression of colonized people under Western imperialism. Among the main collection highlights of many established state-run archival institutions are photographic records consisting of surveillance images, mugshots, and other visual media as representations of the political hegemony that is exerted over governed peoples. From the mid-19th century to 2026, much has shifted in the realm of photography with the introduction of smartphones, accessible technology, and social media platforms during the beginning of the twenty-first century. As states and powerholders apply the technology of …

Wearable Sensor System Used To Measure Linear And Angular Acceleration Of The Head Of American Football Players, David A. Emerson

LSU Master's Theses

American football players are repeatedly subject to high-velocity impacts; collisions can exceed 100 g in the NFL [1]. Rotational accelerations of the head caused by high-velocity collisions have been proven to be extremely damaging to the highly organized brain fibers at the brain-skull interface [2]. The sensor system (SS) measures the nonplanar acceleration at four locations on a chin strap using ADXL314 accelerometers and utilizes rigid-body kinematics to estimate the head rotational state from the measured acceleration of the SS [3]. The SS was validated through progressive testing, including steady-state, linear impact, and rotational impact testing. The ADLX314 sensor exhibited …

Transcribing Shakuhachi Honkyoku For Bassoon: Notation, Orality, And Perfomance Practice, Adrian Fonseca Tellez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project consists of transcriptions of two pieces from the shakuhachi honkyoku (“original pieces”) repertoire, Kumoi Jishi (Cloud Lion) and Sanya Sugagaki (Three Valleys), with the aim of extending the bassoon’s repertoire outside of the Western canon while exploring the capabilities of the bassoon to emulate the performance practices of the shakuhachi, which include both extended techniques found in current bassoon literature as well as techniques unique to shakuhachi performance. Included in the written document is a brief overview of the shakuhachi and its applications in traditional Japanese music, a description of honkyoku and its characteristics, and the Japanese concept …

Theory, Experiments, And Image Recovery Algorithms For X-Ray Interferometry, Hunter C. Meyer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Purpose: X-ray grating interferometry is a form of X-ray phase contrast imaging capable of simultaneously measuring attenuation, differential-phase, and dark-field images arising from X-ray absorption, refraction, and small-angle scattering, respectively. These additional contrast mechanisms have potential clinical and industrial applications, particularly for lung tissue characterization and disease identification. As grating interferometers approach clinical viability, key challenges include reducing X-ray dose, mitigating mechanical instability, and correcting spectral artifacts resulting from beam hardening.

Methods: The modulated phase grating interferometer (MPGI) is a potential solution for reducing X-ray dose by eliminating the analyzer grating used in alternative interferometer designs, including the Talbot-Lau interferometer …

The Power Of Beliefs: Cognitive Pathways Linking Mental Health Literacy To Psychological Distress, Katherine Elise Kirsch

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Mental health disorders are prevalent in children and adolescents, and they are accompanied by challenges throughout the lifespan. Mental health literacy (MHL) provides a flexible framework to address child and adolescent mental health. Identifying significant relationships between MHL and mental health outcomes has the potential to inform successful interventions. This study uses a secondary analysis of data gathered for the Study on Attitudes of Adolescents and Young Adults Toward Relevant Health Issues to isolate MHL belief domains that significantly effect psychological distress levels in adolescents.

The Swiss Youth Mental Health Literacy and Stigma Survey was used to assess the MHL, …

“Where All Is Playtime And Pleasure”: Feeling The Otherworldly In Late Medieval Literature, Anna K. Mcgill

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I present intra-, inter-, and extra-textual felt responses to encounters with the otherworldly as described in Late Medieval texts as a lens through which to consider personal, social, and national imaginative potential surrounding contemporary issues across genres and disciplines. I argue that the use of otherworlds and otherworldly agents as both personally and rhetorically compelling analogues through which contemporary issues can be explored. I start my discussion of the felt impacts of encounters with the Arthurian otherworldly, with a particular focus on Glastonbury and Arthur’s alleged grave there, and how they transmit affects of sovereign authority. Next, …

Faculty-Student Collaboration In Iterative Course Design, Sarah Mcdavitt

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Typically, the only way for a professor to receive feedback on their course design is through running several iterations of a class across multiple semesters. This guide aims to establish an avenue for accelerated course design testing through faculty-student collaboration before it rolls out live for enrolled students. Using the design thinking framework and other human-centered design principles, faculty members collaborating with students can iterate course design elements to discover opportunities to enhance the learning experience. As they draw evidence-based conclusions from empathy data, accurately define objectives, ideate new solutions, prototype course element ideas, and test the prototypes with a …

Software-Defined Radios In Avalanche Detection, Andrew Mcdonald

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores the use of software-defined radios (SDRs) to develop a low-cost radar system for avalanche detection. Avalanches are a significant danger in mountainous locations and existing systems are often difficult or expensive to use. This research assesses if commercially available SDRs can be used to create a radar system capable of detecting moving targets and accurately measuring distance. A frequency-modulated contiuous-wave (FMCW) radar was implemented using the LimeSDR-Mini and the USRP B210. Signal generation, data collection, and processing all are performed in software, enabling easy configuration. Improvements to data transfer methods for the LimeSDR-Mini reduced sampling errors and …

When Ai Writes The Doctoral Thesis: Reclaiming The Oral Defence As A Learning Development Intervention, Valerie A. Storey

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Large language models have fundamentally challenged traditional methods of verifying doctoral competency as AI-generated text becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish from human scholarship. This paper argues that thesis committees and doctoral supervisors must reclaim the oral defence as a critical checkpoint for assessing authentic threshold crossing rather than a ceremonial rite of passage. Drawing on historical examples from medieval oral disputations through to the rise of written theses, this paper asserts the necessity of returning to rigorous oral assessment. Given the limitations of detection technologies and the growing use of AI in thesis writing, oral defences must move from confirmatory …

2026-03-27 Agenda Booklet, Morehead State University. Board Of Regents.

Morehead State Board of Regents Agenda Books and Meeting Minutes

Agenda booklet for the Board of Regents meeting of March 27, 2026, held in Prestonsburg, which includes the meeting minutes of the meeting held on February 13, 2026.

Associations Between Caregiver-Provider Communication Quality And Unmet Care Needs Among Older Adults, Jiaming Liang, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Brian Downer, Zhigang Xie

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Unmet care needs (lack of assistance with daily activities) among older adults are common and linked to adverse health outcomes, greater healthcare utilization, and caregiver burden. While effective patient-provider communication is known to improve care quality, less is understood about the role of caregiver-provider communication, particularly across sociodemographic, health, and caregiving contexts. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional secondary analysis of pooled 2021–2023 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) and National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) data, restricted to community-dwelling older adults (65 + years) who received assistance from caregivers due to difficulty with daily activities, and had at least …

The Beacon, March 27, 2026, Beacon Staff

The Beacon, 2025-2026

Club Spotlight: International Justice Mission; Perspectives through the decades: 1970s; DME abroad to Netherlands and Germany; “I Can Only Imagine 2” : simple and heartwarming; Luke Combs returns to roots with “The Way I Am”; Choir brings beautiful music to four states; The Trends of the past spilling into 2026; Why O-Staff is worth the commitment; Lost in translation: language requirement; The oldest and most discredited sport; Raiders are GPAC champions in 2026; Raiders show tenacity in post-season losses; Looking ahead to the golf spring season; The Emmy’s are on their way; Service makes your faith grow stronger

Kodak To Deepfakes: Publicity Rights And Abuse Of Our Likenesses, Michael Goodyear

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

Transitions Of Growth And Partner Responsiveness In Late Adolescent Marriage, Terrell Ka-Seem Pugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

During the stage of late adolescence, marriage presents unique challenges, with partners navigating several developmental tasks in tandem with forming and maintaining marital relationships. Partner responsiveness has been consistently identified as a key factor for personal wellbeing and relationship satisfaction. Limited research has explored how late adolescent married individuals describe this dynamic. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to explore lived experiences of late adolescent married individuals between 18 and 20 who described their experiences with partner responsiveness during this transitional period. This study was grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory in order to explore how relational …

Deprescribing Following Access To Lifestyle Treatment: A Retrospective Chart Review Of Primary Care Outcomes In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, Yoav Jacob, Kara L Staffier, Samveda Menon, Puja B Gandhi, Joeita F Macfield, Gia Merlo, Stefanie M Meyer, Shivani S Patel, Caroline Rhéaume, Madeline Watson, David Donohue, Wayne S Dysinger, Micaela C Karlsen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Among individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D), lifestyle improvements can restore glycemic control, yet few studies have examined deprescribing in settings where it was necessitated by improvements in health. This study aimed to (1) identify instances of medication deprescribing among adults with T2D in a primary care setting where patients had access to lifestyle medicine (LM), (2) document lifestyle changes among deprescribed patients, (3) assess changes in body mass index (BMI), glucose, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) following deprescribing, and (4) assess the safety of deprescribing in the context of LM-informed care by identifying adverse events.

Methods: A …

Social Isolation And Firearm Secure Storage In The Usa: Results From The 2022 Brfss, Alexander Testa, Daniel Semenza, Dylan B Jackson, Karyn Fu, Sandra Mckay, Kyle T Ganson, Jason M Nagata, Jack Tsai

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Firearm secure storage (ie, storing firearms unloaded and locked) is recommended to reduce unintentional injuries and suicides. However, the relationship between psychological states, such as social isolation, and firearm secure storage practices is under-researched.

Methods: Data are from 7136 individuals with firearms in their households from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Multinomial logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between social isolation and firearm storage.

Results: Among respondents, 71.6% reported storing firearms unloaded, 14.2% stored firearms loaded and locked and 14.2% stored firearms loaded and unlocked. Most respondents reported feeling 'never' (40.7%) or 'rarely' (33.3%) socially …

The Importance Of Sports Physical Leading To The Diagnosis Of Loeys–Dietz Syndrome, Fnu Varnika, Anastasia Dihel, Michael Bereisha, Nergess Taheri

Cooper Rowan Medical Journal

Abstract

The pre-participation school or sports physical, introduced in the mid-20th century, remains a cornerstone of adolescent health screening, primarily aimed at ensuring athletic safety. While most evaluations reveal benign conditions, these encounters occasionally uncover critical yet asymptomatic disorders. This report highlights the incidental discovery of Loeys–Dietz syndrome (LDS) type 4 in a 17-year-old male during a routine sports physical, underscoring the clinical value of thorough cardiovascular assessment and recognition of subtle phenotypic cues in preventive settings.

Significance: Loeys–Dietz syndrome is a rare, autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder affecting fewer than 1 in 100,000 individuals, often misdiagnosed as Marfan syndrome …

New Identities In The Character Table Of Symmetric Groups Involving Riordan Numbers, David J. Hemmer, Armin Straub, Karlee J. Westrem

Michigan Tech Publications

Amdeberhan recently proposed certain equalities between sums in the character table of symmetric groups. These equalities are between signed column sums in the character table, summing over the rows labeled by partitions in Ev(λ), where λ is a partition of n with r nonzero parts and Ev(λ) is a multiset containing 2r partitions of 2n. While we observe that these equalities are not true in general, we prove that they do hold in interesting special cases. These lead to new equalities between sums of degrees of irreducible characters for the symmetric group and a new combinatorial interpretation for the Riordan …

Experiences Of Child Life Specialists Who Identify As Queer, Tori Hinton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Previous research shows that queer professionals experience underrepresentation, discrimination, harassment in the workplace (Kinitz et al., 2024; Ellsworth et al., 2020; Schatz & O’Hanlan, 1994; Eliason et al., 2011a; Katz-Wise et al., 2021). Across healthcare and psychosocial professions, queer professionals report discrimination, identity concealment, isolation and fears of professional repercussions related to disclosure. Such experiences are associated with decreased job satisfaction, increased stress, and barriers to career advancement (Cancela et al., 2024). Existing research on diverse child life specialists is limited and no published studies focus specifically on the experiences of queer child life specialists. One study by Gourley and …

Brief Of Amici Curiae Immigration Law Professors In Support Of Respondent, Peter L. Markowitz, Lindsay Nash

Amicus Briefs

Amicus curiae brief submitted by immigration law professors in support of the respondent in Bondi v. Lau before the Supreme Court of the United States. The brief argues that lawful permanent residents returning from travel abroad may not be treated as seeking admission unless they satisfy the statutory criteria set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act. It further contends that ambiguities in deportation statutes should be resolved in favor of noncitizens under the longstanding immigration rule of lenity.

Precision Spectroscopy Of 2s-Ns Transitions In Atomic Hydrogen: A Determination Of The Proton Charge Radius, R. G. Bullis, W. L. Tavis, M. R. Weiss, Orellana O. Cisneros, A. J. Cheeseman, Ulrich D. Jentschura, D. C. Yost

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We present absolute frequency measurements of 2S_1/2-nS_1/2 two-photon transitions with n=8, 9, and 10 in a cryogenic beam of atomic hydrogen. Each transition has been measured with a fractional uncertainty of ≈2.6x10^-12. Combining the results from this Letter and the 1S_1/2-2S_1/2 transition frequency, we extract a root-mean-square proton radius of rp=0.8433(31) fm and a Rydberg frequency of cR_∞=3 289 841 960 252.9(9.7) kHz. These are in good agreement with the CODATA 2022 recommended values.

Chemical Design Strategies For Hybrid Metal Halide Semiconductors With Enhanced Stability And Optoelectronic Properties, Ali Azmy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Metal halide semiconductors have rejuvenated the attention of the scientific community for the last two decades owing to their photophysical and electronic properties. However, these materials have some limitations that hinder their commercialization and widespread application. One major limitation of these materials is their instability under ambient and operating conditions of moisture, head, light and radiation exposure. Here, we report multiple chemical design strategies to address the stability issues of these materials while simultaneously maintaining their exceptional optoelectronic properties. Such design strategies allowed the acquisition of the first members of the family of porous metal halide semiconductors which exhibit record …

Riemann-Hilbert Problems For A Class Of Planar Orthogonal Polynomials, Abril Arenas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Planar orthogonal polynomials of degree n are monic polynomials defined by the orthogonality relation,

∫cPn(z)Pm(z)e-V(z) dA(z) = hnδn,m.

where the integration is over the whole complex plane with Lebesgue area measure dA, and hn is a positive norming constant. In this thesis we consider the potential V: CR of the type,

V(z) = |z|2p-2Re Σm j=1 tjzj

we characterize the planar orthogonal polynomials using novel matrix Riemann-Hilbert problems. We pro-pose a Riemann-Hilbert problem of size 2px 2p when the maximal degree satisfies m ≤ p. For m = 2p, we propose a Riemann-Hilbert problem of size 3px 3p for the …

Netflix, Between Intercultural Exchange And Monopolizing Tendencies: Streaming Consumption, Production, And Distribution In Romania, Ana-Maria Calancea

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the development and involvement of the SVOD platform Netflix in Romania in the context of a global media corporation engaging with a local market. Romania’s status as a former communist country acts as a good case study highlighting the long-term consequences of diverse content deprivation. I argue that in a country such as Romania, a service like Netflix can provide a so-called indirect intercultural exchange through the production and distribution of easily accessible diverse content, whether that diversity stems from nationality, ethnicity, race, sexuality, or any unconventional form of expression that was restricted or censored in the …

Clinical Features, Laboratory Characteristics, And Outcomes Of Covid-19 Patients In A Tertiary Care Reference Hospital In Panama City, Panama. A Retrospective Observational Study, Santiago E. Hernandez Bojorge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Latin America experienced some of the world’s highest COVID-19 mortality rates, yet data on in-hospital outcomes and their social and geographic determinants remain limited. This dissertation investigated multilevel baseline factors associated with in-hospital mortality among adults with COVID-19 at Panama’s largest public tertiary hospital (Hospital Santo Tomás), integrating survival, mediation, and spatial-temporal modeling within a causal-inference framework.

A retrospective cohort of 1,526 RT-PCR–confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations (May 2020–November 2021) was analyzed using multivariable Cox proportional-hazards, Fine–Gray competing-risk, mediation, and Bayesian spatial models. Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) pre-specified causal relationships and minimally sufficient adjustment sets. DAG-guided models quantified total effects without conditioning …

Inclusive Education Of Indigenous Belief Communities In Indonesia: Perspective Of Independent Learning, Muhammad Ghafar, Nunu Ahmad An Nahidl, Muhammad Thoyib, Rihab Wit Daryono Jr., Edi Junaedi, Neneng Habibah

The Qualitative Report

Indigenous belief communities in Indonesia continue to face marginalization in the national education system, limiting their access to education that aligns with their spiritual and cultural values. Our study investigates how the Sapta Darma community members perceive inclusive education and how their socio-cultural traditions can support educational practices rooted in independent learning. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach and a multi-site design, data were collected from 30 participants, including community leaders, parents, and youth in Banyuwangi, Kediri, and Yogyakarta through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation. The results show that inclusive education in the Sapta Darma community, grounded in the spirit of …

Changes In Land, Ocean, Atmospheric Parameters Associated With The 2025 Myanmar (Mw 7.7) Earthquake, Feng Jing, Akshansa Chauhan, Ashwani Raju, Ramesh P. Singh

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Multiple parameters associated with the land, atmosphere, and ocean were analyzed to study short-term and immediate pre-earthquake changes associated with the 28 March 2025 Myanmar earthquake (Mw 7.7). Anomalous clear-sky outgoing longwave radiation (ClrOLR) and trace gases (CH₄, CO, and O₃) were detected within two months prior to the mainshock. Vertical changes at different pressure levels suggest a possible underground source. High-temporal-resolution observations of the infrared brightness temperature and surface air pressure revealed short-lived fluctuations shortly before the earthquake, which may reflect localized stress adjustments and surface latent heat flux release during the final stage of earthquake preparation. In the …

Using Diffusion Mri To Relate Hippocampal Subfield Microstructure To Delayed Verbal Memory In Cognitively Intact Individuals At Genetic Risk For Developing Alzheimer's Disease, Jennapher Lingo Vangilder, Andrew Hooyman, Sasha Hakhu, Kurt G. Schilling, Leland S. Hu, Yuxiang Zhou, Richard J. Caselli, Leslie C. Baxter, Scott C. Beeman

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Intervention to delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an important treatment strategy but detecting at-risk individuals before significant disease progression remains challenging. This study evaluates the relationship between hippocampal microstructure and verbal cognition in cognitively intact older adults, focusing on the differences between APOΕ ε4 allele carriers and noncarriers. Participants (n = 41 noncarriers, 33 carriers) over 60 years old (mean ± SD: carriers 71 ± 6.6; noncarriers 71 ± 6.4 years) underwent diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) and volumetric assessments. We assessed hippocampal structure, including microstructure, using Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI), diffusion tensor …

A Study Of Transients From Ground-Based Surveys Reveals New Ultra-Compact Accreting White Dwarf Binaries, Jan Kára, Liliana E. Rivera Sandoval, Wendy Mendoza, Thomas J. Maccarone, Manuel Pichardo Marcano, Luis Salazar Manzano, Ryan J. Oelkers, Jan Van Roestel

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

AM CVn stars are ultra-compact semi-detached binaries consisting of a white dwarf primary and a hydrogen-depleted secondary. In this paper, we present spectroscopic and photometric results of 15 transient sources pre-classified as AM CVn candidates. Our analysis confirms 9 systems of the type AM CVn, 3 hydrogen-rich cataclysmic variables (accreting white dwarfs with near-main-sequence stars for donors), and 3 systems that could be evolved cataclysmic variables. Eight of the AM CVn stars are analysed spectroscopically for the first time, which increases the number of spectroscopically confirmed AM CVns by about 10%. TESS data revealed the orbital period of the AM …