Digital Commons Network^™

Experimental Data-Driven System Identification Of Scale-Model Airboat Dynamics For Control And Autonomy Applications, Miguel A. Trejos

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

To achieve autonomous control of a surface watercraft requires an accurate model describing the dynamics of the system. To this end, the modeling of dynamics of an airboat with a combustion engine-based propulsion system is investigated. Specifically, a black-box data-based approach using neural networks. To facilitate this, a custom data collection system was developed to record linear and rotational motion during field tests. Due to the airboats unique ability to traverse different terrains, not just water, the modeling of dynamics on different terrains was investigated.

Ethical Finance In Times Of Crisis: How Assistance Programs And Esg Practices Shape Corporate Resilience And Financial Integrity?, Koffi Konan

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Analysis Of Macro-Scale And Micro-Scale Pcswmm Models For Urban Flood Simulation In The Ormond Drainage System, Binit Gautam

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This research utilized an existing SWMM modeling framework of the Ormond area within St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. A micro scale PCSWMM model was updated using GIS Derived values for CN, percent imperviousness, and subcatchment slope and compared to an macro-scale model. Models were compared under several storm events, which included the recent May 14, 2020 storm as well as 2-, 10-, and 100-year design storms. Peak flow, total inflow volume, and hydrograph characteristics were analyzed to assess response of each model.

The results show that the macro-scale model generally produces higher peak flows and total volumes, while the micro-scale model …

Cross‑Scale Transferability Of Soil Moisture Model Parameters Using Satellite And Ground Observations And Experimental Studies, Niraj Karki

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Soil moisture is a key variable in hydrology that controls water and energy exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere. Despite its importance, reliably estimating soil moisture is challenging because different measurement methods measure it at different scales and with varying accuracy. Ground-based sensors provide reliable point-scale data but are costly and spatially limited. In this context, models that can produce spatially and temporally consistent soil moisture are valuable tools. However, such models need calibration, and their use is limited by the unavailability of soil moisture data. Satellite products such as the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) offer wide …

Insimul: A Hybrid Ai System For Social Immersion, Daniel Dekerlegand

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Creating believable, socially intelligent virtual characters that are culturally and historically grounded requires more than any single artificial intelligence paradigm can provide. Symbolic social physics systems such as Ensemble offer interpretable, human-authored representations of social norms and relationships but produce linguistically stilted interaction. Statistical approaches---particularly large language models---generate fluent dialogue but lack behavioral coherence and cultural grounding. Virtual reality provides embodied presence that transforms abstract social computation into experiential engagement but contributes no social intelligence of its own. This dissertation argues that the integration of all three technologies---symbolic AI, statistical AI, and virtual reality---is necessary for producing socially coherent, linguistically …

Optimization-Based Power Management For Hybrid Towing Vessels: A Comparative Framework Toward Mission-Aware Control, Rachel K. Burchill

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an optimization-based framework for power management in hybrid towing vessels operating under dynamic mission conditions. A physically consistent modeling approach is developed, incorporating battery state-of-charge dynamics (SOC), unified power flow, and operational constraints. The framework evaluates rule-based control using fixed heuristic thresholds, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Genetic Algorithm (GA), and multi-objective Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) under a representative harbor-assist mission profile. Results show that optimization-based methods significantly outperform rule-based control. PSO achieves the lowest fuel consumption and near-perfect tracking with minimal battery use, while GA provides balanced performance with moderate battery utilization. NSGA-II reveals a …

Careers That Feel Like Plinko And A Labor Of Love: A Phenomenology Of Full-Time Contingent Faculty’S Development As Instructors At A University In Transition, Anne Ogburn

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Instructors in higher education often do not study or practice teaching before entering the classroom (Flaherty, 2019; McMurtie, 2021). Instead, instructors may develop their teaching knowledge and skills in a variety of ways (Hora & Smolarek, 2018; Kennedy, 2016; McCrickerd, 2012; Oleson & Hora, 2014). Despite this haphazard approach, instructor development is particularly important in higher education given that effective teaching practices improve success outcomes for students (Kilgo et al., 2015; Loes et al., 2019; Umbach & Wawrzynski, 2005). Researchers have focused on the impact of introductory courses on students’ long-term success in a given subject or major (Xu, 2019). …

An Alternative To Armageddon: O.P. Weyland And The Development Of Tactical Air Power, Paul Wells

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Theorists and advocates of air power argued that aircraft, not ground forces, would become the dominant platform for victory in war. They promoted the concept of strategic bombing, using aircraft to bypass ground forces and directly attack a nation's industrial capacity to wage war, hoping to ensure quick victory and avoid a repeat of the prolonged slaughter in the trenches of WWI. In 1947, led by advocates of strategic bombing, the United States Air Force (USAF) became an independent and equal branch of the U.S. military. The USAF developed the Strategic Air Command (SAC) to meet the requirements of the …

Exploring The Impact Of University-Recognized Spaces On Racial Battle Fatigue Among Black Faculty & Staff At Historically White Institutions, Tiffany M. Courseault

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Black Faculty and Staff (BFS) at Historically White Institutions (HWIs) navigate environments shaped by racial microaggressions, systemic inequities, and institutional marginalization. These conditions contribute to Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF), a psychological, behavioral, and physiological response to sustained exposure to racialized stress. While institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are often positioned as mechanisms for improving campus climate, existing research suggests they frequently fail to address the lived realities of BFS. This study examined how university-recognized communal spaces function as critical sites of support, resistance, and mitigation within these environments.

Using a narrative inquiry methodology, this study explored the lived …

Power System Small-Signal Stability Migration And Metric Trends In A Test System With Increasing Ibr Penetration, Brandon Marshall

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

With the increasing demand of cleaner energy, inverter-based resources (IBRs) provide a greener alternative to traditional generation methods. IBRs fundamentally work different from traditional generators, though, and power system stability will change as IBRs are integrated into the system. The limitations of IBRs include providing less reactive power support to the system and lacking a spinning rotor for inertia to dampen disturbances. This study examines how small-signal stability is impacted when increasing IBR penetration on a test system. Stability impacts are realized by the migration of eigenvalues and relationships between power system metrics and small-signal stability metrics.

What We Want The Decision Makers To Know About First-Generation College Student Success: Insights From Students’ Perspectives, Monique N. Legendre

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

One-third of all undergraduates in the U.S. are first-generation college students (FGCS) (Center for First-Generation Student Success, 2020). Due to barriers such as inequitable access to rigorous college preparatory programs and coursework, limited resources and access to college and career counseling, financial constraints, and a lack of college knowledge such as the expectations, norms, and language of higher education, FGCS often arrive less prepared for college than continuing-generation students, impacting first-generation student success and persistence in post-secondary education (Broadhurst et al., 2023; Campoverdi, 2023; Cataldi et al., 2018; Hamilton et al., 2016; Katrevich & Aruguete, 2017; Osborne, 2023; Pratt et …

Adaptability From Tv & Film Into Theatre | The Subversion Inspiration In Celia’S Identity Versatility Throughout William Shakespeare’S As You Like It, Emani White

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the inspiration of adaptability skills, pivoting from television and film into theatre, and the potential of unconventional pathways as a catalyst for reconciling anti-traditionalism within the mediums. It offers insight into the obstacles, segues, and adversities faced during the journey of a former athlete turned television and film actor, and into a theatre actor. It illuminates agency as a subversive identity (the disguise), the sacrifice of status, and the need for an emotional anchor of resilience—acknowledging the systemic transitional barriers in performance, career, and education. The paper also discusses the understandings gained from my journey as an …

The Role Of Floodplain Connectivity In Shaping The Abundance, Size-Class Distribution, And Schooling Behavior Of The Associated Fish Assemblage, Adam H. Quade

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The life histories of many Louisiana fishes are closely tied to the timing, magnitude, and duration of the Mississippi River flood pulse, which regulates the ecological connectivity and productivity of adjacent floodplain habitats. Anthropogenic modifications such as levee construction and water-control structures have disrupted these natural hydrologic linkages, altering habitat quality and community structure across the Lower Mississippi River Basin. This dissertation used high-resolution imaging sonar to investigate how fish assemblages, species, and collectives respond to changes in floodplain connectivity within the Richard K. Yancey Wildlife Management Area prior to hydrologic restoration. In the first chapter, I applied imaging sonar …

Database State Reconstruction And Audit Log Reconciliation For Data Systems Security, Mahfuzul I. Nissan

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Modern organizations rely on diverse database management systems to store critical data across heterogeneous storage architectures. These platforms complicate forensic investigations because database engines vary profoundly in their layouts, encodings, and update policies. Malicious insiders can exploit this architectural opacity to alter data and disable audit logging undetected, leaving investigators with an untrusted view of database activity. Furthermore, building custom forensic solutions for every database version is fundamentally unscalable.

This dissertation advances data-system security through a tamper-aware, cross-layer framework that reconstructs database states and detects unauthorized operations even when audit logs are manipulated. By unifying the analysis of physical storage …

Disrupting The Norm: Exploring A New Grading Policy Through The Lens Of Institutional Theory In Higher Education, Kara Bisceglie

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Each year, colleges across the United States admit new students, initiating them into their academic journeys. Yet, according to recent data from the National Student Clearinghouse, fewer than 70% of these students are retained by the institution that admitted them (National Student Clearinghouse, Persistence & Retention, 2023). In response to this phenomenon, institutions of higher education have instituted various intervention efforts in the hopes of mitigating student attrition. Many of these initiatives are based on an extensive body of literature exploring the most effective ways to impact student retention. One disparity in this scholarly collection is the examination of …

The Diamond, May 1, 2026, Dordt University

Dordt Diamond

• Front Page: Some Students Raise Concerns over Campus Security and Safety Protocols; Former Dordt Football Player Hayden Large Signed to the Chicago Bears; There and Back Again - Faculty Offices Plan to Relocate for Fall 2026
• News: Billy Varble Creates Dordt Professor Card Game; New Feature Released on u.Dordt; Ag Students Showcase Ag Day on Campus; New Dordt Pond Set to be Built in Dordt Prairie; Dordt Freshman Selected to Compete in Worldwide Art Competition
• Feature: The Generative AI Conversation and the Effects on Christian Education; Horizon Award Recipient Pastors at Prison Church; Senior Reflections - See …

Preventing Tragedy: The Role Of School-Based Mental Health Professionals In Mitigating School Shootings, Kaitlyn Bain

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

School shootings remain a critical concern in the United States, demonstrating the need for research into preventative measures within educational settings. With this in mind, the present study explores how the ratio of school psychologists and school counselors to students may affect school shootings, and if understanding these ratios can provide clarity on any inadequacies. It reviews the uses of mental health professionals in schools and the growing need for their services, while also highlighting how the use of crisis communication can be implemented into their skillset in order to reduce violence seen in adolescents before, during, and after crises …

Characteristics Of Flame-Turbulence Interactions In Freely Propagating Turbulent Premixed Flames Under Decaying And Forced Isotropic Turbulence Conditions, Robert Smith

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Turbulent premixed flames observed in energy conversion and propulsion applications are characterized by highly nonlinear, unsteady, and multi-scale processes. Previous numerical studies of freely propagating flames have utilized either forced or decaying background isotropic turbulence to provide detailed insights into the features of flame-turbulence interactions; however, none have made direct comparisons of cases where the turbulence decays or is sustained using a forcing strategy. This study compares the features of turbulent premixed flames via direct numerical simulations, where we consider both decaying and forced turbulence scenarios. Four turbulent premixed flames are simulated, corresponding to the thin reaction zone and broken/distributed …

The Impact Of An Adult-Focused First-Year Seminar On Tennessee Reconnect Students, Marci R. Reiter

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The state of Tennessee launched a promise program entitled Tennessee Reconnect (TnR) in the Fall of 2018, which was aimed at the state’s adult learner population and offered a solution for affordable education. With this introduction came pressure for institutions, specifically community colleges in the state, to increase the retention and completion rates of this population of students. One small, rural community college approached this challenge by offering both first-time and returning adult learners an adult-focused First-Year Seminar (FYS) course. The course, entitled Work-Based Learning Seminar (WBLS), looked to assist with not only the retention and completion issues of the …

Decision Value Of Confidence Intervals Versus Significance Testing In Surgical Research: A Mixed Methods Study, Andrew Wilson

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The misuse and misinterpretations of statistical analyses in medical research have been discussed for several decades and many authors have suggested this has led to poor clinical decision-making. Significance testing, the conventional statistical approach in medical research, has been suggested to be the leading cause of the misunderstandings. Despite the extensive discussion in the literature, there is limited evidence on whether the problems in medical research are linked to the lack of usefulness of significance testing with clinicians’ decision-making process. The purpose of this study was to investigate what statistical information in published research articles surgeons found valuable for their …

An Examination Of School Counselors' Self-Efficacy For Promoting College Knowledge, Kimberly E. Norfork

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In this study, the researcher examined how professional, demographic, and school-level factors relate to high school counselors’ self-efficacy for promoting college knowledge across five domains. Using survey data from counselors in Georgia, the researcher evaluated the extent to which factors such as professional development frequency, membership in professional organizations, school characteristics, and counselor demographics predicted differences in self-efficacy through multivariate and univariate analyses. The results indicated that schools tracking first-generation student status had counselors who exhibited higher self-efficacy in assisting students with college applications and working with disadvantaged populations. Additionally, there were notable broad multivariate effects related to membership in …

Understanding The Effect Of Perceived Supervisor Unavailability On Job Satisfaction, Counterproductive Work Behaviors, And Intent To Quit, Paul-Augustin Wasner

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the influence of supervisor unavailability on employee job satisfaction, counterproductive work behaviors (CWB), and intent to quit. We introduced perceived supervisor unavailability (PSU), as employee's perception that their supervisor is not present, reachable, or responsive when support is needed. Grounded in Job Demands-Resources and Social Exchange Theory, we looked at personal (role clarity) and organizational resources (perceived supervisor or PSS and organizational support or POS) as mediators of the PSU-work outcomes relationship. Data were collected from on-site and hybrid/remote employees. Perceived supervisor unavailability was significantly negatively associated with job satisfaction and positively associated with intent to quit, …

The Nature Of Violence: Exploring How Community And Incident Characteristics Influence The Likelihood That Gun Crimes Become Multi-Victim Events, Kathleen Hillman

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Gun crime continues to represent a substantial threat to public safety in the United States. Firearms are disproportionately involved in most crimes of violence, particularly murder (Collins et al., 2017; Cook & Pollack, 2017; Goldsmith et al., 2022; Johnson et al., 2021), and firearm-related offending is more pronounced in the U.S. than any other industrialized nation (Carson et al., 2022). A large body of literature has examined the extent to which characteristics of communities, place, victims, and offenders contribute to the likelihood and frequency of gun violence. Yet the vast majority of these works have restricted their analyses to single-offender, …

Changes In Avian Capture Rate And Migration Phenology Across 37 Years At A Coastal Barrier Island In Georgia, Ryan Davenport

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Migration is one of the riskiest periods in a bird’s yearly cycle, and monitoring migratory trends helps us understand how birds are impacted by the changing world. Here, I present an analysis of 37 years of fall bird banding data collected at the Jekyll Island Banding Station in Georgia. Capture rates of Neotropical migrants on Jekyll have declined 50-90% in many common species, and the mean ordinal passage date of Gray Catbird and Western Palm Warbler have shifted 8 days later. Landcover analysis of the island yielded non-significant results; therefore, human-caused habitat change on breeding and wintering grounds are likely …

Personalized And Adaptive Therapeutic Music Generation From Biosignals Using Knowledge-Guided Multimodal Large Language Models, Amin Amiri

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Multimodal generative models are reshaping digital therapeutics by enabling real-time synthesis of personalized content aligned with a user’s physiological and affective state. However, existing systems remain fragmented across modalities and often lack a unified framework that can jointly represent biosignals, natural language intent, music, and video under long-context constraints. This dissertation presents an end-to-end multimodal large language model ecosystem for personalized therapeutic music generation that combines discrete tokenization, evidence-grounded reasoning, and stabilized preference alignment. At the representation layer, the dissertation develops a family of tokenizers that convert continuous biomedical and media signals into compact discrete sequences for transformer-based modeling. Harmonizer …

Attention After Adversity: Examining Temperament As A Protective And Risk Factor, Claire N. Beach

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Attentional control (AC) is an executive function referring to the ability to attend to pertinent information in the face of distractions. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are characterized by various forms of abuse and neglect experienced before the age of 18. Temperament is an early-appearing variation in attention-related self-regulation that is thought to be largely influenced by genetics. This study assessed the effect of ACEs on attentional control, the role of temperament as a protective/risk factor, and individual differences through eyetracking. Results showed no direct relationship between ACEs and attentional control, however, ACEs were consistently associated with higher negative affect and …

May 2026, Office Of Sustainability

Office of Sustainability Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Migration Myth, Catie Prospero Mcguire

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

Refusing The Hunt, Catie Prospero Mcguire

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

The World::The Living Room, Ella Singer

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.