Life Sciences Commons^™

Rice Hull Bioreactor For Recirculating Aquaculture, Marlon A. Greensword

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The engineering of floating media biofilters has been optimized over the years. The backwashing process has made them more energy and water efficient. Likewise, moving bed bioreactors (MBBR) are gaining interest and popularity because they are relatively affordable to build. Yet, developing countries’ aquaculture production remains largely excluded from the advances made in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). This discrepancy is partially driven by the high costs of media such plastic beads and Kaldnes (KMT) media, commonly used in MBBR.

This dissertation evaluates the usability and profitability of rice hulls (RH), an abundant by-product in many developing nations, as a sinking …

Descriptive Aanalysis Of Agritourism In Louisiana: Motivation. Marketing. Limitations., Denys Maksymov

LSU Master's Theses

This study aims to present information on the existing Louisiana agritourism industry and create a descriptive profile of agritourism operators, addressing specifically what motivates people to engage in agritourism. A subsequent focus of the study is to document marketing approaches used in promoting agritourism operations and concerns and limitations faced by Louisiana agritourism operators. These will be achieved through the following objectives: 1. Use a survey instrument to collect information on the demographics of farmers interested and/or engaged in agritourism, farm characteristics, types of activities offered in the agritourism operations, as well as motivators for engaging in agritourism. 2. Analyze …

Dynamic Modelling Of Local Government Wealth When Shocked By Natural Disasters, Alejandra Brevé Ferrari

LSU Master's Theses

Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm on August 29th of 2005. It is the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Communities across the country are increasingly at risk of being affected by natural and environmental disasters. The Public Assistance Grant Program (PA Program) administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is available for states and communities that have received a major or emergency disaster declaration. Most of Emergency Management (EM) research has focused on preparedness and mitigation activities; considerably less research has studied post disaster response. Two of the initial and most important aspects …

Preferences And Values For The Gulf Coast Ocean Observing System, Cody Lynn Plummer

LSU Master's Theses

Integrated Ocean Observing Systems (IOOS) provide real time oceanic data and sea state forecasting information that is utilized by numerous public and private sectors engaging in maritime activities. The U.S. Gulf Coast constituent of this system (GCOOS) consists of 321 platforms, buoys, and sensors that provide measurements of wind speed, wave height, water quality, and other parameters. Government entities have proposed an expansion of this infrastructure by 40% at an estimated cost of $35 million for installation and $33 million annually for maintenance. As part of a larger project commissioned to estimate monetized benefits of this expansion, this study applied …

Three Essays On Consumption Behavior, Credit, And Labor Supply Of Farm Households In Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence From Uganda, Seydina Ousmane Sene

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Consumption patterns, credit, and labor supply are determinants of human welfare, and also indicators of a country's economic progress, poverty, and inequalities. In this study, I review many of the stylized facts regarding consumption behaviors, credit, and the decision to engage in off-farm labor supply. I also put the life cycle model into an empirical model and perform testing. This is done in a three-essay format with a focus on the country of Uganda. In the first essay, I test whether farm households’ consumption behavior is consistent with an optimization process predicted by economic theory. In essay II, I evaluate …