Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Mathematics Boot Camps: A Strategy For Helping Students To Bypass Remedial Courses, Marilyn Ann Louise Hamilton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many community colleges struggle to find the best strategy to help incoming at-risk students prepare for the placement test. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study, was to answer the question as to which of 2 programs, a 2-week, face-to-face mathematics refresher program, Math Boost-Up, or an online-only program, might increase the ACCUPLACER posttest scores of incoming community college students. The study used archival data for 136 students who self-selected to either participate in the Math Boost-Up program (the experiment group), or in the online-only program (the comparison group). Knowles's theory of adult learning, andragogy, served as the theoretical framework. …

Small Business Use Of Internet Marketing: Findings From Case Studies, Maya Demishkevich

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Internet marketing is critical for meeting changing consumer needs and staying competitive in the business environment. Small business owners need strategies on how to use Internet marketing to promote their products or services. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how 5 small business owners in Maryland developed and implemented an online marketing strategy. Participants were recruited for their roles as the chief decision maker of their business; additional prerequisites for their participation were that they used Internet marketing, represented different industries, and had fewer than 20 employees. Data came from semi-structured interviews with the small business …

Effects Of Single-Gender And Coeducational Learning Environments On Middle School Mathematics Achievement, Tasha Graves Henderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As a result of the increased number of schools failing to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP), school districts are searching for innovative ways to raise student achievement and meet the rigorous performance standards set by state governments. Using the theoretical framework provided by brain research and the theory of multiple intelligences, the purpose of this quantitative study was to compare 2 middle school classroom structures for differences in mathematics achievement among students. The study examined whether a significant difference existed in mathematics achievement scores on the state-mandated mathematics test for 2 groups (single gender classes versus coeducational classes) in 6 …

Effect Of Neighborhood Features On Bmi Of African American Adolescents In South Los Angeles, Francisca Omelogo Obiora

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Childhood obesity is a major national and worldwide public health crisis. The occurrence of childhood obesity, caused to large extent by an imbalance between caloric intake and caloric expenditure, has increased in the last 30 years. Although the prevalence of obesity has stabilized in recent years, it remains a top public health concern in the United States, especially in urban centers. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between diet, physical activity, and the built environment in relation to the mean body mass index (BMI) of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years living in South Los Angeles, …

The Triple Bottom Line And Social Responsibility Framework In Public Sector Management, Matthew Ajiake

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders of public sector agencies must incorporate the voices of diversified stakeholders into planning and decision-making processes. With aging infrastructures around the world, public agencies are challenged to move public benefit projects forward when citizens are not engaged or empowered to participate in the process. The purpose of this triple bottom line (social, ecological, and financial) and social responsibility study was to explore whether public sector organizations are socially responsible by law. A case study was developed using data from publicly available documents and interviews that explored how the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) implemented a social responsibility framework …

The Correlation Between Parental Involvement And Student Academic Achievement, Damien Ramon Antoine

LSU Master's Theses

This study investigates whether or not there is a correlation between parental involvement and student academic achievement. A sample of 103 students at Madison Preparatory Academy and CSAL Middle School (CSAL, Inc) were tested for correlations between the degree with which their parents are engaged in their academic lives and the success that they achieve as a result. Small correlations were found to exist between some of the variables tested. The test group consisted of a group of high school students from Madison Preparatory Academy (MPA) and their siblings who attended CSAL Middle which is the feeder school for MPA. …

Caspar: Congestion Avoidance Shortest Path Routing For Delay Tolerant Networks, Michael F. Stewart

LSU Master's Theses

Unlike traditional TCP/IP-based networks, Delay and Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTNs) may experience connectivity disruptions and guarantee no end-to-end connectivity between source and destination. As the popularity of DTNs continues to rise, so does the need for a robust and low latency routing protocol capable of connecting not only DTNs but also densely populated, dynamic hybrid DTN-MANET. Here we describe a novel DTN routing algorithm referred to as Congestion Avoidance Shortest Path Routing (CASPaR), which seeks to maximize packet delivery probability while minimizing latency. CASPaR attempts this without any direct knowledge of node connectivity outside of its own neighborhood. Our simulation …

A Palynological Analysis Of Seymour Island And King George Island Off The Antarctic Peninsula: A Dating And Climatic Reconstruction, Caven Madison Kymes

LSU Master's Theses

During the Cretaceous and early Paleocene, Antarctica was covered by lush vegetation. However, Antarctica today is covered with ice and snow leaving less than 1% of the continent inhabited by vegetation. By studying this decline in vegetation and reconstructing past environments, we can gain a better understanding of environmental changes and use this knowledge to predict future changes. In this thesis, I present my results and interpretations of palynological changes across the Antarctic Peninsula during the Late Eocene, Middle Oligocene, and Miocene. The first study discusses a paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the upper La Meseta formation (Late Eocene), Seymour Island, and …

A Study Of Mathematical Equivalence: The Importance Of The Equal Sign, Christy De'sha Duncan

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ understanding and knowledge of the equal sign, so that instructional resources could be identified to improve student’s conceptual understanding about mathematical equivalence. A test, consisting of a combination of items taken from previous studies, as well as items developed by the researchers, was designed to gauge students’ understanding of the equality symbol. The test was administered to 54 seventh-graders in Spring 2015. The results of the test indicated a significant number of students in our district have a limited understanding of mathematical equivalence. This papers ends with some suggested activities recommended …

Hydrological Influences On Catahoula Lake In An Altered Floodplain, Lincoln Dugue

LSU Master's Theses

Floodplain lakes in floodplains of large rivers undergoing intensive alterations are subject to hydrologic alteration. One example is in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) and pivotal habitat for wildlife. Catahoula Lake has experienced hydrologic regime alterations over the past ~150 years that may be contribute to changes in the habitat with expansion of woody plants. A Diversion Channel was constructed in 1972 to provide the natural, annual de-watering of the lake to maintain its ecological integrity, but ecologic changes are still occurring. Our general goal is to understand the hydrologic regime of the lake, particularly the historical hydrologic regime …

Impact Of Multileaf Collimator Configuration Parameters On The Dosimetric Accuracy Of 6-Mv Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy Treatment Plans, Nicholas Colin Petersen

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: To improve the dosimetric accuracy of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) dose distributions as calculated by the treatment planning system (TPS) by optimizing the parameters that govern multileaf collimator (MLC) transmission and rounded leaf offset. Methods: The MLC leaf transmission was optimized based on measurements made with ionization chambers and radiographic film. The rounded leaf offset table was optimized by measuring the radiation field edge as a function of leaf bank position with an ionization chamber in a water scanning tank and comparing the location to TPS equivalent dose calculations. Optimizations were validated by performing IMRT quality assurance (QA) …

Phylogenetic Tree Construction For Starfish And Primate Genomes Via Alignment Free Methods, Ambujam Krishnan

LSU Master's Theses

A phylogenetic tree is a tree like diagram showing the evolutionary relationship among various species based on their differences or similarity in their physical or genetic makeup.The similarity in their genetic makeup is traditionally measured based on pairwise distance between their gene sequences using sequence alignment methods. Due to the advancement in next generation sequencing technologies there is a huge amount of datasets available for partially or completely sequenced genomes. These massive datasets requires a faster comparison methods other than the traditional alignment-based approaches. Therefore, alignment free approaches are gaining popularity in recent years. In this thesis, we compare alignment-based …

Tracing Sediment In The Subsurface Using Beryllium-7: Green River Basin, Ky, Caroline Adams Broderick

LSU Master's Theses

As water flows through areas of limestone, karst inevitably develops, creating sinking streams and sinkholes that transport alumino-silicate particles from the surface into the subsurface. Sediment budget studies on short term scales through karst are rare. Thus, a feasibility study using beryllium-7 (7Be), which attaches to soil particles and can be used as a short-term (2-3 month) tracer of the movement of fine-grained sediment in karst was investigated. Sediment samples were collected from a karstic catchment within Green River basin, Kentucky, both on the surface and in the subsurface along a cave stream. Samples were collected prior to and immediately …

Chlorine Enrichment Of Hydrous Minerals In Archean Granulite Facies Ironstone From The Beartooth Mountains, Montana, Usa: Implications For High-Grade Metamorphic Fluids, Nicholas Michael Daigle

LSU Master's Theses

The amount of chlorine present in hydrous minerals influences mineral stability and may serve as a monitor of the evolving fluid phase during progressive metamorphism. Chlorine contents of amphibole and biotite vary as a function of temperature, pressure, crystallochemical factors, and fluid composition. The sensitivity of these minerals to serve as a monitor of Cl in aqueous fluids is particularly effective in Fe-rich amphibole and biotite such as those found in ironstones. Ironstones from the eastern Beartooth Mountains, Montana are typified by dominantly anhydrous mineral assemblages of quartz + magnetite + orthopyroxene + garnet ± clinopyroxene and have equilibrated during …

Distribution Of Uranium In A Black Shale Across The Shelf Of The Late Pennsylvanian Midcontinent Sea, Maxwell A. Lindaman

LSU Master's Theses

Uranium paleoredox proxies such as enrichment factors and 238U/235U ratios can be used to reconstruct redox conditions in ancient water masses on local and global scales based on the differential behavior of uranium in oxic, suboxic, and anoxic environments. Many studies have focused on black shales due to their high levels of metal enrichment and association with climactic events. However, the influence of local effects on uranium accumulation is uncertain, particularly in ancient epeiric sea environments. This study consists of two parts: an evaluation of common sequential extraction methods for U analysis (particularly the Tessier-type sequential extraction) and the application …

Habitat Preferences Of Adult Spotted Seatrout, Cynoscion Nebulosus, In Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, Noelle Marie Bramer

LSU Master's Theses

Spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) are a highly sought after sportfish, making up over 90% of the recreational fishery in Louisiana. As a significant portion of every life history stage is spent within its natal estuary, it is an ideal bio-indicator of estuarine health. As one of the largest estuaries in Louisiana, Lake Pontchartrain represents one such supporting ecosystem. From November 2012 to April 2014 acoustic tagging of individual fish, a lake-wide receiver array, and ArcGIS mapping software were utilized to determine the spatial distribution of spotted seatrout within the lake. Receivers were placed in representative locations including man-made and natural …

Development Of New Linking Chemistry With The Fac-{Re(Co)3}+ Core For Eventual Applications In Radiopharmaceuticals In Imaging And Therapy, Aponsu Meregngna Pramuditha Lakmi Abhayawardhana

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The facile labeling of biomolecules with a radionuclide is a key goal in radiopharmaceutical development. This study explores two different ligand systems for fac-[Re(CO)3L]+ complexes, that could be used in bioconjugation. The first approach uses a tridentate ligand having a sulfonamide linkage and modeled on previously evaluated fac-[Re(CO)3(N(SO2R)dpa)]PF6 complexes. The present goal was to develop new related sulfonamide complexes with more hydrophilic ligands designed to avoid the bioavailability problems that would plague the N(SO2R)dpa ligand system. A series of fac-[Re(CO)3(N(SO2R)dien)]PF6 complexes with different R groups linked to the central nitrogen of a symmetric tridentate sulfonamides were synthesized with the aim …

Platinum Complexes With Tridentate Ligands As Models For Active Monofunctional Anticancer Drugs, Chase Koby Andrepont

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Pt(II) complexes bind preferentially at N7 of G residues of DNA, causing DNA structural distortions associated with anticancer activity. Some distortions induced by difunctional cisplatin are also found for monofunctional Pt(II) complexes with carrier ligands having bulk projecting toward the guanine base. This ligand bulk can be correlated with impeded rotation about the Pt–N7(guanine) bond. The objective of this study is to understand the influences of in-plane bulk of Pt(Ltri)G adducts (Ltri = tridentate carrier ligand, G = guanine derivative bound to a metal, but not tethered to another nucleobase). NMR spectroscopy provided conclusive evidence that Pt(Ltri)G (Ltri = di-(2-picolyl)amine …

Measuring Social Vulnerability To Environmental Hazards In The Dutch Province Of Zeeland, Ryan Hamilton Kirby

LSU Master's Theses

The Netherlands is a kingdom known for resisting the perils of natural disaster and keeping records of how these great feats were accomplished. The Dutch have measured physical risk through methods such as the intricate VNK models to predict flood scenarios, but little research has been conducted to examine how the people living in affected areas could be impacted from a natural disaster event. This study employs fine-scale data to construct a social vulnerability index for the 164 districts of the low-lying delta province of Zeeland. The methodology used to measure social vulnerability is built on recent social vulnerability and …

Exploring Rational Numbers In Middle School, Robyn Jasmin Boudoin

LSU Master's Theses

The move by the state of Louisiana to fully implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) from 2013 -2014 school year on and to align all state mandated tests to the CCSS has caused teachers to change the way they teach and how they deliver content. The overall most crucial new part of the CCSS in Mathematics is the emphasis on the “Standards for Mathematical Practice”. In order to illustrate the meaning of the Mathematical Practice Standards, non routine problems must be used that allow students and teachers to “dig deeper” and practice their mathematical habits of mind. Rational numbers …

An Analysis Of Risk Perceptions And Attitudes Towards Climate Change Among Residents Of Southeastern Louisiana, Heather Marie Brown

LSU Master's Theses

Climate change is an important issue of concern, as its environmental impacts are already beginning to manifest in various means, such as through sea level rise and increased frequencies of storms. Areas of high vulnerability to the effects of climate change, such as southeastern Louisiana, are prime locations to initiate research in determining what factors influence individual’s risk perceptions towards climate change. This study aims is to identify key factors, specifically in the areas of socioeconomic, demographic, exposure, and attitudinal attributes, which affect climate change risk perceptions. The study area is that of the zip codes around Lake Pontchartrain in …

Impact Of Exposure To Weathered Crude Oil And Accumulation Of Pahs In Crawfish (Procambarus Clarkii), Brittany Lynn Chichester

LSU Master's Theses

The number of pipelines transporting crude oil and other refined petroleum products across the U.S. has increased 15.4% from 2004 to 2013. In Louisiana, over 3,450 miles of liquid petroleum pipelines crisscross the state. In January 2013, crude oil was accidentally released from an underground pipeline into Bayou Sorrel, Louisiana. This freshwater wetland is located within the Atchafalaya River Basin which is home to large populations of wild crawfish that could be impacted by the crude oil released. This study aims to assess the potential lethal impacts that crude oil spill may have produced in adult crawfish (P. clarkii) and …

Hybridization And Population Structure Of Western Gulf Coast Mottled Ducks, Robert Joseph Ford

LSU Master's Theses

Rates of hybridization between species that do not normally interbreed have increased due to human impacts on natural environments, such as habitat alteration or introductions of non-native species. Human-induced hybridization can be detrimental to wildlife and contribute to species extinctions. In Florida, feral Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) hybridize with endemic Mottled Ducks (A. fulvigula) at rates close to 9%. However, levels of hybridization between these two species have not been extensively examined in the western Gulf Coast (from Alabama to northern Mexico) despite the potential impact on the Mottled Duck lineage. In this study, I examined the degree of hybridization between …

The Challenges Of Being Chair In 2015: A 28 Year Perspective, Domenick Pinto

School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications

For 28 years as chair, I have witnessed the evolution of the role of chairperson as entrepreneurial skills, conflict resolution and time management have become increasingly vital to the success of the chair. My session will summarize the challenges that chairs must now face and overcome in 2015. The session will help relatively new and new chairs face scenarios and how to problem solve them.

Synthesis, Integration, And Physical Characterization Of Graphene And Carbon Nanotubes, David P. Hunley

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

Graphene and carbon nanotubes are among the hottest topics in physics today. Both materials exhibit numerous remarkable mechanical, electrical, optical, and thermal properties that make them promising materials for use in a large number of diverse applications, especially in the field of nanotechnology. One of the ultimate goals driving the fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology has been the attainment of atomically precise construction of intricate integrated systems consisting of materials with diverse behavior. Specifically, it is desirable to have high performance conductors, semiconductors, and insulators integrated into complex atomically precise arrangements. This dissertation represents the culmination of work that has …

Unimodality Questions In Ehrhart Theory, Robert Davis

Theses and Dissertations--Mathematics

An interesting open problem in Ehrhart theory is to classify those lattice polytopes having a unimodal h^*-vector.Although various sufficient conditions have been found, necessary conditions remain a challenge. Highly-structured polytopes, such as the polytope of real doubly-stochastic matrices, have been proven to possess unimodal h^*-vectors, but the same is unknown even for small variations of it.

In this dissertation, we mainly consider two particular classes of polytopes: reflexive simplices and the polytope of symmetric real doubly-stochastic matrices. For the first class, we discuss an operation that preserves reflexivity, integral closure, and unimodality of the h^{* …}

Investigation Into The Competitive Partitioning Of Dissociated H2 And D2 On Activated Fischer-Tropsch Catalysts, Wilson D. Shafer

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

The Fischer-Tropsch process, discovered in the early to mid-1920s, still has researchers disputing the C₁ monomer, and the rate-determining step. A tremendous amount of work, over the years, has focused on how hydrogen plays a role in the pseudo-polymerization of chain initiation and propagation, in an attempt to reveal the mechanism. These investigations attempted to elucidate the debated issues through studying the kinetic isotopic effect (KIE) for CO hydrogenation by switching the syngas from CO/H₂ to CO/D₂ during a steady-state period. Applying this switching step could result in a deviation in the rate of CO hydrogenation, indicating …

Multi-Directional Warning Message Dissemination Protocol Based On Motion Vector Clustering For Vanets, Hung-Chou Wang

Master's Theses

Problem. Most broadcast suppression protocols in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET) mainly focus on one-dimensional message dissemination model for both highway and urban scenarios. Due to the non-line-of-sight (NLOS) problem occuring frequently in urban scenario, protocols mostly rely on either infrastructure or the vehicle that is passing through the intersection to forward the message in multiple directions manner. However, these one-dimensional message dissemination models fail to take into account realistic road topologies and traffic distribution. As a result, they tend to miss some possible dissemination directions.

Method. Vehicles travelling on the same road share similar motion pattern due to the …

Distribution Of Sphaeriid Clams In Lake Erie Twenty-Five Years After Invasion Of Dreissena, Michael Keller

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

Clams in the family Sphaeriidae are widespread native mollusk species that are often overlooked. The distribution of these organisms in Lake Erie has not been examined in the 25 years since the initial invasion of the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha. Carr and Hiltunen identified 10 species of Sphaeriidae in Western Lake Erie in 1961, of which Pisidium casertanum, P. compressum, P. nitidum, Sphaerium corneum, and S. striatinum and Musculium transversum, contributed 89.7% of all fingernail and pea clams sampled and were considered common. Four other species were reported as rare. Our research examines whether the distribution of Sphaeriid clams in …

Investigating Rhoptry Gene Conservation Between Plasmodium Yoelii And Plasmodium Falciparum Using The Polymerase Chain Reaction For Dna Amplification, Brooke Burkhalter

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

In order to obtain a tangible basis for vaccine targets, it is crucial to understand the role of proteins at the site of invasion. In previous study, 27 novel rhoptry proteins were identified by MudPIT analysis and immunoelectron microscopy. In this investigation, the conservation of rhoptry genes between Plasmodium yoelii and Plasmodium falciparum was assessed. From the previously identified rhoptry genes, 14 were investigated with the orthologues/paralogues of the Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium yoelii, Plasmodium chabaudi, and Plasmodium berghei. Also, primers designed for the 14 Plasmodium yoelli rhoptry genes were used to test DNA amplification with the PCR. Amplification of Plasmodium …