Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Effectiveness Of “Turn Around Don’T Drown”, Chance D. Bryant

LSU Master's Theses

Extreme heat is the deadliest weather hazard in the U.S. Flooding is the second worst, and flash flooding is the deadliest form of flooding. The nature of these flood deaths contains a human element that deserves greater study. Since 2004, the National Weather Service has attempted to educate the public with its slogan, ``Turn Around Don’t Drown". Vehicle related mortality rates in Texas since 1996 were examined to answer the question of whether ``Turn Around Don’t Drown" has been effective. The slogan has a large footprint on the social media platform Twitter, with most of the Tweets coming from private …

The Predictive Influence Of Challenging Behavior On Parent Stress In Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Paige Weir

LSU Master's Theses

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication, restricted interest, and repetitive patterns of behavior. Individuals with ASD also exhibit challenging behaviors that affect parent and caregiver stress directly. However, researchers have not yet examined the predictive influence of specific challenging behaviors on parent stress, particularly in young children (i.e., infants and toddlers) with ASD. Therefore, the current study expands existing literature by a) investigating the influence that challenging behaviors of young children with ASD have on parent stress and b) examining the unique contribution that each behavior (i.e., aggressive/disruptive behavior, stereotypy, and self-injurious …

What The Shell? The Zooarchaeology Of Cerro San Isidro, Peru, Monica Fenton

LSU Master's Theses

Zooarchaeologists have documented the importance of marine resources in the ancient Andes, and the first field season at Cerro San Isidro (Ancash, Peru) proves no different. The multi- component hilltop archaeological complex lies in the agriculturally rich Moro Pocket of the middle Nepeña Valley, at least an eight-hour walk from the ocean on the north-central coast. Between June and August 2019, members of the Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica Cerro San Isidro carried out the first scientific excavations at this important ancient human settlement. Block excavations focused on a hypothesized elite compound, documenting intermittent occupations from the Late Formative (c. 600 …

Efficiency Of Teaching Sight Words In Similar Vs Dissimilar Sets, Jensen Chotto

LSU Master's Theses

Early reading intervention can decrease the likelihood that children who struggle with reading develop long-term reading problems. Due to the prevalence of words that cannot be read phonetically in the English language, sight word instruction is required to supplement phonics instruction. In this study, we compared the effects of creating sets of sight words with the same starting letter (3 words per set, 3 total sets) versus distributing words with the same starting letter across sets when assessing acquisition of the combined set (9 words) in five 4-to-6-year-old children using a combined adapted alternating treatments design and pre-posttest design. All …

A Systematic Review And Reflection On The Dimensions Of Diversity Represented In Behavior Analytic Research, Jodie Waits

LSU Master's Theses

The United States continues to transition towards a majority-minority composition and this trend has most rapidly emerged for school-aged children. Work with diverse populations calls for specialized skills and training experiences, but these are not strongly reflected in most training programs in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). The present review was conducted to evaluate the scope and range of the dimensions of diversity included in Behavior Analytic research (e.g. race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, etc.), as well as to compile recommendations related to culturally responsive practice in ABA. The search revealed a total of 50 publications featuring a dimension of diversity. These works …

An Erp Study Of The Effects Of Iconic And Nonsense Gestures On Memory Formation, Brianna E. Cairney

LSU Master's Theses

Co-speech gesture is an important part of human communication and aids in comprehension, learning, and memory. The addition of iconic gestures to speech has been shown in prior work to enhance memory for the speech. However, it remains unclear as to whether this benefit requires gestures to be meaningful, or, conversely, if any attentionally-engaging gesture will enhance memory. In the current study, we tested two theories to explain the mnemonic benefits of co-speech gesture: Dual Coding Theory, which attributes these benefits to multimodal encoding and enhanced imageability, and Attentional Highlighting Theory, which posits that gestures draw more attention to concurrent …

Variability Of Grower Net Returns With Crop Enterprise Selections Over Risk, James Mccann

LSU Master's Theses

A grower’s crop enterprise selection plays a substantial role in determining the operational profitability in areas that are capable of growing diverse crops, such as the northern and central regions of Louisiana. Each crop enterprise selection is subject to variation in risk as market conditions, weather, and production costs can all be critical factors that could potentially impact the level of per-acre net returns to the grower. Variations or volatility in one or more of these risk categories can result in growers electing to plant alternative enterprises on their farms. Simulation modeling allows farm managers the ability to calculate mean …

Degumming Of Hemp Fibers Using Combined Microwave Energy And Deep Eutectic Solvent, Bulbul Ahmed

LSU Master's Theses

Hemp is considered as one of the sustainable agricultural fiber materials. Degumming or surface modification of hemp bast is needed to produce single fibers for ensuing textile and industrial applications. The traditional degumming process necessitates a high amount of alkali, which causes detrimental environmental pollution. This study offers a new method to degum hemp fibers with reduced use of harmful alkali and precious water resources. In this work, hemp bast fibers were degummed by using combined microwave energy and deep eutectic solvent (DES). The properties of hemp fibers manufactured by this method were investigated and compared with the traditional alkali …

What Are People Searching During The Pandemic? Exploring The Determinants Of Public Interest Through Google Searches, Justin Weng

LSU Master's Theses

In 2020, COVID-19 became a serious health concern to people worldwide, regardless of their socioeconomic status, cultural characteristics, or political freedom. Even though this unprecedented crisis was the most impactful and dominant issue in 2020, COVID-19 was not the only issue that people were interested in. This study explored if and how national characteristics influenced global public interests during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Using popular online searches in 23 nations, this study categorized global public interests into two ways: COVID-19 related and non-COVID-19 related issues, with four and 13 sub-categories, respectively. Results showed that people in higher political freedom …

Racial Dissimilarity And Employee Attitudes And Behaviors: The Moderating Role Of Competitive Work Environment And Social Support, Sydney Green

LSU Master's Theses

Racial diversity within public and private organizations is a controversial topic: many companies are encouraged to make their team racially representative of the general public while also maintaining productivity. At the same time, research suggests that increasing racial diversity may have a negative influence on desirable work-related outcomes, especially if employees perceive themselves to be racially dissimilar from their coworkers. In attempting to increase racial diversity, organizations may leave some of their employees experiencing negative consequences related to being the only employee of a particular racial minority group (e.g., Black). These types of circumstances and their negative consequences adds to …

Operating The Digital Space In The Age Of Protest Participation, Kyle Stanley

LSU Master's Theses

This study examines young African American adults’ usage of social media and other digital spaces as tools to build community given the rise in protest participation in North American (U. S.) society while at the height of a global health pandemic. Since early adulthood is a time where African Americans are most active online, this study will examine how and why those African Americans are turning to digital spaces to find social connections. Racism and racial injustice are two of the most pressing issues in the African American community, and it is clear that it can be an emotionally laborious …

A Geospatial And Statistical Analysis Of Dropout In Louisiana Public High Schools, Michael D. Stein

LSU Master's Theses

Students dropping out of high school is a nationwide problem, plaguing communities and often greatly reducing the prospects of a quality life for those students who do not complete their high school educations. Louisiana consistently has among the highest public high school dropout rates in the United States, and often the highest. This geospatial and statistical study aims to identify the factors that correlate with high school dropout in Louisiana public high schools, specifically, and to produce detailed maps of the dropout rates across the state to identify the schools most afflicted.

Extensive school-level data from five academic years (2014-15 …

Environmental Perception In Colombia's Páramo Protected Areas, Juliana Delgado

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the gap between farmers' environmental perceptions in Téquita, a small village in Colombia, and the definition of protected areas has led to a conflict for the use of natural resources. I examine if the protected area's policies have dealt with the social and ecological issues in the páramos and recognized the social construction of the landscape, farmers' identities, and their interpretations about work and land. The case study focuses on Güina High Mountain in the Guantiva-La Rusia páramo complex, which recently the Colombian government declared as a protected area. In light of anthropologist Tim Ingold's meaning of …

Ancient Pottery Making At Cerro San Isidro, Nepeña Valley, Peru, Kaitlyn M. Lowrance

LSU Master's Theses

Located in the Nepeña Valley of north-central Peru, Cerro San Isidro was first documented in the 1930s when the valley was initially surveyed. While numerous sites along the valley, particularly those located in the lower valley, have been extensively researched since this initial survey, members of the Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica Cerro San Isidro (PIACSI) conducted the first formal excavations in 2019. My thesis project analyzes the ceramic artifacts – in particular pottery fragments – from that field season in order to evaluate continuity and change in morphological and technical styles from the Early Horizon through the Late Intermediate Periods …

"Airbnb Go Home:" Tourism Frictions And Short-Term Rentals In New Orleans, Madeline R. Fussell

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines the concerns and conflicts around short-term rental (STR) properties in New Orleans neighborhoods. Using data from collected from critical discourse analysis, semi-structured interviews and social media posts, this paper analyzes the ways the city of New Orleans, residents of the city, STR hosts, and platforms like Airbnb discuss issues of safety, displacement, rising costs of living, as well as responsible STR practices. To understand the complexities of the issues people, have with short-term rental properties, this project approaches STRs from a housing and gentrification lens to understand the role these properties play within in the daily atmospheres …

The Relationship Between Type Of Parental First Concerns And Severity Of Developmental Delays In Toddlers With Autism Or Developmental Delay, Joshua J. Montrenes

LSU Master's Theses

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social communication and the presence of restricted, repetitive behaviors. The impairments which are commonly associated with ASD manifest during early development as delayed speech or impaired social skills, for example. These early indicators are often noticed by parents who convey concern to medical professionals. Research has found associations between these early parental concerns and a later diagnosis of autism, noting their predictive validity. Research has yet to address the relationship between types of parental concerns and developmental functioning. This study examined whether certain parent reported concerns are more predictive of impaired …

Developing Student Agency In The Choral Classroom: A Case Study, Danielle E. Laird

LSU Master's Theses

This multiple-case study sought to describe how student agency is cultivated within two high school choir programs. Research questions were: (a) In what ways did participating teachers incorporate student agency? (b) How did their students describe their experience? (c) What opportunities/difficulties emerged when students assumed leadership and decision-making roles? (d) Why do participating teachers offer these to students? (e) How do opportunities for student agency serve student learning and program goals? Data collection included semi-structured teacher interviews in two stages, as well as a student questionnaire. Other data included choir handbooks, student leadership information, social media presence, and classroom signs. …

Five Love Languages: Assessment Of Marital Satisfaction In African American Couples, Freddricka C. Lee

LSU Master's Theses

This mixed-methods study examined marital satisfaction among five (n = 10) heterosexual, African American married couples. In particular, this study examined how acknowledging a partner’s love language (Chapman, 1995) can affect these couples’ level of marital satisfaction. The participants were native to the South and ranged from 26-55 years of age. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data revealed couples were satisfied with their marriages. Although only marginally significant, the findings also revealed acknowledging a spouse’s love language was positively related to higher levels of marital satisfaction. Seven themes emerged throughout the interviews, namely communication; financial stability; understand a spouse’s …

The One – Way (Agri)Cultural Mirror: A Case Study Of How Young Agriculturalists Understand And Experience Culture, Janiece M. Pigg

LSU Master's Theses

As the global economy continues to transform how society operates, cultural competence has become a buzzword in education, professional development, research, government, and healthcare (Gay, 1994; Gallus et al., 2014). Cross et al. (1989) developed the most accepted definition of cultural competence: “a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enable that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations” (p. 13).

Despite this, little to no research has been devoted to understanding cultural competence in agriculture. Thus, a need emerged to describe the cultural competence …

"The Face Of The Agency": Interviews With Death Investigators In South Louisiana, Natalie H. King

LSU Master's Theses

According to the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators, “the role of the medicolegal death investigator is to investigate any death that falls under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner or coroner, including all suspicious, violent, unexplained and unexpected deaths” (American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators [ABMDI], n.d.). As such, a death investigator has a job that is highly intense and stressful at a level similar to that of doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and firefighters. The majority of the literature written about death investigators focuses on procedural issues, while there seemingly is a lack of literature focused on …

Sea-Level Rise And Settlement At Ta’Ab Nuk Na, Belize: Analyses Of Marine Sediment From The I-Line, 4m Transect, Conner B. Flynt

LSU Master's Theses

The ancient Maya of Mesoamerica created a culture with writing, religion, and vast trade networks. These trade networks are evident on the southern coast of Belize, where archaeologists have found sites dedicated to salt making. One of these sites, Ta’ab Nuk Na, was the subject of this thesis. Sediment and charcoal samples were collected from this site by the Underwater Maya Research Group led by Heather McKillop and E. Cory Sills. For my thesis research, I subjected these samples and components within them to loss-on ignition, radiometric dating, and microscopic analysis. Loss-on ignition was used to ascertain organic material percentage …

The Bioarchaeology Of The Lake St. Agnes Mound (16av26) Site: Exploring Diet From Fragmentary Remains, Kenneth Tremblay

LSU Master's Theses

The Lake St. Agnes Mound (16AV26) site, located in central Louisiana, is composed of two, temporally distinct burial components; one, a Coles Creek period component, at the base of the mound (~780-880 CE), and the other, a Plaquemine subperiod component, at its apex (~1400 CE). These burials, though heavily fragmented, commingled, and representing small sample sizes, are valuable for studying the transition to agriculture in the Lower Mississippi River Valley. It is now clear that for the Coles Creek period, maize was likely only a ceremonial crop rather than a staple food source (Kidder, 1993; Listi, 2011). The reliance on …

Assessing The Validity Of The Estimation Of Population Affinity From The Maxillary Hard Palate: An Empirical Approach Using A Modern Forensic Sample, Christopher M. Goden

LSU Master's Theses

In response to Beathard and DiGangi’s (2020) call to action for empirical assessment of population affinity estimation methodology, this study investigates the validity of maxillary palate shape as an indicator of ancestral population affinity for human skeletal remains through the use of Elliptical Fourier Analysis (EFA) and Linear Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA). Further, this study also places emphasis on the expressed variation of palate shape within and between population groups exemplified by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of EFA data.

Computed tomography scans of 180 individuals of Black, White, and Hispanic population affinities were obtained from the New Mexico Decedent Imaging …

Modeling Cumulative Risk During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Psychosocial And Socioeconomic Factors For Older Minority Adults, James F. Osborne Iv

LSU Master's Theses

Continued response to the sum consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has disparately affected the physical and mental health of older minority adults in the United States. SARS-CoV-2 created an acute epidemiological crisis of public health coinciding with a chronic pandemic of accentuated psychosocial stress. Biological and socio-economic risk of morbidity and mortality follow a demographic gradient of subjectively constructed social status that disproportionally threatens older adults and minority racial/ethnic communities. Pathways to increased socio-economic and psychosocial vulnerability are multifactorial and complex. Factors of race, socio-economic status, gender, and age, each contribute to individualized profiles of vulnerability to risk exposure.

The …

A Critical Examination Of Media Images Of The Civil Rights Movement And Their Role In Shaping Collective Memories Among Northern White Audiences, Martha Ramirez

LSU Master's Theses

Collective memory theory has been used to study a wide array of phenomena, including the media’s role in shaping collective memories of pivotal and influential events throughout society. Often when lacking direct contact and engagement, the media may shape the collective memories of audiences. As such, the current study examines prominent images presented in the media and the potential role each could have contributed to the collective memory of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. More specifically, this study analyzes how collective memories, which are arguably influenced by the mass media, create memories for audiences that lack direct engagement (e.g., participating …

How "Lyingnewspapers" Made Huey Long The Ruler Of His State: A Model Of Press-Populist Dynamics, Christina A. Georgacopoulos

LSU Master's Theses

Huey Long’s use of the phrase “lyingnewspapers” to discredit negative publicity is commonly cited as evidence of his negative relationship with the mainstream press, but he did not always hold a hostile view toward newspapers. Before the press turned against him during his enemies' attempt to impeach him as governor in 1929, newspapers were one of his central tools for political advancement. He devised strategies to attract press attention and relied on newspapers to publicize himself and propagate his ideas more frequently and consistently than he used circulars or radio broadcasts, which are commonly attributed to his political success. As …

The State Of Immigration: An Analysis Of Attitudes Towards Immigration Policies, Economic Context And Political Ideology, Heather Kuntz

LSU Master's Theses

Division of attitudes towards immigration policy is more polarized than ever (Public Religion Research Institute, 2018). Historically, restrictive attitudes towards immigration policies have been highest in times of rising nationalist ideals and economic vulnerability (Jaret, 1999; Ngai, 2004). Primarily a federal responsibility, immigration enforcement was decentralized and that power shared with individual states (Pantoja, 2006), leading to policy disparities among states (Butz & Kehrberg, 2019; Gulasekaram et al., 2015; Johnson, 2019). Studies focusing on the relationship between state economic context and immigration policies, found that states that are more economically vulnerable had higher numbers of restrictive immigration policies (Ybarra et …

Transport-Related Social Exclusion In East Baton Rouge Parish, Andrew Dietz

LSU Master's Theses

Transportation systems are powerful tools, capable of entrenching existing inequalities or facilitating the pursuit of a more equitable society (Wellman, 2015). This is particularly true for urban areas that are plagued by sprawl, congestion, and racialized poverty like East Baton Rouge Parish. Transport-related social exclusion (TRSE) provides a framework for understand the relationship between access to transportation (or lack thereof, known as transport disadvantage) and individuals’ ability to participate in the economic, social, cultural, and political aspects of life (Kamruzzaman, Yigitcanlar, Yang, & Mohamed, 2016) Transport-related social exclusion is associated with numerous negative outcomes including poor mental and physical health, …

Using The Seventh Rib Length And Depth Measurements As A Method To Estimate Ancestry And Sex In Adults, Alexandria M. Amaki

LSU Master's Theses

This study tested the correlation of dimensions of the left seventh rib (L7) to ancestry and sex in adult humans. The first hypothesis, based on Bergmann’s theory, is that Black (African-American) individuals will have smaller L7 dimensions than White individuals (Americans of primarily European descent). The second hypothesis is that males, due to sexual dimorphism, will have larger ribs than females. 299 individuals from the Hamann-Todd Skeletal Collection were used in the study, approximately evenly distributed among sex and ancestry groups. Five variables were examined, including three measurements (length, width, and width point), and two calculations (area and ratio). A …

Anxiety And Depression's Incremental Effect On Executive Functioning Deficits In Children And Adolescents, Paige Picou

LSU Master's Theses

Children and adolescents experiencing anxiety and/or depression experience impairment in a myriad of domains and often engage in maladaptive strategies that then exacerbate or prolong their current symptomology. However, there is still a paucity of research examining anxiety and depression’s impact on executive functioning in children and adolescents, and existing research is muddled with problems in how researchers both define and choose to measure executive functioning. This study aims to clarify some of the conflicting research on anxiety and depression’s impact on executive functioning by using Barkley’s hybrid theory of executive functioning to determine whether anxiety and depressive symptomology add …