Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Stereotypes On Black Women Audiences, Darian M. Shorts

LSU Master's Theses

This study focuses on the effects that televised racial stereotypes have on the self-perception of viewers who identify as Black women. This paper lists three commonly used stereotypes for Black women in television and provides detailed background and analysis of each. There were three goals that I wanted to achieve with this study. The first goal of this study was to measure the amount of stereotyped entertainment these specific viewers consume. The second goal of this study was to understand the positive and negative effects that racial stereotypes have on Black women. The last goal of this study was to …

A Case Study Of The Underrepresentation Of African American Male Educators: Career Choices And Experiences In Secondary Schools, Anthony Wayne Graham Jr

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to examine the career choices and experiences of African American male teachers in secondary grade settings. Participants included 17 African American males who taught core subjects at varying grade levels. All participants worked at schools in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, metropolitan area. The main source of data collection was completed through semistructured interviews with 17 African American male teachers. I arranged to visit the different schools and address all potential teachers interested in participating in this study. Additionally, I contacted all interested subjects through email. The findings provided important information related to …

Investigating The Determinants Of Student Low Enrollment In Historically Black Colleges And Universities (Hbcus): The Case Of One Hbcu In The South, Anthony Trumaine Jackson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

There is an undeniable fact that enrollment management efforts on academic campuses have become an integral part of campus finance and the backbone of accreditation. Many Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are on the verge of collapsing and even losing their accreditations due to low enrollment, a decline that has been observed in recent decades.

Therefore, this study investigated why students are not enrolling in HBCUs. The study further explored the perceived factors that are likely to contribute to low student enrollment at HBCUs and the role financial matters play in student enrollment. To address this gap in the …

#Blackgirlmathmagic: A Mixed Methods Study Examining African American Girls In Standardized Mathematicstesting, Rakeema Thomas Toussaint

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Black women have been making successful strides in mathematics for decades; however, they continue to be underrepresented in mathematics and other STEM fields. According to Young et al. (2017), Black girls and women perform lower in mathematics than all other racial gender groups except for Black males. Considering the stakes for Black girls and women in mathematics, this study sought to address this group's challenges early in their secondary education experiences, focusing on standardized testing.

The purpose of this explanatory-sequential mixed-methods study was to determine how different mathematics item types impacted the performance of African American girls, especially multiple-select multiple-choice …

The Arena Players, Inc.: The Oldest Continuously Operating African American Community Theatre In The United States, Alexis Michelle Skinner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Hay (1994) gave the Arena Players the moniker, “the oldest continuously operating African American community theatre company” in the U.S. But, if Black Theatre is increasingly found in mainstream venues in regional theatre and Broadway while Black Drama is relegated to syllabi, where is the living practice of African American, or black, community theatre? And what guarantees its survival? Craig (1980) and Fraden (1994) give voice to black critics, like Locke (1925), in co-creating objectives for black theatre during the FTP which took stage as the Negro Little Theatre continued. Hill & Hatch (2003) solidify the geographical and ideological connections …

The Impact Of Experimentally-Induced Perceived Discrimination On Substance Use, Kimberlye Elise Dean

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are among the most debilitating psychiatric disorders. Although prevalence rates of SUDs are similar between White and Black adults, these groups experience differential treatment outcomes (e.g., Black adults with SUDs are more likely to report greater pre- and post-treatment substance use). Examining culture-specific correlates of racial differences in substance use is vital to improve understanding of the etiological and maintaining mechanisms of SUDs among Black adults. Perceived racial discrimination (PRD) is prospectively related to various substance use-related outcomes. Thus, some may use substances to alleviate psychological distress (e.g., anxiety) associated with PRD, which may over time …

Religion, Racism, And Ecological Stress Among African-American Families: A Qualitative Analysis Of Perceptions And Coping Strategies, Johnnie W. Jones

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Americans do not reside in what many consider now a Post-Racial society. A remarkable number of researchers found that African Americans are more likely than any other racial group to experience racism, manifested by racist attitudes and practices, which negatively affect their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing (health). Very importantly, numerous scholarly works have examined racism and Black women qualitatively. Unfortunately, less has been known about the personal processes and meaning-making mechanisms of Black married couples and African American males in terms of how they cope with racism, and ecological stress. To address this gap, this study uses qualitative …

In-Group Effects Of News Use On African Americans, Folasade A'Lyce Adesanya

LSU Master's Theses

The topic of this thesis is how frequent news exposure affects the Black community’s perceptions of the world and trust in institutions. The purpose of this thesis is to uncover whether African Americans with more news exposure are more likely to view the world with skepticism and fear when compared to those with less news exposure. My hypotheses predicted that African Americans who have had frequent exposure to news will perceive the world as a meaner and scarier place (H1), will exhibit less trust in police officers (H2), and will exhibit less trust in news media (H3) than those who …

The Impact Of A Transdiagnostic Risk Factor On Willingness To Seek Treatment Among Black Students, Kimberlye Elise Dean

LSU Master's Theses

Anxiety and depressive disorders are among the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders, yet they remain under-treated in the U.S. Further, Black adults are significantly less likely that non-Hispanic White adults to seek or receive mental health services. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), a risk factor for developing and maintaining anxiety and depressive symptoms, may be negatively related to the decision to seek treatment and sociocultural variables related to treatment-seeking behaviors may impact this relation. The decision to seek treatment is composed of several subcomponents, including readiness to change (RTC) and willingness to seek treatment. Thus, the current study examined the relations …

A Phenomenological Investigation Into The Experiences Of High-Achieving African American Male Student Athletes At Predominately White Institutions In The Southeast Region, Runell Jeremiah King

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study is an attempt to examine the academic experiences among high achieving African American male student-athletes at predominantly White NCAA Division I institutions in the Southeast region. Most existing literature regarding African American student-athletes at Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) have examined their experiences by highlighting major deficiencies of this groups academic abilities. Most studies emphasize these students’ lack of preparedness, low academic achievement, and high attrition rates (Harper 2005). As a result, little information is available regarding African American male student-athletes who actually excel, achieve at high levels academically, and accomplish goals in which their non-student athlete peers do …

The Role Of Religious Coping In The Marital Stability Of Strong, African American Couples: A Strengths-Focused Approach., Antonius Delvecco Skipper

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Relatively few studies have examined the strengths of the African American family, while several have highlighted social issues that have affected the African American family such as divorce, single-parent households, and absentee fathers. This focus on deficit and dysfunction contributes to a research-based gap in understanding the African American marital dyad. Given that religion influences the lives of many African American couples, it is important to understand the impact that religious coping can have on marital stability in the African American community. The purpose of this study is to explore the underlying processes of religious coping for those African American …

From With–In The Black Diamond: The Intersections Of Masculinity, Ethnicity, And Identity–An Epistolary Autoethnographic Exploration Into The Lived Experiences Of A Black Male Graduate Student, Vincent Tarrell Harris

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

From With-In The Black Diamond: (Black Diamond) autoethnographically explores the lived experiences of a Black male who navigates his way through a predominately white higher education institutions while existing within marginalized spaces related to his gender, ethnicity, and identity. Black Diamond uses epistolary writing techniques to explore question research question: 1. How has a Black Gay male graduate student studying Higher Education negotiated his way to and through predominately white higher education institutions? In order to support the answering of this question I will argue that the most influential reasons higher education literature rarely addresses controversial topics related to GLBTQ …

Interpreting Blackness: A Phenomenological Case Study Of African American Young Adult Literature, Deleon Miriam Wilson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how Black students formulate representation of African American in African American young adult literature. It also explores the effects of race in reference to how characters are portrayed, publishing industry practices, and how African American literature is taught in the secondary classroom. In this study, I utilized qualitative research methods, specifically, phenomenology to place meaning on any occurrences cited by the participants. Data was collected using an initial interview, and a follow up interview to help clarify data collected from participants. This dissertation argues that race and gender constructs how characters are portrayed in African American young …

Impact Of Family And School Capital On The Academic Development Of African American And Hispanic Students, Jinmei Liu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated the impact of family/school capital on the academic development of African American and Hispanic students by examining four educational outcomes (math/reading achievement at the tenth grade, high school graduation, post-secondary enrollment and post-secondary degree attainment) from the tenth grade through their post-secondary education. The Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics provided the data source. Hierarchical linear regression, multilevel binary logistic regression, and logistic regression were utilized to quantify the impact of family/school capital on the educational outcomes of African American and Hispanic students. Family and school capital variables significantly impact …

Black And Gifted: Hiding In Plain View, Deanna Lynn Hayes-Wilson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract This dissertation examines representation of African Americans in gifted programs in an urban school district where the creation of gifted programs was enacted as a tool for desegregation. The research is conducted from the perspectives of gifted African American students in an effort to shed some light on whether an achievement gap exists or is the makeup of the program itself a deterrent to the enrollment of African American students. A qualitative study was conducted using personal narratives from students who were enrolled in a self-contained gifted program in the urban school districts. The participants gave personal interviews where …

"Music Down In My Soul:" Achieving A Sound Ideal For Moses Hogan Spirituals, Loneka Wilkinson Battiste

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT In 1995, Moses Hogan ushered in a resurgence of interest in the arranged spiritual at the national conference of the American Choral Directors Association in Washington, D. C. The impact of his arrangements was so profound that today he is widely recognized as being responsible for the mid-1990’s revitalization of interest in the arranged spiritual. In a day when various opinions abound on how Moses Hogan’s spirituals should be performed, the purpose of this study was to describe and define the sound ideal for Moses Hogan spirituals. Qualitative methods were used for the collection and analysis of data relevant …

Voices From The Coolest Corner Of Hell: A Content Analysis Of Slave Narratives In The Study Of Creolization In The Education Of 19th Century African American Slaves, Gina M. Rizzuto

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The general argument made by Southern historian, Ulrich Bonnell Phillips in 1918, is that the plantation functioned as a type of school for the slave. Similarly, in 1976, Anthony Gerald Albanese examined the plantation system as an institution that conditioned the behaviors of both slaves and slave owners. I maintain that the plantation system was not only an educative agency that conditioned behaviors, but also a conduit for the creolization process. The focus of this study is creolization in the education of African American slaves in the nineteenth century. This is a mixed methods content analysis of African American slave …

What Factors Influence Positive Father Involvement In African American Families?, Courtney Lashay Pitts

LSU Master's Theses

While positive fathers appear to be a myth in African American communities among current research, this study looks at the common factors among involved fathers in inner city neighborhoods. In a secondary analysis of interviews from happily married Black couples in inner city neighborhoods, overlapping themes emerge exploring the reasons behind positive involvement among fathers. In twenty-two interviews, both husbands and wives explain reasons for continuous father involvement in the lives of their children. Findings include a heavy reliance on faith, marital support and commitment to matrimony and value of responsibility to one’s family. Future research and implications should address …

The Attitudes Of African American Students Towards The Study Of Foreign Languages And Cultures, Katrina Watterson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the reasons that African American students participate at lower levels in foreign language programs in terms of taking courses and majoring and minoring in foreign languages. The primary foreign language that it explores is Spanish, and its findings suggest that the introduction of the language devoid of the influence of Afro-diasporic linkages to Spanish culture leads to the topic being taught in abstraction, therefore causing a lack of interest among African American students. As this study shows, a teacher's thinking about cultural and racial difference is often intimately woven into their disciplinary training, and as a result, …

Environmental Influences On Adherence To Self-Management Behaviors And Glycemic Control In African American Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Brooke L. Barbera

LSU Master's Theses

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic illness effecting approximately 20.8 million individuals in the United States. Minorities are adversely affected, with age-adjusted prevalence 1.7 times higher in African Americans than Caucasians. Type 2 diabetes is significantly affected by behavioral and environmental risk factors, including the presence of co-occurring diseases (i.e., hypertension, hyperlipidemia), obesity, age, and lack of physical activity, and each of these risk factors is more prevalent among African Americans. The treatment of diabetes is largely self-managed, with patients and their families handling 95% of their own care. Adherence to the multi-component diabetic treatment regimen requires daily care, often occurring …

Cause Of Hispanic Homicides In Major Metropolitan Areas, Michael Gregory Bisciglia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research investigating the relationship between segregation and crime has been extensively examined in the literature. Although numerous studies have looked at segregation’s influence homicides, most have focused on African Americans. This study extends current research by focusing on Hispanic segregation and homicide victimization. Using a 236 city sample, homicides are shown to rise when Hispanics are segregated from Whites. In comparison, a 208 city sample finds that segregation also contributes to a rise in African American homicides. It was also expected that the more homogeneous Hispanic population would reduce homicides, but such an association was not present in the full …

Separate But Equal?: The Archaeology Of An Early Twentieth-Century African American School, Dena Lyn Struchtemeyer

LSU Master's Theses

The written and historical record is frequently flawed, as it most often written by a single dominant group. The history of Morganza Elementary, an early twentieth century African American school in Morganza, Louisiana, was both omitted from the historical record and as a result, was slowly being erased in the minds of the community. Archaeological excavations were undertaken in order to better understand the lifeways of both the community and the students as well as the daily practices of both. In conjunction with the archaeological excavations, oral histories were completed with former students. Through this combination, new light was shed …

Learning Styles And Student's Perception Of Teachers' Attitudes And Its Relation To Truancy Among African Americans Students In Secondary Education, Kenyetta Quenishia Nelson-Smith

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Many researchers have examined the effect of truancy and student achievement. However, there has been little or no focus on the effect of truancy and non-attendance among ethnic minorities. The current study examined how African American students’ learning styles and their perceptions of teachers’ attitudes toward them and the learning environment influenced their decision to become high truants. Additionally, the study sought to find if selected demographic factors had any relevance on the truancy rate of African American students. The researcher used several assessment instruments to measure the variables being tested. The Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire (ILS), developed by …

Environment, Labor, And Race: An Historical Geography Of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, 1878-1956, Amy Rhiannon Sumpter

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, is known as a white suburb of New Orleans. It also has a well-known history as a health resort for wealthy New Orleanians during the summer months, particularly during yellow fever outbreaks in the late nineteenth- and early twentieth centuries. This research investigates the historical geography of this parish in terms of race and attempts to answer the question of how St. Tammany became an attractive place for the development of white subdivisions in the 1950s. I uncover the connections between race, labor, the environment, and political culture of the parish from 1878—the year Reconstruction ended—to …

The Macarthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory As An Assessment Tool For Low-Income, African American Children, Elizabeth Waters Wooden

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the usefulness of the MacArthur- Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) as an assessment tool for low-income, African American (AA) children. The data were from eighty-seven typically developing AA children, aged 8 to 30 months; these children were recruited from childcare centers that served low-income populations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Each participant’s primary caregiver completed a biographical sketch and a CDI inventory. Two analyses were completed. The first analysis examined the distribution of the CDI scores relative to the child’s age, gender, birth order, and level of maternal education. The second analysis involved …

Entering The Academy: Exploring The Socialization Experiences Of African American Male, Dorian L. Mccoy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored the socialization experiences of African American male faculty at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and predominately White institutions (PWIs). Rosch and Reich’s Enculturation Model was used as the theoretical framework. To gain a better understanding of the socialization experiences of African American male faculty, a group that has traditionally been underrepresented and marginalized in academia, Critical Race Theory (CRT) was incorporated into the study. More specifically, counter-storytelling, a basic tenet of CRT, was used to learn the stories that African American male faculty tell about their socialization experiences. A mixed methodology research design was utilized. Interviews …

Of Fathers And Sons: Generational Conflicts And Literary Lineage--The Case Of Ernest Hemingway And Ernest Gaines, Wolfgang Lepschy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Focusing on the depiction of the father-son relationship and the generational conflicts in their works, as well as the metaphorical literary father-son relationship between the two authors, this dissertation offers an intertextual reading of the works of Ernest Hemingway and Ernest J. Gaines. Part One examines Hemingway’s Nick Adams stories that feature the young hero’s growing disillusionment with and eventual rejection of his home and family. Parodying conventional stereotypes about Native American ways of life, Hemingway deconstructs prevailing notions of race by aligning Nick’s father with the wilderness and the Indians. Gaines’s earliest short stories focus on a reunion of …