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A Dance Of Resistance: The Puerto Rican Bomba As A Means To Challenge Intersections Of Discrimination On The Island, Daniel Loving

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines the Puerto Rican Bomba as a multifaceted cultural and political phenomenon, focusing on its pivotal role in challenging and subverting the enduring issues of racial and gender discrimination on the Island. Drawing from an interdisciplinary framework that encompasses cultural studies, anthropology, history, performance and film studies, this research elucidates the complex interplay between Bomba's rhythmic and choreographic elements, its historical evolution, and its contemporary significance in the context of Puerto Rico's sociopolitical landscape. By analyzing Bomba's historical roots in African and indigenous traditions, its adaptation during colonial and post-colonial eras, and its ongoing relevance in the struggle …

The Adoption Of Conservation Practices And Program Participation Among Socially Disadvantaged Agricultural Producers: A Meta-Analysis, Myles A. Brown

LSU Master's Theses

As climate change has become undeniable in recent years, it has become increasingly important for the agriculture industry to address conservation. Within the agriculture industry, small farmers are usually the ones who take on this burden on a daily basis. However, some socially disadvantaged agricultural producers face unique challenges compared to the average farmer, which may impede their ability to adopt the necessary conservation practices or participate in conservation programs. This review sought to provide a definitive economic analysis on the possible effect of race on conservation adoption and program participation, as there is not much research on this topic. …

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 …

Do Black Girls Receive Later Developmental Disability Diagnoses?: Results From A National Study Of Children In The United States, Danequa Forrest

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

This study sought to analyze if age at diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and developmental delay varies by race and sex for children between ages 6 and 17 years old. I used data from the 2011 Survey of Pathways to Diagnosis and Services (“Pathways”), a follow-up survey to the 2009/10 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN). With this nationally representative dataset, I was able to perform ordinary least squares linear regression in Stata 13. Results determined that Black girls were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder about two years later than White girls, nearly …

Social Justice Through Social Media: The Use Of Twitter As A Tool For Activism In The #Metoo #Blacklivesmatter Era, Laura L. Coleman

LSU Master's Theses

This study focuses on social justice and how people on Twitter chose to talk about it. The rise of social media has allowed Twitter users to speak more freely in more spaces than one. The study compared two different sexual assault cases between Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Professor Christine Blasey; and Virginia’s Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax and Vanessa Tyson. Applying the social responsibility theory, which allows free press without any censorship, I then can see the tone of which Black Twitter users have when talking about two separate sexual assault cases. This study compares the use of the #BlackTwitter hashtag …

Exploring The Role Of Gender And Race In Salary Negotiations, Chelsea D. Hightower

LSU Master's Theses

Research findings from the negotiation literature have revealed significant differences in the negotiation behaviors of men and women, specifically that women do not negotiate as often or as successfully as men do. This difference has been cited as one of many factors contributing to the persistence of the gender wage gap. A possible explanation for the differences is that men and women are treated differently when they negotiate. Thus, there is evidence that women negotiators tend to receive multiple forms of social and economic punishment (i.e., backlash) for engaging in behavior that is inconsistent with stereotype-based expectations of women in …

Local Vs. National: How Twitter Reflects News Coverage Of Colin Kaepernick Protests, Jared Paul Joseph

LSU Master's Theses

Local and national media dedicate different levels of coverage to issues depending on its relevancy to their audiences. This study uses news outlets’ social media activity to show that coverage discrepancies occurred with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s National Anthem protest. Because his protest reached national headlines, Kaepernick suffered the same fate of many protesting athletes in the past. This study will show how national media carried his story to national headlines and framed his protest negatively. The findings show that local media were the least active among the three media levels, local, regional and national, in covering the Kaepernick …

"If You Stand On This Corner, People Know What You're About": Powerful Geographies Of Airline & Goodwood In #Justiceforalton, Shannon Kathleen Groll

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis seeks to understand the multiple geographies of Airline & Goodwood, a site of protest occupied nightly during a part of summer 2016 in response to the police shooting of Alton Sterling. Through a methodology of observant-participation, interviews, and oral histories, I make the case that the politics of this site differed from other contemporaneous protest sites in the city through specific place-making activity which highlighted the site’s powerful contemporary and historical geographies. I connect protest at this site to the precarity of Black life and death in Baton Rouge through interviews and oral histories which discuss the historical …

"Fifty Shades Of Black": The Black Racial Identity Development Of Black Members Of White Greek Letter Organizations In The South, Danielle Ford

LSU Master's Theses

It could be argued that one of the most segregated settings on a college campus today can be found amongst the sprawling mansions that line a university’s Fraternity and Sorority Row. While many Black students join Black Greek-letter organizations (“BGLOs”), a small number decide to rush and pledge White Greek-letter organizations (“WGLOs”). According to Matthew Hughey, a professor at the University of Connecticut who studies race in Greek life, only 3 to 4 percent of members of WGLOs are nonwhite (Hughey, 2007).

Historically, many WGLOs’ constitutions and policies included official “race clauses” that banned non-White students from membership; those clauses …

An Impossible Direction: Newspapers, Race, And Politics In Reconstruction New Orleans, Nicholas F. Chrastil

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines the racial ideologies of four newspapers in New Orleans at the beginning and end of Radical Reconstruction: the Daily Picayune, the New Orleans Republican, the New Orleans Tribune, and the Weekly Louisianian. It explores how each paper understood the issues of racial equality, integration, suffrage, and black humanity; it examines the specific language and rhetoric each paper used to advocate for their positions; and it asks how those positions changed from the beginning to the end of Reconstruction. The study finds that the two white-owned papers, the Picayune and the Republican, while political opponents, both viewed …

Managerial Labor Mobility In The National Football League, Jeremy Joseph Foreman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Within the present dissertation, determinants of leader dismissals, promotions, and demotions are explored. A model of CEO dismissals is adapted to the context of the National Football League (NFL), whereby head coaches represent CEOs. Building upon empirical studies of the CEO dismissal model, a proxy is established which is representative of actual candidates to replace an executive rather than proxies based on industry and firm characteristics. Using the proxy for candidates provided statistically insignificant results that challenge the theoretical relationship between candidate availability and executive dismissals. Additionally, the present dissertation proposed and found empirical justification for incorporating an additional socio-political …

Skin Color And Social Practice: The Problem Of Race And Class Among New Orleans Creoles And Across The South, 1718-1862, Andrew N. Wegmann

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to uncover the story of the New Orleans Creoles of color—the mixed-race, francophone middle class of New Orleans and the surrounding area before the Civil War. It shows how the people who became the New Orleans Creoles of color worked endlessly, over three colonial and territorial regimes and nearly 150 years, to define themselves according to the ever-changing cultural, social, and racial landscapes before them. It places this local history in the wider context of the North American continent and the Atlantic World—the space within which these people actually lived. In so doing, it …

Place, Race, And The Politics Of Identity In The Geography Of Garinagu Baündada, Doris Garcia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Garinagu, who are commonly referred to by the name of their language, Garifuna, emerged out of the historical geographical processes of colonialism and capitalism on Saint Vincent Island in the Lesser Antilles. Exiled by the British to New Spain’s Captaincy General of Guatemala in 1797, the Garinagu formed communities and cultural bonds to the land, namely, but not exclusively, along the north coast of the territory that would become part of the Honduran nation-state in 1821. Today, the Garinagu are rapidly becoming a landless population. Since the mid-1970s, the Honduran government has pursued the expansion of tourism on the …

Intersections Of Race And Class In 1830s Othello Burlesques, Laura Michelle Keigan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years, we have come to better understand how nineteenth-century burlesques critiqued and lampooned the respectable humbuggery of patent theater productions and middle-class culture. Their carnivalesque spectacle and low humor turned topsy-turvy what was falsely revered or pretentious in English society. This study, however, explores the extent to which some burlesques responded conservatively to social and legislative change, which supposedly weakened established hierarchies constituting English culture and society. My chapters examine how two burlesques of Shakespeare’s Othello—Charles M. Westmacott’s Othello, the Moor of Fleet Street (1833) and Maurice M. M. G. Dowling’s Othello Travestie (1834)—contributed to discourse surrounding debate …

Never Forget Where You Came From: An Oral History Of The Integration Of A Rural Community, Heather N. Stone

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Historians have written much, particularly about large urban cities, on the desegregation of the American school system (Anderson 1988; Fairclough 2008; Watkins 2001; Irons 2004). However, little research has been conducted on the role that small communities played in supporting and influencing the development of desegregated school systems, and how African Americans in these communities experienced education. The focus of this research will be on the oral history of a rural community in Louisiana that desegregated schools in the early 1970s. What is unique is that, instead of avoiding desegregation, this community chose to create a unified school district in …

Presidential Profiles: Race, Leadership Orientation, And Effectiveness, Jerry M. Whitmore Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation study examined racial differences in leadership orientation and effectiveness at United States four year, public colleges and universities as self-perceived and as perceived by presidents, as a means to contribute to the literature on race leadership orientation and effectiveness. The quantitative study design is to determine significant relationships among University or College Presidents or Chancellors (UCPC) pertaining to their leadership frames and effectiveness using (Bolman and Deal 1991a, 1991b, 2003) four-frame leadership theory and Quinn (1988) competing values model. The study attempts to understand any distinct observations that may be present. This study will not be an attempt …

Subjugated Territory: The New Afrikan Independence Movement And The Space Of Black Power, Paul Karolczyk

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I study the black revolutionary nationalist geography of the New Afrikan Independence Movement (NAIM) and the anti-racist space of Black Power. I adapt social theorist Henri Lefebvre’s concept of representational space to show how New Afrikan revolutionary nationalism intersects with space, place, and scalar politics in a representational space of black radicalism that confounds dominant notions of race, cultural identity, and national belonging in the United States. NAIM originated in 1968 when several-hundred black nationalist delegates met at the National Black Government conference in Detroit to create the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika. New …

Piercing Privilege: Confronting The White Problem Through Autoethnography, Destiny Marie Adams Cooper

LSU Master's Theses

In this reflexive autoethnography, the author explores the “White Problem” by examining narratives of personal transformation resulting from her involvement in Dialogue on Race Louisiana (DORLA), an “educational process for the elimination of race.” The main query of this piece is: How has the author’s relationship to whiteness worked to reify or trouble the “White Problem?” Using writing as a method of inquiry, the author recounts several pivotal experiences that correspond to DORLA’s Original Six Week Series session topics and exhibit personal transformations in her interpretations of racism. After defining the research process, design, and product in Chapter One, the …

Leadership Bias: The Case Of The Cherokee Freedmen, Kristi Barnett Williams

LSU Master's Theses

Journalists inform residents living on or near Native American reservations about key policy issues. Since most tribal councils own and operate their news outlets, retaliation towards journalists working for the tribe is a real concern if the leadership does not appreciate the message. In response to the threat of retaliation, some tribes, like the Cherokee Nation, have legal protections for journalists. The Cherokee Nation’s newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, operates under the guidelines of the Cherokee Independent Press Act (CIPA) originally passed in 2000 and amended in 2009. CIPA was the first of its kind in Indian Country. This thesis analyzes …

Burn, Boil & Eat : An Intersection Analysis Of Stereotypes In The Most Influential Films Of All Time, Roslyn M. Satchel

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research builds upon the work of Entman & Rojecki (2001) in examining the ways the most influential movies use racial stereotypes in media frames. The results of this study contribute to the rather limited mass media research and body of knowledge regarding the media content that attracts the largest and most enduring audiences in the new media landscape. As ten of the films that have generated the most revenue, the movies in this sample constitute a genre of movies that are also a prime feature of on-going publishing, cable, internet, digital gaming, DVD, and movie sequel franchises. If, as …

"What Do Separate And Unequal Schools Look Like In The 21st Century? The Legacy Of State Sponsored Racial Segregation In The South", Jerel Williams

LSU Master's Theses

The vast majority of schools that have been subject to desegregation orders are located in the South. The official levels of state sponsored segregation by southern governments made the South unique. The South was a distinctive region when it came to racial brutality and resistance to racial integration. The American South is where the battle for school integration was fought with figures like George Wallace pledging segregation forever. What impact does the history of segregation have on southern schools today in relation to racial gaps in our education system? This analysis takes a look at the impact of historic state …

Toward An Ideal Of Moral And Democratic Education: Afro-Creoles And Straight University In Reconstruction New Orleans, 1862-1896, Dana C. Hart

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Straight University emerged as an integrated higher education institution in New Orleans in 1870 and promoted education and training for young men and women, irrespective of race, gender, or ethnicity. Named after its generous patron, Seymour Straight, the university emerged as a space for community and egalitarianism at a time when the assertion of emancipation and civil rights redefined how people lived together in reconstructing a “New South.” Education represented an archetype to shape the future direction of Southern society in a meaningful and tangible way, and Straight University represented this ideal at its founding. The university also became a …

Literary Expressions Of Creole Identity In Alfred Mercier's L'Habitation Saint-Ybars And Johnelle, Mary Florence Cashell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines nineteenth-century Louisianan author Alfred Mercier’s novels and their roles as emblems of Francophone Creole cultural identity. During the nineteenth century following the Louisiana Purchase and subsequent anglophone influx, the French-speaking Creole population faced a cultural upheaval. Unable to completely identify as either French or American, Creoles occupied an uncertain space. This study demonstrates that Alfred Mercier’s works articulate a hybrid identity that is neither French nor American but rather a multicultural construct. The first chapter examines the nineteenth-century Creole community’s problematic positioning between French and American cultures. Chapters two, three, and four center on two of Mercier’s …

An Exploratory Case Study Of Racial Climate In An Academic Unit At A Predominantly White, Southern Institution, Mark A. Dochterman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research describes faculty of color as a key to an equitable future for higher education. However, this approach problematically places the responsibility for multiculturalism on the shoulders of these individuals. This embedded, critical case study explored the racial climate of an academic unit in a southern, predominantly white institution. Through the lens of critical race theory I examined how the racial climate of the unit impacted the perceptions, roles, and relationships differently for faculty of color, doctoral students of color, white faculty, and white doctoral students and how the case in question exemplified Rankin and Reason’s (2008) six dimensions of …

Louisiana Social Workers: A Study On Attitudes Toward Lgbt Youth, Rachel Kathleen O'Pry

LSU Master's Theses

Social workers in most professional practice settings will encounter young clients who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). It is therefore important that variables influencing levels of homophobia and transphobia among these workers be analyzed. In this study, the author sought to examine the attitudes and perceptions of social workers in Louisiana toward LGBT youth. These attitudes and perceptions were then compared to individual variables such as religion, previous training on sexual orientation and gender identity, and race. The Religious Commitment Inventory (RCI), Genderism and Transphobia Scale (GTS), and Heterosexual Attitudes Toward Homosexuals (HATH) scale were completed by …

"Baby, Dream Your Dream": Pearl Bailey, Hello, Dolly!, And The Negotiation Of Race In Commerical American Musical Theatre, Charles Eliot Mehler

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In October of 1967, producer David Merrick closed his successful production of Hello, Dolly! Merrick reopened the show one month later with an all-black cast that featured the talents of performers Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway. While this Bailey Dolly! was a mammoth commercial success, this production brought attention to various problems concerning the interaction of black and white creative and performing talent in the venue of commercial American musical theatre. One such problem involved the risk of possible loss of genuine black culture and ignorance of recalcitrant intra-black-community difficulties and the extent to which African Americans should have desired …

Differences Across Racial Groups In Caregiver Ratings Of Symptoms In Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cindy Terlonge Graham

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A great deal of attention from local, federal, and international communities has been focused on autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). As the prevalence of these disorders rise, researchers continue to investigate various unanswered questions. The goal of this study was to examine the differences across racial/ethnic groups in caregiver ratings of symptoms of children diagnosed with ASDs. Results from such research will help determine whether cultural background can influence the recognition of behaviors indicative of an ASD. Culturally-sensitive clinical practice stemming from the significant findings of this research project can help to reduce the age at which minority children are diagnosed. …

The Feminization Of Private Investigation: A Sociological Analysis, Jessica Simpson Pearce

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation outlines the occupation of private investigation and the role that females play within that profession. The difficulties women experience in male-oriented occupations remains noteworthy in sociological research today. Progress has been made, yet many barriers still exist for women. These include structural, social, and cultural factors that influence women and/or the jobs that they hold. With the completion of interviews with twenty-six female private investigators, I was able to analyze the existing structural, interactional, and gender barriers which moderate the number of women that work as private investigators. Few studies have examined this occupation and this gap may …

Identification Of Falls Risk Factors In Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Validation Of The Comprehensive Falls Risk Screening Instrument, Jennifer Marie Fabre

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Identifying risk factors and those at risk for falls is necessary. The first purpose of the dissertation was to validate the Comprehensive Falls Risk Screening Instrument (CFRSI) that weights falls risk factors and includes the subscale scores of history, physical, vision, medication, and environment, and a total falls risk score. The CFRSI total falls risk score was compared to subscale scores, physical activity, physical function, health-related quality of life (HRQL), and history of falls (Study 1). The second purpose of the dissertation was to determine associations between the CFRSI total falls risk score, race, education, and income (Study 2). Data …

Strutting It Up Through Histories: A Performance Genealogy Of The Philadelphia Mummers Parade, Corey Elizabeth Leighton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the cultural performances of the parade community in one of the oldest and largest parades in the country: the Philadelphia Mummers Parade. The modern parade celebration consists of groups of mostly working-class white men from South Philadelphia who dress up in extravagant sequined and feathered costumes and, beginning in South Philadelphia, march toward City Hall on one of the largest streets in the city on New Year’s Day. The parade is competitive and marked by performance competitions at the end of each parade. The parade’s history in the city of Philadelphia is extensive but contested. Many locals …