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Hydroclimatic And Circulation Anomalies Associated With The North Atlantic Subtropical High, Brian Taylor Allen Jan 2004

Hydroclimatic And Circulation Anomalies Associated With The North Atlantic Subtropical High, Brian Taylor Allen

LSU Master's Theses

Hydroclimatic and circulation variability in regions around the Atlantic sector are linked to the intensity, location, and areal extent of the North Atlantic subtropical high (STH). Few analyses focus directly on the influence of the STH on climatic variability. Using sea level pressure (SLP) data from the NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis dataset, a time series of the STH was produced using principal components analysis (PCA) to describe the temporal variability of the STH from January 1948 to December 2001. A simple area average of SLP across the PCA domain is shown to describe the same phenomena (the dominant mode of the STH …


I-Tal Foodways: Nourishing Rastafarian Bodies, Mandy Garner Dickerson Jan 2004

I-Tal Foodways: Nourishing Rastafarian Bodies, Mandy Garner Dickerson

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis takes a close look at the lived world of Jamaican Rastafarians through the lens of food-related practices and preferences, working to define the group's characteristic strategies for maintaining wellness and illuminating their tastes and sensibilities. It strives to evoke a sensorial and discursive awareness of the activities through which Rastafarians nourish and heal their physical and social bodies, by focusing on ways in which they produce and use I-tal food-medicines. Rastafarian taste for I-tal has developed alongside collective engagement with the valorization and revitalization of traditional knowledge about health and land use. In addition to providing sites for …


Teaching Elementary Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder To Recruit Teacher Attention: Effects On Teacher Praise, On-Task Behavior, And Academic Work, Angie Lynn Pellegrin Jan 2004

Teaching Elementary Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder To Recruit Teacher Attention: Effects On Teacher Praise, On-Task Behavior, And Academic Work, Angie Lynn Pellegrin

LSU Master's Theses

Recruitment training and self-monitoring skills have proven to be effective methods of decreasing off-task behavior and increasing work productivity and positive teacher-student interactions. Teaching students to recruit teacher attention provides an opportunity for the teacher to praise the child or to offer instructional feedback. However, research on this topic has not examined its utilization and effectiveness in children diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Using a multiple baseline across subjects design, the present study will examine the effectiveness of training students with ADHD to monitor task progress and recruit teacher attention.


The Effects Of Internal And External Context Reinstatement On Source Memory, Jeffrey Joseph Starns Jan 2004

The Effects Of Internal And External Context Reinstatement On Source Memory, Jeffrey Joseph Starns

LSU Master's Theses

Memory for attended aspects of an encoded event (item memory) is facilitated when features of the encoding context are reinstated at test, indicating that item and context features are bound together in memory traces (Smith, 1979). The present study investigated whether reinstated contextual features similarly enhance memory for other contextual details of an event (source memory). Participants studied words that appeared on either the top or bottom of the computer screen in either a large or small font size. Following the study phase, participants completed a recognition/source test in which they had to indicate the location in which they studied …


Activity-Based Anorexia: The Effects Of Resistant Starch, Holly M. Nguyen Jan 2004

Activity-Based Anorexia: The Effects Of Resistant Starch, Holly M. Nguyen

LSU Master's Theses

Anorexia nervosa is the third most common illness among adolescent females. Approximately one half the cases of anorexia nervosa have been suggested to be activity-induced. Various animal studies have been used to study human anorexia, particularly the activity-based anorexia model (ABA). The ABA paradigm consists of diet restriction and liberal access to activity, which ultimately results in a rapid decrease in both body weight and food intake paradoxical to the significant increase in activity. Because resistant starch (RS) has been shown to initiate a lower rise and a steady level of post-prandial blood glucose, it was hypothesized that a diet …


Audiating The Lsu Drumline: An Ethnographic Performance, Andrew Michael Causey Jan 2004

Audiating The Lsu Drumline: An Ethnographic Performance, Andrew Michael Causey

LSU Master's Theses

This is an ethnographic study of the drumline of the LSU Marching Band and the mock-fraternity they created called Phi Boota roota (ΦBr). I argue that ΦBr was created as a site to flesh out the various tensions members experience as members of the LSU drumline; they create a rite of passage ritual that functions as a carnivalesque and celebratory inversion of the system they find themselves submerged within. Phi Boota roota marks a created articulation of the transition members make when they become part of the larger ritual of Tigerband; it is a voluntary or liminoid ritual that allows …


Deterrence Factors For Copyright Infringement Online, Nico Nergadze Jan 2004

Deterrence Factors For Copyright Infringement Online, Nico Nergadze

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate deterrence factors for online file-sharing by analyzing different conditions that affect compliance with the law through survey of the students in a large university in Southern U.S. The findings show that certainty of punishment, stigma of the label, knowledge of the laws and consensus with the rule negatively correlated with both actual and likely future file-sharing activities of the users


State-Specific Effects Of Withdrawal In Smokers, Carla J. Rash Jan 2004

State-Specific Effects Of Withdrawal In Smokers, Carla J. Rash

LSU Master's Theses

Comparisons of responses to a free-recall task were made in withdrawal and non-withdrawal states of 41 smokers. A 2 x 2 design was used to investigate state-specific learning effects in smokers during nicotine withdrawal using a list of 20 common words. Nicotine withdrawal was defined as a minimum of 12 hours abstinence from smoking. Physiological measures of heart rate and blood pressure were examined for drug-compensatory responses. No significant decreases in physiological responding were found. Additionally, no interaction was found between reported urge and withdrawal. The primary hypothesis regarding state-specific effects on recall was not supported. These findings are to …


Attribution Processes In Mother-Adolescent Conflict, Ann Elisabeth Wingate Jan 2004

Attribution Processes In Mother-Adolescent Conflict, Ann Elisabeth Wingate

LSU Master's Theses

The present study aimed to determine whether negative mother and adolescent attributions about one another are associated with increased conflict levels in a heterogeneous sample, examine the possible differential predictive power of certain negative attribution types for different groups within the sample, determine whether level of negative attribution, SES, or daily stress level are significant predictors of conflict, and examine the potential mediating role of negative attributions in the relationship between SES and conflict level, as well as the relationship between and daily stress and conflict level. One hundred forty-five mother-adolescent dyads from various racial and SES backgrounds of a …


Hidden Landscapes Of The Ancient Maya: Transect Excavations At Arvin's Landing Southern Belize, Bretton Michael Somers Jan 2004

Hidden Landscapes Of The Ancient Maya: Transect Excavations At Arvin's Landing Southern Belize, Bretton Michael Somers

LSU Master's Theses

Transect excavations at Arvin’s Landing in southern Belize revealed evidence of ancient Maya settlement indiscernible from surface inspection. The synthesis of archaeology and geography in field and laboratory methods and analysis provided the framework for this thesis. This study involves a transect survey with systematic shovel tests. Artifacts were recovered and recorded in the field and analyzed in the LSU archaeology laboratory in Punta Gorda, Belize. The entire survey area was mapped by transit and measurements and coordinates were combined with artifact data in a GIS. Prior research at Arvin’s Landing had revealed a Postclassic mound on the bank of …


Minimum Dogma And Religious Toleration, Clinton Bryan Barron Jan 2004

Minimum Dogma And Religious Toleration, Clinton Bryan Barron

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines issues that emerge from the investigation of the relationship between John Locke's arguments for religious toleration as found in his Letter Concerning Toleration and his construction of a minimum dogma for Christianity in his The Reasonableness of Christianity. The first chapter follows the development of minimum dogma from its origin in the experience Eric Voegelin terms the leap in being, through Xenophanes' concept of "seemliness," to the minimum dogmas of Plato. The second chapter examines the use of minimum dogma in theories of religious toleration by More and Spinoza. The final chapter examines the work of John …


Developmentally Appropriate Practice: A Case Study Of Mentoring For Teacher Change, Judi Martin Mccaslin Jan 2004

Developmentally Appropriate Practice: A Case Study Of Mentoring For Teacher Change, Judi Martin Mccaslin

LSU Master's Theses

This project was a qualitative case study that recorded and analyzed the professional development of one certified elementary teacher as she studied developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) and pursued her Pre-K and Kindergarten add-on certification. It focused on the changes in her classroom practice from mostly developmentally inappropriate practice (DIP) at the beginning of the project towards mostly DAP at the end of the project. The project recorded her acquisition of concrete knowledge about DAP, and her beliefs regarding DAP as she taught young children over the course of one year, June 2003 through May 2004. It included study of the …


Escalation Bias In Group Decision-Making, Molly Joann Russ Jan 2004

Escalation Bias In Group Decision-Making, Molly Joann Russ

LSU Master's Theses

The present study extended the literature on escalation bias to group decision-making in the context of performance appraisal. Escalation theory states that persons responsible for a hiring decision will provide higher evaluation ratings of that employee than those persons not responsible for the decision. This study compared the performance evaluation decisions of supervisors, individual team members, and teams in order to ascertain differences in escalation behaviors based on rater perspective and whether the rater was responsible for hiring the employee or not. Support for the hypotheses varied depending on the employment decision being made and the perspective of the decision-maker. …


The Portrayals Of Minority Characters In Entertaining Animated Children's Programs, Siobhan Elizabeth Smith Jan 2004

The Portrayals Of Minority Characters In Entertaining Animated Children's Programs, Siobhan Elizabeth Smith

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to note, categorize, and discuss the stereotypes of African Americans in animated children’s cartoons. The purpose is also to compare them to see how they changed. A content analysis of two cartoons finds that characters do act in stereotypical ways. A quantitative analysis of 76 cartoons supports these findings. Overall, The Proud Family, a cartoon of the 21st century, is more stereotypical than Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, a cartoon from 30 years ago. Though primary characters display the same amount of stereotypical behavior, secondary characters show an increase in the amount of …


"Never Could Read No Road Map": Geographic Perspectives On The Grateful Dead, Daniel R. Culli Jan 2004

"Never Could Read No Road Map": Geographic Perspectives On The Grateful Dead, Daniel R. Culli

LSU Master's Theses

The Grateful Dead hold a unique niche in the musical, social, and cultural history of the United States. However, while the volume of available academic literature concerning the band is increasing, the Grateful Dead remain to be nearly ignored by academia and, to this point apparently, completely ignored by cultural geographers. This paper introduces the Grateful Dead into the field of geography. I analyze the geography of certain aspects of the band, such as its context in San Francisco, the carnival atmosphere of the entire phenomenon, the over 2300 tour dates, as well as the huge catalog of lyrics sung …


"Don't Pooh-Pooh Our Poo Poo": Penalty, Subsidy, And Refusal To Fund In The Aftermath Of National Endowment For The Arts V. Finley, James Gaddy Jan 2004

"Don't Pooh-Pooh Our Poo Poo": Penalty, Subsidy, And Refusal To Fund In The Aftermath Of National Endowment For The Arts V. Finley, James Gaddy

LSU Master's Theses

Legal scholars said the National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley decision would create a "chilling effect" in government subsidy programs, and it unlawfully expanded the government speech doctrine. By analyzing cases that subsequently use Finley for a substantive part of their rationale, this article argues the opposite: the courts have rejected the government's attempts to interpret the decision as one that allows viewpoint discrimination and have not allowed the government to further a broad reading of the decision. The article also argues that, under the government speech doctrine, Finley provides the controlling precedent for truly "hybrid speech" cases where …


From Guerrilla Theater To Media Warfare Abbie Hoffman's Riotous Revolution In America: A Myth, Bruce Eric France, Jr. Jan 2004

From Guerrilla Theater To Media Warfare Abbie Hoffman's Riotous Revolution In America: A Myth, Bruce Eric France, Jr.

LSU Master's Theses

The following thesis is a discussion of the radical activist Abbie Hoffman's theatrical work to revolutionize the United States. What the author does is explain the historical uniqueness of Hoffman's theatrical techniques as tools for social change. What made Abbie Hoffman such a unique character from that already bizarre and devastating time in the United States known as The Sixties was his ability to infuse pot with politics, fun with social activism and cultural change with his contemporary means of communication. He was able to excite and activate a whole generation of people who would otherwise drop out of society …


Food Safety Knowledge And Practices Of Food Recovery Agency Workers Before And After Food Safety Training, Sara Katherine Waggoner Jan 2004

Food Safety Knowledge And Practices Of Food Recovery Agency Workers Before And After Food Safety Training, Sara Katherine Waggoner

LSU Master's Theses

Many food recovery agencies depend on donated food, and its safety is critical for the health of vulnerable populations. A food safety curriculum was developed for agency volunteers and paid staff of the Lower Mississippi Delta region. Examples of topics in the curriculum included: personal hygiene, food storage, transporting food safely, and HACCP. Food Safety Knowledge Pre- and Posttests (20 questions) were identical, and validity and reliability were established prior to use. Paired t-tests were performed to determine the effectiveness of the curriculum (n=190). A Food Safety Practices Survey (10 questions) demonstrating attitudes and behaviors regarding food safety practices in …


Are We Honestly Studying Malingering?: A Profile And Comparison Of Simulated Suspected Malingerers, Adrianne M. Brennan Jan 2004

Are We Honestly Studying Malingering?: A Profile And Comparison Of Simulated Suspected Malingerers, Adrianne M. Brennan

LSU Master's Theses

Malingering research typically uses analog simulation designs or the differential prevalence design among "real" patients. Both have been criticized for methodological limitations in external and internal validity, respectively. Samples of simulated malingerers were compared to suspected malingerers to examine generalizability of analog findings. Overall results support the use of simulation designs. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that stringent selection of suspected malingerers maintains internal validity of the differential prevalence design. A second focus, to determine if demographic matching of simulated malingerers is necessary, showed that matching on age and race is not necessary.


Assessing Perception Of Family Nutrition Program Characteristics And Nutrition Education Needs Of Low Socioeconomic Status Individuals, Denise Marie Holston Jan 2004

Assessing Perception Of Family Nutrition Program Characteristics And Nutrition Education Needs Of Low Socioeconomic Status Individuals, Denise Marie Holston

LSU Master's Theses

The Louisiana Family Nutrition Program (FNP) reaches up to 120,000 food-stamp recipients and other low SES individuals per year through direct and indirect nutrition education methods. To be effective in eliciting behavior change, a nutrition education program must be developed to be consistent with the needs, motivations, and concerns of the target audience; therefore, it is important that the needs, motivations, and concerns are being met by FNP. The purpose of this study was to determine, through the use of focus group discussions (FGD), whether nutrition education needs of FNP participants are being satisfied by the program. Nutrition education needs …


The Importance Of Fluent Component Skills In Mathematical Comprehension, Chisato Komatsu Jan 2004

The Importance Of Fluent Component Skills In Mathematical Comprehension, Chisato Komatsu

LSU Master's Theses

The primary question to be addressed by the present study was whether fluency on component skills is important in the development of overall competency in mathematics. Reading fluency has served as an excellent predictor of one’s reading comprehension. However, few studies have investigated whether the fluency on component skills is essential in the development of overall competency in mathematics. In fact, there has been a push for instructional strategies to deemphasize the importance component skills. In the current study, 140 students in second- through fourth- grade classrooms from general education participated. Each student took three curriculum-based measurement probes (a single-skill …


The Relationship Among Alcohol Consumption, Dietary Intake, And Body Mass Index In Young Adults, Mary C. May Jan 2004

The Relationship Among Alcohol Consumption, Dietary Intake, And Body Mass Index In Young Adults, Mary C. May

LSU Master's Theses

This study was designed to assess the relationship of alcohol consumption, dietary intake, and body mass index (BMI) in 1,335 young adult males and females aged 20-38 years (62% female and 27% black) who were part of the Bogalusa Heart Study. Data were collected in 1995-1996 on dietary intake and alcohol consumption patterns. The prevalence of alcohol consumption was higher in males compared with females and higher in whites than blacks. Among drinkers, whites and blacks did not differ in the amount of alcohol consumed. Energy from alcohol was also greater in males than in females. Total energy intake did …


Commitment To Displaying Positive Emotions At Work: An Examination Of Individual And Situational Antecedents, Meredith H. Croyle Jan 2004

Commitment To Displaying Positive Emotions At Work: An Examination Of Individual And Situational Antecedents, Meredith H. Croyle

LSU Master's Theses

Studies show that employee emotional displays impact customer behaviors and attitudes (Grandey, Fisk, Mattila, & Sideman, 2002; Pugh, 2001; Tsai, 2001). However, the factors influencing employees' emotional displays have not received much attention. More specifically, research suggests a need to more fully understand the motivational processes underlying employees' emotional displays, particularly in customer service where positive emotional displays are related to customer behaviors and sales performance (Brown & Sulzer-Azaroff, 1994; Diefendorff & Gosserand, in press; Grandey, Fisk, Matilla, & Sideman, 2002; Pugh, 2001; Tsai, 2001). To this end, this investigation examined an expectancy theory model of commitment to positive emotional …


Tyranny, Natural Law, And Secession, Geoffrey Plauche Jan 2004

Tyranny, Natural Law, And Secession, Geoffrey Plauche

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis is an examination of the problem of tyranny from the perspective of radical libertarianism. History is to be seen as a race and conflict between liberty and power. After a brief introduction, the second section of this thesis is devoted to sketching out a natural law and natural rights theory. With this as the foundation, the third section analyzes the seminal work of Étienne de la Boétie’s The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude in which he elucidates the nature of tyranny and the psychology of subjection. All governments, even the worst tyranny, rest upon general popular acceptance. Religious and …


Evaluation Of The Impacts Of Hurricane Hugo On The Land Cover Of Francis Marion National Forest, South Carolina Using Remote Sensing, Amit Kulkarni Jan 2004

Evaluation Of The Impacts Of Hurricane Hugo On The Land Cover Of Francis Marion National Forest, South Carolina Using Remote Sensing, Amit Kulkarni

LSU Master's Theses

Hurricane Hugo struck the South Carolina coast on the night of September 21, 1989 at Sullivan’s Island, where it was considered a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale when the hurricane made landfall (Hook et al. 1991). It is probably amongst the most studied and documented hurricanes in the United States (USDA Southern Research Station Publication 1996). There has been a Landsat TM based Hugo damage assessment study conducted by Cablk et al. (1994) in the Hobcaw barony forest. This study attempted to assess for a different and smaller study area near the Wambaw and Coffee creek swamp. The main …


An Application Of Geographic Information Systems (Gis): The Utility Of Victim Activity Spaces In The Geographic Profiling Of Serial Killers, Charles Casey Shamblin Jan 2004

An Application Of Geographic Information Systems (Gis): The Utility Of Victim Activity Spaces In The Geographic Profiling Of Serial Killers, Charles Casey Shamblin

LSU Master's Theses

Today, computer technology is producing new methods of investigation into the complex nature of serial killers; among these are geographic profiles. Yet, due to the lack of proven success, budgetary constraints, and the inherent multifaceted nature of serial murder, these geographic profiles have not been completely embraced by the law enforcement community. Because of this, the academic and law enforcement communities continue to refine and develop new methods to solve serial killer cases. This thesis investigates the possibility of identifying the location of the interaction site of a serial killer and his victims using a commercial geographic information system (GIS) …


Estimating Impervious Surfaces From A Small Urban Watershed In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Using Landsat Thematic Mapper Imagery, Kurt Johnson Jan 2004

Estimating Impervious Surfaces From A Small Urban Watershed In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Using Landsat Thematic Mapper Imagery, Kurt Johnson

LSU Master's Theses

Many urban areas are using estimations of impervious surfaces as a means for better environmental management. This is because research over the last two decades indicate a consistent, inverse relationship between the percentage of impervious surfaces in a watershed and the environmental problems urban areas are experiencing. Although various methods for estimating impervious surfaces can be identified, few result in accurate and defensible estimations by which environmental problems can be assessed. This is especially important to rapidly expanding urban areas such as Baton Rouge, Louisiana where detailed records and planimetric data are lacking. Numerous studies have shown a potential for …


Examining The Relationships Between Motivational Traits And Counterproductive Work Behaviors, Kajal Rushikesh Mehta Jan 2004

Examining The Relationships Between Motivational Traits And Counterproductive Work Behaviors, Kajal Rushikesh Mehta

LSU Master's Theses

This study examined the relationships between motivational traits and counterproductive work behaviors. Little evidence exists supporting a link between individual differences and counterproductive work behaviors in previous literature. This study tested for a link between individual differences in motivation and workplace deviance by using broad operationalizations of both constructs. In addition, the investigation controlled for the effects of situational factors on counterproductive work behaviors providing a stronger test of the role of dispositional motivation. In general, this study set out to show that both approach and avoidance motivation tendencies are related to counterproductive work behaviors, as well as organizational citizenship …


Did White House Reporters Defer To The President After September 11?, Jodi Kathleen Bannerman Jan 2004

Did White House Reporters Defer To The President After September 11?, Jodi Kathleen Bannerman

LSU Master's Theses

This study's primary focus is to determine if the White House press corps acted more deferential to President Bush and his agenda after September 11, 2001, and if so, to see how long the period of decreased adversarial relations lasted. This purpose is accomplished through a content analysis of 37 White House press briefings, conducted by then White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, examining press-briefing questions three months before, on, directly following, and three months after September 11 according to four dimensions of adversarial relations: initiative, directness, assertiveness, and hostility. Ten question design features comprise the criteria to measure each …


Solving A Locational Distribution Problem Of Non-Toxic Solid Waste On The Island Of Puerto Rico, Sandra A. Soto Jan 2004

Solving A Locational Distribution Problem Of Non-Toxic Solid Waste On The Island Of Puerto Rico, Sandra A. Soto

LSU Master's Theses

The island of Puerto Rico is confronting a crisis in waste management due to inadequate management from the local government, the decreasing number of landfills available, high population density, and paucity of places for waste disposal. This research develops a least-cost model for the disposal and transportation of non-hazardous solid waste. Location-allocation (LA) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software are used to analyze the efficiency of the present pattern of waste allocation and to identify a near-to-optimal assignment of waste for the landfills in operation today and the landfills that will be open by 2008. The “near-to-optimal” models obtained from …