Digital Commons Network^™

The Relation Between Children‟S Socio-Economic Status And Their Performance On The Passive Subtest Of The Diagnostic Evaluation Of Language Variation – Norm Referenced, Maggie Faulk Deville

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Lsu Research Fall 2011, Louisiana State University And Agricultural And Mechanical College

Research Magazine

LSU Research is published annually by the Office of Research & Economic Development, Louisiana State University.

Unsupervised Semantic Classification Methods, John Gilmer

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

How Incipient Colonies Create Territory: The Textual Surveys Of New Spain, 1520s–1620s, Andrew Sluyter, Richard Hunter

Faculty Publications

The study of colonial surveying and cartography has become key to understanding the history of European colonialism because of the recognition that land surveys and maps not only represent territory but form part of the process through which territory comes into being. While many studies have therefore focused on the history of instrumental surveying and cartography in New Spain, roughly equivalent to present-day Mexico, between the seventeenth and twentieth century, the textual surveys of the sixteenth century that helped to bring the initial colonial territory into being have gone largely unstudied. Content analysis of textual land surveys included in sixteenth-century …

A Performer's Interpretation Of David Del Tredici's Chana's Story: A Cycle Of Six Songs On Texts Of Chana Bloch, Shelly Lenn Buchanan-Garlotte

LSU Major Papers

The purpose of this document is to reveal a performer’s perspective on David Del Tredici’s Chana’s Story. This six-song cycle for mezzo-soprano chronicles the marriage of poet and translator, Chana Bloch, and is based on her translations and poetry. The first chapter of this document provides biographical data about David Del Tredici, which presents a view of his compositional development, and includes events and individuals of influence in the composer’s life, such as teachers and poets. The second chapter includes biographical data about the poet, Chana Bloch, which is provided to enhance the interpretation of the poetry and to facilitate …

"An Answer From Horace" Ambiguity And Paradox In Pope's Imitation Of Satire 2.1, Laura Thomason Wood

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

"Attended By A Whole Nation" The Americas In The Female American, Julia Kark Callander

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

On The Road With Digital Humanities, David Hill Radcliffe

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Patriotism And Its Discontents The Poetry Of Sir John Malcolm, Brijraj Singh

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

The Dred Scott Case: Historical And Contemporary Perspectives On Race And Law., Xi Wang

Civil War Book Review

Examining Dred Scott’s Impact and Legacy

Few Supreme Court cases have attained the level of notoriety as the Dred Scott case. Even fewer have attracted such a widespread and persistent attention from scholars across academic disciplines. The Dred Scott Case: Historical and ....

Regarding Westernization In Central Africa: Hybridity In The Works Of Three Chadian Playwrights, Enoch Reounodji

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The second half of the nineteenth century played a determining role in the political, economic, social, and cultural spheres of Africa. The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 witnessed European interests bargaining over the territories of Africa and arbitrarily dividing much of the continent into different countries under European control. This historical moment may be regarded as the height of Western influence over Africa, though it only continued the colonial tradition of viewing Africa as a land without culture, theatre, literature, or history (prior to the advent of the white man). The legacy of this outlook has placed African intellectuals and literary …

An Examination Of Errors Of Coherence In Adolescent Sentence Combining, Ginger Gunter Collins

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Young adolescents should be able to write organized multi-paragraph compositions that develop a central idea and unfold in logical and sequential order, unified through the use of transitional words and phrases. In other words, the compositions should not just consist of a string of related sentences, but represent a dynamic text that has coherence. It is important that speech-language pathologists develop quick and reliable methods for assessing coherence to aid in making data driven decisions and progress monitoring consistent with principles of Responsiveness to Intervention. Yet, the holistic quality of coherence makes it difficult to assess, both within a composition …

Network Traffic Data Analysis, Harish Kapri

LSU Master's Theses

The desire to conceptualize network traffic in a prevailing communication network is a facet for many types of network research studies. In this research, real traffic traces collected over trans-Pacific backbone links (the MAWI repository, providing publicly available anonymized traces) are analyzed to study the underlying traffic patterns. All data analysis and visualization is carried out using Matlab (Matlab is a trademark of The Mathworks, Inc.). At packet level, we first measure parameters such as distribution of packet lengths, distribution of protocol types, and then fit following analytical models. Next, the concept of flow is introduced and flow based analysis …

The Hegemony Of Language - Literary Writing And The Quest For Subjectivity In The Works Of Michel De Montaigne And Charles Ferdinand Ramuz, Carla Bota Vance

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Starting from the premise that one’s identity is first and foremost construed in language, this dissertation argues that language is the fundamental site of resistance for writers who define themselves through linguistic difference. Recognizing also that language and literary production frequently fall under the control of complex authorities, this thesis examines literature as a site where confrontation is played out aesthetically. Literary writing, in other words, is exposed as a point of intersection between writers whose language draws its sources from a peripheral location and the centers of authority that regulate and dictate what is accepted as artistically and culturally …

Celebrity Versus Non-Celebrity: Parasocial Relationships With Characters In Reality-Based Television Programs, Nicole Webb Henry

LSU Master's Theses

Research of parasocial relationships suggests that audiences engage in one-sided relationships with their favorite personae in the media. This study attempts to explore two types of reality stars: those who had fame before being on reality television and those who have fame because of the show. Using the PSR-Processing Scale, I compared levels of parasocial interactions for each, as well how moral disengagement might play a role for each type of reality star. I also explored whether these parasocial relationships are influenced by the frequency with which respondents watch various types of sub-genres of reality-based programs (i.e. game docs, dating …

Assessing Attentional Bias And Cerebral Laterality In Specific Phobia Using A Dichotic Listening Paradigm, Whitney Shay Jenkins

LSU Master's Theses

Researchers have found fear to impact a variety of cognitive variables in individuals with specific phobia. Attentional bias is a cognitive variable that has received considerable attention in the specific phobia literature; however, the existing literature follows only one line of attentional bias—bias as encoded through images, words, or other content presented visually. This study aimed to expand on this area by assessing attention and cerebral laterality in individuals with specific phobia using a dichotic listening paradigm (i.e., via auditory means). Results indicated that participants with specific phobias do not significantly differ from controls in terms of the number of …

Constructing Hindu Religioscapes: Guruism And Identity In South Asian Diasporic Fiction, Sukanya Gupta

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project draws attention to the modern phenomenon of Guruism. I demonstrate that gurus in South Asian fiction are no longer adopting Guruism for the purposes of religion alone. In the novels I analyze, gurus use religion as a tool to resist dominant power structures, to strengthen/protect themselves in communities that stereotype, to access social/financial mobility and to obtain political power. The actions of these religious leaders have both positive and negative effects, as gurus ultimately desire authority to determine how South Asian communities conceive Hinduism, the function of Hindu religious institutions, and the role that Hinduism must play in …

Le Minaret Des Sovenirs: Representations Litteraires, Visuelles Et Cinematographiques De L'Identite Pied-Noir, Jean X. Brager

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the graphic, literary and cinematic representations of the Pieds-Noirs, the French citizens of various origins who lived in French Algeria before independence. Rather than focusing on the War for Independence (1954-1962), the extensive study of which has failed to faithfully render the heterogeneous soul of Pieds-Noirs, this work aims at showing the multi-faceted aspects of a community that has always been considered by mainland France to be borderline, Mediterranean rather than French, and, overall, estranged both physically and emotionally, not only from its African roots, but also from its theoretical allegiance to the motherland. By tracing back …

Ethnic Online Newspapers Vs. Mainstream Online Newspapers: A Comparison Of The News Coverage Of The 2010 Health Care Reform Debate, Masudul Biswas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the news coverage of the 2010 health care reform in a comparative context of mainstream and ethnic online newspapers. Since health care reform had consequences among all ethnic groups in the U.S., the news coverage of this policy issue warranted an analysis in a diverse media context. The importance of this study lies in the fact that diverse news media provide a wide range of perspectives to the public and policymakers for a better understanding of an issue at stake. In past studies, mainstream media coverage was criticized for emphasizing political conflict and gains and losses over …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Communication And Socialization Deficits In Infants And Toddlers With Autism And Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (Pdd_Nos), Megan Alice Hattier

LSU Master's Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are characterized by pervasive impairments in repetitive behaviors or interests, communication, and socialization. As the onset of these features occurs at a very young age, early detection is of the utmost importance. In an attempt to better clarify the behavioral presentation of communication and socialization deficits to aid in early assessment and intervention, impairments in these areas were examined among infants and toddlers (17-37 months) with Autistic Disorder (AD), Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), and non-ASD related developmental delay. The Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits-Part1 (BISCUIT-Part1) and the Battelle …

Hear (No) Evil, See (No) Evil, Speak (No) Evil: Artistic Representations Of Argentina's "Dirty War", Juliana Theresa Reineman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to analyze Argentina’s “Dirty War; in it, I argue that our view of the Other is the key to not repeating the past. Literature has long been accepted as a resource for understanding culture; this dissertation moves beyond literature, and includes photography, art, and film to demonstrate how artists have represented and responded to this period of political oppression. Adopting a psychoanalytic approach for my research, I begin with a literary analysis of multiple texts which exhibit features of what Anne Whitehead calls “trauma fiction,” texts in which the narrative voice displays the repetition …

An African American Discourse Community In Black & White: The New Orleans Tribune, Kristi Richard Melancon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In An African American Discourse Community in Black & White: The New Orleans Tribune, an archival study of the first black-owned daily newspaper in the United States, I argue that the newspaper rhetorically constructed a literate African American discourse community worthy of citizenship and equal political rights within the public sphere of Reconstruction United States. Although contemporaneous media in the South depicted blacks as both unable to read and write and as culturally illiterate, I demonstrate how articles across the lifespan of the Tribune represented, as well as encouraged and enabled, multiple literacies within the African American community. I ultimately …

The Louisiana Alternative Career Diploma As Institutionalized Cultural Capital: High School Principals' Perceptions Of Its Value, Marcil C. Seals

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In an effort to address dropout, the Louisiana state legislature mandated an initiative in 2009 which required all school districts to offer an alternative vocational high school diploma. Because this alternative diploma, known as the Career Diploma, is being implemented in all high schools throughout Louisiana, this research was designed to ascertain high school principals’ perceptions regarding the Career Diploma’s value. Participants were principals of traditional four-year high schools located within the state of Louisiana. A researcher-designed survey instrument was disseminated to 258 high school principals throughout the state. Findings of the data analysis indicated differences in perceptions of value …

The Emergence Of Challenging Behaviors In At-Risk Toddlers With And Without Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cross-Sectional And Risk Factor Study, Jill Cherie Fodstad

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Challenging behaviors including aggression, property destruction, stereotypy, and self injury occur at a high prevalence in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). These behaviors are pervasive and chronic. Despite an increased probability and negative consequences, one area which has received little attention is the presence of challenging behaviors in infants and toddlers with ASD. Furthermore, there is a dearth of information identifying early age trends in the emergence of challenging behaviors and associated risk factors. The purpose of this investigation was to utilize a validated measure, the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits - Part 3, to …

Revolutionary Republics: U.S. National Narratives And The Independence Of Latin America, 1810-1846, James Weldon Long

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Revolutionary Republics analyzes how U.S. literature depicted the independence of Latin America, focusing on the period from the beginning of the Spanish American revolutions in 1810 to the outbreak of the U.S.-Mexican War in 1846. During this brief timespan, the nation’s literature featured a radical transition in which the independent republics of Latin America shifted from being viewed as “southern brethren” of the United States, a term used by such prominent public figures as Daniel Webster and John Quincy Adams, to hostile enemies allegedly in need of assistance from their northern neighbor. This reversal exposes a contradiction between the imperialist …

Socio-Religious Factors And Their Influence In Semantic Interpretation, Michelle J. Goff

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis explores the influence of socio-religious factors in semantic interpretation. The principal objective of the investigation is to determine the level of that religious influence and make a call for the inclusion of socio-religious factors in all sociolinguistic semantic studies. The religious community of practice analyzed for this study was the Church of Christ. Its status as a community of practice is confirmed through the results of surveys and interviews, which fulfill the requirements promulgated by Lave & Wegner (1991). Participants inside and outside the community of practice, residing in three distinct cities were included: Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Houston, …

Time Of Day Effects On Language Discourse In Healthy Aging And Dementia, Amanda L. Stead

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study’s purpose was to investigate whether language discourse follows a diurnal pattern across one 10-hour day in normal healthy aging individuals (NHA) and individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Ten healthy older adults; and ten older adults clinically labeled with probable Alzheimer’s disease were recruited for this study. Measurements of procedural language, narrative language, and cognition, the Benton Judgment of Line Orientation (BJLO), were collected across one day at 9:00am, 12:00pm, 3:00 pm, and 6:00pm. Language samples were evaluated for linguistic variables to evaluate the quantity and quality of the discourse samples. Results indicated that the two groups …

Nonverbal Communication Among Pointe Coupee Creoles, Elsie Angelique Bergeron Gardner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Interactions are understood through the filter of language and culture. Because of this when people of different cultures interact, miscommunications often result. As both verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication are culturally specific, this paper examines trends in the nonverbal communication patterns of generations of Pointe Coupee Creoles undergoing language shift from Creole French in the older generation to English in the younger. The data demonstrate that nonverbal patterns are decoupled from verbal language to some extent in the degree to which they are maintained down the observable generations of Pointe Coupee Creole participants. This study analyzes videos of naturally …

Ecological Realism And The Tension Of Realism And Idealism In Heidegger's Thought, Gary Williams

LSU Master's Theses

I examine the question of realism and idealism in terms of a tension in Martin Heidegger’s thought between entity realism and being idealism. Entity realism is the idea that entities exist independently of humans, whereas being idealism is idea that the being of entities is dependent on humans in some way. The question then is how to reconcile entity realism and being idealism without collapsing to an unattractive position like subjectivism or naïve realism. I appropriate Heidegger’s tension to answer the question of realism and idealism in terms of what I call ecological realism. Ecological realism is a way to …

Making Transitions: A Multiple Case Study Of Mathematics Classroom Teaching Reform In China, Lianfang Lu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The main purpose of this study is to investigate how teachers implemented teaching reform in secondary mathematics classrooms in China, and to understand the context of teaching transformation in general. Two groups of mathematics teachers were included in this study. One group was involved in a leadership project led by university-based mathematics teacher educators, and the other was engaged in a school teaching experiment led by teacher educators from local education department. In this study, classrooms are viewed as social systems in which the teacher and students are interrelated through communication networks. This study examines the structures, patterns of social …