Digital Commons Network^™

Spam Detection Using Machine Learning And Deep Learning, Olubodunde Agboola

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Text messages are essential these days; however, spam texts have contributed negatively to the success of this communication mode. The compromised authenticity of such messages has given rise to several security breaches. Using spam messages, malicious links have been sent to either harm the system or obtain information detrimental to the user. Spam SMS messages as well as emails have been used as media for attacks such as masquerading and smishing ( a phishing attack through text messaging), and this has threatened both the user and service providers. Therefore, given the waves of attacks, the need to identify and remove …

Physical To Cyber: A Case Study Of The Print And Digital Literacy Of Burgeoning Older Adult Learners, Laura Elizabeth Williams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This intrinsic single case study explored the ways in which two older adult burgeoning literacy learners in a capital city in the U.S. Gulf South utilized the skills of print literacy and digital literacy both together and apart. This study was an investigation of print and digital literacy, individually and combined, in order to examine the way older adult burgeoning literacy learners used one kind of literacy (print) to develop the other (digital). Using semi-structured interviews, observations, and literacy journals, participants’ perceptions were explored. Findings included that fully literate older adults used their literacy to enact and maintain social connections, …

The Effect Of Word-Learning Biases On Early Vocabulary Acquisition In Young Children On The Autism Spectrum, Claire C. Bourgeois

LSU Master's Theses

Background: Vocabulary composition and word-learning biases are closely interrelated in typical development. Such word-learning biases are influenced by perceptually and conceptually salient word features, including imageability, concreteness, iconicity, and attention to shape. Autistic children often have delayed language acquisition, but there is currently little research examining the underlying mechanisms autistic children use to acquire words. The current study aimed to examine the noun composition of autistic children across a range of vocabulary sizes by examining associations between expressive noun vocabulary size and imageability, iconicity, concreteness and evidence for the shape bias, and to examine whether these patterns differ from their …

Verb Diversities Of Children With And Without Developmental Language Disorder: A Study Of Language Samples, Caitlyn J. Kearns

LSU Master's Theses

Background: There have been numerous studies that have researched word learning in children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). These studies have found that children with DLD present with higher vocabulary deficits compared to their typically developing (TD) peers. Many of these studies’ results suggest that verb learning is the most difficult word type to comprehend in early language development for both TD children and children with DLD. This current study aims to examine verb use in children with and without DLD and to specifically examine their usage of GAP verbs. Methods: Participants included 36 children, 18 TD and 18 DLD …

Of Language And Thought: American Political Discourse, Normative Reason, And Essentially Contested Concepts, Riley Clare Valentine

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes progressive liberalism and neoliberalism as forms of normative reason that redefine specific political concepts, which are central to American liberalism – equality, liberty, the role of the State, and the pursuit of happiness. I contend that language is an important expression of normative reason. Language is how political reason and the norms accompanying it are expressed. I move through Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Barack Obama, exploring shifts in language and interpretations of political concepts through progressive liberal and neoliberal forms of normative reason. I argue that a tension emerges between progressive liberalism and neoliberalism, and a …

Understanding Consumers' Use Experience On Electrically Heated Jacket: A Study On Online Review Using Topic Modeling, Md Nakib-Ul Hasan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The demand for heated jackets is anticipated to be fuelled by frequent temperature drops, severe winter weather, and increasing outdoor activities. Electrically heated jackets (EHJ) are primarily marketed through online distribution channels and expansion of online sales channels is expected to boost the global market. Consumers are increasingly relying on online reviews from other consumers to help them decide what to buy. Businesses also actively monitor and manage their online reviews to build trust in their brand and make it more likely that customers will buy. Traditional approaches for assessing customer behavior, such as market research surveys and focus groups, …

Gis Automated Delineation And Analysis Of Cancer Service Areas In The United States, Changzhen Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Delineating a meaningful and reliable geographic unit pertaining to cancer care is essential in examining geographic variations in cancer care for better analysis, management, and planning. Public health researchers have devoted great efforts to defining various service areas, which; however, lack scientific rigor or are unrepresentative of the highly specialized cancer care markets, and their methods have become obsolete in the era of big data and high geo-computation. This study develops the “Spatially Constrained Leiden (ScLeiden)” method, a network community detection algorithm in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and applies it to delineate a series of coherent cancer service …

'Space Is The Place:' Afrofuturism In Black Popular Music, Tamyka Jordon-Conlin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on developing a theory of Afrofuturist music. Afrofuturism is an umbrella term used to describe Black cultural productions that reflect on the African diasporic culture of the past while imagining potential futures, often while appropriating imagery of technology and science-fiction tropes. With the intent of redefining notions of blackness, Afrofuturist artists create alternative historical narratives and speculative future projections. These productions create space that allows the Afrofuturist to discorporately negotiate the limits of Black subjectivity. Poet, activist, and avant-garde musician Sun Ra is credited as the progenitor of Afrofuturism, and his model has since been adapted by …

Baseline Differences In Driving Frequency As A Predictor Of Cognitive Decline, Luke R. Miller

LSU Master's Theses

Driving is a complex task heavily dependent on cognitive functions which can decline with age including executive functions and processing speed. Although driving cessation as a predictor of cognitive changes has been studied, driving frequency is understudied in the literature. Thus, the objective of the current study is to evaluate the predictive utility of driving frequency at baseline toward objective cognitive decline beyond other factors associated with cognitive decline (e.g., depression, general functional mobility). The sample included a subset of 1,426 older adults (M age = 77.6, SD = 7.1) from the Rush University Memory and Aging Project. Participants completed …

Understanding Children's Museums' Approaches To Diversity: A Critical And Socio-Cultural Investigation, Amber Nicole Smith

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Children begin to develop self-awareness and awareness of others at an early age (Marion, 2011). Before they reach kindergarten, children begin to make distinctions about race by noticing similarities and differences between themselves and others (Winkler, 2009). Exposing young children to diversity can help each child embrace their identity, accept and celebrate differences, and be accepting of themselves and others (Cole & Verwayne, 2018).

The purpose of this study is to explore how children’s museums support diversity through their programs and planning. The research of this study focuses on four children’s museums located in the United States. There are many …

Entities: A Field Of Imaginary Games, Thrasyvoulos Ioannis Kalaitzidis

LSU Master's Theses

With this body of work, I am looking for visual symbols that help communicate unuttered meanings through storytelling and stimulate an affectual response to the viewer. This exploration is presented in two different forms: a surreal sculptural installation and a board game. The installation consists of large-scale sculptures made from light and soft materials (polyurethane foam, plastic waste, paper) that are available to move inside the gallery, while the board game is presented as a set of 3D prints with instructions on how the participants can play it. The materials used in the installation suggest a way to transform waste …

Creating Musical Scores Inspired By The Intersection Of Human Speech And Music Through Model-Based Cross Synthesis, William Alexander Thompson Iv

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research addresses the development of machine learning techniques used to create musical scores and performances that are inspired by the intersection of speech and music. Machine learning models are created from MIDI files that are transcribed from datasets of musical audio recordings and human speech audio recordings. Through the creation of succinct models, model based cross synthesis is possible. Models trained on musical MIDI data are asked to replicate MIDI data that approximate human speech. Alternatively, models that have been trained on MIDI data that approximate speech are asked to replicate musical MIDI data. The product of these developed …

Responsible Classrooms: Unfinalizability, Responsibility, And Participatory Literacy In Secondary English Language Arts, Emma Jamilah Gist

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines participatory literacy practice in secondary English language arts classrooms. While literacy achievement in this context is often measured according to a student’s ability to receive and repeat predetermined information within the scope of mandated curricula and standardized tests, this study attends specifically to classroom literacy practice that centers authentic, unanticipated, dialogic student response. Within its consideration of literacy practice, this study applies the Bakhtinian notion of unfinalizability to consider those conditions that allow for learning experiences that are not predetermined but are rather uniquely, unpredictably, and unrepeatably co-constructed by individual students, student groups, and teachers. These unfinalizable …

Grotesque Masculinities In The Works Of Harry Crews, Barry Hannah, And Padgett Powell, Matt Brandon Blasi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

“Grotesque Masculinities in the Works of Harry Crews, Barry Hannah, and Padgett Powell” explores how these authors use the grotesque to complicate, distort, and criticize hegemonic white Southern masculinity as represented in contemporary American literature. In “Grotesque Masculinities,” I argue that the presence of the grotesque mode in these author’s works offers a unique critical perspective by which to better understand how masculinity is constructed by and for white Southern men in literature, and how alternative configurations of identity are not only possible, but necessary to decenter whiteness and heteronormativity as dominant categories. Using what sociologists refer to as body-reflexive …

Literacy's Levels: An Analysis Of Neoliberal Literacy Sponsorship In The U.S., Misty Dawn Fuller

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

While much scholarship has considered Deborah Brandt’s concept of sponsors of literacy, there remains a need to consider relationships between literacy sponsors and larger implications of literacy sponsorship at national and institutional levels. Utilizing academic theories, U.S. federal government budgets and financed reports, and discoursal analysis, this dissertation investigates literacy sponsorship at the federal, postsecondary institutional, postsecondary institutional writing programmatic, and individual levels to tease out how, and in what ways, through “enabling” and “supporting” literacy these sponsors also” regulate, suppress, and withhold literacy” (Brandt 166). Rhetorical analysis determines that, at the U.S. federal level, literacy is promoted as a …

Reading And Understanding: A Defense Of Heideggerian Hermeneutics And Philogy, Phillip M. Gandy

LSU Master's Theses

This paper addresses methodologies espoused by the hermeneutic tradition begun under Martin Heidegger. I argue for the methodologies of Philology, Destruktion and the use of poetic language in order to understand and communicate fundamental truths about Dasein. I demonstrate that these methods provide us, hermeneutically, with a closer and more precise understanding than simple communication in common speech.

Storytelling As Design Methodology: Reclaiming Little Manila's Urban Landscape Identity, Alyssa M. Gill

LSU Master's Theses

My thesis explores how landscape design can improve its methods of reclaiming lost cultural stories in the urban landscape, using the example of the Filipino American neighborhood known as Little Manila in Stockton, California. Through interpreting both stories and narratives that surround the neighborhood, I propose a basis for landscape design inspiration that focuses on oral history and lived experience. Using this understanding I propose to design a landscape within in the Little Manila Historic Site that celebrates the community’s history while providing public space for continued community use.

My work focuses on the area of Downtown Stockton that earned …

Exploring The Role Of Social Media Influencers In Promoting Sustainable Fashion On Twitter, Hannah L. Short

LSU Master's Theses

The fashion industry promotes a culture of frivolous consumption, especially with the offering of fast fashion items nearly everywhere. With the rise of social media platforms, ordinary people have been able to create a large following of people who are interested and persuaded by their opinions and lifestyles, thus being deemed a social media influencer. Social media influencers who have utilized their platforms to speak out about the detrimental effects of fast fashion and conspicuous consumption and for the need to shop with sustainable values in mind for the health of society as well as the environment are known as …

World War Ii, Displacement, And The Making Of The Postwar Ukrainian Diaspora, 1939-1951, Jennifer Lauren Popowycz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As a result, in an effort to expand the literature on the Ukrainian DP experience, this dissertation will specifically examine how foreign occupation, forced labor, and displacement impacted the construction of Ukrainian cultural nationalism between 1939 and 1951. Using a variety of memoirs written by Ukrainian DPs, published primary sources, as well as archival material from the online Interview Archive of Forced Labor 1939-1945, Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, the United Nations Archive, and the online Archive of Ukrainian Periodicals it will argue that cultural nationalism not only served as a common link that united Ukrainians, but also served …

Exploring Co-Planning Conversations As A Professional Development Activity For Mentors And Mentees At The Beginning Of A Yearlong Teacher Residency, Channing Parfait

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In order to prepare pre-service teachers for their roles in the classroom, it is important to examine the rigor and purpose of the mentoring experience. This study explored the aspects of co-planning conversations that helped experienced and novice teachers expand their expertise and develop a mutually beneficial mentoring relationship at the beginning of a yearlong teacher residency model. While research on co-planning during the student teaching/residency experience exists, this research illuminated the importance of mentoring conversations early on in the teacher residency experience. Using a single case study design, observations, one-on-one interviews, and artifacts from four mentor-mentee dyads, data were …

Implicit Bias In Speech-Language Pathology Students, Skyller Castello

LSU Master's Theses

Implicit racial biases have been documented across a variety of allied health professions. A systematic review conducted by FitzGerald and Hurst (2017) of implicit bias in healthcare professionals found that 20 out of 25 studies examined displayed bias against BIPOC in diagnosis, treatment recommendations, and other aspects of the medical care they received. A literature review completed by Hall et al. (2015) found similar results, stating that 9 of the 15 studies examined identified bias against Black clients. One allied healthcare profession, speech-language pathology, interacts with a diverse clientele in a clinical environment and yet have been excluded from much …

Writing Exclusionary Spaces: Myths, Tropes, And Stereotypes Surrounding The Roma In 19th- And 20th-Century French Literature, Jade Scottie Basford

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The “gypsy” figure has been popular in popular culture for hundreds of years – certainly since the 1600s. The figure can embody wanderlust, difference, bold sexuality, freedom, danger, and criminality. In 19th-century France, the figure’s trendiness was apparent in literature. Writers such as Victor Hugo, George Sand, Charles Nodier, and Prosper Mérimée profited from using these figures in writing. Most criticism of these works focuses on the origins of the tales or critical analyses of the narratives themselves. This research expands upon the extant scholarship to develop an overview of the usage of this figure as it moved throughout the …

Spring 2022 Catalog, Lsu Press

LSU Press Seasonal Catalogs

No abstract provided.

“Understanding Russian And Soviet National Identity Through Soviet War Literature”, Mackenzie A. Jones

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Democracy’S Effect On Attributes Of Transnational Terrorism, Alice Epley

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Early Foundational Cultures Of Modern Spain, Emily Webre

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Louisiana Social Studies: A Look Into The Culture, History And Business Of Our State, Ava Borksey

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Efficient Information Retrieval For Software Bug Localization, Saket Khatiwada

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Software systems are often shipped with defects. When a bug is reported, developers use the information available in the associated report to locate source code fragments that need to be modified to fix the bug. However, as software systems evolve in size and complexity, bug localization can become a tedious and time-consuming process. Contemporary bug localization tools utilize Information Retrieval (IR) methods for automated support to minimize the manual effort. IR methods exploit the textual content of bug reports to capture and rank relevant buggy source files. However, for an IR-based bug localization tool to be useful, it must achieve …

Digital Discrimination In The Sharing Economy: Evidence, Policy, And Feature Analysis, Miroslav Tushev

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Applications (apps) of the Digital Sharing Economy (DSE), such as Uber, Airbnb, and TaskRabbit, have become a main facilitator of economic growth and shared prosperity in modern-day societies. However, recent research has revealed that the participation of minority groups in DSE activities is often hindered by different forms of bias and discrimination. Evidence of such behavior has been documented across almost all domains of DSE, including ridesharing, lodging, and freelancing. However, little is known about the under- lying design decisions of DSE systems which allow certain demographics of the market to gain unfair advantage over others. To bridge this knowledge …

Child-Oriented Word Associations Improve Models Of Early Word Learning, C R. Cox, E Haebig

Faculty Publications

How words are associated within the linguistic environment conveys semantic content; however, different contexts induce different linguistic patterns. For instance, it is well known that adults speak differently to children than to other adults. We present results from a new word association study in which adult participants were instructed to produce either unconstrained or child-oriented responses to each cue, where cues included 672 nouns, verbs, adjectives, and other word forms from the McArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI; Fenson et al., 2006). Child-oriented responses consisted of higher frequency words with fewer letters, earlier ages of acquisition, and higher contextual diversity. Furthermore, …