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LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Theses/Dissertations

2002

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The Body Morph Assessment Version 2.0 (Bma 2.0): A Psychometric Study, Tiffany M. Stewart Jan 2002

The Body Morph Assessment Version 2.0 (Bma 2.0): A Psychometric Study, Tiffany M. Stewart

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A computerized procedure for assessing body image, called the Body Morph Assessment Version 2.0 (BMA 2.0), was developed to serve as reliable and valid measure of body image. The BMA 2.0 is an extention of an earlier prototype called the Body Morph Assessment (BMA; Stewart, Williamson, Smeets, & Greenway, 2000). Although flexible in its uses, the BMA 2.0 targets the measurement of body image in people ranging in body size from very thin to very obese. The BMA was evaluated in terms of its psychometric characteristics. A sample of 217 subjects, composed of four distinct groups classified by gender and …

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Essays On International Trade And Bayesian Forecasting, Dennis S. Edwards Jan 2002

Essays On International Trade And Bayesian Forecasting, Dennis S. Edwards

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Economic theory is subject to continual analysis. While theories themselves are sometimes widely accepted, nuances of theory are persistently scrutinized. Researchers have not isolated this debate from a simply theoretic standpoint. Empirical methods in microeconomics also provide a forum for disagreement. This dissertation studies two topics of microeconomic theory that are constantly in debate: integration and cost function estimation. From the standpoint of theoretical integration models in international trade theory, the concept of foreign direct investment is studied in both a horizontal and vertical setting. With respect to horizontal integration, this dissertation modifies the Brander-Krugman reciprocal dumping model to evaluate …

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Molecular Systematics, Phylogeography, And Population Genetics Of Xiphorhynchus (Aves: Dendrocolaptidae) In The Amazon Basin, Alexandre Aleixo Jan 2002

Molecular Systematics, Phylogeography, And Population Genetics Of Xiphorhynchus (Aves: Dendrocolaptidae) In The Amazon Basin, Alexandre Aleixo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Among those few hypotheses amenable to falsification by phylogenetic methods concerning the diversification of the Amazonian biota, three can be singled out because of their verifiable predictions: the riverine barrier, the gradient, and the basal trichotomy hypotheses. I used phylogenetic and population genetics methods to reconstruct the diversification history of the genus Xiphorhynchus (aves: Dendrocolaptidae) in Amazonia. First, I estimated the phylogeny of the entire genus Xiphorhynchus to test a key prediction of the gradient hypothesis; secondly, I documented phylogeographies of a superspecies associated with upland forest (X. spixii / elegans) and two species linked to floodplain forest (X. kienerii …

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Effects Of Fire Frequency And The Red Imported Fire Ant On Native Insects In A Louisiana Longleaf Pine Savanna, Deanna M. Colby Jan 2002

Effects Of Fire Frequency And The Red Imported Fire Ant On Native Insects In A Louisiana Longleaf Pine Savanna, Deanna M. Colby

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Ants and ground beetles were collected in pitfall traps from a longleaf pine savanna in the early stages of restoration. Insect abundance and species richness were compared among four treatment combinations of two fire frequencies and presence and absence of an exotic ant, Solenopsis invicta, the red imported fire ant. Amdro® was used to suppress S. invicta. Fire treatments consisted of a single fire in a two year period or two fires in a two year period, one applied each year. Fires were applied late in the growing season both years. Ten of the 28 ground beetle species …

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Capillary And Microdevice Electrophoretic Tools For Genetic Analyses: Heteroduplex Analysis For Tuberculosis Drug Susceptibility And Ligase Detection Reaction For Colorectal Cancer Detection, Gloria Thomas Jan 2002

Capillary And Microdevice Electrophoretic Tools For Genetic Analyses: Heteroduplex Analysis For Tuberculosis Drug Susceptibility And Ligase Detection Reaction For Colorectal Cancer Detection, Gloria Thomas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The traditional format of electrophoresis, the slab gel, is quickly being replaced by capillary and microdevice platforms, which offer improvements in cost, resolution, speed, quantitation and automation in genetic analyses. These techniques also employ a variety of separation matrices while the slab gel is limited to agarose and polyacrylamide. The research presented here explores the use of these electrophoretic formats for the detection of single nucleotide mutations using two genetic models associated with human disease. Slab gel based heteroduplex analysis (HDA), a popular mutation scanning method, uses a specially designed universal heteroduplex generator (UHG) containing controlled variation to enhance the …

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Optimal Channel Equalization For Filterbank Transceivers In Presence Of White Noise, Ehab Farouk Badran Jan 2002

Optimal Channel Equalization For Filterbank Transceivers In Presence Of White Noise, Ehab Farouk Badran

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Filterbank transceivers are widely employed in data communication networks to cope with inter-symbol-interference (ISI) through the use of redundancies. This dissertation studies the design of the optimal channel equalizer for both time-invariant and time-varying channels, and wide-sense stationary (WSS) and possible non-stationary white noise processes. Channel equalization is investigated via the filterbank transceivers approach. All perfect reconstruction (PR) or zero-forcing (ZF) receiver filterbanks are parameterized in an affine form, which eliminate completely the ISI. The optimal channel equalizer is designed through minimization of the mean-squared-error (MSE) between the detected signals and the transmitted signals. Our main results show that the …

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X-Ray Spectroscopy Of Geometrically Constrained Systems, Edward Earl Doomes Jan 2002

X-Ray Spectroscopy Of Geometrically Constrained Systems, Edward Earl Doomes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Hard X-rays (2 KeV or greater) are used as spectroscopic tools in the characterization of chemical systems. X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy is used to characterize multiple groups of chemicals in a systematic fashion. This thesis focuses on chemical systems that in some context have geometrical constraints on their structure. They include self-assembled n-alkanethiol monolayers that are tethered to silver substrates, cyclic sulfides, and (Bis(diphenylphosphino) alkane tetracarbonyl metal complexes. The study of n-alkanethiol monolayers on Ag(111) contains the first observation in the literature of an anomalous resonance in the 18 carbon monolayer. A new interpretation of a subthreshold …

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The Relationship Between Perceived Leader Behavior And Alcohol Consumption Among University Students Who Are Members Of Social Fraternities, Joe Randy Gurie Jan 2002

The Relationship Between Perceived Leader Behavior And Alcohol Consumption Among University Students Who Are Members Of Social Fraternities, Joe Randy Gurie

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected personal and institutional demographic characteristics on the alcohol consumption of students enrolled in a research extensive university in the southern portion of the United States who were members of a social fraternity. The two main goals of this study were: 1) to determine if a relationship existed between the level of alcohol consumption and the perceptions of the effectiveness of the current organizational leadership among students who were members of social fraternities at a research extensive university in the southern portion of the United States and 2) …

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The Matson And Mayville (M&M) Seizure Scale: An Assessment Of Psychological And Environmental Variables Contributing To Seizure Activity In Persons With Mental Retardation, Erik Andrew Mayville Jan 2002

The Matson And Mayville (M&M) Seizure Scale: An Assessment Of Psychological And Environmental Variables Contributing To Seizure Activity In Persons With Mental Retardation, Erik Andrew Mayville

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Seizure activity can be debilitating across a number of physical, social, occupational, and personal domains. Given the deficits in all of these areas frequently present in persons with mental retardation, the control and elimination of seizures is a primary goal for individuals with both mental retardation and epilepsy. Antiepileptic medication can reduce seizure activity. However, this intervention often carries with it a range of untoward side effects that may adversely affect clients over what is typically a long-term treatment regimen. Over the last 20 years, literature has emerged emphasizing the importance of environmental variables in the initiation and maintenance of …

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Explicit Multiplicative Relations Between Gauss Sums, Brian J. Murray Jan 2002

Explicit Multiplicative Relations Between Gauss Sums, Brian J. Murray

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

H.Hasse conjectured that all multiplicative relations between Gauss sums essentially follow from the Davenport-Hasse product formula and the norm relation for Gauss sums. While this is known to be false, very few counterexamples, now known as sign ambiguities, have been given. Here, we provide an explicit product formula giving an infinite class of new sign ambiguities and resolve the ambiguous sign in terms of the order of the ideal class of quadratic primes.

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Modeling Canopy Structure Effects On Loblolly Pine Growth, Mauricio Jerez Rico Jan 2002

Modeling Canopy Structure Effects On Loblolly Pine Growth, Mauricio Jerez Rico

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined several aspects of canopy structure and their influence on growth of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations. Foliage distribution, crown hydraulic architecture, and the effect of chronological changes in canopy structure on stand development were explored as possible components of a future process-based model intended for management purposes. A model based on the Johnson’s SB distribution was developed to predict leaf area distribution of loblolly pine trees. This is a preliminary step for building a submodel capable of simulating chronological changes in canopy structure and stand growth. The model accurately predicted the cumulative distribution of leaf area …

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Cementitious Stabilization Of Soils In The Presence Of Sulfate, Lan Wang Jan 2002

Cementitious Stabilization Of Soils In The Presence Of Sulfate, Lan Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Winn Rock (anhydrite, CaSO4) comes from a quarry in Winn Parish in north Louisiana. Gravel from the quarry has been used extensively as a surface course on local parish and logging roads. Stabilization of these roads with Type I Portland cement followed by an overlay by asphaltic concrete sometimes resulted in heaving. The causes for heaving and possible solutions were investigated. In the laboratory 2" x 4" molds of Winn Rock containing soil were prepared and cured in water bath at 40°C, sealed plastic bag at room temperature, and air. Molds were prepared with 5% to 20% cementitious material. The …

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The Effects Of Strategic Corporate Philanthropy On Consumer Perceptions: An Experimental Assessment, Joe M. Ricks, Jr. Jan 2002

The Effects Of Strategic Corporate Philanthropy On Consumer Perceptions: An Experimental Assessment, Joe M. Ricks, Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

There are many objectives for corporate philanthropic activity beyond altruism. Financial gain, increased image, and thwarting negative publicity have been suggested as potential objectives for corporate giving. This dissertation develops a 2X2 classification schema as a framework for empirical investigation and managerial decision making. Additionally this dissertation examines current models of corporate philanthropy and develops a new model for the use of philanthropy in crisis management using stakeholder theory. Finally it presents experimental assessments of various types of philanthropy based on the classification schema. Philanthropic activity is assessed in the context of two controlled experiments. The first experiment examines the …

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Odorant Receptors: Regulation, Signaling, And Expression, Michele Lynn Rankin Jan 2002

Odorant Receptors: Regulation, Signaling, And Expression, Michele Lynn Rankin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Olfactory signal transduction is initiated by binding of odorous ligands to G protein-coupled odorant receptors, resulting in the activation of G protein and second messengers that culminates in the generation of action potentials to relay this signal to the brain for odor recognition. This signaling cascade comprises the primary olfactory response. Odorant receptors comprise the largest multigene family identified to date, enabling the olfactory system to respond to an enormous pool of potential odorant molecules. This work focuses on the study of odorant receptors beyond the initiation of the primary olfactory response. The first set of experiments focuses on odorant …

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The Influence Of The Use Of Recommended Management Practices On Milk Production In Southeast Louisiana, Ronald David Bardwell Jan 2002

The Influence Of The Use Of Recommended Management Practices On Milk Production In Southeast Louisiana, Ronald David Bardwell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The dairy industry in Southeast Louisiana is one of the largest agricultural industries, with a gross farm value of over 74 million dollars. Much of the economy of Southeast Louisiana parishes depends on the dairy industry. Therefore, improvements in production efficiency and/or effectiveness would have an enormous impact on the parish economy. This study identifies the use of recommended practices by dairy producers, thus allowing educational programs to be focused on specific areas of greatest need. The purpose of the study was to describe the management practices of Southeast Louisiana dairy producers and to determine if a relationship existed between …

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Service Learning: A Study Of Administrators' Goals At A Research I University, Christy Sanders Jan 2002

Service Learning: A Study Of Administrators' Goals At A Research I University, Christy Sanders

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This case study explored the administrators' goals of a service learning program at a Research I university. This research was aimed at discovering administrators' goals and determining whether or not these goals were achieved, as perceived by students, administrators, community service agency directors, and faculty members. A structured, tape-recorded interview was used to gather data from participants in all groups. Barriers to implementation of service learning by faculty, students, and administrators included time constraints, lack of institutional support and lack of clarity as to what constituted service learning. University engagement in service learning was defined as the process by which …

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Body And Soul: Food, The Female (In) Corporeal, And The Narrative Effects Of Mind/Body Duality, Andrea Adolph Jan 2002

Body And Soul: Food, The Female (In) Corporeal, And The Narrative Effects Of Mind/Body Duality, Andrea Adolph

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study combines philosophical, historical, and cultural modes of inquiry in order to explore what has occurred when selected authors have attempted to "write the body." Augmented by archival and primary cultural research, the dissertation is grounded in the experiential, "everyday" qualities of women's lives. Samples of women's cultural materials such as beauty, cookery, and household management texts, and popular women's magazines serve as informative backdrops for an investigation of middle- and working-class British and Anglo-Irish women's culture during the twentieth century. This study investigates some of the ways in which women have thought about food in relation to more …

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Local, Regional, And Global Patterns Of Woodpecker (Picidae) Diversity: Ecological Explanations And Practical Applications, Alison Robinson Styring Jan 2002

Local, Regional, And Global Patterns Of Woodpecker (Picidae) Diversity: Ecological Explanations And Practical Applications, Alison Robinson Styring

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored foraging ecology in a guild of 13 woodpecker species found in the lowland rainforests of peninsular Malaysia. The data collected were used for two purposes: (1) to compare species from temperate and tropical woodpecker assemblages in an attempt to understand patterns of diversity, and (2) to determine the effects of logging on Malaysian woodpeckers. Ecological and morphological patterns of diversity were investigated in woodpeckers from tropical sites in Malaysia (Pasoh Forest Reserve and Sungai Lalang Forest Reserve) and Guatemala, and two temperate sites in North America. Multivariate analyses separated species into two ecomorphs: “conventional” - species that …

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The Development And Validation Of The Parent Instruction-Giving Game With Youngsters (Piggy) In A Head Start Population, Stephen Danial Anthony Hupp Jan 2002

The Development And Validation Of The Parent Instruction-Giving Game With Youngsters (Piggy) In A Head Start Population, Stephen Danial Anthony Hupp

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Head Start families demonstrate many of the risk factors that relate to the development of noncompliance and other behavior problems in young children, such as low income, limited education, teenage pregnancy, isolation, family stress, single parenthood, and parental psychopathology. Noncompliant preschool-aged children often continue to display difficulties through adolescence. Parent Management Training programs have been developed which can improve child compliance. However, many of the same risk factors that lead to child noncompliance also reduce the effectiveness of parenting interventions. Thus, more efficient assessment and intervention strategies need to be developed to facilitate the treatment of child behavior problems in …

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Tryptophan Requirements And The Effects Of Supplemental Tryptophan On Growth Performance, Plasma Metabolites, And Meat Quality In Nursery, Growing, And Finishing Pigs, Amy Christina Guzik Jan 2002

Tryptophan Requirements And The Effects Of Supplemental Tryptophan On Growth Performance, Plasma Metabolites, And Meat Quality In Nursery, Growing, And Finishing Pigs, Amy Christina Guzik

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research was conducted to estimate the true digestible Trp (dTrp) requirements in nursery, growing, and late finishing pigs and the effects of supplemental Trp on physiology, behavior, and meat quality. Five experiments were conducted to estimate the dTrp requirement in nursery pigs. Using broken-line regression analysis, dTrp requirements were 0.21, 0.20, and 0.18% for Phase I (5.2 to 7.3 kg), II (6.3 to 10.2 kg), and III (10.3 to 15.7) nursery pigs. In addition, four experiments were conducted to estimate the dTrp requirements in growing and finishing pigs. Using broken-line regression analysis, the dTrp requirement of pigs weighing 30.9, …

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Christio-Conjure In Voodoo Dreams, Baby Of The Family, The Salt Eaters, Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo, And Mama Day, Laura Sams Haynes Jan 2002

Christio-Conjure In Voodoo Dreams, Baby Of The Family, The Salt Eaters, Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo, And Mama Day, Laura Sams Haynes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project examines contemporary African American women’s literature and the legacy established by literary foremother, Zora Neale Hurston. The discussion is positioned at the cross-section of three on-going conversations: 1) current discourses on Conjure in African American women’s literature, 2) analyses of Africanisms in black culture, and 3) previous scholarship on recurring topics in African American women’s writing. Here these frames are unified under one thematic: Christio-Conjure—a rubric borne of the trans-Atlantic slave trade that designates the fusing of Christian and West African religious tradition in African American culture. Thus, this project establishes a new literary matrix for analyzing twentieth-century …

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Multidemensional Goals Of Farmers In The Beef Cattle An Dairy Industries, Aydin Basarir Jan 2002

Multidemensional Goals Of Farmers In The Beef Cattle An Dairy Industries, Aydin Basarir

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Farm firm decision making processes have long been of concern to agricultural economists. The concept of maximizing utility rather than profit is an important concept in multidimensional goal research. The prevalence of low or negative net returns in Louisiana beef and dairy production leads to the hypothesis that goals other than profit maximization compete strongly in producers' decisions. The objective of this study is to determine the hierarchy of goals that motivate beef and dairy producers and evaluate them in a multi-dimensional framework. Seven goals were evaluated in producer decision making: Maintain and Conserve Land, Maximize Profit, Increase Farm Size, …

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Prelude To A Text : The Autobiography Of Abdelkebir Khatibi, Ruth Louise Gaertner Jan 2002

Prelude To A Text : The Autobiography Of Abdelkebir Khatibi, Ruth Louise Gaertner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study of Abdelkebir Khatibi’s autobiography, La Mémoire tatouée, addresses two specific questions with respect to autobiography: What does this autobiography tell us about autobiography in general and about its own status as autobiography? What is the relationship between Khatibi’s autobiography and his other more well-known texts? Chapter One focuses on questions of autobiography and how this text challenges generic classification and definition. The analysis in this chapter focuses on a consideration of form and innovation, the multiplicity of the autobiographical subject, and questions of completeness, accuracy and memory in the creation of autobiography. Chapter Two begins with the idea …

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Group Automorphisms And The Decomposition Of Plancherel Measures, David Slay Jan 2002

Group Automorphisms And The Decomposition Of Plancherel Measures, David Slay

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this paper, a natural action of the automorphisms of a group on the space of irreducible unitary representations is used to decompose the Plancherel measure on the dual space as an integral of measures on homogeneous spaces. Explicit decompositions are obtained for the cases of free 2 and 3-step nilpotent Lie groups. These results are obtained using direct integral decompositions, induced representations, the Mackey Machine, and measure theory on homogeneous spaces.

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The Role Of Attention In Affect Perception: An Examination Of Mirsky's Four Factor Model Of Attention In Chronic Schizophrenia, Dennis R. Combs Jan 2002

The Role Of Attention In Affect Perception: An Examination Of Mirsky's Four Factor Model Of Attention In Chronic Schizophrenia, Dennis R. Combs

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Attention and affect perception was examined in a sample of sixty-five persons with chronic schizophrenia. Attentional skills may be related to deficits in affect perception due to a lack of attention to important information contained in the face. Deficits of this sort can dramatically inhibit appropriate social functioning. However, there is a lack of empirical research on this topic. Mirsky's four factor model of attention was used as a broad-based assessment of attentional functioning. The four factors of attention were: 1) Focus-Execute, 2) Encode, 3) Sustain, and 4) Shift. Neuropsychological measures reflective of attentional factor were administered. In this study, …

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Rediscovering Frédéric Chopin's "Trois Nouvelles Études", Qiao-Shuang Xian Jan 2002

Rediscovering Frédéric Chopin's "Trois Nouvelles Études", Qiao-Shuang Xian

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Frédéric Chopin’s Trois Nouvelles Études (Three New Études) were composed in 1839 at the request of François Fétis and Ignaz Moshceles for inclusion in a new and elaborate piano teaching method. While these new studies are less dramatic and brilliant than Chopin’s two previous sets of Études, op. 10 and 25, they are no less concerned with expressive musical qualities and they are of equal artistic merit to any of Chopin’s earlier Études. The monograph’s five chapters deal with specific aspects of these works. Chapter One traces the historical background of the Three Nouvelles Études. Chapter Two is devoted to …

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Retention And Movement Of Reactive Chemicals In Soils, Hongxia Zhu Jan 2002

Retention And Movement Of Reactive Chemicals In Soils, Hongxia Zhu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Adsorption-desorption and transport behavior of pesticides are important processes that influence the amount retained by the soil and that which is susceptible to runoff or movement within the soil profile. Kinetic batch experiments were used to study the adsorption-desorption behavior of metolachlor (a non-ionic herbicide) and deltamethrin (a pyrethroid insectcide) in soils, and atrazine (a triazine) in sugarcane mulch residue. Miscible displacement experiments under steady flow conditions were carried out to examine the mobility of these pesticides in soils. Metolachlor adsorption and desorption by Sharkey clay soil(Very-fine, smectitic, thermic Chromic Epiaquerts) and Commerce silty loam soil (Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, nonacid, …

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Social Exchange And Customer Service: The Relationship Between Perceived Organizational Support, Leader-Member Exchange, And Customer Service Behavior, Lisa Michelle Polly Jan 2002

Social Exchange And Customer Service: The Relationship Between Perceived Organizational Support, Leader-Member Exchange, And Customer Service Behavior, Lisa Michelle Polly

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As the economy continues to shift from the production of goods to the delivery of services, one way in which an organization might set itself apart from its competition is through the delivery of high quality customer service. Therefore, a critical question for organizations becomes how to elicit the appropriate level of service from its employees. The purpose of the current study was to propose and test a social exchange based model of customer service. Specifically, it was suggested that the quality of the organization-service employee and manager-service employee relationships would be related to employee customer service behavior through their …

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The Effects Of Local Hydrodynamics On Mass Transfer In Disordered Porous Media, Gang Guo Jan 2002

The Effects Of Local Hydrodynamics On Mass Transfer In Disordered Porous Media, Gang Guo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Interfacial mass transfer in disordered media was studied experimentally and numerically. The dissolution of solid benzoic acid spheres in packed columns showed the existence of spatial variations in mass transfer coefficients in monodisperse and polydisperse packings at the same overall Peclet number. The concept of a local Peclet number (single-particle average) was introduced to quantify the effect of local hydrodynamics on local mass transfer. Correlations between Sherwood number and Peclet number having the form Shi=A·(xiPe)m were used to quantify data from various sites in each packing. These experiments also showed that the exponent m varies …

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Essays On Endowment Fund Management, Kurtay N. Ogunc Jan 2002

Essays On Endowment Fund Management, Kurtay N. Ogunc

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The debate around the perpetual nature of endowment funds from the perspective of current versus future obligations is a major problem that I would like to address in two ways: (i) a macro-level treatment of the simultaneous asset allocation and spending rate with subsistence levels (analogous to the habit formation concept); and (ii) a micro-level analysis of one part of the endowment portfolio with a particular emphasis on the currency hedging decision. The purpose of the third chapter is to illustrate the significance of joint determination of appropriate asset allocation and spending rate decisions, and to describe the behavior of …

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