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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Lost In Transition: Welfare To Work In Louisiana, Theresa C. Davidson Jan 2005

Lost In Transition: Welfare To Work In Louisiana, Theresa C. Davidson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The decline in welfare rolls coupled with the increase in work activity among former recipients since the mid-nineties might indicate that welfare reform legislation has been a success. This is only part of the story describing the impact of welfare reform. Although many have exited the rolls, a significant number still have not found work, others remain on aid, and some struggle through the transition relying on a combination of welfare and work. Even those who fit the narrow definition of "success" and have left welfare for formal employment experience significant hardship. Overall, regardless of work and welfare status, most …


Food Security Status, Nutrient Intake At The Beginning And End Of The Monthly Resource Cycle, And Body Mass Index In Female Food Stamp Recipients, Caroline C. Burke Jan 2005

Food Security Status, Nutrient Intake At The Beginning And End Of The Monthly Resource Cycle, And Body Mass Index In Female Food Stamp Recipients, Caroline C. Burke

LSU Master's Theses

Diets are typically poorer and risk of chronic disease (e.g. obesity) is greatest in low-income populations. Food security status, nutrient intake, and Body Mass Index were assessed in 64 female food stamp recipients in Southeast Louisiana. One 24-hour dietary recall was collected at the beginning of the month (Day 1) and one at the end of the month (Day 2). Food security status was: 29 food secure (FS), 26 food insecure (FIS), and nine food insecure with hunger (FISH). Sixty-two % (n=39) of our study participants were obese. Mean % energy from protein (p=0.03); total fat (p=0.029), % saturated fatty …


Constructing Resilent Marital Relationships: A Panel Study Of Marriages Under Pressure, Amy Manning Jan 2005

Constructing Resilent Marital Relationships: A Panel Study Of Marriages Under Pressure, Amy Manning

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the past, much of the literature on marital quality and stability has suggested that effective communication, positive affect, and spouses’ emotional support are important to marital quality (Gottman and Levenson, 2000; Gottman and Notarius, 2000 Popenoe, 2004; Sanchez and Ganger, 2000; Whitehead and Popenoe, 2001). Other works have also suggested that “commitment,” that is feelings regarding the permanency of marriage, encourages marital quality. However, to date, few studies have empirically investigated the relationship between commitment and marital quality (Surra and Gray, 2000). This dissertation investigates the relationships between commitment, marital disruption and instability, and marital quality, utilizing the context …


Glucose Transporter 2 Is Likely To Play A Role In The Brain Glucose Sensing, Bing Li Jan 2005

Glucose Transporter 2 Is Likely To Play A Role In The Brain Glucose Sensing, Bing Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

It has been proposed that the glucose sensing mechanism in the hypothalamus and hindbrain is similar to pancreatic â cells, and brain glucose sensing may be involved in the regulation of food intake. For the first part of the dissertation, it is proposed that molecules involved in â-cell glucose sensing, including glucokinase (GK), glucose transporter GLUT2, sulfonylurea receptor-1 (SUR1), glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R), and the feeding-related neuropeptide Y (NPY), are colocalized in specific areas in the hypothalamus and hindbrain. GK, GLUT2, SUR1, GLP-1R and NPY mRNA expression in ten discrete brain areas were quantified by real time RT-PCR, which will …


Fashion Involvement Of Affluent Female Consumers, Robin Danielle Mcfatter Jan 2005

Fashion Involvement Of Affluent Female Consumers, Robin Danielle Mcfatter

LSU Master's Theses

Fashion involvement is a consumer’s perceived importance of fashion clothing (O’Cass, 2001). It is important to investigate fashion involvement to understand consumer purchase behavior and to develop improved marketing strategies. Although researchers agree that consumers consider apparel purchases to be important, there has been little research done regarding fashion involvement (O’Cass, 2000) of affluent female consumers. The purpose of this study was to measure the fashion involvement of selected affluent female consumers from eight metropolitan areas in the United States and to identify relationships between fashion involvement and other selected variables. After controlling for socioeconomic demographic characteristics, the following variables …


Feed Sack Fashions In South Louisiana, 1949-1968: The Use Of Commodity Bags In Garment Construction, Jennifer Lynn Banning Jan 2005

Feed Sack Fashions In South Louisiana, 1949-1968: The Use Of Commodity Bags In Garment Construction, Jennifer Lynn Banning

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the first part of this study, 37 commodity bag garments made and worn by one woman in rural South Louisiana between the years 1949-1968 were analyzed. The garments are currently in the collection of the Louisiana State University Textile and Costume Museum. A material culture study model, originally developed by Fleming and adapted from Severa and Horswill, was used to identify, evaluate, culturally analyze and interpret the design, construction, and fabric characteristics of garments. Access to this collection provided a rare opportunity to examine the attributes of a related group of commodity bag garments. In the second part of …


The Impact Of Training On Caregiver Responsiveness, Carrie Lou Ota Jan 2005

The Impact Of Training On Caregiver Responsiveness, Carrie Lou Ota

LSU Master's Theses

This is an evaluation of observation-based experiences in child care in the state of Louisiana to help determine the importance of training and its impact on caregiver responsiveness. Infant and toddler child care caregivers were observed prior to and following a six-hour statewide training provided by Louisiana State University Cooperative Extension. The focus of the training was the Right from Birth series (Ramey & Ramey, 1999). Caregiver responsiveness to infants and toddlers was measured using a multiple baseline design. Observers examined both positive and negative caregiver behaviors which were categorized as either active or passive on the part of the …


Peer Relations And Academic Achievement In Early Elementary School, Natalie Ann Zitzmann Jan 2005

Peer Relations And Academic Achievement In Early Elementary School, Natalie Ann Zitzmann

LSU Master's Theses

The primary focus of the current study was to examine the relations between children’s peer relationships and academic performance. This study involved a secondary analysis of data provided by children, parents, and teachers. In all, 585 families participated in the study. The sample is predominately middle class, generally representative of the geographical regions, and demographically diverse; 52% of the children were male, 19% were of a minority or ethnic background, and 26% lived with single parents. The current study analyzed data collected over a four year period beginning when the children were enrolled in kindergarten. Data were obtained using classroom-based …


Racial Variations And Social Support And Its Impact On Stress And Depression, Claire Sam Jan 2005

Racial Variations And Social Support And Its Impact On Stress And Depression, Claire Sam

LSU Master's Theses

Evidence suggests that social support can mitigate some of the harmful effects of stress on health. Social support theorists argue that certain social groups have differential access to social support; therefore, certain social groups are at a higher risk of experiencing psychiatric symptoms. Although social networks are beyond the scope of these analyses, it is an important component to consider when examining the uneven distributions of social support between social groups. If racial differences exist in the networks in which individuals are embedded, then part of the differential access to social support could be explained by examining the various compositions …


Barriers To Educational Attainment For Rural Women Exiting Welfare, Lynda W. Carville Jan 2005

Barriers To Educational Attainment For Rural Women Exiting Welfare, Lynda W. Carville

LSU Master's Theses

In this paper I look at 12 women who were on welfare and their barriers to becoming self sufficient through education. They are in rural areas in the state of Louisiana and relied on welfare as a support system. I will examine their abilities to eventually obtain education and stable employment. In this paper, I use the qualitative data provided by Dr. Pam Monroe of Louisiana State University to examine the relationships of schooling, skills and recent work experience to the women’s paths to becoming self-sufficient. This study provides information on the extent to which education leads to job stability …


Osteoporosis And Osteopenia Management In Women: Survey, Case-Referent Study, And Interventional Exercise Trial, Rania A. Mekary Jan 2005

Osteoporosis And Osteopenia Management In Women: Survey, Case-Referent Study, And Interventional Exercise Trial, Rania A. Mekary

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Three studies are presented; the first epidemiological study was a survey of Baton Rouge/New Orleans physicians who manage osteoporosis. When the respondents’ answers were compared to selected guidelines, they displayed poor knowledge regarding osteoporosis prevention, diagnosis, and treatment (X2=39.88; P<0.0001). Rheumatologists and endocrinologists scored globally better on osteoporosis management when compared to ObGyn (OR= 6.98) (CI=2.4; 22.8). Physicians with more years of experience were more knowledgeable of osteoporosis care (OR=1.04) (CI=1.014; 1.071). The second epidemiological study was a case referent study looking at osteoporosis treatment and patient adherence of selected women in Baton Rouge. Results showed that osteoporosis management depended partly on patient adherence. Barriers to patient’s adherence varied from physiological to psychological reasons. Physicians need to provide more explanation and motivation to the patients. Spine was the area most affected and showed more improvement with treatment than the femur (P<0.01). Bisphosphonates were the most effective treatment for the spine (P<0.05). In patients with osteoporosis, being on just calcium and exercise is not enough to counteract bone resorption. They also need to be on an anti-resorptive therapy. Low body mass index, genetics, and history of fractures were negatively correlated to bone mineral density (BMD) increase (P<0.05). The third interventional pilot study was a non-randomized controlled study done on osteopenic postmenopausal women to examine the effect of calcium supplements and core/lower back strengthening exercises on lumbar density and muscle strength. Repeated measures analysis showed that both groups increased in isometric lumbar strength with time (P=0.02). When fosamax and exercise were taken as treatments, with baseline BMD as a covariable, the one-tailed P value of the two-way ANOVA showed a numerically positive but not significant increase in the exercise group (yearly change=2.373 ± 2.625; T value=0.9; P=0.21). Also, the exercise group showed increased feelings of well-being as opposed to the control group who showed no change or worsening. One woman in the control group fractured a bone. Ultimately, osteoporosis management relies on physicians’ knowledge, involvement, and patient adherence. Calcium, exercise and anti-resorptive treatments are needed in case of osteoporosis. Calcium supplements and site-specific strengthening exercises may be enough in case of osteopenia.


Petite Women: Fit And Body Shape Analysis, Lisa Barona Mcroberts Jan 2005

Petite Women: Fit And Body Shape Analysis, Lisa Barona Mcroberts

LSU Master's Theses

Only small quantities of apparel are available to the domestic petite sector, and they do not fit well due to lack of attention to proportion. In addition, other factors contributing to improper fit are a sizing system based on outdated anthropometric data gathered in the 1930s to create the voluntary product standard PS 42-70, and a rising obesity problem, resulting in an array of figure type variations ranging from apple-shaped to pear-shaped women, as opposed to the industry focused hourglass shape. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate fit and design with figure type variations for petite women, …


Associations Among Mothers' Reports Of Family Daily Hassles And Family Resources And Children's Cognitive Ability: An Exploratory Study, Troy D. Stuart Jan 2005

Associations Among Mothers' Reports Of Family Daily Hassles And Family Resources And Children's Cognitive Ability: An Exploratory Study, Troy D. Stuart

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among daily hassles, family resources, and children’s cognitive ability. Particular emphasis was placed on examining the relationships among the variables by family structure. A total of 205 children in first-grade and third-grade and their mothers participated in the study. There were 120 children from intact families and 85 children from single mother families in the study. All mothers completed assessments on family level variables and all children completed the BIA test of cognitive ability. Multiple regression analyses were utilized to examine the relationships among the variables. Daily hassles and cohesion …