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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Autism, Comorbidities, And Adaptive Functioning: A Potential Moderator, Joshua J. Montrenes Jul 2023

Autism, Comorbidities, And Adaptive Functioning: A Potential Moderator, Joshua J. Montrenes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Deficits in adaptive functioning and the presence of comorbid symptomatology are both commonly associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous research has identified relationships between functional level (e.g., intellectual quotient [IQ], adaptive functioning [AF]) and comorbid symptomatology in ASD. However, further insight into the relationship between AF, comorbid psychopathology, and ASD is unclear. Specifically, how AF affects the relationship between ASD and comorbid conditions is not well understood. Whether AF moderates the relationship between autism symptom severity and comorbid symptom severity in toddlers with ASD was examined. ASD symptom severity positively correlated with comorbid symptom severity across domains and negatively …


Developing Mediators: An Analysis Of The Changing Associations Of Ghanaian Internet Cafe Users Between 2003 And 2014, Matthew Gregory Leblanc Jan 2016

Developing Mediators: An Analysis Of The Changing Associations Of Ghanaian Internet Cafe Users Between 2003 And 2014, Matthew Gregory Leblanc

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines interview data gathered a decade apart, in 2003 and in 2014.The analysis answers the questions: "How were café patrons using the Internet in 2003 and how do the 2003 findings of this study compare to the findings of other studies conducted around the same time?" "How has Internet usage changed between 2003 and 2014?" "How has the Internet café business changed over the last decade?" This study starts by reviewing the theory and literature which informs studies of the Internet and Internet cafés in developing countries. Two years were spent discovering the fate of the 2003 locations. …


Effects Of Premature Birth And/Or Low Birthweight On Developmental Outcomes, Rachel L. Goldin Jan 2016

Effects Of Premature Birth And/Or Low Birthweight On Developmental Outcomes, Rachel L. Goldin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Advances in neonatal technology have improved survival rates of children born at lower and lower birthweight and after fewer and fewer weeks of gestation. However, these children are at increased risk of experiencing developmental delays. As weeks of gestation and birthweight decrease, the risk of developmental impairment and severity increases. Yet to be determined is whether premature birth and low birthweight (LBW) effect development differentially, and if the combined, have an additive effect on developmental outcomes. The first part of this study aimed to examine the independent effects of preterm birth and LBW in children at risk for developmental delays. …


Power And Purpose : U.S. Foreign Aid And Development, Jeremy L. Wells Jan 2013

Power And Purpose : U.S. Foreign Aid And Development, Jeremy L. Wells

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Foreign aid represents about 1 percent of the United States federal budget, but it also represents a significant portion of many recipient countries’ gross domestic products. Although there has been substantial interest in foreign aid among international political economy researchers over the last decade or so, there are still few if any answers to the most basic questions: who gets foreign aid, how much, and is it effective? Through a combination of cross-national analyses and a quantitative case study of Afghanistan during the Taliban insurgency of 2003–2009, this dissertation seeks to advance our understanding of the utility of foreign aid …


Relationships Among The Behavioral Inhibition System, Response Inhibition, Heart Rate Variability, And Anxiety Sensitivity Between Older Adolescents With And Without Significant Anxiety, Erin Tarcza Reuther Jan 2011

Relationships Among The Behavioral Inhibition System, Response Inhibition, Heart Rate Variability, And Anxiety Sensitivity Between Older Adolescents With And Without Significant Anxiety, Erin Tarcza Reuther

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Differences in the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS; Gray, 1982), response inhibition, and cardiac vagal control are evident between individuals with anxiety and nonclinical control participants. In this study, the role of inhibition in anxiety was examined, as well as relationships between the primary indexes of inhibition including the behavioral inhibition system (BIS), response inhibition, and cardiac vagal tone (or heart rate variability) at rest and during tasks of response inhibition. Additionally, anxiety sensitivity, an established risk factor for developing anxiety disorders, was examined and how it relates to indexes of inhibition. As expected, inhibition and anxiety sensitivity were found to …


Women And Science In Development: A Longitudinal Analysis Of Gender, Networks, And Information Technology In Ghana, Kenya, And India, Beverly Paige Miller Jan 2009

Women And Science In Development: A Longitudinal Analysis Of Gender, Networks, And Information Technology In Ghana, Kenya, And India, Beverly Paige Miller

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the gendered nature of the scientific career for researchers in universities and national research institutes in Ghana, Kenya, and Kerala India. Employing panel data, I analyze three issues related to the diffusion of ICTs in the scientific communities of less developed areas: 1) access; 2) interaction; 3) and involvement. More specifically, I examine the way in which human capital, family structure, travel experiences, contextual factors, and technological antecedents interact with gender to influence access to and use of personal computers, email, and the Web. From there, I incorporate technological behavioral changes to predict interaction within professional networks. …


The Developmental Continuity Of A Cognitive Model Of Worry, Kimberly Rae Zlomke Jan 2008

The Developmental Continuity Of A Cognitive Model Of Worry, Kimberly Rae Zlomke

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research on the construct of worry has increased dramatically in the past two decades. This research has also tended to focus on adults, with only a limited number of studies examining adolescent populations. With the continued dominance of developmental psychopathology and a lifespan approach to development, it has become apparent that downward extensions of adult models of psychopathology are inadequate (cf. Mash & Dozois, 2002). As a result, investigations in adolescents are essential due to the potential developmental differences and heterotypic continuity in worry between adolescents and adults. These developmental differences and changes associated with the period of adolescence may …


Social Sector Participatory Development In Honduras: A Process Across Institutions, Culturesval And Continents, Denese Ashbaugh Vlosky Jan 2003

Social Sector Participatory Development In Honduras: A Process Across Institutions, Culturesval And Continents, Denese Ashbaugh Vlosky

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research was conducted to determine whether our participatory process of curriculum development for vocational technical schools in Honduras was successful. This study analyzed program documents and correspondence to answer two questions: a) How did individual stakeholders perceive and negotiate the participatory process? and b) What factors --individual and environmental-- promoted and impeded the participatory process of development in this project? Participatory development concepts applied to Human Ecology Theory guided this research. Qualitative methodologies were utilized to develop the curriculum—Phenomenology-- and to evaluate the process of development—Grounded Theory and Matrix Analysis. An analysis of individual counterpart contacts revealed that stakeholder …


Freedom As The Ends And Means Of Development: An Examination Of Garrison Communities And Their Effects In Kingston, Jamaica, Shemona Renae Simpson Jan 2003

Freedom As The Ends And Means Of Development: An Examination Of Garrison Communities And Their Effects In Kingston, Jamaica, Shemona Renae Simpson

LSU Master's Theses

This study applies and expands Sen’s concept of development as freedom using Jamaica as a case study. Using quantitative data acquired from the Center for Migration and Development’s case study on Urbanization During the Years of Crisis in the Caribbean (1993), this research analyzes the impact of the entrenchment of garrison communities on Jamaica’s overall development in terms of the freedoms allotted to individuals within society. The methodology used for testing the hypothesis that garrison entrenchment has constrained individual level freedom presents findings from a quantitative analysis of the relationship between garrison entrenchment at the community level and individual level …