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Effects Of Submergence And Hypoxia On The Growth And Anatomy Of Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) Seedlings, Denise M. D'Abundo Jan 2003

Effects Of Submergence And Hypoxia On The Growth And Anatomy Of Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) Seedlings, Denise M. D'Abundo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Aerenchyma - a specialized tissue with abundant, interconnected gas spaces - facilitates oxygen transport from shoots to roots in many emergent wetland plants. The importance of oxygen transport to root elongation and aerenchyma development in rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings was demonstrated in this investigation. Germinated seeds of Lemont (a commercial cultivar) and red rice (an agricultural weed) were positioned at 4.5, 2.5, or 1.0 cm below the surface of aerated or hypoxic water to control the duration of leaf submergence and the availability of oxygen. Primary root and leaf lengths were measured daily. Aerenchyma was compared among emergent and …

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Mediators Of Weight Loss In An Internet-Based Intervention For African American Adolescent Girls, Marney A. White Jan 2003

Mediators Of Weight Loss In An Internet-Based Intervention For African American Adolescent Girls, Marney A. White

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary aim of this study was to assess the process variables involved in a weight loss program for African-American adolescent girls. This internet-based intervention compared a behavioral treatment program to an educational treatment program; it was hypothesized that participants randomized to the behavioral condition would lose more weight at 6 months than those in the educational condition. Several process variables have been identified as affecting success in in vivo weight loss programs for adults and children, including program adherence, self-efficacy, and social support. The current study sought to broaden the understanding of these process variables as they pertain to …

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Fractal Compression And Analysis On Remotely Sensed Imagery, Ke Xiao Jan 2003

Fractal Compression And Analysis On Remotely Sensed Imagery, Ke Xiao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Remote sensing images contain huge amount of geographical information and reflect the complexity of geographical features and spatial structures. As the means of observing and describing geographical phenomena, the rapid development of remote sensing has provided an enormous amount of geographical information. The massive information is very useful in a variety of applications but the sheer bulk of this information has increased beyond what can be analyzed and used efficiently and effectively. This uneven increase in the technologies of gathering and analyzing information has created difficulties in its storage, transfer, and processing. Fractal geometry provides a means of describing and …

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The Invasive Tropical Shrub Clidemia Hirta (Melastomataceae) In Its Native And Introduced Ranges: Tests Of Hypotheses Of Invasion, Saara Jennie Dewalt Jan 2003

The Invasive Tropical Shrub Clidemia Hirta (Melastomataceae) In Its Native And Introduced Ranges: Tests Of Hypotheses Of Invasion, Saara Jennie Dewalt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Exotic pest plants often grow to greater stature, become more abundant, and display increased shade tolerance in their introduced ranges than in their native ranges. These differences have been hypothesized to result from genetic shifts in biomass allocation, growth, or photosynthesis between genotypes in native and introduced ranges or from plastic, phenotypic responses to different environmental conditions, such as lower herbivore or fungal pest loads in areas of introduction. I used the tropical shrub Clidemia hirta (Melastomataceae) as a model exotic pest plant to test these two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses of invasion. Clidemia hirta invades forest understory and is more …

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Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up?: Bridging The Divide Between The Jesus Seminar And Its Opponents Through A Burkeian Approach, Carol Melissa Hopson-Sparks Jan 2003

Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up?: Bridging The Divide Between The Jesus Seminar And Its Opponents Through A Burkeian Approach, Carol Melissa Hopson-Sparks

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study employs a Burkeian cluster-agon analysis approach to analyze the rhetoric of four members of the Jesus Seminar; namely, Robert Funk, Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, and John Shelby Spong as well as that of two of the Jesus Seminar’s critics; Luke Timothy Johnson and N. Thomas Wright. Specifically, this study sought to discern the orientations or perspectives held by each of the examined rhetors in an effort to locate common ground or similar foundations within two seemingly disparate points of view. In doing so, this study creates a third perspective, or corrective, based on the orthopraxis approach of …

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Optimization And Automation Of A Thermal Oyster Shucking Process, Daniel Edgar Martin Jan 2003

Optimization And Automation Of A Thermal Oyster Shucking Process, Daniel Edgar Martin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Louisiana Gulf Coast oysters (Crassostrea virginica) were subjected to thermal shucking treatments to effect adductor muscle release from both left and right valves. The oysters were instrumented with thermocouples to monitor and record process temperatures in the oysters and on the shell. Following treatment, the oysters were evaluated for relaxation and release of the adductor muscle, meat quality and texture, and for the effect of the treatments on the storage life of the oysters as measured by total microbial plate counts. The treatments of many oysters resulted in a complete release of the adductor muscle from the shell while maintaining …

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The Impact Of Whole-Plant Instruction Preservice Elementary Teachers' Understanding Of Plant Science Principles, Christine Collins Hypolite Jan 2003

The Impact Of Whole-Plant Instruction Preservice Elementary Teachers' Understanding Of Plant Science Principles, Christine Collins Hypolite

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine how an inquiry-based, whole-plant instructional strategy would affect preservice elementary teachers’ understanding of plant science principles. This study probed: what preservice teachers know about plant biology concepts before and after instruction, their views of the interrelatedness of plant parts and the environment, how growing a plant affects preservice teachers’ understanding, and which types of activity-rich plant themes studies, if any, affect preservice elementary teachers’ understandings. The participants in the study were enrolled in two elementary science methods class sections at a state university. Each group was administered a preinstructional test at the …

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Power And Empowerment In Writing Center Conferences, Kerri Stanley Jordan Jan 2003

Power And Empowerment In Writing Center Conferences, Kerri Stanley Jordan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores power and empowerment in writing center peer conferences. Arguing against the notion of “hierarchical” and “collaborative” conference categories, it suggests that because both participants enact power in conference interaction, conferencing power dynamics exist on a continuum. Issues of ownership are also placed on a continuum (and associated with enactments of power); this study argues against idealized notions of tutees “owning” their texts and conferencing goals. It distinguishes between empowerment in a practical sense (associated with improving writing skills) and in a political sense (associated with increasing critical awareness). The research involved ethnographic methods: it followed two peer …

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A Mediated Hierarchical Regression Analysis Of Factors Related To Research Productivity Of Human Resource Education And Workforce Development Postsecondary Faculty, Heather Anne Williams Jan 2003

A Mediated Hierarchical Regression Analysis Of Factors Related To Research Productivity Of Human Resource Education And Workforce Development Postsecondary Faculty, Heather Anne Williams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study described Human Resource Education and Development Faculty; their research productivity, satisfaction with instructional duties and other related job factors, and opinion of emphasis on research/teaching at their employing institutions; analyzed differences between faculty members’ actual time spent and preferred time spent through the use of t-tests; and determined if selected factors drive research productivity measured as a career research productivity score, a recent research productivity score, and time spent in research through the use of mediated hierarchical regression. The study utilized two NCES data sets derived from the 1992-93 and 1998-99 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty surveys. HRED …

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Empirical Study Of Attributes And Perceived Benefits Of Applications Integration For Enterprise Systems, Lester A. Singletary Jan 2003

Empirical Study Of Attributes And Perceived Benefits Of Applications Integration For Enterprise Systems, Lester A. Singletary

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research investigates the very essence of integration by focusing on the integration of applications for enterprise systems. Integration is a large and complex topic recognized as a key concept in a wide variety of IT domains that dates back to the dawn of the computer era. The evolution of IT integration has included integration of sub-routines of computer programs, integration of separate islands of data to create common databases, and integration of disparate applications to form enterprise systems. Perhaps the most touted characteristic and principal goal of enterprise systems is integration although virtually no research is available regarding this …

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Level Of Essentialness Of A Node In Flowcharts And Its Application To Program Testing, Osman Kandara Jan 2003

Level Of Essentialness Of A Node In Flowcharts And Its Application To Program Testing, Osman Kandara

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Program testing is important to develop bug free software. A common form of program testing involves selecting test cases which execute (cover) a given set W of statements in the program. In regression testing, W typically forms a small subset of the program. It is often possible to find an alternate small set W so that execution of W' implies execution of W. We develop concepts and algorithms for finding W' as small as possible with the condition that the statements in W' are "close" to those in W in terms of program structure. These concepts generalize the notion of …

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Conservation Versus Survival: A Cultural Ecological Study Of Changing Settlement Patterns, Cultures, And Land Use In The Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve Of Northeast Honduras, Elizabeth Ann Fraser Jan 2003

Conservation Versus Survival: A Cultural Ecological Study Of Changing Settlement Patterns, Cultures, And Land Use In The Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve Of Northeast Honduras, Elizabeth Ann Fraser

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Conserving ecologically valuable areas is proclaimed a priority by governments, institutions, and citizens throughout the world. Preventing the erosion of the remaining indigenous cultures also receives widespread support. In response to these desires, numerous protected areas now exist; spaces that theoretically should attain both ecological and cultural preservation. However, many of these areas are found within a larger setting plagued by ongoing struggles to meet basic needs. Often these larger problems create a challenge to, if not work in opposition to, the original aims of protected areas. This study of nine communities looks at these and related issues in the …

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Identifying Skills Needed By Office Information Systems Graduates In The Changing Work Environment: Perceptions Of Administrative Support Occupations Workers, Margaret Sepulvado Kilcoyne Jan 2003

Identifying Skills Needed By Office Information Systems Graduates In The Changing Work Environment: Perceptions Of Administrative Support Occupations Workers, Margaret Sepulvado Kilcoyne

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study sought to identify the skills that need to be taught in an associate degree program for office information systems. Specifically, the researcher sought to determine the importance of skills needed by office information systems/ administration graduates with implications for curricular revision. One hundred and fifty-seven members of the International Association of Administrative Professionals in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and East Texas including the Houston, Texas area participated in this study. Findings indicated that the participants perceived 109 (85%) of the job skill items to be important, very important, or extremely important in the performance of their jobs. …

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The Impact Of A Life-Application Learning Instructional Program On Struggling Readers At The Middle School Level, Angelle Rae Stringer Jan 2003

The Impact Of A Life-Application Learning Instructional Program On Struggling Readers At The Middle School Level, Angelle Rae Stringer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This eight-week descriptive study examined the impact of the incorporation of a Life-Application Learning Methods Program on struggling middle school readers. Two questions were explored: 1) How did incorporating life–application learning into the middle school curriculum impact reading motivation?, and 2) How did incorporating life-application learning in the middle school curriculum impact the reading levels? Participants in the study were eight eighth-grade students considered to be struggling readers Qualitative methods were used for this study utilizing responses from a survey, two inventories, student journals, and researcher observations. Data gathered suggested that students are more likely to become motivated and engaged …

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The Effects Of Message Direction And Sex Differences On The Interpretation Of Workplace Gossip, Kristen Marie Berkos Jan 2003

The Effects Of Message Direction And Sex Differences On The Interpretation Of Workplace Gossip, Kristen Marie Berkos

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Gossip occurs in the organization and individuals exposed to these gossip messages must decide how to interpret the gossip. This dissertation explains the definitions and research for gossip, message direction, sex differences, message interpretation, politicalism, and believability. Applying symbolic interactionism and social exchange theory, seven relationships between variables are proposed. The seven hypotheses are tested via a web-based questionnaire that manipulated the message direction and sex of the gossiper and gossip receiver. Two hundred seventy-six full time employees completed instruments measuring gossip believability, purpose, and politicalism. Data were subjected to a MANCOVA, and correlation statistics. Results supported three of the …

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Wood Laminated Composite Poles, Cheng Piao Jan 2003

Wood Laminated Composite Poles, Cheng Piao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Wood composite poles are new engineered products with polygonal shapes and bonded with synthetic resins. The poles have multiple advantages over the solid wood poles and are a promising solid pole substitute in power transmission, telecommunication, and cable TV services. The use of composite poles may reduce the cost both in materials and manipulation, and facilitate installation and treatment. It is necessary to evaluate the factors that affect their properties and construct theoretical and analytical models to analyze these properties. Experiments were conducted to investigate strip thickness and number of strips’ (NOS) effects on the flexural properties and shear stress …

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An Africanist-Orientalist Discourse: The Other In Shakespeare And Hellenistic Tragedy, Haegap Jeoung Jan 2003

An Africanist-Orientalist Discourse: The Other In Shakespeare And Hellenistic Tragedy, Haegap Jeoung

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The main aim of this dissertation is to show how the discourse of the psychoanalytical other--femininity, death, madness, disorder, and impiety--overlaps with colonial discourse in some plays from Shakespearean and Greek-Roman tragedy, and what difference or similarity there is between the two ages. The hypothesis is that foreigners are allegories of the psychoanalytical other. For this purpose, the research tries to grasp the concept of the other, from the viewpoint of psychoanalysis, and to analyze the core of colonial discourse on the basis of the concept of the psychoanalytical other. The starting point of the dissertation is that the other …

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High School Chemistry Students' Learning Of The Elements, Structure, And Periodicity Of The Periodic Table: Contributions Of Inquiry-Based Activities And Exemplary Graphics, Knight Phares Roddy Jan 2003

High School Chemistry Students' Learning Of The Elements, Structure, And Periodicity Of The Periodic Table: Contributions Of Inquiry-Based Activities And Exemplary Graphics, Knight Phares Roddy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The main research question of this study was: How do selected high school chemistry students' understandings of the elements, structure, and periodicity of the Periodic Table change as they participate in a unit study consisting of inquiry-based activities emphasizing construction of innovative science graphics? The research question was answered using a multiple case study/mixed model design which employed elements of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies during data collection and analyses. The unit study was conducted over a six-week period with 11th-grade students enrolled in a chemistry class. A purposive sample of six students from the class was selected to participate …

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Translating "Hebrew" Into "Greek": The Discursive Hermeneutics Of Emmanuel Levinas's Talmudic Readings, Matthew Wayne Guy Jan 2003

Translating "Hebrew" Into "Greek": The Discursive Hermeneutics Of Emmanuel Levinas's Talmudic Readings, Matthew Wayne Guy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines Emmanuel Levinas’s Talmudic readings and the hermeneutics employed to translate the Talmud into modern language. Levinas claims to be translating “Hebrew” into “Greek” by rendering into a universal, philosophical language (“Greek”) the ethical structure of subjectivity (“Hebrew”) within the Talmud. Since they investigate the structure of subjectivity, extensive use of his philosophical works and the influential works of others are used to analyze his Talmudic readings. Chapter One places Levinas’s project against the background of the Talmud, Judaic tradition, and projects like Rudolf Bultmann’s New Testament readings and Thorleif Boman’s comparative study of Greek and Hebrew. A …

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The Nature Of Trust: Conceptual And Operational Clarification, Donna M. Romano Jan 2003

The Nature Of Trust: Conceptual And Operational Clarification, Donna M. Romano

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The importance of trust in working relationships is widely acknowledged among organizational researchers and practitioners. Unfortunately, trust is defined and measured differently across studies, making it difficult to integrate and compare research findings. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to clarify the nature of trust as it exists across research and organizational settings. First, trust was conceptualized in terms of 10 defining characteristics based on a convergence and reconciliation of inconsistencies among existing definitions. These 10 characteristics of trust were incorporated into a single definition of trust to offer a more comprehensive description of the construct. Second, the Functional …

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Molecular-Dynamics Simulations Of Self-Assembled Monolayers (Sam) On Parallel Computers, Satyavani Vemparala Jan 2003

Molecular-Dynamics Simulations Of Self-Assembled Monolayers (Sam) On Parallel Computers, Satyavani Vemparala

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the properties of self-assembled monolayers, particularly alkanethiols and Poly (ethylene glycol) terminated alkanethiols. These simulations are based on realistic interatomic potentials and require scalable and portable multiresolution algorithms implemented on parallel computers. Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of self-assembled alkanethiol monolayer systems have been carried out using an all-atom model involving a million atoms to investigate their structural properties as a function of temperature, lattice spacing and molecular chain-length. Results show that the alkanethiol chains tilt from the surface normal by a collective angle of 25o along next-nearest neighbor direction at 300K. At …

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Where Have All The Flowers Gone?: A Modular Systems Perspective Of It Infrastructure Design And Productivity, Pratim Datta Jan 2003

Where Have All The Flowers Gone?: A Modular Systems Perspective Of It Infrastructure Design And Productivity, Pratim Datta

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Assessing value of IT infrastructure investments has been both difficult and ambiguous. This research develops and tests a conceptual framework to understand the productivity process. A lagged and recursive framework is used to trace the relationship between IT infrastructure investments, infrastructure design, and organizational productivity along with contingencies of IT management and the environment. A major contribution of this study is the use of the systems perspective to disaggregate the concepts of IT infrastructure and productivity into collectively exhaustive types. Findings reveal that IT investments do not significant affect productivity but do so when used to develop an IT infrastructure …

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Staying In Or Getting Out: Social Capital And Occupational Decision-Making Among Louisiana's Croatian Oyster Harvesters, Carl Marie Riden Jan 2003

Staying In Or Getting Out: Social Capital And Occupational Decision-Making Among Louisiana's Croatian Oyster Harvesters, Carl Marie Riden

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Social capital-resources embedded in social structures that can be accessed or mobilized by individuals in pursuit of some goal- is the most prominent in a long line of concepts developed by social scientists who wish to incorporate social and cultural elements into models of economic behavior. The research presented here is a qualitative exploration of social capital, its forms and functions, and its relationship to the occupational decision-making of current and former oyster harvesters in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Within this close-knit Croatian-American community, oyster harvesting has a long and rich history. As a result, extensive social capital through which individuals …

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Analytical Study On Flood Induced Seepage Under River Levees, Senda Ozkan Jan 2003

Analytical Study On Flood Induced Seepage Under River Levees, Senda Ozkan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A common and potentially dangerous phenomenon associated with flooding is seepage under levees and the formation of sand boils. Seepage flow due to hydrostatic head gradients of floods may cause deformation of pervious layers leading to heave, piping and sand boils. Underseepage may also cause irreversible changes in the characteristics of the porous medium. A series of independent flood events may have cumulative effects on pervious layers causing sand boils to grow. Current underseepage analyses for levees are based on steady-state flow. Transient seepage flow due to rapid changes in river head may contribute to cumulative effects and cause critical …

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Regimes, Institutions And Foreign Policy Change, David Baker Huxsoll Jan 2003

Regimes, Institutions And Foreign Policy Change, David Baker Huxsoll

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the effects that different political regime types and institutional arrangements have on the amount of foreign policy change occurring a state. Scholars in International Relations studying the democratic peace have identified a relationship between characteristics of democracy and non-democracy and the behavior of states. Scholars in Comparative Politics have noted that certain institutions more easily facilitate policy change. This dissertation synthesizes these perspectives and develops and tests a number of hypotheses relating regime type, institutional arrangement, and party system to the amount of foreign policy change a state undertakes. Employing a pooled, cross-sectional time series design, the …

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Genetic Mapping Of Agronomic Traits From The Interspecific Cross Of Oryza Sativa (L.) And Oryza Glaberrima (Steud.), Gabriel Kayode Aluko Jan 2003

Genetic Mapping Of Agronomic Traits From The Interspecific Cross Of Oryza Sativa (L.) And Oryza Glaberrima (Steud.), Gabriel Kayode Aluko

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Wild relatives of cultivated rice varieties offer new genetic sources for enhancing economic value, but traditional interval mapping techniques have not gained widespread support among applied researchers for marker assisted selection. The objectives of this study were to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) for agronomic traits in a hybrid mapping population and compare the non-parametric Discriminant Analysis (DA) procedure with traditional approaches for accuracy and precision. In addition, the effects of population structure on marker-assisted classification were explored. A molecular linkage map comprising 100 SSR markers that spanned the rice genome at intervals of 10.5 cM on the average was …

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Rotary Kiln Incineration Of Hazardous Wastes: Pilot-Scale Studies At Louisiana State University, John Sutherland Earle Jan 2003

Rotary Kiln Incineration Of Hazardous Wastes: Pilot-Scale Studies At Louisiana State University, John Sutherland Earle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Studies of incineration of surrogates for hazardous wastes are conducted in the pilot-scale rotary kiln incinerator (RKI) at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The purpose of the research is to investigate methods of treating and destroying hazardous wastes in a cost-effective and environmentally sound way. The objective is to provide process data that will contribute to increased knowledge for RKI design and operation. The LSU facility is a College of Engineering Combustion Laboratory that is unique in its large size as a university laboratory. It is equipped with individual instruments for analysis of O2, CO, …

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Barriers To Participation In Educational Programs As Perceived By First-Time Enrolling Freshmen In Higher Education, Julie Cason Mcdonald Jan 2003

Barriers To Participation In Educational Programs As Perceived By First-Time Enrolling Freshmen In Higher Education, Julie Cason Mcdonald

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Institutions of higher education face exceptional challenges in today’s environment. College costs are increasing, funding is decreasing and/or limited, public confidence is diminishing, the work-place is changing, and a shrinking pool of traditional-age college students exists. This creates an environment where colleges and universities find themselves competing for students. So that these institutions of higher education may better understand how to recruit, advise, and retain students, one must consider the barriers first-time freshmen encounter in the pursuit of formal learning as they enter college. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine the perceived barriers to educational participation held …

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So-Journeying: Creating Sacred Space In Education, Tayari Kwa Salaam Jan 2003

So-Journeying: Creating Sacred Space In Education, Tayari Kwa Salaam

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research questions current taken-for-granted meanings given to school, education, teaching and curriculum from an African/African American perspective. This inquiry is based on my experiences as an African American woman curriculum theorist committed to the education of African American youth. Drawing on the lifework of Sojourner Truth, a nineteenth century African American woman abolitionist and human rights activist, this work seeks to explore aspects of both African/African American-centered education and curriculum theory as a means of informing understandings of school, education, teaching and curriculum. My research question is: How does Sojourner Truth inform curriculum theory? This inquiry is a self-exploration …

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Augusto Boal's Theatre Of The Oppressed In The Public Speaking And Interpersonal Communication Classrooms, Jacqueline D. Burleson Jan 2003

Augusto Boal's Theatre Of The Oppressed In The Public Speaking And Interpersonal Communication Classrooms, Jacqueline D. Burleson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this study, I document and analyze how I applied Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) techniques in introductory Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication (IPC) courses. In the first chapter, Boal's democratic praxis is discussed in terms of critical performance pedagogy and Brecht's social aesthetics. I identify the qualitative social scientific method of data collection and analysis I used and base the significance of the study in my testing of TO in non-performance educational contexts and in the integrated communication studies curricula that resulted. In Chapter Two, I summarize Boal's career as an interactive theatre practitioner. My review includes synopses …

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