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The Cultural Ecology Of Pastoralism In Eritrea: A Geographical Inquiry, Woldetensae Tewolde Kahsaye Jan 2002

The Cultural Ecology Of Pastoralism In Eritrea: A Geographical Inquiry, Woldetensae Tewolde Kahsaye

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is an investigative cultural ecologic study of the pastoralists in the eastern and northwestern lowlands of Eritrea. Tigre, Hidareb, and Rashaida herders were identified and studied throughout the fieldwork. These ethnic groups constitute people with defined cultural and economic characteristics inhabiting environments characterized by marked seasonal variations in precipitation. Their livelihoods are almost wholly dependent on livestock forming types of modes of production identified as pure-pastoralism and agro-pastoralism. The distinction between these two forms lies primarily in the type of economic strategy pursued (i.e., wholly livestock-based economy versus livestock-crop economy) as well as in the pattern of pastoral …

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Performing Hyphenates: A Study In Contemporary Irish-American Identity And Cultural Performance, Patrick Michael Bynane Jan 2002

Performing Hyphenates: A Study In Contemporary Irish-American Identity And Cultural Performance, Patrick Michael Bynane

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the issues and contradictions of identity formation found in contemporary Irish-American cultural performances. Using a theoretical language grounded in post-structuralism and cultural studies, this examination hopes to demonstrate the primacy of performance and theatre in the formation of culture, Irish-American specifically, or otherwise. The performances featured in the study are: Riverdance, St. Patrick's Day parades, pub performances, and improv theatre.

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Community Organization Staff Perceptions About The Importance Of Selected Practices In Building Effective Community-University Service And Learning Partnerships, Bobbie Ruth Dixon Shaffett Jan 2002

Community Organization Staff Perceptions About The Importance Of Selected Practices In Building Effective Community-University Service And Learning Partnerships, Bobbie Ruth Dixon Shaffett

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore community organization staff perceptions about the importance of selected practices in building effective community-university service and learning partnerships. The target population was community organization staff members who were current or potential partners for community-university service and learning partnerships. The accessible population was community organization staff members listed with a southern metropolitan volunteer placement organization in a an area served by several universities, one large Research I Land-grant university, a historically Black Land-grant university, and at least two other state universities. The researcher designed a mail survey questionnaire based on scholarly and practitioner …

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An Exploratory Case Study Of The Social Interactions Among Baccalaureate Nursing Students In A Cooperative Group Learning Environment, Golden M. Tradewell Jan 2002

An Exploratory Case Study Of The Social Interactions Among Baccalaureate Nursing Students In A Cooperative Group Learning Environment, Golden M. Tradewell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to explore the social interactions among baccalaureate nursing students in a cooperative group learning environment. The following research questions were formulated to guide the research: (1) In a cooperative group learning environment, how do the social interactions among baccalaureate nursing students influence their course content learning? (2) In a cooperative group learning environment, how do the social interactions among baccalaureate nursing students influence their professional development? Students enrolled in an upper division nursing program were selected for this study. Age, gender, and ethnicity were considered in placing students in five groups. Data included student …

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An Analysis Of The Plays Of Margaret Macnamara, Patricia Ellen Lufkin Jan 2002

An Analysis Of The Plays Of Margaret Macnamara, Patricia Ellen Lufkin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents Margaret Macnamara’s career as a playwright and dramaturg while exploring the cultural and political context of her works. It explores the influences of the Fabian Society on Macnamara’s work and places her among such leading independent theatre artists as George Bernard Shaw, Harley Granville Barker, and Nugent Monck. The political context of her work is examined as her play, Mrs. Hodges (1920 is compared with Shaw’s Widowers’ Houses and the theatrical context of her work is established as productions of The Gates of the Morning (1908) and Our Little Fancies (1911) are analyzed. Her plays are grouped …

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Sorority Rituals : Rites Of Passage And Their Impact On Contemporary Sorority Women, Mari Ann Callais Jan 2002

Sorority Rituals : Rites Of Passage And Their Impact On Contemporary Sorority Women, Mari Ann Callais

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Very little research has been conducted to assess the effects of sorority membership on undergraduate sorority women. While there have been numerous studies conducted concerning fraternity men, there has been limited research concerning sorority women only and no studies that explore the effects of ritual on the sorority experience. Does ritual have an impact on the values and behavior of contemporary sorority women? Addressing this question requires an in-depth understanding of the role of the sorority experience and examination of the experience to determine if it provides to its membership what it is intended to provide. Based on research conducted …

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"Uncouth Shapes" And Sublime Human Forms Of Wordsworth's The Prelude In The Ligh Of Berdyaev's Personalistic Philosophy Of Freedom, Elena V. Haltrin Khalturina Jan 2002

"Uncouth Shapes" And Sublime Human Forms Of Wordsworth's The Prelude In The Ligh Of Berdyaev's Personalistic Philosophy Of Freedom, Elena V. Haltrin Khalturina

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In complementary response to socio-historisists who discuss the concept of "freedom" in William Wordsworth's poetry as determined from without — be it by socio-historical conditions, gender, or imposed ideology — I draw from the theory of Nicholas Berdyaev, one of the prominent continental existentialists of the twentieth century, tracing the development of Wordsworth's understanding of freedom towards "genuine liberty" as progressively determined from within. Thus focusing on "existentia" rather than "essentia," I pay particular attention to shaping inner efforts and developing visions of the growing and conscious personality as they are described in The Prelude. Wordsworth hinges his ability to …

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Experience-Based Language Acquisition: A Computational Model Of Human Language Acquisition, Brian Edward Pangburn Jan 2002

Experience-Based Language Acquisition: A Computational Model Of Human Language Acquisition, Brian Edward Pangburn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Almost from the very beginning of the digital age, people have sought better ways to communicate with computers. This research investigates how computers might be enabled to understand natural language in a more humanlike way. Based, in part, on cognitive development in infants, we introduce an open computational framework for visual perception and grounded language acquisition called Experience-Based Language Acquisition (EBLA). EBLA can “watch” a series of short videos and acquire a simple language of nouns and verbs corresponding to the objects and object-object relations in those videos. Upon acquiring this protolanguage, EBLA can perform basic scene analysis to generate …

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Complexity And Heuristics In Ruled-Based Algorithmic Music Composition, Nigel Gwee Jan 2002

Complexity And Heuristics In Ruled-Based Algorithmic Music Composition, Nigel Gwee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Successful algorithmic music composition requires the efficient creation of works that reflect human preferences. In examining this key issue, we make two main contributions in this dissertation: analysis of the computational complexity of algorithmic music composition, and methods to produce music that approximates a commendable human effort. We use species counterpoint as our compositional model, wherein a set of stylistic and grammatical rules governs the search for suitable countermelodies to match a given melody. Our analysis of the complexity of rule-based music composition considers four different types of computational problems: decision, enumeration, number, and optimization. For restricted versions of the …

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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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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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Prevention Of Eating Disorders In Athletes: An Intervention For Coaches, Brooke L. Whisenhunt Jan 2002

Prevention Of Eating Disorders In Athletes: An Intervention For Coaches, Brooke L. Whisenhunt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research has found that athletes, particularly those involved in "aesthetically-oriented" sports, are at increased risk for engaging in unhealthy weight reduction practices and developing clinical eating disorders. Prevention studies of eating disorders have had some success, but there are very few published studies that address prevention in athletes. This study was designed as an eating disorders prevention program that targeted coaches as change agents. Cheerleading coaches at national or regional conferences attended an intervention workshop or a control workshop. Coaches who attended the intervention workshop received information regarding nutrition, eating disorders, and ways to manage athletes with eating disorders. They …

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The Effects Of Songs In The Foreign Language Classroom On Text Recall And Involuntary Mental Rehearsal, Claudia Smith Salcedo Jan 2002

The Effects Of Songs In The Foreign Language Classroom On Text Recall And Involuntary Mental Rehearsal, Claudia Smith Salcedo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated the effect of music on text recall and involuntary mental rehearsal (din) with students from four college-level Beginning Spanish classes. Two groups heard texts as songs, one group heard the same texts as speech, and one group was the control group. For the text recall variable, a cloze test was administered at the end of each song treatment to determine total words recalled. Students from one of the music groups heard the melody of the song while testing. For the din variable, students were asked to report on the amount of this phenomenon experienced. Data was collected …

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Control Of Two Perennial Grasses In Southern Turfgrasses, Ronald Eugene Strahan Jan 2002

Control Of Two Perennial Grasses In Southern Turfgrasses, Ronald Eugene Strahan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Knotgrass (Paspalum distichum L.) and torpedograss (Panicum repens L.) are perennial grasses that are extremely difficult to remove in established turfgrass. Studies were conducted to determine the potential for controlling these troublesome perennial weeds. Pot studies were conducted for two years to evaluate several herbicides with multiple modes of action for knotgrass control. In graminicides studies, 8 weeks after initial application (WAI) single or split applications of fluazifop or quizalofop provided excellent control (88 to 95%). In contrast, single or split applications of fenoxaprop at 0.21 kg ha-1 and single applications of diclofop at 0.84 kg ha-1 were no better …

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Lmx Dyad Agreement: Construct Definition And The Role Of Supervisor/Subordinate Similarity And Communication In Understanding Lmx, Barbara Dale Minsky Jan 2002

Lmx Dyad Agreement: Construct Definition And The Role Of Supervisor/Subordinate Similarity And Communication In Understanding Lmx, Barbara Dale Minsky

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Much LMX research is predicated upon the assumption that the quality of the supervisor-subordinate relationship is predictive of important organizational and individual outcomes. I propose, however, that leader-member agreement in perception about the nature of the relationship as well as the type of relationship itself is important. I have identified and examined some of the theoretically relevant determinants of leader and member perceptual agreement regarding the nature of their LMX relationship. I hypothesized that relational demography, values, perceived similarity, communication, feedback, and role clarity are related to LMX perceptual agreement. Data was collected through surveys personally administered to employees at …

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The Relationship Between Author And Audience: Case Study Of A Young-Adult Author And A Student Audience, Keitha Ilene Phares Jan 2002

The Relationship Between Author And Audience: Case Study Of A Young-Adult Author And A Student Audience, Keitha Ilene Phares

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

How does author relate to audience? This overarching question guided a case study focused on author Rick Norman and his novel Fielder’s Choice. Specific questions were (1) What was, and is, this author’s conception of his audience for the book? (2) How do members of the audience—specifically five high school students—respond to the novel? (3) How do the audience’s responses relate to the author’s stated intentions? Data came from the following sources: interviews with the author, the student readers, and the editor of the book; students’ written responses to the book and the author’s written reactions to those responses; an …

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Mode Specific Photoionization Dynamics In Polyatomic Molecules, Gerald Jeffery Rathbone Jan 2002

Mode Specific Photoionization Dynamics In Polyatomic Molecules, Gerald Jeffery Rathbone

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The work presented in this dissertation presents new work on polyatomic photoionization. In these investigations, the broad range behavior of both allowed and forbidden vibrational modes in linear triatomic systems were studied to understand mode specific aspects of photoionization. The current study is made possible by the experimental strategy of exploiting high resolution photoelectron spectroscopy and the high brightness of third generation synchrotron radiation sources. The data is taken typically tens of eV’s past the ionization potential. The strategy that I employ is to probe alternative vibrational modes which are frequently affected differently following resonant ionization. Such vibrationally resolved data …

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The Effectiveness Of Managerial Leadership Development Programs: A Meta-Analysis Of Studies From 1982-2001, Doris B. Collins Jan 2002

The Effectiveness Of Managerial Leadership Development Programs: A Meta-Analysis Of Studies From 1982-2001, Doris B. Collins

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Many organizations are committing to education and training that deepens skills, perspectives, and competencies of their leaders. This research located 103 studies from 1982-2001 with a full range of managerial leadership development interventions including feedback, developmental relationships, on-the-job experiences, and formal training. It integrated results of 83 of these studies with formal training interventions via meta-analytic techniques to determine the effectiveness of interventions, in their enhancement of performance, knowledge, and expertise at the individual, team or group, or organizational level. The studies were viewed through a "macro-lens," that used a full range of managerial leadership development interventions (McCauley, Moxley, & …

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Audience And The African American Playwright : An Analysis Of The Importance Of Audience Selection And Audience Response On The Dramaturgies Of August Wilson And Ed Bullins, Ladrica C. Menson-Furr Jan 2002

Audience And The African American Playwright : An Analysis Of The Importance Of Audience Selection And Audience Response On The Dramaturgies Of August Wilson And Ed Bullins, Ladrica C. Menson-Furr

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this study I discuss the importance of audience selection and response upon the dramaturgies of African American playwrights August Wilson and Ed Bullins. Using the theories and criteria for African American art and theatre as espoused by Alain Locke, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Amiri Baraka, and created by the 1960s and 1970s Black Theatre and Black Aesthetic movements, I discuss the importance of audience selection to Wilson's dramas, especially given his tremendous success on Broadway. I also explore the claimed lack of importance of audience to Bullins's dramaturgy, particularly as demonstrated in those plays written during his brief tenure …

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Plasmid-Mediated Expression Of Foreign Genes In Ehrlichia Canis, Langston Dolphus Hull Jan 2002

Plasmid-Mediated Expression Of Foreign Genes In Ehrlichia Canis, Langston Dolphus Hull

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Ehrlichia canis is the etiologic agent of “tropical canine pancytopenia”, or canine ehrlichiosis. The impetus for this research was to overcome the lack of any reliable means of elucidating the genetic profiles of these illusive and historically difficult to manipulate organisms. The use of a broad-host range plasmid greatly facilitated the determination of an electro-transformation protocol. The transforming plasmid possesses a chloramphenicol antibiotic resistance gene marker (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase [CAT] gene), and a visual reporter gene marker, the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) gene. With primer sets designed to specifically amplify these two plasmid encoded gene markers, thus verifying the presence of …

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Perceptions Of Active Graduate Faculty At A Research Extensive University Regarding Electronic Submission Of Theses And Dissertations (Etds), Ursula Irene Anna Goldsmith Jan 2002

Perceptions Of Active Graduate Faculty At A Research Extensive University Regarding Electronic Submission Of Theses And Dissertations (Etds), Ursula Irene Anna Goldsmith

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigates and explores faculty perceptions toward Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) during the implementation of ETDs at a university located in the southern portion the United States. Louisiana State University and Agriculture and Mechanical College (LSU) is the flagship university for the state of Louisiana and one of only 25 universities nationwide holding both land-grant and sea-grant status. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classified LSU as Doctoral/Research Universities-Extensive. Chapter 1 provides the rationale for this study, the importance of higher education, the importance and role of the faculty advisor in graduate education as influencing the …

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Three-Dimensional Micromachined On-Chip Inductors For High Frequency Applications, Nimit Chomnawang Jan 2002

Three-Dimensional Micromachined On-Chip Inductors For High Frequency Applications, Nimit Chomnawang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Demands for wireless communication are ever-escalating for consumer and military communication applications. The requirements of portability, more functionality and lower cost have been driving forces toward smaller, more sophisticated and flexible wireless devices with lower power consumption. To meet these requirements, monolithically integrated passive inductors with high Q-factors and high self-resonant frequencies are desirable. Q-factor and self-resonant frequency of an inductor are significantly degraded at high frequencies due to conductor ohmic loss, magnetically induced eddy current in the conductive substrate, and lower self-resonant frequency from capacitance between conductive substrate and conductors.
In this dissertation, novel three-dimensional arch-like solenoid and dome-shaped …

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Use Of Actigraphy To Objectively Measure Motor Restlessness In Restless Legs Syndrome, Tai Anderson Istre Jan 2002

Use Of Actigraphy To Objectively Measure Motor Restlessness In Restless Legs Syndrome, Tai Anderson Istre

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a disorder characterized by disagreeable leg sensations, usually prior to sleep onset, which cause an almost irresistible urge to move the legs. A characteristic feature of this disorder is that the movements are partially or completely relieved with leg motions. Attempts to find the underlying pathology have been unsuccessful. Thus, there are no objective physiological tests to diagnose this condition. Using the Suggested Immobilization Test (SIT), the current study attempted to validate a new and practical method for quantifying the motor symptoms of RLS, actigraphy. To this end, the SIT with actigraphy was evaluated for …

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Constructing Womanhood In Public: Progressive White Women In A New South, Mary Jane Smith Jan 2002

Constructing Womanhood In Public: Progressive White Women In A New South, Mary Jane Smith

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

During the Progressive Era, southern white women were aggressively recruited by the leadership of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the General Federation of Women's Clubs and the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Each believed the inclusion of southern white women vital to its success as a national association of American women; consequently, by the beginning of the twentieth century, southern white women had achieved positions of leadership in each organization. This dissertation analyzes, primarily through the public statements of the leaders of these groups, how these women defined themselves as women, as white, and as southern vis a vis their …

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Fast Scalable Visualization Techniques For Interactive Billion-Particle Walkthrough, Xinlian Liu Jan 2002

Fast Scalable Visualization Techniques For Interactive Billion-Particle Walkthrough, Xinlian Liu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research develops a comprehensive framework for interactive walkthrough involving one billion particles in an immersive virtual environment to enable interrogative visualization of large atomistic simulation data. As a mixture of scientific and engineering approaches, the framework is based on four key techniques: adaptive data compression based on space-filling curves, octree-based visibility and occlusion culling, predictive caching based on machine learning, and scalable data reduction based on parallel and distributed processing. In terms of parallel rendering, this system combines functional parallelism, data parallelism, and temporal parallelism to improve interactivity. The visualization framework will be applicable not only to material simulation, …

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Outcrop To Subsurface Stratigraphy Of The Pennsylvanian Hermosa Group Southern Paradox Basin U.S.A., Alan Lee Brown Jan 2002

Outcrop To Subsurface Stratigraphy Of The Pennsylvanian Hermosa Group Southern Paradox Basin U.S.A., Alan Lee Brown

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) sedimentary rocks within the Paradox Basin Four Corners area of the western United States afford a unique opportunity to study the development of sedimentary successions in a complex marine to nonmarine depositional setting. The close association of thick intervals of nonmarine fan-delta facies adjacent to and in time equivalent position to marine carbonate-evaporite facies suggests complex relationships between the factors affecting deposition. Development of an effective scheme to differentiate the depositional signatures from within these sedimentary successions is the primary goal of this study. To achieve this goal, two objectives were pursued. The first was to calibrate the …

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Experimental Evaluation Of Control Fluid Fallback During Off-Bottom Well Control In Vertical And Deviated Wells, Fernando Sebastian Flores-Avila Jan 2002

Experimental Evaluation Of Control Fluid Fallback During Off-Bottom Well Control In Vertical And Deviated Wells, Fernando Sebastian Flores-Avila

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study measured the liquid fallback during simulated blowout conditions. The purpose of the study was to establish a basis for developing a procedure for controlling blowouts that relies on the accumulation of liquid kill fluid injected while the well continues to flow. The results from experiments performed with air, water, 10.5 ppg and 12.0 ppg mud in an experimental 48 ft flow loop at 0°, 20°, 40°, 60° and 75° deviation angles from the vertical, as well as results from full-scale experiments performed with natural gas and water based drilling fluid in a vertical 2787-foot deep research well, are …

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Communication Characterizing Successful Long Distance Marriages, Andrea Towers Scott Jan 2002

Communication Characterizing Successful Long Distance Marriages, Andrea Towers Scott

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The current study seeks to explore the communication in successful career-induced long distance marriages. Elements examined are relational dialectics, relationship satisfaction, communication satisfaction, feelings of (mis)understanding, couple types, relationship sustenance, imagined interactions, and social support. The current study has three primary contributions: 1) the quantitative exploration of a communication in a growing marital framework, 2) the successful quantification of dialectics, and 3) the overall support for studying long distance marriages. The current study reports data collected from 92 individuals in non-military career-induced long distance marriages. All participants completed an 18-page questionnaire consisting of quantitative measures for the variables listed above, …

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Superfetation In Beef Cattle, Joel Andrew Carter Jan 2002

Superfetation In Beef Cattle, Joel Andrew Carter

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Although superfetation has been reported in cattle and other species, there is considerable skepticism as to its existence due to the lack of clear evidence in these reports. Other explanations such as embryonic diapause or differential growth of twins have been suggested as more accurate descriptions of the cases reported as superfetation. The hypothesis of this study is that if a viable pregnancy can ensure maternal recognition in cattle, an asynchronous embryo can develop in a more chronologically advanced uterine environment. The objective was to produce superfetation by (1) ovulation induction and artificial insemination (AI) of pregnant cows and (2) …

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American Transcendental Vision: Emerson To Chaplin, Bill R. Scalia Jan 2002

American Transcendental Vision: Emerson To Chaplin, Bill R. Scalia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Ralph Waldo Emerson's publication of Nature in 1836 began a process of creating a new condition of American thinking, severed from European cultural and intellectual influences. The subsequent lectures The American Scholar and The Divinity School Address furthered this process, calling for an original American literature. Emerson's writing called consistently for poets with the ability to "see" past the material, apparent world to the world of eternal forms, which shaped nature in accordance with a divine moral imperative. Through this connection, man-as-poet would discover God in himself. In short, Emerson effectively transferred divinity from Unitarian doctrine to the individual, thereby …

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