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Daily Variations In Protein Synthesis And Tissue Responsiveness To Growth Hormone, Prolactin And Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I In The Gulf Killifish, Fundulus Grandis Baird And Girard., Zeleke Negatu Jan 1995

Daily Variations In Protein Synthesis And Tissue Responsiveness To Growth Hormone, Prolactin And Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I In The Gulf Killifish, Fundulus Grandis Baird And Girard., Zeleke Negatu

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Circadian variations of $\sp{14}$C-glycine incorporation into protein and the responsiveness of muscle tissue to growth hormone, prolactin and insulin-like growth factor-I were examined in gulf killifish, Fundulus grandis. Incorporation of label during a 5 h period following $\sp{14}$C-glycine injection was tested at different times of day (LD 12:12). Incorporation varied during the day in all the tissues examined (scale, muscle, liver and intestine). The times of peak incorporations differed among the tissues. Scales showed peak incorporation during the dark hours. Peak incorporation by muscle occurred at the onset of light. These patterns were similar in male and female fish. The …


The Transcendental Element In The Absent Presence., Maggie Burnaman Martin Jan 1995

The Transcendental Element In The Absent Presence., Maggie Burnaman Martin

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

"The Transcendental Element in the Absent Presence" analyzes the absent presence, the rhetorical and literary states of being there in the mind of the perceiving individual, though not there physically. It seeks to answer: What does the term "absent presence" mean? Is there a difference between rhetorical and literary absent presences? If so, how is each manifest through the reading process? And, what sustains these absent presences? Evidenced through selected works of Plato, Aristotle, New Testament writers, Sidney, Shakespeare, and Dickinson, the study argues for the intellectually, spiritually, or aesthetically transcendent quality of the absent presence. Any encounter between reader, …


A Formal Methodology For Deriving Purely Functional Programs From Z Specifications Via The Intermediate Specification Language Funz., Linda Bostwick Sherrell Jan 1995

A Formal Methodology For Deriving Purely Functional Programs From Z Specifications Via The Intermediate Specification Language Funz., Linda Bostwick Sherrell

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

In recent years, both formal methods and software reuse have been increasingly advocated as a means of alleviating the ills of the software crisis. During this same time period, purely functional programming languages, which have a long history in the realm of rapid prototyping, have emerged as a viable medium for real-world applications. Since these trends are likely to continue, this work describes a methodology that facilitates the derivation of purely functional programs from existing Z specifications. A unique aspect of the methodology is its incorporation of an intermediate specification language (FunZ) during the design phase of software development. Most …


Investigation In The Theory Of Stochastic Processes., Xiao Liang Li Jan 1995

Investigation In The Theory Of Stochastic Processes., Xiao Liang Li

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

In Chapter I of this dissertation, we present a pedagogical introduction to the basic concepts of stochastic theory and review the progress made as well as the outstanding unsolved problems in the field. For the rest of this dissertation, we use a generalized quantum Langevin equation (GLE) approach to investigate various properties of quantum dissipative systems. In Chapter II, calculations for the displacement and random force correlation functions for Brownian motion are generalized to the case of an arbitrary heat bath for a damped harmonic quantum oscillator. The mean square displacement of such an oscillator is then evaluated for both …


Factors Influencing The Selection Of Business Majors As Perceived By Transfer And Non-Transfer Business Students., Norma Jeanne Jenkins Soileau Jan 1995

Factors Influencing The Selection Of Business Majors As Perceived By Transfer And Non-Transfer Business Students., Norma Jeanne Jenkins Soileau

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The objectives of this study were to: (1) describe the students enrolled in the two-year business programs offered by state colleges and universities in Louisiana on selected demographic characteristics, (2) compare the students declaring transfer and non transfer majors in two-year business programs on selected demographic characteristics, (3) determine the influence of selected factors on the selection of a two-year business major, (4) determine the desirability of two-year business majors as perceived by students enrolled in Louisiana colleges and universities, which offer two-year business programs, and (5) determine the perceptions of students enrolled in Louisiana colleges and universities on selected …


The Socialization Of Beginning Principals In Louisiana: Organizational Constraints On Innovation., Scott Martin Norton Jan 1995

The Socialization Of Beginning Principals In Louisiana: Organizational Constraints On Innovation., Scott Martin Norton

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the organizational socialization experiences of beginning principals. This study approached the problem through a mixed methodology strategy of research, using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. A factor analysis of 187 responses to a socialization survey instrument resulted in three components of socialization which were used as the dependent variables in the study. Variation was found in the principals' socialization level, but this variation was not predicted by any of the independent variables. For the dependent variable vision, African-American principals reported higher mean scores than white principals; also, principals in elementary schools showed …


Linguistic And Cultural Immersion And Second Language Acquisition: International Young Student Exchange., Rosita Mira Maristany Jan 1995

Linguistic And Cultural Immersion And Second Language Acquisition: International Young Student Exchange., Rosita Mira Maristany

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The trend in foreign language learning reflects a move from "fragmented" language to "whole" language (Rigg 1991). It includes the individual as well as the social aspect of language acquisition; and the integration of language and culture. Student international exchange programs provide the ideal atmosphere for "whole" language learning and the integration of language and culture in total language and cultural immersion. Most research in international student exchange programs described the organization of the program or addressed a particular variable. There is a need for integrative "whole" research rather than "fragmented" research. The method chosen as most appropriate for this …


The Effect Of Developmental Factors On The Use Of An Electronic Communication Device., Judith Danute Oxley Jan 1995

The Effect Of Developmental Factors On The Use Of An Electronic Communication Device., Judith Danute Oxley

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study addressed a poorly understood variable of voice output communication aid (VOCA) use, namely mnemonic development. Forty children without disabilities, aged from 49 to 60 months, were required to use an IntroTalker (Prentke Romich Company) to participate in a one-on-one storybook reading task with the investigator. They were provided with sixteen messages to use during a scripted reading of The Three Bears. Children could use a trained verbal elaboration strategy or generate their own methods to retrieve messages. Immediate and delayed responses of children under two training methods were compared, and the contribution of developmental factors, including metamemory, were …


Multiresolutional Fault-Tolerant Sensor Integration And Object Recognition In Images., Lakshman Prasad Jan 1995

Multiresolutional Fault-Tolerant Sensor Integration And Object Recognition In Images., Lakshman Prasad

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation applies multiresolution methods to two important problems in signal analysis. The problem of fault-tolerant sensor integration in distributed sensor networks is addressed, and an efficient multiresolutional algorithm for estimating the sensors' effective output is proposed. The problem of object/shape recognition in images is addressed in a multiresolutional setting using pyramidal decomposition of images with respect to an orthonormal wavelet basis. A new approach to efficient template matching to detect objects using computational geometric methods is put forward. An efficient paradigm for object recognition is described.


Management Of Bollworm, Helicoverpa Zea (Boddie), And Tobacco Budworm, Heliothis Virescens (F.), With Transgenic Bt Cotton Genotypes, Microbial Insecticides And Conventional Insect Resistance Traits In Cotton., Charles Andrew White Jan 1995

Management Of Bollworm, Helicoverpa Zea (Boddie), And Tobacco Budworm, Heliothis Virescens (F.), With Transgenic Bt Cotton Genotypes, Microbial Insecticides And Conventional Insect Resistance Traits In Cotton., Charles Andrew White

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Studies were conducted to determine the effectiveness of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insecticides and transgenic Bt cotton in controlling the bollworm (BW), Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) and tobacco budworm (TBW), Heliothis virescens (F.), complex. Laboratory tests indicated that rates $\ge$1.17 liters (form)/ha caused TBW mortality significantly higher than the untreated control 2 hours after treatment (HAT). Dipel ES$\sp\circler$ at 4.68 liters (form)/ha and Condor OF$\sp\circler \ge$ 0.58 liters (form)/ha caused significantly higher TBW mortality than the untreated control at 72 HAT. TBW mortality levels did not significantly increase as Dipel ES$\sp\circler$ or Condor OF$\sp\circler$ dosage rates increased. Results of a persistence study …


Evaluating The Efficacy Of Communicative Reading Strategies With High-Risk First-Grade Students., Melanie Crim Michaelson-Ezell Jan 1995

Evaluating The Efficacy Of Communicative Reading Strategies With High-Risk First-Grade Students., Melanie Crim Michaelson-Ezell

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The specific aim of this project was to determine the efficacy of an integrated approach to remediation of oral language and reading. Communicative Reading Strategies (CRS) (Norris, 1985) was used with a group of twenty-one high-risk first grade students. Improvements were measured for aspects of language development that are specifically related to success in oral language use and reading. Nine children demonstrating below average performance on standardized measures assessing language and reading received intervention. A control group of 12 matched children served to control for changes as a result of maturation or general curriculum effect. The treatment group received intervention …


Henry James And The Process Of Autobiography., Paul S. Nielsen Jan 1995

Henry James And The Process Of Autobiography., Paul S. Nielsen

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

James's autobiographies differ from most by dramatizing so extensively the process of recovery and reanimation of memory, the act that signifies autobiographical activity. They therefore reveal a great deal about the generic nature of autobiographical recollection. James's Major Phase, from 1900 to his death in 1916, was chiefly and gloriously autobiographical in purpose and crowns his career with an autobiographical production of astonishing variety, extent, and creativity. The proto-autobiographical material includes biography of a culture (William Wetmore Story and His Friends), travel memoir and cultural analysis (The American Scene), and recapitulation and intimate disclosure of his creative life (the Prefaces …


Social Skills In Mentally Retarded Children With Symptoms Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder., Debra Anne Benavidez Jan 1995

Social Skills In Mentally Retarded Children With Symptoms Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder., Debra Anne Benavidez

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

One hundred forty-five boys ages 6 to 11 were administered the Social Skills Rating System and the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters. Subjects were divided into the following groups based on IQ, adaptive behavior, and score on a checklist of ADHD symptoms: normal IQ comparison, normal IQ high-activity-level, normal IQ medicated, mentally retarded comparison, mentally retarded high-activity-level, and mentally retarded medicated. For both normal IQ and mentally retarded children, high-activity-level resulted in higher levels of negative social behavior. Both groups of high-activity level subjects also scored lower on classroom-related social behaviors. Medicated normal IQ subjects displayed social behavior …


Structure Elucidation And Chemistry Of Plant Natural Products In Search Of Bioactive Compounds., Heekyung Tak Jan 1995

Structure Elucidation And Chemistry Of Plant Natural Products In Search Of Bioactive Compounds., Heekyung Tak

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

A phytochemical study of regional members of five genera of the family Asteraceae was performed in search of bioactive natural products. The aerial parts of Garberia heterophylla, an endemic of the Florida central ridge scrub, were investigated and afforded the known guaianolide-type sesquiterpene lactone eupahakonesin, 2,6-dimethoxybenzoquinone, epifriedelinol and the novel diterpene, garberic acid. Aerial parts of Polymnia uvedalia provided three kaurane-type diterpenes, ($-$) kaur-16-en-19-oic acid, 3$\beta$-angeloyloxy-kaur-16-enic acid, 18-angeloyloxy-kaur-16-enic acid and two melampolides, enhydrin and 2$\sp\prime$, 3$\sp\prime$-dehydromelnerin A. The molecular structure of enhydrin was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Verbesina virginica roots contained three eudesmane p-coumarate, 6$\beta$-p-coumaroyloxy-eudesm-4(15)-ene, 6$\beta$-p-coumaroyloxy-eudesm-4(3)-ene, 6$\beta$-p-coumaroyloxy-4$\beta$-hydroxyeudesmane and …


The Pueblo Region As A Linguistic Area: Diffusion Among The Indigenous Languages Of The Southwest United States., Catherine Bereznak Jan 1995

The Pueblo Region As A Linguistic Area: Diffusion Among The Indigenous Languages Of The Southwest United States., Catherine Bereznak

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The goal of this dissertation is to investigate whether the Pueblo region of the Southwest United States is a legitimate linguistic area (LA). The Pueblo region has long been recognized as a cohesive culture area, but an in-depth examination of the Pueblo region as a linguistic area has not previously been done. Because a linguistic area is by definition an area in which linguistic features have spread through diffusion, traits which are widespread for other reasons (e.g., genetic inheritance or independent parallel development) must be eliminated as evidence for a Pueblo LA. The methodological approach which I adopt emphasizes the …


The Relationship Between Daily Stress And Neuropsychological Test Performance., Mark Edward Todd Jan 1995

The Relationship Between Daily Stress And Neuropsychological Test Performance., Mark Edward Todd

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Much research has focused on identifying the causes and risk factors associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Surprisingly, stress, which has been implicated in the course of a variety of other diseases, has been generally ignored in research on AD despite the fact that several different areas lend indirect support for a relationship between stress and the progression of AD. In this study, the effect of daily stress on the clinical course of AD was examined. Also, given that no study has examined the effects of daily stress on neuropsychological test performance, this relationship was examined as well. Forty-five out-patients with …


Derivative Securities In Germany: An Examination Of The Price Discovery And Extreme Value Processes., John Paul Broussard Jan 1995

Derivative Securities In Germany: An Examination Of The Price Discovery And Extreme Value Processes., John Paul Broussard

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines the price discovery and extreme value processes found in Germany's stock index and stock index futures markets. These two concepts are framed within the fundamental relationship between risk and return found in the financial economics literature. Results from the price discovery analysis indicate that the stock index futures market processes information more quickly than the underlying spot market. However, this processing can be characterized by a feedback loop because sometimes the spot market processes information more quickly than the futures market. An indepth analysis of the information processing relationship implies that the futures market processes information faster …


Adolescent Dissociation: The Development And Initial Validation Of The Adolescent Dissociation Scale., Colleen Mary Fitzmaurice Jan 1995

Adolescent Dissociation: The Development And Initial Validation Of The Adolescent Dissociation Scale., Colleen Mary Fitzmaurice

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The present study attempted to develop and initially validate a self-report screening measure for adolescent dissociative experiences. The Adolescent Dissociation Scale (ADS) is a 49-item, empirically derived, self-report scale designed as a research, screening measure to examine the degree of dissociative experiences in the general population as compared to clinical subjects. Results obtained suggest the ADS is a reliable, highly internally consistent measure. Initial content, construct and discriminate validity were explored. The ADS was found to discriminate between high and low dissociative adolescents. The ADS also was positively correlated with other measures of dissociation.


The Effect Of Structured Task Presentations And Reinforcement On Attention, Achievement, And Attitude Of Selected High School Choirs., Dwayne E. Dunn Jan 1995

The Effect Of Structured Task Presentations And Reinforcement On Attention, Achievement, And Attitude Of Selected High School Choirs., Dwayne E. Dunn

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study nested a behavioral design within an experimental design to observe performance improvement after structuring the presentation of musical academic tasks, and to examine the effect of teacher reinforcement on student attentiveness, musical achievement, and attitude in choral ensembles. Two high school choral music classes (N = 60) were assigned intact to one of two treatments. The No Feedback Group (n = 29) received task presentations and directions followed by student performance and no verbal/facial teacher reinforcement. The Feedback Group (n = 31) received task presentations, directions, student performance, and teacher reinforcement. Three similar choral music excerpts were edited …


The Study Of Oxidation Of Magnesium(0001)., Anura Upul Goonewardene Jan 1995

The Study Of Oxidation Of Magnesium(0001)., Anura Upul Goonewardene

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The oxidation of Mg(0001) was studied using ESDIAD (Electron Stimulated Desorption Ion Angular Distributions), LEED (Low Energy Electron Diffraction) and STM (Scanning Tunneling Microscopy). Disassociated oxygen and two species of oxygen were observed morphologically by STM and were identified as incorporated oxygen (mixed layer) and ionic oxide MgO(111). We observed that the step terraces and the dissociated oxygen are highly mobile and interact easily with the STM tip at room temperature. The true oxide was first observed on a double step pinning site as a protrusion elongated along the step edge. These sites pin the top terrace to the one …


Voices In The Storm: Confederate Rhetoric, 1861-1865., Karen Elizabeth Fritz Jan 1995

Voices In The Storm: Confederate Rhetoric, 1861-1865., Karen Elizabeth Fritz

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

From 1861 to 1865, as white southerners waged their unsuccessful struggle for independence, they experienced shattering calamities. With the Civil War mostly fought on southern soil, Confederates witnessed the destruction of their environment, the deaths of their friends and family members, and the demise of their slave labor system. This study concerns the effects of this experience on the southern mindset. In short, this is an examination of discovery and transformation through ordeal. The Confederacy has been the subject of many a historical study. However, this interpretation approaches the subject from a slightly different perspective. Departing from the traditional reliance …


Content Development Strategies In Physical Education: An Exploratory Investigation Of Student Practice, Cognition, And Achievement., Edward Paul Hebert Jan 1995

Content Development Strategies In Physical Education: An Exploratory Investigation Of Student Practice, Cognition, And Achievement., Edward Paul Hebert

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the manner in which content development strategies function in physical education instruction. The relative effects of three content development conditions on mediational variables and achievement of students varying in entry ability were compared. College students enrolled in four sections of tennis were assigned to one of three content development conditions: part training, simplification, and criterion. Four instructors taught three small groups of students, one using each content development strategy. Instructors followed detailed lesson plans standardized according to time allowed for serving practice, task presentation, provision of feedback, and task elements emphasized during …


Phase Space Structures In Chaotic Quantum Dynamics., Barbara Smetana Helmkamp Jan 1995

Phase Space Structures In Chaotic Quantum Dynamics., Barbara Smetana Helmkamp

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

I compare the quantum and classical dynamics of a particle moving in a cosine potential while subject to a time-dependent force. I concentrate here on the behavior of an initially well-localized wave packet at times before the classically chaotic motion is fully developed. I find that the quantum and classical dynamics are indistinguishable well beyond the Ehrenfest time where the wave packet delocalizes. The quantum and classical descriptions first differ precisely when the classical probability density is folded in the vicinity of a hyperbolic fixed point. At this point, the wave function acquires a nodal structure which I show to …


An Introduction To The Songs Of Felix Wolfes (1892-1971) With Complete Chronological Catalogue., Viola R. Dacus Jan 1995

An Introduction To The Songs Of Felix Wolfes (1892-1971) With Complete Chronological Catalogue., Viola R. Dacus

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The German-born composer and conductor Felix Wolfes (1892-1971) left a substantial legacy of over two hundred inspired and finely crafted songs. These works have earned him a place among his self-proclaimed ancestors, Brahms, Wolf, Strauss, Mussorgsky, and his teachers, Reger and Pfitzner. Unfortunately, both the composer and his works remain virtually unknown today. Wolfes's output as a composer consists almost entirely of German lieder. His style is strongly rooted in the Romantic tradition of earlier lieder composers, but Wolfes did more than merely imitate his predecessors. While the majority of his output suggests a conservative post-tonal idiom, he frequently stretched …


Functional Anatomy Of The Integument And Subcutaneous Structures Of The Head, Neck And Thorax Of The Domestic Turkey, Meleagris Gallopavo., Kumudini Nishantha De Silva Jan 1995

Functional Anatomy Of The Integument And Subcutaneous Structures Of The Head, Neck And Thorax Of The Domestic Turkey, Meleagris Gallopavo., Kumudini Nishantha De Silva

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The microdissection of the integument and subcutaneous structures of the head, neck, and thorax of the Domestic Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, revealed a complex system with several distinct layers of connective tissue, smooth and striated musculature, and fat bodies (corpora adiposa). These layers show structural variations across the body surface, and the patterns of variation of the different layers correlate with one another. The smooth apterial muscles and the striated subcutaneous muscles complement each other in moving certain feather tracts. Fat tissue is deposited in the dermis as dermal fat, in the Fascia superficialis, and in distinct fat bodies associated with …


Counting On You: The Rhetoric Of The National Council Of Teachers Of Mathematics "Standards"., Michael R. Dreher Jan 1995

Counting On You: The Rhetoric Of The National Council Of Teachers Of Mathematics "Standards"., Michael R. Dreher

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study sought to initiate the process of identifying the rhetoric of mathematics as a distinct field of research, while acknowledging its basis in the rhetoric of science and other literatures. Accordingly, the study started by examining the external basis of the rhetoric of mathematics; in other words, how discourse affects the way in which the culture views mathematics. The primary text for this study was the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' three-volume Standards for School Mathematics. This document, designed to reform mathematics education from kindergarten through twelfth grade, was shown not to be completely successful in its goal …


An Approach To The Musical Analysis Of Wind Band Literature Based On Analytical Modes Used By Wind Band Specialists And Music Theorists., Jerome Raymond Markoch Jr Jan 1995

An Approach To The Musical Analysis Of Wind Band Literature Based On Analytical Modes Used By Wind Band Specialists And Music Theorists., Jerome Raymond Markoch Jr

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to construct a method of musical analysis based on analytical modes used by theorists and wind-band specialists, and to apply this method to wind-band literature. The study was motivated by the failure of wind-band sources to address the spectrum of musical analysis and ideas practiced in the music theory community. Two bodies of literature were reviewed: (1) wind-band analyses and methods of analysis proposed by conductors and composers, and (2) analytical methodologies described by theorists. The analytical method advocated in this study modified and incorporated methods and ideas espoused by two theorists (Jan LaRue, …


The Relationship Between The Accuracy Of Certain "Generalized" Body Density Prediction Equations And Indices Of Fatness, Body Physique/Proportionality And Fat Distribution., Christopher Melancon Hearon Jan 1995

The Relationship Between The Accuracy Of Certain "Generalized" Body Density Prediction Equations And Indices Of Fatness, Body Physique/Proportionality And Fat Distribution., Christopher Melancon Hearon

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

There is a need to eliminate the least accurate of the existing equations for anthropometrical body density prediction and support for the use of specific prediction equations over generalized equations. The purpose of the investigation was to examine the accuracy of the Jackson-Pollock (JP) and Durnin-Womersley (DW) generalized anthropometrical body density prediction equations in relation to indices of overall fatness, regional fat distribution and body proportionality. The relationships between prediction accuracy (predicted body density minus hydrodensitometric estimate of body density) and three mass/stature indices (total fatness indices), waist-to-hip circumference ratio (WC/HC)(android/gynoid fat distribution) and the three components of the Heath-Carter …


Further Evaluation Of The Psychometric Properties Of The Toddler Behavior Screening Inventory., Alyson Powell Mccain Jan 1995

Further Evaluation Of The Psychometric Properties Of The Toddler Behavior Screening Inventory., Alyson Powell Mccain

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Many children display problematic behavior during the toddler period (12 to 41 months). Although many behavior problems are transient, some children continue to have difficulties through school age and beyond. Recent literature has identified risk factors correlated with continuity of behavior problems. Early identification and intervention with these children may reduce the likelihood of long-term difficulties. The first step in detecting children with problematic behavior is screening. The Toddler Behavior Screening Inventory (TBSI) is a 40-item instrument designed to be used for the rapid assessment of maternal-perceived toddler behavior problems. The present study further evaluated the psychometric properties of the …


Self-Reported Factors That Influence Eighth Graders' Performance On Standardized Mathematics Tests: An Empirical Analysis., Joseph Appolinaire Meyinsse Jan 1995

Self-Reported Factors That Influence Eighth Graders' Performance On Standardized Mathematics Tests: An Empirical Analysis., Joseph Appolinaire Meyinsse

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study examined some of the factors that influence African-American and Caucasian eighth graders' performance on standardized mathematics tests. Specifically, I examined the effects of high and low achievers' beliefs and attitudes toward mathematics and perceptions of self, mathematics, teacher, school, and parents on their performance levels. I employed a two-phase design with qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative phase focused on one grand-tour question: Considering the times you took standardized mathematics tests, would you please describe some of the things that affected your performance on those tests? Individual students and focus groups were the units of analysis. I interviewed …