Digital Commons Network^™

The Prediction Of Small Business Instability--Loan Noncompliance: A Discriminant Analysis Approach., Charles Thomas Moores

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if a small business' tendency towards loan noncompliance could be ascertained from the business' financial information. By developing linear discriminant models a firm's tendency towards loan noncompliance was accurately determined. For the objectives of this study loan noncompliance was defined as the borrower not complying with the terms of the original loan agreement. Examples of loan noncompliance are: (1) alteration of the loan agreement to the disadvantage of the lending institution, (2) late payment, and missing an interest and/or principal payment. Data for this research was obtained from Robert Morris Associates (RMA) …

A Study Of Moral Development Of Selected Employees In Certain Public Accounting Firms., Guy L. Tull Jr

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Little empirical research exists in the area of measuring morality and moral development of business, business people, and business-related professions such as accounting and law. While these professions have Codes of Professional Conduct that state that members must be of high moral character, mechanisms for empirically measuring moral character have, until recently, been non-existent. Through the pioneering research by Lawrence Kohlberg, a moral development testing instrument is now available. The purpose of this study was to measure the level of moral development of auditors in three national ("Big-Eight") accounting firms, utilizing Kohlberg's stage theory of moral development. Eighteen subjects were …

Numerical Modeling Of The Internal Ballistics Of A Gas Gun., Ameziane Harhad

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

A numerical procedure is applied to three principal flow models of a gas gun, the discharge chamber, the main chamber, and the barrel chamber. In the first two models, an explicit method, the second order MacCormack scheme, is used to solve the Navier-Stokes equations for two-dimensional (axisymmetric), time dependent, compressible flow. The fluid is assumed to be a perfect gas. The flow boundaries may be arbitrary curved and time dependent. Transformations have been used to map the physical space into a computational space with uniform grid spacing. A grid generation surface has been achieved for various wall shapes. The third …

Spectroscopy And Photochemistry Of Aromatic And Cyclic Beta-Diketones., Felipe Antonio Pascal Hamilton

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

(beta)-Diketones exist in a tautomeric equilibrium between the enol and the keto forms. The enol form is the most stable because of the formation of an intramolecular hydrogen bond. (beta)-Diketones in solution at 77K exhibit changes in their absorption and phosphorescence spectra upon irradiation with a powerful UV visible source. The changes observed in the molecule result from rupture of the intramolecular hydrogen bond. Once the hydrogen bond has been broken a distribution of conformers of the enol is possible. The formation of a negative ion can also result from the irradiation and a distribution of conformers of the negative …

Frontier Port On The Mississippi: A History Of The Legend Of Natchez Under-The-Hill, 1800-1900, Michael Francis Beard

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Natchez Under-the-Hill, from 1800 to 1840 the second leading river port on the Mississippi, played a central role in the economic life of the Old Southwestern frontier. Despite this, it was chiefly known to contemporaries in both America and abroad as a center of intemperance, prostitution, gambling, and violence.

During the antebellum years this image of the Natchez waterfront was a symbol of the Myth of the Wild and Savage West, which assumed Westerners were violent, immoral, and uncivilized. The lawlessness and vice of the port, widely touted in travel journals and newspapers, provided evidence to non-westerners that their perceptions …

The Vertebrate Paleontology Of Late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) Mammalian Sites Of Louisiana, Linda L. Rice

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This thesis describes the late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) vertebrate paleontology of Louisiana through the use of vertebrates as paleoenvironmental indicators. This method of interpretation is established through morphological description and evaluation, taphonomy, systematic paleontology, and in some cases, the use of modern analogs.

This study compares and contrasts Louisiana with other southeastern states during the late Pleistocene. This comparison shows that Louisiana did not vary significantly from the rest of the southeastern United States during the late Rancholabrean. This work also shows that the most common habitats of Louisiana at this time were open temperate woods, grasslands, and marshes. Geographically, most …

Applications Of Fluid Inclusion Techniques To Burial Diagenesis In Carbonate Rock Sequences, Mary Jo Klosterman

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Carbonate cement formed during diagenesis of sedimentary rocks frequently entraps samples of diagenetic fluid as fluid inclusions, which record the pressure and temperature of the fluid at the time of formation. Homogenization of liquid-gas inclusions yields an estimate of the minimum temperature of inclusion and crystal formation; freezing point depressions of liquid inclusions can provide a close approximation of the salinity of the trapped liquid. Homogenization temperatures (T^) and final melting temperatures (Tf) were determined for 222 small (4-15 micron), primary and pseudosecondary, aqueous liquid-gas fluid inclusions in coarse (0.25-3.0 mm) poikilotopic calcite cement. The cement is from the moderately …

Academic Achievement, Self-Concept And Attitudes Towards Reading Of Students In Bilingual And Traditional Programs., Theresa Doris Chretien

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study was designed to investigate the comparative achievement in reading and mathematics, self-concept, and attitude towards reading of bilingually educated and traditionally educated students. To determine differences in achievement, 239 third- and sixth-grade students enrolled in bilingual education (French-English) and traditional education classes in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, were pre- and post-tested with standardized instruments in word knowledge, reading comprehension, self-concept, and attitude towards reading. The findings were tested statistically at the .05 level. In academic achievement, there were significant differences between the two groups only in mathematics computation, favoring bilingually educated students at the third-grade level and traditionally …

Statistical Spectroscopy Study Of Alpha Particle Transfer Strengths., Calvin Ray Countee

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Statistical nuclear spectroscopy or spectral distribution methods have been developed by French and coworkers as an alternative, applicable in huge model spaces, to the conventional shell model approach for studying nuclear structure. The theory is based on the operation of a central limit theorem in large model spaces which yields a shape close to Gaussian for the smoothed eigenstate density distribution. The theory emphasizes the importance of traces of bilinear products of operators acting in a model space. Utilizing this and partitioning the model space according to group symmetries leads to an algorithm for expanding any interaction in terms of …

The Anglo-Saxon And Norman "Eigenkirche" And The Ecclesiastical Policy Of William I., Albert Simeon Cote Jr

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The eigenkirche or proprietary church was an important factor in the ecclesiastical policy of William I. In previous studies, the proprietary church was considered purely a local phenomenon. William's religious concerns in Normandy and England demonstrate the eigenkirche's role at the local, royal, and international levels. An examination of the legal sources is critical to understanding the proprietary church in Anglo-Saxon England, Normandy, and Norman England. The Anglo-Saxon charters provide important examples of the private church and monastery in the pre-Conquest period. In Normandy, the ducal charters, once inaccessible because of archival problems, are now available for analysis of the …

The Efficacy Of Computer-Based And Tape-Recorded Assistance In Second-Semester Freshman Ear-Training Instruction., Janet Claire Garton

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Harmonic dictation materials available in the Ear-Training Laboratory at Louisiana State University were programmed for computer presentation in order to observe the effects of the computer medium in comparison to the traditional laboratory approach. In accordance with the Solomon Four-Group Design, the sixty-two second-semester freshman music theory students were assigned randomly to computer and tape groups. Half of each group was assigned at random to take a pretest which was designed by the experimenter. After six withdrawals from the course, a total research population of fity-six students remained. Members of both the experimental and control groups were asked to practice …

Density Functional Formalism: I. Finite Temperature Theory. Ii. An 'Atom' In A Hot, Dense Plasma., Uday Gupta

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The generalization of the zero temperature local density functional theory of inhomogeneous electron systems to finite temperature ensembles is discussed. A local exchange-correlation potential, V(,xc), needed for a finite temperature Kohn-Sham scheme, is developed based on the investigation of first-order exchange and 'ring'-diagram contribution to correlation effects for a wide range of electron densities and temperature. Comparison is made with existing results in the fully degenerate and non-degenerate limits. In the intermediate degeneracy region, the correlation effect is found to be enhanced--the importance of this for various physical systems is pointed out. An application of V(,xc) is made to illustrate …

The Application Of Behavioral Techniques To Change Eating Habits And/Or Exercise Habits To Effect Weight Reduction And Maintenance In Adolescents: A Year-Long Study., Cynthia Mary Gracianette

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study employed behavioral strategies of weight control with obese adolescents. Programs which modified eating habits (Eating Habits) and exercise habits (Exercise) and a combination of the two programs (Eating Habits and Exercise) were compared with a control group (Supportive Group) and a Drop Out Group. Program compliance was assessed and the utility of predictor instruments was studied. The treatment program lasted 12 weeks with seven follow-up meetings over a nine month period. The Eating Habits condition was designed to modify maladaptive eating habits using behavioral techniques. The Exercise condition consisted of establishing exercise programs for individual subjects. Contingency contracting …

Task Accomplishment Ability Of Children In Small Groups., Nancy Larson Gennuso

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The primary purpose of this study was the investigation and analysis of the behavior of small groups of children in a task accomplishment situation. The secondary purpose was to ascertain the effects of a group discussion generated by questions adapted from creative problem solving techniques. A review of literature revealed a lack of research on small groups of children in these areas. Thirty-six small groups of fourth and fifth grade children worked in groups of four on two construction-type tasks, one for pretest and one for posttest. Eighteen of the groups served as experimental groups and participated in the group …

The Effects Of Noise, Provocation, And Level Of Self-Awareness On Physical Aggression., John Fontan Knipmeyer

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The cognitive-labeling hypothesis states that the arousal properties of noise will increase aggression only if a person has been provoked and labels the arousal as anger. The arousal hypothesis states that noise-induced arousal may directly increase aggression. It is suggested that discrepant findings are due to differences in subjects' level of self-awareness when participating in sedate versus physical measures of aggression. Male subjects engaged in physical aggression by throwing balls at a confederate within a 2 x 2 x 2 design comprised of provocation versus no provocation, noise versus no noise, and low versus high self-awareness. The ball-throwing was videotaped …

Detection Of Free Radicals From The Reactions Of Ozone With Olefins And From Cigarette Smoke By Electron Spin Resonance Techniques., Donald Gregory Prier

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

A novel technique is presented that allows detection of free radicals from ozone-olefin reactions for the first time. Olefins are ozonated at -78(DEGREES)C, the unreacted ozone removed, the spin trap added, and the solution warmed. The radicals spin trapped indicate that trioxygenated intermediates are produced that decompose to radicals on warming. Ozonation of cyclic acetals by this procedure yields acyl hydrotrioxides that decompose on warming to produce hydroperoxyl radicals, HOO(.). Alkoxyl radicals are spin trapped when mainstream cigarette smoke is bubbled through PBN solutions while acyloxyl radicals are spin trapped friom sidestream smoke. Stable radicals detected in cigarette tar are …

Thermal And Spatial Ecology Of Three Species Of Water Snakes (Nerodia) In A Louisiana Swamp., Thomas Claud Michot

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Biotelemetry was used to study thermal and spatial relationships in Nerodia fasciata confluens, N. c. cyclopion, and N. r. rhombifera. Twenty snakes were monitored between April 1978 and September 1979 in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. Laboratory-determined preferred temperature ranges were compared to environmental temperatures from air, soil, and water to predict thermally optimum microhabitats. Comparison of observed and predicted microhabitats for each observation showed that N. fasciata was found more frequently in the thermally optimum microhabitat than were N. cyclopion and N. rhombifera. Nerodia cyclopion consistently showed thermal nonconformity by altering the relationship between body (BT) and ambient (AT) temperatures so …

Effects Of Pine Reproduction Cutting Systems On Soils And Understory Vegetation In Southeast Louisiana., Henry Walter Langston Jr

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Soil erosion, soil chemistry, and understory vegetation were studied after four regeneration cutting methods--clearcut, seed-tree, shelterwood, and selection--were applied to mature loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stands at two locations in southeastern Louisiana. Treatment plots were 8 ha in size, and each treatment was replicated twice at each location. Soil erosion on slopes was measured from permanent stakes located at the top, middle, and bottom on each of six slopes within each plot. Soil erosion off the slopes was determined from a small trap built across one individual drainage on each plot. Vegetation was sampled four times before and after …

The Effects Of A Non-Competitive Awards Program On The Motivation Of 4-H Members., Norma Jean Roberts

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The problem investigated in this study was to test the effect of a non-competitive awards program on the motivation of 4-H members. The objectives of the study were to compare the results of the non-competitive awards program with those of a competitive awards program in four major areas. These were: (1) Completion of project records. (2) Project knowledge and skills acquired. (3) Plans to reenroll in 4-H. (4) Development of a more positive attitude about 4-H experience. Data on project record completion were compared according to grade in school, years in 4-H, sex, race, and place of residence to determine …

Age Differences In Memory For Movement: Effects Of Strategy And Preselection When Ecological Validity Is Varied., Katherine T. Thomas

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

As children mature through the childhood years, motor performance increases in a relatively linear way. This increase in performance is frequently attributed to physical growth factors such as increased height, weight and strength. However, cognitive factors in memory also develop and affect the planning and control of movement. The purpose of these three experiments was to evaluate the developmental increase in strategy use for planning movements and to determine if the motor performance of younger children could be enhanced by inducing strategy use that does not occur spontaneously. The effects of subject selected (preselected) or experimenter selected (constrained) movements was …

The Metabolizable Energy Determination Of Fats And Oils In Broiler Chickens., George John Cerniglia

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Four trials using chicks were conducted to measure the metabolizable energy (ME) of fats, oils and combinations of these using a relatively fat free basal diet. The objective was to determine if ME values for fats and oils could be measured which did not exceed their gross energy values. The effects of fecal drying temperature on ME, level of fat or oil inclusion on ME, reference source (glucose or soybean oil) and response of sex on ME were also studied. In Trial 1 the ME of soybean oil (SBO) and tallow at 5, 10, and 15% replacement were calculated based …

Quantitative Inheritance Of Bract Size In Cotton., Daryl Thomas Bowman

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Bracts in upland cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., have been implicated in byssionosis, a lung disorder associated with textile mill workers. Quantitative genetic studies were conducted to determine the inheritance of bract surface area and ratio of bract size/lint weight per boll. A diallel analysis was performed using seven parents and their 21 F(,1) and F(,2) populations. The parents were specifically chosen to represent a range of bract sizes, thus inferences were only made to the material included in this study. The two year-two location parent means ranged from 4.1 to 8.7 cm('2) in bract surface area and 2.7 to 5.6 …

Decision-Making Formats: A Comparison On An Evaluative Task Of Interacting Groups, Consensus Groups, The Nominal Group Technique, And The Delphi Technique., Robert Charles Erffmeyer

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Using Steiner's (1972) model of group process and productivity, four decision-making formats: the interacting method, the consensus method, the nominal group technique, and the Delphi technique, were compared on two dimensions of an effective decision, quality and acceptance. A literature review indicated that a comparison of the effectiveness of the decision-making formats is difficult because of the prevalence of idiosyncratic modifications made to the formats. To preserve the integrity of the findings of the present study, no modifications were made in the intervention techniques. A total of 144 male undergraduate students, working in four-person, ad hoc groups solved the NASA …

Energy Bands In Some Transition Metals., Duane Giles Laurent

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Self-consistent linear-combination-of-Gaussian-orbitals energy band calculations were performed for the two paramagnetic 3d transition metals, chromium and vanadium. The energy bands, densities of states and Fermi surfaces were obtained using the two most popular local-exchange-correlation potentials (Kohn-Sham-Gaspar and von Barth-Hedin) for chromium and the Kohn-Sham-Gaspar potential alone for vanadium. A comparison was made with the available experimental data. New interpretations for some of the neutron scattering data are made in the chromium case. Results are also presented for the Compton profiles and optical conductivities. These correlate well with the experiments if appropriate angular averages (for the Compton profile) and lifetime effects …

Vestibular Responsiveness In Normal- And In Impaired-Hearing Children., Nancy Mixon Hillman

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Vestibular responsiveness of 90 normal- and of 31 impaired-hearing children from 4 through 16 years of age was investigated using a modified Barany-chair test to provide horizontal angular acceleratory stimuli to the semi-circular canals and a parallel swing to provide alternating horizontal linear acceleratory stimuli to the otolithic end organs. Children's eye movements behind a sleep mask in response to vestibulo-ocular reflexes initiated by the angular and linear accelerations were recorded via electronystagmography and telemetry. Mean frequency, amplitude, and slow phase velocity of primary postrotatory nystagmus and presence or absence and latency of secondary per- and postrotatory nystagmus were obtained …

Scattering Of Electrons By Hydrogenic Ions., Najib Nimer Abusalbi

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The "Algebraic Variational" method in Atomic physics is applied for the first time to the scattering (both elastic and inelastic) of electrons by highly stripped (hydrogenic) atomic ions. The overall behavior of the excitation 1s (--->) 2s and 1s (--->) 2p cross section is investigated using a 6 state expansion (1s-2s-2p one and two p pseudo-states) of the target wave function. The close coupling calculation is carried out up to a total angular momentum L(,MAX), (L(,MAX) (LESSTHEQ) 5) and for energies ranging from just above the n = 2 threshold to 5 times threshold; otherwise the Coulomb Born …

Evaluation Of Structured Interpersonal Communication In The Achievement Of Business-Writing Principles., William Lee Wohlgamuth

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to provide information that might lead to a more efficient way to teach business communication. By investigating the use of structured interpersonal communication, a decision might be made as to whether or not structured interpersonal communication should be stressed, and if so, how business-writing principles might be taught more efficiently. The problem was to determine what effect structured interpersonal communication has on student achievement of the principles of business writing in a business communication course. The study was conducted at the University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana and all students in the sample …

A Comparison Of Two Approaches In Teaching Mathematics To Special Education Students., Herman Brooks Fullen Jr

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study had the purpose of comparing the effects of two approaches in teaching mathematics to secondary special education students. The study attempted to answer the following questions: (1) Were there significant differences between group means of mathematics achievement test scores for students in a diagnostic-prescriptive mathematics program compared to students using programmed mathematics? and (2) Were there significant differences between group means of self-concept scores for students in a diagnostic-prescriptive program compared to students using programmed mathematics? Twenty-four secondary special education students enrolled at the East Baton Rouge Evaluation and Vocational Center were the subjects in this study. The …

Second-Language Acquisition And The Development Of Pragmatic Code Selection Skills., Rebecca Ann Marcon

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Language samples and nonverbal behavior of 50 children attending bilingual Kindergarten programs were recorded from children's conversations with a puppet on three separate occasions. In order to determine the influence of the listener's language on children's code selection, the puppet spoke a different language on each occasion. Of particular interest was the extent to which children would make pragmatic adjustments in their verbal and nonverbal language codes in response to different listener needs. Differences in code selection which could be attributed to variation in second language proficiency were explored by contrasting the behavior of children classified as monolingual, limited second …

Attitudes Held By Selected Public School Administrators In Louisiana Towards Vocational Education., Paul Gibson Miller

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study was concerned with determining attitudes held by local school administrators in Louisiana towards vocational education and with comparing their attitudes towards specific vocational programs. The descriptive method of research using an opinionnaire was used to gather data. Opinionnaires were mailed to the 66 public school superintendents, the supervisor for vocational education of each of the 66 public school systems, and to a stratified random sample of 186 public school principals in Louisiana. Two hundred ninety-five of 318 opinionnaires were returned representing 92.8 percent of the population. Statistical procedures used for analysis were means, guidelines, developed by the researcher, …