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The Attitudes Of African American Students Towards The Study Of Foreign Languages And Cultures, Katrina Watterson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the reasons that African American students participate at lower levels in foreign language programs in terms of taking courses and majoring and minoring in foreign languages. The primary foreign language that it explores is Spanish, and its findings suggest that the introduction of the language devoid of the influence of Afro-diasporic linkages to Spanish culture leads to the topic being taught in abstraction, therefore causing a lack of interest among African American students. As this study shows, a teacher's thinking about cultural and racial difference is often intimately woven into their disciplinary training, and as a result, …

The Relationship Between Music And Visual Arts Formal Study And Academic Achievement On The Eighth-Grade Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (Leap) Test, Richard Allen Baker Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the policy implications allowing administrators to exempt a student from required arts instruction if the student obtained unsatisfactory scores on the high-stake state mandated tests in English and mathematics. This study examined English language arts and math test scores for 37,222 eighth grade students enrolled in music and/or visual arts classes and those students not enrolled in arts courses. There were more than 12,000 students who were eligible, but not enrolled in arts courses. Methodology consisted of comparing the mean scores of students receiving music and visual arts instruction with the mean …

An Aloha State Of Mind: Performing Hawaiian Cultural Identities, Kirsten E. Ogden

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

There are many Hawaiian identities currently in effect. This dissertation explores several representative and contested Hawaiian identities, and how these identities develop through key performances, plays, and other representational practices by Hawaiians and by Locals. Due to its unique situation as one of only two U.S. states formerly with its own government, and as one of only two U.S. states not connected to the main land-mass of the United States, Hawaiian identity is complicated by multiple factors: sanitized historical constructions, sovereignty, intermingling ethnic identities, tourism, and reclaimed cultural practices. Additionally, Hawaiians as a native people hold a unique place in …

Reconnaissance De L'Autre Et Métissage Culturel À Travers Les Littératures Et Paralittératures De La Polynésie Française Et De La Novelle-Calédonie: Contextes Et Textes, Didier Lenglare

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

French Polynesia and New Caledonia are facing an identity crisis in which the lack of recognition of otherness represents a serious risk to the sociopolitical cohesion of these fragile multiethnic and multicultural societies. In order to avoid self-destructive conflicts and to build harmony in the midst of ethnic diversity, an endogenous inclusive redefinition of cultural identities has become necessary. Within this context, this research had a double objective. First, it aimed to ascertain how this quest for recognition of the Other is represented in the emerging literature of French speaking Oceania. Secondly, its purpose was to understand the social and …

Large-Scale Influences On Tropical Cyclogenesis For Selected Storms In The 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season, Jinwoong Yoo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Unpreparedness of large and increasing populations to Atlantic tropical cyclones (TCs) in North and Central America often causes a significant percentage of human casualties and economic losses, which results in part from the difficulty of forecasting tropical cyclogenesis (TCG) and changes in TC track and intensity. Although the mechanisms that lead to TCG have been studied extensively, lack of knowledge still exists about the relative importance of the precursor factors responsible for TCG, especially in the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean basin where no clear genesis mechanism has been identified for TCs. A series of studies in this dissertation examines influences of …

Transnational Spaces And Communal Land Tenure In A Caribbean Place: "Barbuda Is For Barbudans", Amy E. Potter

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the last decade, transnational migration research has gained considerable ground in geography. There is still more to be done, however, in order to understand the complex relationship between migrants and the lands they leave behind. The island of Barbuda in the Lesser Antilles is the ideal place to study the larger issues of transnational migration on a smaller scale, particularly research that focuses on both migration and land tenure. Barbudan land tenure is common property, something that was in practice for more than a century and formalized into law in January of 2008. Because of this particular system of …

Understanding Online Sourcing Decisions From The Service Clients' Perspective: An Integrative Theoretical Framework, Baozhou Lu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this study we empirically examine a new global phenomenon - online sourcing – with a quantitative research method. Online sourcing is the newest development in outsourcing recently that uses Internet as the primary sourcing platform to approach the global sourcing of services. We believe that the emergence of online sourcing will fundamentally change the way work is done. Thus, gaining a deep understanding of the adoption of online sourcing becomes particularly important. Drawing upon theories of firms including transaction cost theory, we propose an integrative theoretical framework for the understanding of online sourcing decisions from the service clients’ perspective. …

Fatalities Due To Hurricane Katrina's Impacts In Louisiana, Ezra Clay-Kelly Boyd

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents a comprehensive analysis of the loss of life in Louisiana associated with Hurricane Katrina and the catastrophic failure of the federal hurricane protection system. While Louisiana officials attribute 1,464 deaths to this disaster, a Louisiana Katrina Victim Database compiled for this dissertation lists 1,575 victims whose death can be linked to circumstances related to the disaster. First, this dissertation presents a comprehensive assessment of the multiple hazards impacting a dynamic population within southeast Louisiana. This is followed by a comprehensive descriptive analysis of victims’ characteristics. Both of these assessments point to an important conclusion: circumstances matter in …

The Hegemony Of Language - Literary Writing And The Quest For Subjectivity In The Works Of Michel De Montaigne And Charles Ferdinand Ramuz, Carla Bota Vance

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Starting from the premise that one’s identity is first and foremost construed in language, this dissertation argues that language is the fundamental site of resistance for writers who define themselves through linguistic difference. Recognizing also that language and literary production frequently fall under the control of complex authorities, this thesis examines literature as a site where confrontation is played out aesthetically. Literary writing, in other words, is exposed as a point of intersection between writers whose language draws its sources from a peripheral location and the centers of authority that regulate and dictate what is accepted as artistically and culturally …

A Mixed Methodological Assessment Of Personal Development Of Undergraduate Orientation Leaders, Kimberly Dottolo Roberts

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Orientation programs, while unique in their own design and implementation across campuses, offer incoming students the opportunity to become acquainted with the institutional environment. A particularly important element of orientation programs is the component of orientation leaders who serve as peer mentors and guides to incoming students. These students fulfill several responsibilities of the institution and develop a lasting rapport with incoming students. Orientation leaders have the opportunity to personally develop and gain valuable skills as a result of working the orientation program. Kolb’s experiential learning model provides a framework that explains an orientation leader’s personal development. Kolb’s model consists …

The Effect Of In-School Opera Performance And Related Curriculum On Music Cognition And Attitude, Sara Harris Baker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study was designed to compare knowledge about and attitude toward opera in three groups of fifth-graders with various levels of involvement with an in-school opera. One group watched the live performance, a second group watched the performance preceded by three pre-performance lessons that encompassed common opera vocabulary and voice types, and a third group experienced the lessons, the performance, and a five-lesson creative project in which they constructed their own opera. All students completed cognitive and attitude pretests and post-tests. ANCOVA analyses accounted for differences in scores on the pretests. Significant differences (p < .05) on the multiple-choice portion of the cognitive exam were found between the performance-only group and the performance plus instruction groups. Significant differences were found between the groups on the concept map portion of the cognitive measure, with the differences coming between the performance only group and the performance plus lessons group. Significant differences were found between each of the groups for a Likert-scale attitude measure, with the performance and lessons group posting the largest increases. In addition, a significant correlation was found between cognitive scores and attitude scores. Responses to semi-structured interviews suggested that students’ opinions of Opera were influenced by factors related to music, factors related to production, and factors related to personal perceptions.

(Be)Coming Home: The Complexity Of Home As Revealed In Young Adult Novels Of Disaster, Charity Elise Cantey

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Inspired by the researcher’s work with five displaced New Orleans teenagers in the months after Hurricane Katrina, this research examined twelve young adult novels in which characters face a loss of or damage to home in the wake of a natural or humanly-caused disaster. The study sought ways in which home is represented in young adult literature of disaster by analyzing passages in which characters discuss, remember, imagine, and rebuild or reestablish home after its damage or loss. A phenomenological approach was used to examine these fictional experiences of home in order to discern their contribution to an understanding of …

Landscape, Mobilities, And Performance: An Autoethnographic And Visual Engagement With Public Protests In Washington, Dc, Paul Ronald Watts

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how geography’s traditional approach to studying cultural landscapes, which has been largely reliant upon vision, should also include the embodied practices: the customary and habitual actions that inform human engagement. Using public protests in Washington, DC as an extended case study, I reveal an underlying tension between protest participants’ embodied practices and material objects in the built environment. I accomplish this by drawing from over one year’s fieldwork in Washington, where I used qualitative approaches, including—but not limited to—participant observation and autoethnography, to engage in public protests as an embodied participant. To support my empirical data, I …

An Agent-Based Simulation Model For Business Reopenings In New Orleans Post Hurricane Katrina, Helbert Arenas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The empirical study of business responses to disasters is relatively scarce, despite that they are a fundamental part of the cities, providing services, jobs and, taxes that are essential for urban sustainability. This dissertation develops an agent-based simulation model to represent and understand the businesses reopening process in a dynamic environment in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The objectives are two-fold: 1) To identify the main reopening predictors involved and estimate their relative importance through time, using an empirical data set collected from another study; 2) To represent the business reopening process through a computer simulation model, using the parameters …

Comparative Biogeography Of The Arid Lands Of Central Mexico, Jesus Abraham Fernandez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Most biogeographic studies on the Mexican biota have assumed that the dramatic climate cycles of the Pleistocene epoch and the prominence of the Trans-Mexico Volcanic Belt have played major roles in the origin and diversification of species. Here the pylogenetics and biogeography of four codistributed rodent species were studied. In each case, a phylogenetic hypothesis for the taxon and allied species using two mitochondrial (Cytochrome-b and 12S), and two nuclear genes (GHR and IRBP) was generated, appropriate taxonomic changes were recommended, and a temporal framework was generated to identify events that may have produced the phylogenetic pattern. Nelson’s woodrat Neotoma …

(Im)Possibilities Of Theatre And Transgression: The Critical Impact Of Transgressive Theatrical Practices, Christopher J. Krejci

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

While performance practitioners often rely on socially, aesthetically, and politically transgressive practices to critically impact the socio-political climate outside the theater walls, transgression is fraught with contradiction. Historically, acts of transgression have led to both the expansion and suppression of democratic rights. (Im)possibilites of Theatre and Transgression employs a critical lens that takes into account the historical and ideological specificities of individual productions in Austin, TX and Baton Rouge, LA to argue that transgressive theatrical practices both counter and reproduce normalizing discourses and discourses of domination in local and regional culture. This study focuses on the types of aesthetically, socially, …

A Contour Tree Based Spatio-Temporal Data Model For Oceanographic Applications, Yuliang Chen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

To present the spatio/temporal data from oceanographic modeling in GIS has been a challenging task due to the highly dynamic characteristic and complex pattern of variables, in relation to time and space. This dissertation focuses the research on spatio-temporal GIS data model applied to oceanographic model data, especially to homogeneous iso-surface data. The available spatio-temporal data models are carefully reviewed and characteristics in spatial and temporal issues from oceanographic model data are discussed in detail. As an important tool for data modeling, ontology is introduced to categorize oceanographic model data and further set up fundamental software components in the new …

"The Bald Knobbers Of Southwest Missouri, 1885-1889: A Study Of Vigilante Justice In The Ozarks.", Matthew James Hernando

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Bald Knobbers of Southwest Missouri were a vigilante organization that originated in Taney County, Missouri, in 1885, before spreading to adjacent Christian and Douglas counties in ensuing years. They began as a group dedicated to protecting life and property, aiding law enforcement officials in the apprehension of criminals, opposing corruption in local government, and punishing those who violated the social and religious mores of their community. In some places, the vigilantes gained much political influence, occupied key offices, and became effectively the ruling faction in local politics. They made many enemies, however, with whom they had several violent, sometimes …

Evolutionary History Of Isolation And Dispersal In North American Ground Skinks (Scinella Lateralis), Nathan Daniel Jackson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The geographical range, abundance, and cohesion of populations can track landscape and climatic dynamism in ways that help set (and reset) the evolutionary trajectory of a species. Understanding the nature of this interaction can elucidate both evolutionary and geographical history as well as clarify the parameters that govern diversification. In this study, I apply multilocus genetic data from populations of the North American ground skink, Scincella lateralis, to investigate phylogeographic history as well as the interaction between population genetic and geographical processes that have shaped it. First, I examined the geographic distribution of genetic diversity for S. lateralis and tested …

An Assessment Of Atmospheric Factors Impacting Tropospheric Ozone In The Baton Rouge, Louisiana Non-Attainment Zone, Andrew Douglas Augustine

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is one of the metropolitan areas in the United States that currently does not meet the national ambient air quality standard for tropospheric ozone. In addition to petrochemical and other industrial activities, the climatological characteristics of the area meaningfully impact the development of tropospheric ozone. This research study attempts to assess factors contributing to elevated concentrations of tropospheric ozone.

Hourly observations of surface ozone concentrations were analyzed for eleven ambient air quality stations in the Baton Rouge metropolitan nonattainment zone (BRNAZ). Data covering a 15-year period, January 1993 – Dec 2007, was characterized according to varying temporal …

Revolutionary Republics: U.S. National Narratives And The Independence Of Latin America, 1810-1846, James Weldon Long

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Revolutionary Republics analyzes how U.S. literature depicted the independence of Latin America, focusing on the period from the beginning of the Spanish American revolutions in 1810 to the outbreak of the U.S.-Mexican War in 1846. During this brief timespan, the nation’s literature featured a radical transition in which the independent republics of Latin America shifted from being viewed as “southern brethren” of the United States, a term used by such prominent public figures as Daniel Webster and John Quincy Adams, to hostile enemies allegedly in need of assistance from their northern neighbor. This reversal exposes a contradiction between the imperialist …

The American Civil War: A Military History, Erik B. Alexander

Civil War Book Review

Preeminent Historian Examines the American Civil War

Fields Of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign, Daniel E. Sutherland

Civil War Book Review

Revitalizing the Importance of the Prairie Grove Campaign

The Fragile Fabric Of Union: Cotton, Federal Politics, And The Global Origins Of The Civil War., James L. Huston

Civil War Book Review

Cotton’s Effect on the Southern Political Economy

Effects Of Hurricane Katrina And Salvage Logging On Bachman's Sparrow, Matthew E. Brooks, Philip C. Stouffer

Faculty Publications

In the southeastern U. S., longleaf pine savannas, important habitat for grassland birds, are subject to hurricanes and subsequent management. The intensity of tropical storms is predicted to increase with climate change, heightening the importance of understanding the effects of storm disturbance and salvage logging on species of concern such as Bachman's Sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis), a pine-savanna specialist. To determine how Bachman's Sparrow occupancy varies with the age and salvage history of pine stands, and to identify the vegetation and post-hurricane habitat features influencing stand occupancy, we surveyed Bachman's Sparrows in Mississippi savannas affected by Hurricane Katrina. Our point counts …

Correlating Pharmaceutical Data With A National Health Survey As A Proxy For Estimating Rural Population Health, Ronald E. Cossman, Jeralynn S. Cossman, Wesley L. James, Troy Blanchard, Richard Thomas, Louis G. Pol, Arthur G. Cosby

Faculty Publications

Background: Chronic disease accounts for nearly three-quarters of US deaths, yet prevalence rates are not consistently reported at the state level and are not available at the sub-state level. This makes it difficult to assess trends in prevalence and impossible to measure sub-state differences. Such county-level differences could inform and direct the delivery of health services to those with the greatest need.Methods: We used a database of prescription drugs filled in the US as a proxy for nationwide, county-level prevalence of three top causes of death: heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. We tested whether prescription data are statistically valid proxy …

Cabin, Quarter, Plantation: Architecture And Landscapes Of North American Slavery, Leland Ferguson

Civil War Book Review

Studying Slavery Architecturally

The Impact Of Racial Metric Variation In The Os Coxae On The Morphological Assessment Of Sex, Ginesse A. Listi

Faculty Publications

This study examines whether sex determination based on morphological traits in the os coxae is impacted by racial quantitative variation. Nineteen traits were evaluated independently by two observers in 876 os coxae. Chi-square test was used on a random sample of 400 individuals to assess whether the distribution of correct sex assessment varied for white and black individuals based on each trait individually and all 19 traits collectively, as well as on inter-observer agreement in correct sex assessment. Results indicate that accuracy of sex assessment varied between white and black individuals in certain individual traits; however, accuracy was not impacted …

Ocean Loading Effects On Stress At Near Shore Plate Boundary Fault Systems, Karen Luttrell, David Sandwell

Faculty Publications

Changes in eustatic sea level since the Last Glacial Maximum create a differential load across coastlines globally. The resulting plate bending in response to this load alters the state of stress within the lithosphere within a half flexural wavelength of the coast. We calculate the perturbation to the total stress tensor due to ocean loading in coastal regions. Our stress calculation is fully 3-D and makes use of a semianalytic model to efficiently calculate stresses within a thick elastic plate overlying a viscoelastic or fluid half-space. The 3-D stress perturbation is resolved into normal and shear stresses on plate boundary …

Receding Tide, Vicksburg And Gettysburg: The Campaigns That Changed The Civil War, Scott L. Mingus

Civil War Book Review

Civil War Watershed