Digital Commons Network^™

Teaching Level-1 Braille Reading Skills Within A Stimulus Equivalence Paradigm To Children With Progressive Visual Impairments, Karen Ann Toussaint

LSU Master's Theses

Degenerative visual impairments refer to conditions that result in the progressive loss of vision; several of these conditions have their onset during childhood. Nearly 3% of the school-aged population will experience vision loss that will require specialized support, yet there has been little attempt to systematically evaluate braille-instruction programs. The current study evaluated an instructive procedure for teaching early braille-reading skills with four school-aged children with degenerative visual impairments. Following a series of pretests, braille instruction involved providing a sample braille letter and teaching the selection of the corresponding printed text letter from a comparison array. Concomitant with increases in …

A Comparison Of Foreign News Coverage In The Mercantile And Popular Press Of The 1830s, Virgil Ian Stanford

LSU Master's Theses

The rise of the American penny press in the 1830s is thought of as a crucial moment in journalism history that precipitated changes in newspapers that are still evident today. Yet, many specific characteristics of the transition from a predominantly elite mercantile and partisan press to the popular penny press remain unknown, including the changes that occurred in foreign news coverage. This study will examine four newspapers, two mercantile and two penny, printed in New York City from 1830 to 1842. It will use quantitative content analysis of five variables – frequency, length, prominence, content, and presentation style – to …

People, Sheep, And Landscape Change In Colonial Mexico: The Sixteenth-Century Transformation Of The Valle Del Mezquital, Richard Hunter

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The causes of central Mexico’s environmental degradation are poorly understood. Scholarly contention centers on the role of introduced livestock as agents of soil erosion. This dissertation explores New Spain’s sixteenth-century livestock ecology by drawing upon archival and field data to reconstruct the spatio-temporal characteristics of sheep ranches in a southeastern section of central Mexico’s Valle del Mezquital. The introductory chapter outlines a scholarly disagreement from the 1990s that underscored differences between historical and geographical approaches to studying historical landscape transformations. On one side of this debate, geographer Karl W. Butzer finds in the sixteenth-century Mexican Bajío little evidence for environmental …

Why The Old Traditions Will Not Fail: Landscape, Legends, And The Construction Of Place At Dartmouth College, Charles H. Wade

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, is one of the nine Colonial Colleges and a member of the exclusive Ivy League. Congregationalist minister Eleazar Wheelock founded Dartmouth in 1769 on the premise of training missionaries to Christianize the Indians of the region and, over the years, Dartmouth developed into a premier college. Dartmouth is famous for its traditions, its ardently loyal alumni, and as a classic New England liberal arts college. But this image does not correspond with a closer, more critical look at the College. Through both archival and ethnographic research, this dissertation examines the cultural landscape, folklore, …

Atlantic Tropical Cyclone: Climatology And The Contribution To Monthly And Seasonal Rainfall In The Eastern U.S. 1960-2007, Ricardo Chabarria Nogueira

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are among the most devastating of natural disasters, producing high winds, heavy rainfall, and floods. When TC remnants are considered, these events have impacts nearly nationwide across the U.S. Tropical cyclone activity in the North Atlantic Basin experiences great variability on intra-annual, interannual, and interdecadal timescales. That variability is often associated with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). George Cry (1967), in his pioneering study of tropical cyclone-induced rainfall found that TC rainfall presents an intraseasonal pattern over the eastern Unite States, contributing up to 40% of the monthly rainfall. This study replicates …

Ananda Devi's Narrative Strategies And Subversions., Ritu Tyagi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation proposes a feminist narratological study of texts by Ananda Devi, a contemporary Francophone writer from Mauritius. I examine three principle narrative strategies that allow Devi to challenge the dominant androcentric discourses. These discourses ignore the feminine world of domesticity and impose images of submission on women, thereby curbing feminine expression and quest. Inspired by the efforts of critics such as Alison Case, Robyn Warhol, Susan Lanser to study narrative structures in the context of cultural constructions of gender, I argue that Devi employs narrative strategies that allow her marginalized narrators to intervene in dominant structures of narrative construction …

A South Divided: Portraits Of Dissent In The Confederacy, Carl Moneyhon

Civil War Book Review

Confederate Dissent

Latent Common Genetic Components Of Obesity Traits, B. O. Tayo, R. Harders, A. Luke, X. Zhu, R. S. Cooper

Faculty Publications

Background: Obesity is rapidly becoming a global epidemic. Unlike many complex human diseases, obesity is defined not just by a single trait or phenotype, but jointly by measures of anthropometry and metabolic status. Methods: We applied maximum likelihood factor analysis to identify common latent factors underlying observed covariance in multiple obesity-related measures. Both the genetic components and the mode of inheritance of the common factors were evaluated. A total of 1775 participants from 590 families for whom measures on obesity-related traits were available were included in this study. Results: The average age of participants was 37 years, 39% of the …

Haldane's Rule In An Avian System: Using Cline Theory And Divergence Population Genetics To Test For Differential Introgression Of Mitochondrial, Autosomal, And Sex-Linked Loci Across The Passerina Bunting Hybrid Zone, Matthew D. Carling, Robb T. Brumfield

Faculty Publications

Using cline fitting and divergence population genetics, we tested a prediction of Haldane's rule: autosomal alleles should introgress more than z-linked alleles or mitochondrial haplotypes across the Passerina amoena/Passerina cyanea (Aves: Cardinalidae) hybrid zone. We screened 222 individuals collected along a transect in the Great Plains of North America that spans the contact zone for mitochondrial (two genes), autosomal (four loci) and z-linked (two loci) markers. Maximum-likelihood cline widths estimated from the mitochondrial (223 km) and z-linked (309 km) datasets were significantly narrower on average than the autosomal cline widths (466 km). We also found that mean coalescent-based estimates of …

What Determines Corruption? International Evidence From Microdata, Naci Mocan

Faculty Publications

This paper uses a microlevel data set from 49 countries to create a direct measure of corruption, which portrays the extent of bribery as revealed by individuals who live in those countries. In addition, it investigates the determinants of being asked for a bribe at the individual level. The results show that both personal and country characteristics determine the risk of exposure to bribery. Examples are gender, income, education, marital status, the city size, the country's unemployment rate, average education, and the strength of the institutions in the country. (JEL K4, D73 P16) © 2008 Western Economic Association International.

Hydrologic Response To Extreme Warm And Cold Summers In The Mcmurdo Dry Valleys, East Antarctica, Peter T. Doran, Christopher P. Mckay, Andrew G. Fountain, Thomas Nylen, Diane M. Mcknight, Chris Jaros, John E. Barrett

Faculty Publications

The meteorological characteristics and hydrological response of an extreme warm, and cold summer in the McMurdo Dry Valleys are compared. The driver behind the warmer summer conditions was the occurrence of down-valley winds, which were not present during the colder summer. Occurrence of the summer down-valley winds coincided with lower than typical mean sea level pressure in the Ross Sea region. There was no significant difference in the amount of solar radiation received during the two summers. Compared to the cold summer, glaciological and hydrological response to the warm summer in Taylor Valley included significant glacier mass loss, and 3- …

Swing The Sickle For The Harvest Is Ripe: Gender And Slavery In Antebellum Georgia, Patience Essah

Civil War Book Review

The Contours of Slavery in Georgia

Field Measurements Of Influence Of Sand Transport Rate On Structure Of Wind-Sand Flow Over Coastal Transverse Ridge, Yuxiang Dong, S. L. Namikas, P. A. Hesp, Jun Ma

Faculty Publications

The structure of wind-sand flow under different total sand transport rates was measured with field vertical anemometer and sand trap on the crest of typical coastal transverse ridge in Changli Gold Coast of Hebei Province, which is one of the most typical coastal aeolian distribution regions in China and famous for the tall and typical coastal transverse ridges. The measurement results show that, on the conditions of approximate wind velocities and same surface materials and environments, some changes happen to the structure of wind-sand flow with the increase of total sand transport rate on the crest of coastal transverse ridge. …

Lincoln And Douglas: The Debates That Defined America, Willard Carl Klunder

Civil War Book Review

Those Famous Debates

Grant And Lee: Victorious American And Vanquished Virginian, Warren E. Grabau

Civil War Book Review

Who's the Best General?

Carbon, Nitrogen, Sodium And Phosphorous Concentrations And Ratios In Spartina Alterniflora (Loiser) From Sites Of Various Freshwater And Nutrient Inputs In Coastal Louisiana Wetlands, Margaret Frances Williamson

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Reply To Comment By K. Gajewski On "Abrupt Environmental Change In Canada's Northernmost Lake", Dermot Antoniades, Catherine Crawley, Marianne S.V. Douglas, Reinhard Pienitz, Dale Andersen, Peter T. Doran, Ian Hawes, Wayne Pollard, Warwick F. Vincent

Faculty Publications

We welcome the opportunity to respond to Gajewski's [2008] comments on our study [Antoniades et al., 2007, hereinafter referred to as A07]. We demonstrate here that his assertions are not supported by the evidence and that the conclusions in A07 are based on a sound interpretation of the data. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.

Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Vortex Trains In The Luzon Strait, Quanan Zheng, Hui Lin, Junmin Meng, Xiaomin Hu, Y. Tony Song, Yuanzhi Zhang, Chunyan Li

Faculty Publications

This study uses the Argos satellite-tracked surface drifter trajectory data and ENVISAT (European satellite) ASAR (advanced synthetic aperture radar) images to illustrate the ocean vortex trains (OVT) in the Luzon Strait. Two cases that occurred in the northwest of Babuyan Island are observed. The first train of three cyclonic vortices showed up on drifter trajectories from 20° to 20.5°N and from 120° to 121°E, and the second, consisting of five pairs of cyclonic-anticyclonic vortices, occurred on the upstream side of the first one from 19.5° to 20.0°N and from 121.0° to 122.0°E and showed up on the ASAR images acquired …

Mr. Lincoln's Brown Water Navy: The Mississippi Squadron, Andrew Duppstadt

Civil War Book Review

War on the Mississippi

Origin Of The Eastern Brownsnake, Pseudonaja Textilis (Duméril, Bibron And Duméril) (Serpentes: Elapidae: Hydrophiinae) In New Guinea: Evidence Of Multiple Dispersals From Australia, And Comments On The Status Of Pseudonaja Textilis Pughi Hoser 2003, David J. Williams, Mark O'Shea, Roland L. Daguerre, Catharine E. Pook, Wolfgang Wüster, Christopher J. Hayden, John D. Mcvay, Owen Paiva, Teatu Lohi Matainaho, Kenneth D. Winkel, Christopher C. Austin

Faculty Publications

Pseudonaja textilis is a widespread and common snake in eastern parts of Australia, but its distribution in New Guinea is poorly understood, and the origin of the New Guinea populations and its timing have been the subject of much speculation. Phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences from three New Guinea populations of P. textilis indicates that New Guinea was colonised from two independent eastern and western migration routes most likely in the Pleistocene. One dispersal event from northern Queensland led to the populations in eastern New Guinea (Milne Bay, Oro and Central Provinces, Papua New Guinea), whereas another, from Arnhem …

(Post-) K New Orleans And The Hispanic Atlantic: Geographic Method And Meaning, Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

An explicitly methodological case study conducted for a multidisciplinary symposium on the Atlantic relationships of pre- and (post-)Katrina Louisiana illustrates some methods that geographers might usefully contribute to an emergent Atlantic Studies. Three general types of method apply to a substantive question related to the hurricane that struck on the morning of 29 August 2005: Is (post-)Katrina New Orleans emerging as a Hispanic place in contrast to its predominant pre-Katrina associations with the Black and French Atlantics? One type of method involves spatial analysis of data, whether social survey data such as census enumerations, environmental data such as flood depth …

Edmund Burke, Cuirteanna Eigse, And Literary Clubs, Katherine O'Donnell

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

The Rhetoric Of Ruin William Hodges's India, Pramod K. Nayar

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

"The Bottom Of All Things" Christopher Smart's Old Crone Of Criticism, Min Wild

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Morphological, Physiological, And Anatomical Characteristics Associated With Heat Preconditioning And Heat Tolerance In Salvia Splendens, Seenivasan Natarajan, Jeff S. Kuehny

Faculty Publications

Many bedding plant cultivars struggle to survive in high temperatures during production. The objective of this research was to study how heat stress and preconditioning affects growth, physiology, and anatomy of the annual bedding plant Salvia splendens Ker Gawl. Heat preconditioning increased the quality and survival capacity of nonheat-tolerant 'Sizzler Red'. Heat-tolerant traits of 'Vista Red' were enhanced with preconditioning. The higher tolerance levels with and without heat preconditioning for 'Vista Red' suggested that cultivars with thicker, broader leaves, and higher stomatal frequency had higher light interception, gas exchange, transpirational cooling, and CO2 fixation. These plants attained a more rapid …

Survey Of Forensically-Important Calliphoridae In Kingston And St. Andrew, Jamaica, West Indies, Wayne Anthony Cranston

LSU Master's Theses

The first research to be done in Jamaica on forensically-important species was conducted at the Government of Jamaica Forensic Laboratory in Kingston and St. Andrew in two phases. Phase 1was conducted from July 5 to July 24, 2007, and phase 2 was conducted from February 11 to February 28, 2008. In the phase 1 study, one local black colored Landrace pig (Sus scrofa L.) carcass that weighed 21kg was used as a model for human bodies to determine the rate of decomposition and the pattern of insect succession on decomposing bodies in Jamaica. Ants were the first arthropods to arrive …

Comprehensive Planning In Louisiana, Lynn A. Maloney-Mújica

LSU Master's Theses

This study explores the factors associated with the implementation of land use planning policies and tools among the parishes (counties) of Louisiana. There is an absence of statutory standards, strict guidelines, and other external drivers for planning in Louisiana and the extent to which local governments regulate land use varies widely among local jurisdictions. The purpose of this study is to provide an empirical model of intrinsic factors that might explain why some parishes have decided to intervene in land use by adopting a high number of planning policies and tools, and why others have failed to adopt few, if …

A Trinity Of Beliefs And A Unity Of The Sacred: Modern Vodou Practices In New Orleans, Elizabeth Thomas Crocker

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis explores the ways in which Vodou is practiced in New Orleans today. Tourism has capitalized off the exotic appeal of Vodou but that does not rule out the actual practice of the religion in these public retail settings. Generations of New Orleanians have been raised in the religion and while their practices are often secret, Vodou lies beneath the surface of spaces and events going on in the city. Immigrants and converts that have been trained in Haitian Vodou have come into New Orleans, influencing and interacting with the spirituality of the Crescent City. These practices separate themselves …

The Impacts Of River Impoundment: A Case Study Of H. Neely Henry Lake In Northeast Alabama, Willis Scott Estis

LSU Master's Theses

Dam building is one of the methods that modern civilization uses in an attempt to harness the power of nature. These dams and the impoundments associated with them can contribute numerous positive impacts to the surrounding human population. Unfortunately, there are negative impacts as well. This research focuses on one impoundment in particular, H. Neely Henry Lake in northeast Alabama (an impoundment of the Coosa River). Site-specific information regarding the H. Neely Henry development is explored including area geography, history, and the formation of the Alabama Power Company – the agency responsible for H. Neely Henry and other Coosa River …

Postcolonial Writing In Louisiana: Surpassing The Role Of French Traditionalism In Alfred Mercier's L'Habitation Saint-Ybars, Mary Florence Cashell

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis explores the roles of French patriarchal ideologies of the Enlightenment and exoticism in Alfred Mercier’s novel, L’habitation Saint-Ybars. His novel portrays the antebellum Creole plantation as a hierarchy of strict gender roles similar to those that Enlightenment philosophy espoused. I use the family in Bernardin de Saint-Pierre’s classic, Paul et Virginie, as one example of such a hierarchy. There are also, however, several instances where Mercier departs from the paternalistic norm. I interpret Mercier’s moving away from this model to be a declaration of a unique Louisianian identity.