Digital Commons Network^™

Changing Geographies Of Flood Mitigation Policies: A Case Study Of Central, Louisiana, Ria Mukerji

LSU Master's Theses

In 2016, the Baton Rouge region experienced what would come to be record-setting precipitation levels. The 1,000 year rainfall event dumped almost triple the amount of water on Louisiana than was seen during Hurricane Katrina (some areas received over 10 inches of rain in a matter of hours), with rain persisting from August 12^th until the 17^th. Previously a part of Baton Rouge, Central is a relatively new development that expanded into the 100 year floodplain in 2005. This thesis will present the changing geographies of flood mitigation policies since a major flood in 1983 to the …

Examining Political Ambition: Competition And Leadership In Youth Activities, Ashley Staszak

LSU Master's Theses

Significant amounts of previous research focused on political ambition as a source of the gender gap in representation (Beyer and Bowden 1997; Pajares 2002; Fox 2010; Fox and Lawless 2014). This research looks to examine extracurricular activities (or after-school activities) and the effects they have on political ambition of girls as they grow up. Extracurricular activities provide girls access to competition, risk and female role models which can work to combat gender role socialization and other hindrances to running for political office. Using a survey of 300 undergraduate students at a large southern university, I measure the effect of extracurricular …

Acoustic Measures Of The Singing Voice In Secondary School Students, Elizabeth M. Wallace

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Descriptions of voice quality in vocal and choral music often rely on subjective terminology, which may be perceived differently between individuals. As access to software used in acoustic measurement becomes more widespread and affordable, music educators can potentially combine traditional descriptive terminology with objective acoustic descriptors and data, which may improve both teaching and singing. The secondary school choral music educator has specific challenges, in that they teach students who experience drastic physical and acoustic changes of the voice as they grow from children to adults. The purpose of this study was to objectively analyze various acoustic characteristics of the …

"User Experience With A New Public Interface For An Integrated Library System", Kelly D. Blessinger, David Comeaux

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to understand the viewpoints and attitudes of researchers at Louisiana State University toward the new public search interface from SirsiDynix, Enterprise. Fifteen university constituents participated in user studies to provide feedback while completing common research tasks. Particularly of interest to the librarian observers were identifying and characterizing where problems were expressed by the participants as they utilized the new interface. This study was approached within the framework of the cognitive load theory and user experience (UX). Problems that were discovered are discussed along with remedies, in addition to areas for further study.

Mental Health Help-Seeking In Adolescence: An Exploration Of Variables Associated With Help-Seeking Intent In Schools, Sam Allouche

LSU Master's Theses

Internalizing disorders (including anxiety and depressive disorders) affect up to one third of adolescents ages 13-18. Although these disorders are associated with impairments in psychological, academic, social, and family domains, they are often left untreated. Schools have great potential to address this service-underutilization gap by identifying those students at risk for internalizing problems through mental health screening tools and by providing treatment at no cost for students. However, at the secondary level, school personnel partly expect high school students to initiate support for themselves. The present study advances research by exploring the variables related to adolescent mental health help-seeking intentions …

The Influence Of Teacher Parenting Style On Exclusionary Discipline Practices In Urban School Settings, Jennifer Vasquez

LSU Master's Theses

The overrepresentation of racial/ethnic minority students in suspensions, expulsions, and office discipline referrals has been a primary focus of research in racial equity in education. Excessive use of exclusionary discipline practices has been tied to decreases in academic achievement, school dropout, and an increased risk for juvenile justice system involvement. To date, much of the research on the exclusionary discipline gap has focused more on establishing that the problem exists than on factors that may be contributing to this phenomenon. What has been examined usually focuses on non-malleable variables, such as student demographic factors and school characteristics, while teacher variables …

Couples' Relationship Qualities And Child Behavior Problems, Erin Wallace Lovett

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This dissertation examines couples’ relationship quality on child externalizing behavior problems. Family systems theory and Belsky’s determinants of parenting model posit that child behavior problems stem from problematic familial relationships and lack of support within the couple’s relationship. A secondary data analysis was conducted using data from the National Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The independent variables represent couples’ relationship quality and are affection/support, relationship instability, and coercion. Dependent variables represent child behavior problems and are aggression measured when children are age five and age nine, and rule-breaking behavior when the child is age nine. To examine what …

Leveling The Viewing Field: The Impact Of Target Prevalence On Searcher's Functional Viewing Field, Juan D. Guevara Pinto

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

It is well known that target prevalence impacts various cognitive processes. In visual search, rare search targets are more difficult to detect than common targets. The present research investigated novel questions about target prevalence, focusing on observers’ functional viewing field (FVF) during passive search tasks. The FVF is the area in a display where attention is focused and item processing is enhanced. According the FVF framework (Hulleman & Olivers, 2017), the size of the FVF is modulated by the ease of target detections, such that visual search involving difficult target detection reduces the FVF. Although this would suggest that low …

Social Contexts And Disconnectedness: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Interrelated Effects Of Families, Peers, And Schools On African American Youth, Danielle R. Eugene

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Youth disconnection, characterized as no school and no work in emerging adulthood, is widespread in American society with debilitating outcomes for each affected young person. Substantial rates of this phenomenon have been found for all youth groups; however, more recently the disconnection rate for African American youth has increased from 17.2% to 17.9% despite remaining flat or falling for all other major racial and ethnic groups. This study utilized a mixed methods approach to examine features of social contexts that explain how African American youth become disconnected from education and employment. This study involved analyzing qualitative data collected from student …

Finding Music In Chaos: Designing And Composing With Virtual Instruments Inspired By Chaotic Equations, Landon P. Viator

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Using chaos theory to design novel audio synthesis engines has been explored little in computer music. This could be because of the difficulty of obtaining harmonic tones or the likelihood of chaos-based synthesis engines to explode, which then requires re-instantiating of the engine to proceed with sound production. This process is not desirable when composing because of the time wasted fixing the synthesis engine instead of the composer being able to focus completely on the creative aspects of composition. One way to remedy these issues is to connect chaotic equations to individual parts of the synthesis engine instead of relying …

Interactions Between Federal Education Tax Credits And State-Based Aid Programs: An Analysis Of State Budgeting For Higher Education, Anna Castrillo Bartel

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Prior empirical analyses on federal education tax credits have concentrated on the individual and institutional unit of analysis. These outcomes indicate mostly null effects on promoting college enrollments, along with distribution to higher incomes, and mixed results on tuition and fee increases. This analysis utilized institutional and state unit of analysis over a longer timeframe, Tax Year 2001 to Tax Year 2016, using difference-in-differences estimation to analyze the effects of education tax credits. The results indicated states have decreased appropriations to public, two-year institutions (charging less than $4,000) 14% less than their higher-priced counterparts, while states provided more appropriations to …

Correctional Officers' Mental Health Literacy And Attitudes Toward Offenders With Mental Illness, Amber Rebecca Hebert

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Overrepresentation of people with mental illness in the criminal justice system is a major societal problem. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, nearly three quarters of people housed in local jails report having symptoms suggestive of mental illness. Individual consequences to incarceration for people diagnosed with a mental illness include disruption in treatment, increase in symptomology, exposure to violence, and victimization. Correctional officers are an important component to the criminal justice system but their role in the lives of offenders with mental illness has been understudied. The current study explored the mental health knowledge, attitudes, and personal experiences of …

Essays On Mortgage Portfolio Diversification, Timothy Patrick Dombrowski

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Portfolios of mortgage loans played an important role in the Great Recession and continue to compose a material part of bank assets. The distribution of mortgage portfolio returns, and consequently, the risk of these portfolios, is quite distinct even from other fixed income asset classes. This dissertation contains three essays, each aiming to analyze a specific component of risk in mortgage portfolios and role of geographical diversification in reducing this risk.

The first essay investigates how cross-sectional dependence in the underlying properties flows through to the loan returns, and thus, the risk of the portfolio. In addition to demonstrating this …

Long-Term Impact Of Welfare Reform: Biopsychosocial Barriers To Successful Transition Away From Welfare Reliance Among Rural Women In Louisiana, Jake Jerome Guidry

LSU Master's Theses

The discussion regarding government benefits and reliance on welfare benefits is one that takes place in arenas of policymaking and academia alike. These discussions often focus on poverty that exists in densely populated metropolitan areas, resulting in a scarcity of research regarding unique characteristics of rural poverty. Eighty-four rural Louisiana women participated in a longitudinal study of the impacts of welfare reform in their lives. Twenty years later, two (N = 2) rural Louisiana women, each former welfare recipients, participated in an in-depth qualitative case study examining their transition away from welfare programs. Data show that neither woman was …

Modeling And Data Infrastructure For Human-Centric Design And Operation Of Sustainable, Healthy Buildings Through A Case Study, Yong X. Tao, Yimin Zhu, Ulrike Passe

Faculty Publications

This paper focuses on data infrastructure that is central to the modeling of design and operation of sustainable and healthy buildings. While reducing energy consumption by making buildings more energy efficient has been touted as an easily obtainable approach to promoting carbon-neutral energy societies, the sustainable buildings’ benefits and impacts on human wellbeing have not been clearly quantified to the extent that they may directly influence the decision of adopting sustainable building designs. The authors argue that focusing on the wellbeing of people occupying the buildings will lead to significant changes in the decision-making process of the design and operation …

Health In Preconception, Pregnancy And Postpartum Global Alliance: International Network Pregnancy Priorities For The Prevention Of Maternal Obesity And Related Pregnancy And Long-Term Complications, Briony Hill, Helen Skouteris, Jacqueline A. Boyle, Cate Bailey, Ruth Walker, Shakila Thangaratinam, Hildrun Sundseth, Judith Stephenson, Eric Steegers, Leanne M. Redman, Cynthia Montanaro, Siew Lim, Laura Jorgensen, Brian Jack, Ana Luiza Vilela Borges, Heidi J. Bergmeier, Jo Anna B. Baxter, Cheryce L. Harrison, Helena J. Teede

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

In this article, we describe the process of establishing agreed international pregnancy research priorities to address the global issues of unhealthy lifestyles and rising maternal obesity. We focus specifically on the prevention of maternal obesity to improve related clinical pregnancy and long-term complications. A team of multidisciplinary, international experts in preconception and pregnancy health, including consumers, were invited to form the Health in Preconception, Pregnancy and Postpartum (HiPPP) Global Alliance. As an initial activity, a priority setting process was completed to generate pregnancy research priorities in this field. Research, practice and policy gaps were identified and enhanced through expert and …

The White-Black Disparity In Maternal Mortality And Morbidity: An Evaluation Of Risk Factors, Ann Gilbert

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Gnrh As A Neuromodulator In Midbrain Sensory Regions During The Female Cichlid Reproductive Cycle, Mark Anthony Maier Ii

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Body Mass Index And Movement Behaviors Among Schoolchildren From 13 Countries Across A Continuum Of Human Development Indices: A Multinational Cross-Sectional Study, Taru Manyanga, Joel D. Barnes, Jean Philippe Chaput, Michelle Guerrero, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, Emily F. Mire, Antonio Prista, Mark S. Tremblay

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Objective: This study describes the distributions of body mass index (BMI) and movement behaviors among schoolchildren from 13 countries across a continuum of human development. Methods: Data were from a cross-sectional study of 9-11-year-old children (n = 8055) recruited from 269 urban schools in 13 countries, and an additional 7 rural schools in one of these countries (Mozambique). BMI was derived from objectively measured heights and weights. Moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA), sedentary time (SED), and sleep duration were assessed by waist-worn Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers. Linear models were used to describe the distributions of BMI z-scores, MVPA, SED, and …

Why Are Children Different In Their Moderate-To-Vigorous Physical Activity Levels? A Multilevel Analysis, Sara Pereira, Ana Reyes, Marcos A. Moura-Dos-Santos, Carla Santos, Thayse N. Gomes, Go Tani, Olga Vasconcelos, Tiago V. Barreira, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, José Maia

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Objective: Children's differences in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels are not at random. This study investigates the relevance of individual- and school-level characteristics in explaining these differences. Methods: In total, 307 children (154 girls) aged 5–10 years, from 19 Portuguese schools, were sampled. Height and weight were measured, and body mass index was calculated. Time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was measured by accelerometry. Gross motor coordination was assessed with the KörperkoordinationsTest für Kinder battery and socio-economic status was obtained via the school social support system. School characteristics were obtained with an objective school audit. A multilevel analysis was used as …

Motivation, Higher Education, Belonging, And Development: Integration Of Highly Educated Immigrants Into The Western Labor Market, Cihan Aydiner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The research investigates the interdependencies among higher education, motivation, belonging, and development. Also, the study covers the literature on integration and gender of international migrants.

The first study examines the motivation to serve and its predictors among Turkish military officers and Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) prior to July 15^th, 2016 Coup attempt in Turkey. Based on survey data, the findings revealed that institutional and moral commitments, organizational responsiveness, perceived fairness, and satisfaction with social benefits were positive significant determinants of motivation to serve, while occupational commitment had a negative relationship with it.

The second study examines the labor market …

The Function Of Poetry In The Maqamat Al-Hariri, Hussam Almujalli

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Maqamat al-Hariri is one of the most notable examples of prose in Arabic literature. Called one of the most eloquent statements of medieval Arabic prose, it also serves as a religious, social, cultural, and political document of the Abbasid Caliphate. As a writer, al-Hariri became a famous figure in Arabic literature after writing his maqamat. This dissertation studies al-Hariri as a poet through his most important prose work, the Maqamat al-Hariri.

Chapter 1 of the dissertation provides an overview of the maqama genre, including its definition, themes, stylistic features, character types, a brief history of maqamat studies, …

The Influence Of Personality And Losses On Search In Decisions From Experience, Michael Mordechai Hay

LSU Master's Theses

Research in decision making has focused increasing attention on understanding search behavior without focusing on how individual differences might influence people’s search behavior. To increase our understanding of this topic, the present study examined how personality predicted the amount of search an individual engages in before making a risky decision. It was hypothesized that conscientiousness would be a positive predictor of search behavior and would emerge as an even stronger predictor of search behavior when choosing between options with negative outcomes. It was also hypothesized that neuroticism would be a negative predictor of search behavior and that individuals with higher …

Examining Nursing Student Dropout Behavior: An Event History Analysis, Michele Lee Blackwell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined student-level data to identify factors that predict student departure from an undergraduate nursing program. National nursing shortages, declining enrollment, and high rates of attrition pose significant concerns for undergraduate nursing programs. The following research questions guided this study: 1) Which student-level variables predict nursing student dropout risks over time? 2) Which student-level variables predict nursing student retention over time? and 3) When are nursing students most likely to drop out?

The methodological approach was event history analysis, a form of linear regression that measures the likelihood of an event (nursing student dropout) at a particular time (semesters …

Developing A Fanbase In Niche Sport Markets: An Examination Of Nhl Fandom And Social Sustainability In The Sunbelt, Brandon Mastromartino, Tyreal Y. Qian, Jerred J. Wang, James J. Zhang

Faculty Publications

In the modern day sport marketplace, professional sport teams face tough competition to build and sustain a viable fan base. This study sought to address three research questions: (a) what are the factors that contribute to the socialization of sports fans in niche sport markets? (b) How do team-led and fan-led initiatives work to socialize fans? Finally, (c) to what extent do the socialization factors affect identify as a sports fan for a niche sport and overall fan consumption behavior? A questionnaire was administered to 535 NHL fans and data were analyzed through conducting an Exploratory Factor Analysis, Exploratory Factor …

School-Based Sedentary Behavior, Physical Activity, And Health-Related Outcomes Among Hispanic Children In The United States: A Cross-Sectional Study, Xiangli Gu, Tao Zhang, Senlin Chen, M. Jean Keller, Xiaoxia Zhang

Faculty Publications

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between school-based sedentary behavior, physical activity, and health-related outcomes, including cardiorespiratory fitness, weight status, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Hispanic children. The participants were 374 children (192 boys, 182 girls; Mage = 9.64) recruited from four elementary schools from 3rd grade through to 5th grade. Sedentary behavior and physical activity behaviors (light physical activity [LPA] and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)) during school were measured by accelerometers. Cardiorespiratory fitness and weight status were measured using the FITNESSGRAM®, while HRQOL was measured using the PedsQL 4.0™ Spanish version, a …

Sleep Characteristics And Health-Related Quality Of Life In 9- To 11-Year-Old Children From 12 Countries, Qian Xiao, Jean Philippe Chaput, Timothy Olds, Mikael Fogelholm, Gang Hu, Estelle V. Lambert, Carol Maher, Jose Maia, Vincent Onywera, Olga L. Sarmiento, Martyn Standage, Mark S. Tremblay, Catrine Tudor-Locke, Peter T. Katzmarzyk

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Introduction: Previous studies have linked short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and late sleep timing with lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children. However, almost all studies relied solely on self-reported sleep information, and most studies were conducted in high-income countries. To address these gaps, we studied both device-measured and self-reported sleep characteristics in relation to HRQoL in a sample of children from 12 countries that vary widely in terms of economic and human development. Methods: The study sample included 6,626 children aged 9-11 years from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, India, Kenya, Portugal, South Africa, the United …

Self-Rated Religiosity/Spirituality And Four Health Outcomes Among Us South Asians: Findings From The Study On Stress, Spirituality, And Health, Samuel Stroope, Blake Victor Kent, Ying Zhang, Namratha R. Kandula, Alka M. Kanaya, Alexandra E. Shields

Faculty Publications

Almost no research exists on the relationship between religiosity/spirituality (R/S) and health in the US South Asian population. Using data from the joint Study on Stress, Spirituality, and Health and Mediators of Atherosclerosis Among South Asians Living in America Study (MASALA), this article examined associations between self-rated R/S and self-rated health, emotional functioning, trait anxiety, and trait anger in a community-based sample (n = 933) from the Chicago and San Francisco Bay areas. Ordinary least squares regression was used to analyze categorical differences in levels of R/S and ordinal trends for R/S, adjusting for potential confounders. Being slightly or moderately …

Trans-Disciplinary Responses To Climate Change: Lessons From Rice-Based Systems In Asia, Jon Hellin, Jean Balié, Eleanor Fisher, Ajay Kohli, Melanie Connor, Sudhir Yadav, Virender Kumar, Timothy J. Krupnik, Bjoern Ole Sander, Joshua Cobb, Katherine Nelson, Tri Setiyono, Ranjitha Puskur, Pauline Chivenge, Martin Gummert

Faculty Publications

Climate change will continue to have a largely detrimental impact on the agricultural sector worldwide because of predicted rising temperatures, variable rainfall, and an increase in extreme weather events. Reduced crop yields will lead to higher food prices and increased hardship for low income populations, especially in urban areas. Action on climate change is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 13) and is linked to the Paris Climate Agreement. The research challenge posed by climate change is so complex that a trans-disciplinary response is required, one that brings together researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers in networks where the lines between …

Minor Preoccupations, Major Endeavors: The Community Of Poets And Painters, Adelaide M. Russo

Faculty Publications

In Au fond des images (2003), Jean-Luc Nancy introduces concepts about the image, pertinent to understanding the minor genre of poets’ writings on painting. Nancy begins by stating that the image is sacred, clarifying that the sacred should not be confused with the religious, which is based on rituals. The sacred signifies that which is separated, excluded, distanced. The image’s attraction is derived from this, from its untouchable nature. Because of its separation from the viewer, the image inspires a desire for intimacy, and draws the spectator to it. Poets’ texts on painting constitute minor forms: prefaces to catalogs, criticism, …