Digital Commons Network^™

Feelings And Futures: Social Design Addressing Identity And Engagement Of Adolescent Girls In A Community-Based Organization, Eseoghene Mukoro

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Community organizations can provide numerous benefits to adolescent youth in various aspects of their lives—socially, psychologically, and physically, to name a few. Unfortunately, many youth-serving organizations aim to serve youth without directly involving their perspectives in the creation of their respective programs. At the Gardere Initiative, adolescent girls appear to have low levels of engagement and belonging, while their male counterparts enjoy activities and spaces catered to them. This poses a question of how this community organization might better serve the desires and life context of these adolescent girls.
Social Design is the practice of designing an intervention (product, service, …

Memory For Everyday Chores In Younger And Older Adults, Cameron Mccleary, Katie Cherry

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

This study examined episodic memory performance for everyday household chores in younger (18-32 years) and older adults (65-79 years). With the increasing older adult population in the United States, understanding age-related memory differences and identifying strategies to enhance memory performance in later life is needed. Building on previous research demonstrating the pictorial superiority effect and benefits of semantic encoding across the adult lifespan, this study utilized a 2 × 2 × 2 between-groups factorial design to investigate the effects of age group (younger, older), encoding task (standard intentional learning, semantic elaboration), and stimulus format (text only, text with pictorial illustrations) …

Relearning Language: A Meta-Analysis Of Syntactic Priming In Aphasia, Ally Miller, Willem Van Boxtel

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Background: Despite the importance of grammatical skills for participation
in daily life, treatments for sentence–level abilities in aphasia
are comparatively scarce. The psycholinguistic paradigm of syntactic
priming has recently been advanced as a potential assessment and
treatment for grammatical skills, and existing evidence on priming in
aphasia is highly promising. Nevertheless, a comprehensive analysis of
the strength of priming effects in aphasia, as well as treatment components
which might amplify these effects, has not been reported.
This meta–analysis synthesizes existing findings on syntactic priming
in aphasia, aiming to provide a comprehensive picture of priming
effects and their potential application for …

Motor Planning And Execution During Feeding In Autistic Children, Iresa Lincoln

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Autism is one of the most common pediatric developmental disability diagnoses, diagnosed in approximately 1 in 31 children in the U.S. and 1 in 100 children globally. Autism is often characterized by differences in social communication and repetitive patterns of behavior, activities,
or interests; however, prevalence of clinically significant motor differences in autistic individuals is between 50-95%. These motor differences often interfere with activities of daily living and community participation. Research assessing motor control in autism has yielded mixed findings as to whether the motor differences observed in autistic individuals are associated with differences in motor planning or motor execution. …

Relevant Responses Are Retrieved Faster In Familiar Contexts, Meghan Garcelon, Stanely West, Christopher Cox

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Determining which aspects of knowledge are relevant depends on current context and task demands. Familiar contexts may proactively reshape our brain’s knowledge repository to make context-appropriate information more accessible, increasing response selection speed. To test this, participants were asked to perform a word association task while imagining playing a game with a peer or child (contextualized conditions) or to produce short or creative responses (rule-based conditions). Participants were only assigned to only one of four conditions. We expected the context of playing a game with a peer or child would result in faster response times than making responses adhering to …

Analyzing And Understanding America’S Involvement In The Global War In Terror Through The Oral Histories Of Its Veterans And Other Sources, Bryce Edwards

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

From 2001 to the early 2020s, the United States and its allies have consistently engaged in political, military, counterinsurgency, and nation building operations in nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq. The efforts of this coalition first rallied to combat the threat of global terrorism after September 11th, yet it would then develop in decades-long assignment to rebuild these countries and their institutions with fundamental (and foreign) western values. This thesis intends to examine the conflict by conducting oral histories of its many veterans, to better understand their lived experience. These interviews will be supported by scholarly works from those involved …

Supporting Best Practices In Family Engagement: Our Week Of The Young Child Experience, Michelle Fazio Brunson, Faith S. Birdwell, April Giddens

Spark! Innovations in Early Childhood Education: A Research-to-Practice Journal for Educators

Family engagement is a collaborative process where early childhood professionals, families, and children build positive, goal-oriented relationships. Incorporating family engagement into preschool programs is not merely beneficial but essential for promoting holistic child development in programs where children feel safe, cared for, and secure. In this article, we share the benefits of effective family engagement activities for families with young children and describe how we celebrated the National Association for the Education of Young Children's 2025 Week of the Young Child.

Understanding And Supporting Sustained Attention In Young Children: What Research Tells Us About Choice, Play, And Teaching Conditions, Cynthia F. Dicarlo, Carrie L. Ota

Spark! Innovations in Early Childhood Education: A Research-to-Practice Journal for Educators

This article examines how sustained attention develops in young children and how different teaching conditions influence engagement during play. Drawing on studies with two-, three-, and four-year-olds, the findings show a developmental progression in which toddlers benefit from limited, adult-guided choices, while preschoolers sustain attention best when given autonomy to select their own materials. The article highlights how play, intentional choice-making, and age-appropriate scaffolding support children’s emerging self-regulation and engagement. Practical strategies are provided to help teachers design environments and interactions that promote deeper focus and independent learning.

Hurricanes And Human Health In Louisiana: Insights From Hurricanes Laura, Delta, And Ida, Shobha Kumari Yadav, Robert V. Rohli, M. E. Betsy Garrison, Elisabeth Ponce-Garcia, Nazla Bushra, Charleen Mcneill

Faculty Publications

Louisiana is one of the most disaster-prone states, with hurricanes ranking among the most destructive hazards. Hurricanes impede sustainability by straining hospital infrastructure, overwhelming emergency departments, and disrupting continuity of care. Louisiana’s healthcare system, characterized by high uninsured rates, limited rural access, and notable racial and socioeconomic disparities, is particularly vulnerable during disasters. This research explores trends of mental and respiratory health in Louisiana surrounding Hurricanes Laura (2020), Delta (2020), and Ida (2021). Analysis reveals a substantial increase in admissions after landfall of all three storms, with mental health conditions showing a larger surge than respiratory ones in already-vulnerable communities. …

Louisiana Children's Trust Fund: Annual Report 2024-2025, Elizabeth Winchester, Jada Thomas-Smith, Quynh-Tram Tran, Aimee Moles, Judith L. F. Rhodes

Reports

LCTF makes annual grant awards to aid in the prevention of child abuse and neglect in the state. Grant awards fund programs and conferences, which are implemented in five LCTF identified areas of intervention, namely: 1) Teaching children personal safety and life skills; 2) Education and support services for parents; 3) Hospital and/or home visitation and support services to families; 4) Public awareness and education programs for adults; and 5) Training and education of teachers, professionals, and volunteers.

To ensure accountability for grant funding, an annual review of funded proposals assesses program planning, implementation, and evaluation. The annual review involves …

Sexual Selection Creates Status-Seeking Males And Unsustainable Economic Growth, Brian Snyder

Faculty Publications

The Neolithic Transition altered the social ecology of humans. Prior to the Neolithic Transition, individual males could not defend territories, but in its aftermath, farming and land ownership allowed for the development of male territoriality. This, coupled with the ability to inherit land, increased wealth inequality, increasing the variance in males as potential mates. This may have altered sexual selection by increasing the fitness payoff of female mate choice (or arranged marriages) based on male status. Here, I hypothesize that female preferences for status created a selective pressure on males favoring greater territoriality, competitiveness, and resource extraction and that this …

Exploring The Recognition Of Internalizing Problems Among Black Students: Delving Into The Youth Mental Health Help-Seeking Pathway, Marketta A. Adams

LSU Master's Theses

The mental health of Black adolescents is a growing concern, with high prevalence rates of internalizing disorders such as anxiety and depression. National studies report that nearly 47% of Black adolescents experience a mental health disorder by age 18, with over 60% reporting moderate to severe depressive symptomology. Despite these alarming rates, Black youth underutilize mental health services, often due to cultural stigma, limited access to culturally competent care, and under-recognition of their mental health needs. This study aimed to explore problem recognition as a key component in the mental health help-seeking pathway for Black adolescents in school settings. Grounded …

Drawing Disintegration: A Twice-Exceptional Individual’S Autoethnographic Inquiry Into Graphic Narrative Creation As A Tool For Processing Trauma, Natalie J. Krusemeier

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This autoethnographic study explores the researcher’s lived experience of childhood trauma as a twice exceptional individual with an arts-based autoethnography research design, specifically in the form of graphic narrative. Grounded in Dabrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration (TPD), this study examines how emotional and sensory intensity, overexcitability (OE), and psychological disintegration intersect with twice-exceptional (2e) identity development and identity authenticity potential. Data sources include personal artifacts from childhood and adulthood—journals, letters, graphic narrative, documents, and photographs—alongside reflective writings and completed graphic narrative pages. Using descriptive coding and TPD’s developmental levels as analytic lenses, the study interprets the processes of disintegration and …

Unraveling The Lullabies Of Learning: Exploring The Role Of Individual Components Of Infant-Directed Speech In Language Learning, Stephanie L. Lopez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Children learn language more effectively from infant-directed speech (IDS) than adult-directed speech (ADS). Three experiments were run (a pilot and two full experiments) testing the effects of pitch and pitch variability on segmenting a target word out of the speech stream and then associating it to an object. Visual prosody via eyebrow movements and lip contours were added as additional cues after the Pilot Study. Additional factors included after the Pilot Study were shortened sentences from 10 syllables each to seven syllables each, shortened target words from three syllables to two syllables, consistent syllable onset of target words, and two …

Pedagogical Escapism And Western Performativity: A Psycho-Aesthetic Critique Of Belly-Dance Adaption Symbolics, Maryam Farahani

Comparative Woman

This paper addresses positionality misreading in Western pedagogical adaptions of belly dancing. Raqs Sharqi, known in the West as belly dancing, is a predominantly West Asian and North African discipline and performance art with multimodal varieties, globally taught and practiced while crossing sport, narratology, and story-telling boundaries. As a unique performance activity, it portrays a dynamic entertainment space to connect one’s multiple identities. I argue that Raqs Sharqi, not only as an aesthetic-educational art form but also, perhaps unwittingly, reiterated as an Orientalist communication trope in belly dancing, has forged East-West performativity models. However, the historical education-literature for Western women …

Effects Of Code Scaffolding In Increasing Student Confidence In Programming Cryptography, John Denny

LSU Master's Theses

Cryptography is essential for secure communications, and new threats require more students willing to program and interact with cryptographic systems. Previous research is focused on tools for teaching these systems at a high level, teaching through attacks against these systems, and proper use of these systems in software development. In this paper, we seek to design a workshop to use scaffolded Python code to teach how these cryp- tographic systems are designed. We explore the use of code scaffolding for students to program an example implementation of the McEliece crypto- graphic system to build confidence in working with these systems. …

Empowering Voices: Teacher Well-Being In The Face Of Racial Microaggressions, Leila Fitt

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the relationship between racial microaggressions and teacher burnout, with a specific focus on emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Teachers of color in predominantly White or less racially diverse schools may experience unique racial stressors, such as microaggressions, that impact their mental health and teaching efficacy (Hemric et al., 2010; Lambert et al., 2009; Maslach & Jackson, 1986; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2011; Sue et al., 2007; Zee & Koomen, 2016). The study (a) examined the direct relationship between racial microaggressions and teacher burnout; (b) explored the moderating role of school connectedness in this relationship; and (c) investigated whether teaching …

Examining Private Landowner And Stakeholder Attitudes, Perceptions, And Knowledge Of Prescribed Fire In Louisiana, Chloe E. Crawford

LSU Master's Theses

Periodic fire was a primary driver of ecosystems across the Southeastern United States for millennia; however, fire suppression policies have become pervasive in the United States and led to increased fuel loads in forests as well as reduced biodiversity and reduced disease resilience. Prescribed fire presents a risk mitigation strategy and land management tool whereby practitioners can apply fire to the landscape in a controlled manner, thus reaping the benefits of fire while minimizing the risks associated with fire. Land in Louisiana is primarily privately managed and owned, so state-level conservation goals cannot be met without private landowner participation. As …

“Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into The Met. Museum?”: An Exploration Of Contemporary Feminist And Women’S Exhibitions And Collectives, Demi R. Dauterive

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines the creation and evolution of feminist art exhibitions and collectives in the United States from the early 1970s through the 2020s. These exhibitions and the work they contain are analyzed alongside each wave of feminism that ran parallel to their existence. Beginning with the 1970s and Second Wave Feminism, Chapter One explores Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro’s Womanhouse in addition to Lucy Lippard’s Twenty Six Contemporary Women Artists and the work of other smaller collectives. Chapter Two explores the DIY initiatives and subversive ideologies of Third Wave Feminism through artist groups such as the Guerrilla Girls and …

Narratives Of Vietnamese Teachers: Exploring Existential Givens Of Freedom, Meaning, And Isolation, Huy D. Nguyen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Drawing on Yalom’s framework of existential givens, this study explores how Vietnamese teachers experience existential freedom, existential isolation, and life meaningfulness. The notion of experience serves as the conceptual and interpretive foundation through which participants articulate these existential dimensions. Three participants were selected, and data were collected from online journal entries, vignette responses, and semi-structured interviews. Methodologically, it adopts intuitive inquiry as both conceptual lens and analytic process, integrating multiple modes of knowing and embodied understanding to explore how teachers imagine, experience, and interpret their work. To deepen interpretation, narrative structuring was incorporated to reveal the emotional and relational textures …

An Andragogical, Transtheoretical Approach To Professional Development Using Structured Video Self-Reflection, Katherine Dyson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this multiple baseline study was to measure the reliability of teachers’ reflective practices and the impact of structured video self-reflection on observable teaching practices and teacher self-efficacy. Additionally, this study explored the implications of teacher self-efficacy, and the stages of change model when working with teachers who have determined a change of behavior is necessary. Designed to satisfy the tenets of andragogy, this study presented structured video self-reflection as a teacher directed, practical, cost-effective form of professional development. Results indicated that teachers were able to reliably self-reflect, and that structured video self-reflection led to positive increases in …

Navigating New Technology: A Phenomenological Study Into Technology Coaches’ Experiences During Ai Expansion In Schools, Elizabeth K. Wrzesinski

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly influencing instructional practices in K–12 education, yet most states have not issued clear, binding policies to guide its integration. As a result, local school systems and support staff must interpret emerging guidance and determine how AI should be used in classrooms. This study examined how system-level technology coaches in the Deep South experience and support AI adoption in contexts where state guidance is advisory rather than mandatory. This qualitative phenomenological study used questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with technology coaches, and a content analysis of AI-related state and local policy guidance. Participants included technology coaches who …

When Old Meets New: Two Louisiana State University Outreach Librarians Build, Work, And Learn Together To Support Collaborative Student Engagement, Alia Kempton, Mitch Fontenot

Faculty Publications

In this essay, outreach librarians Mitch Fontenot (he/him), Louisiana State University, and Alia Kempton (she/her), Louisiana State University, Special Collections, reflect on their inaugural year of working together, highlighting key achievements, challenges, and growth that have marked their collaborative journey. They discuss how they established effective communication, built trust, and developed a shared understanding of goals and expectations. Additionally, they explore where they envision their partnership heading in the future, touching on long-term aspirations, potential areas for deeper collaboration, and the strategies they plan to implement to continue fostering a successful and productive working relationship.

Examining Multi-Level Support-Related Factors Influencing School-Based Mental Health Services Across Various Types Of U.S. Public High Schools, Wendy L. Wilson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Youth mental health is a global and national public health issue, with notable disparities in access to school-based mental health services (SBMHS; Kieling et al., 2024). This highlights the urgent need to identify supportive factors that can enhance service availability within educational settings. This cross-sectional, exploratory-descriptive study aimed to identify multi-level support-related factors (SRFs) at the student, school, and community levels that best predict SBMHS availability across different types of U.S. public high schools. The researcher conducted a secondary data analysis of a sample of 855 respondents who completed the 2017-18 School Survey on Crime and Safety. Various univariate, bivariate, …

Testing The Utility Of The Three Good Things Intervention For Cannabis Misuse Among College Students, Paige Morris

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

College students experience high rates of cannabis use and use-related problems. Existing brief online interventions for cannabis misuse among college students do not significantly reduce cannabis use and use-related problems relative to control conditions. This may be due to limited consideration of the role of affect, given that cannabis is frequently used for managing affect, especially among individuals with greater depression and social anxiety. The present study sought to improve the efficacy of brief online interventions for cannabis misuse among college students by testing the efficacy of the Three Good Things (3GT; Seligman et al., 2005) intervention, a daily exercise …

The Operational Performance Of Buildings In A Humid Subtropical Climate: Insights From Empirical Data And Assessment Models, Oluwafemi Awolesi

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis evaluates the operational performance of residential and non-residential buildings in a humid subtropical climate, emphasizing Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and energy performance through empirical data and assessment models. Motivated by the increasing need for integrated sustainability evaluations, this study combines a systematic review with multi-method field investigations to advance understanding in this domain. The systematic review critically analyzed 99 case study articles, identifying dominant IEQ assessment methodologies and highlighting methodological inconsistencies that hinder cross-study comparability. Emerging computational approaches, although promising, remain underutilized. The review advocates for standardized, climate-responsive, and feedback-oriented evaluation frameworks. Field investigations assessed IEQ and energy …

Be Mindful: Examining A Brief Mindfulness Intervention On Educator Well-Being, Oceann S. Gittens

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Teaching is currently rated as one of the topmost stressful occupations. Concerningly, chronic levels of stress can lead to poor mental and physical health, occupational burnout, and teacher attrition; all of which have a negative impact on student outcomes. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are commonly used to combat occupational stress by enhancing educator well-being. There is compelling evidence to support these types of interventions with teachers. However, the length of many MBIs may make them prohibitive for the average educator to participate in them. The literature suggests that a briefer format may be just as effective at reducing stress, but more …

Rethinking Green Building Development Through Policy And Operational Metrics: Insights From Baton Rouge And Beyond, Oluwafemi Awolesi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the challenges and opportunities associated with the development, adoption, and performance of green buildings in regions with relatively low certification uptake, drawing insights from Baton Rouge and its parish system as a case study. It addresses three primary research questions: (1) How can the adoption rate of green buildings be enhanced? (2) How do certified buildings perform compared to their non-certified counterparts? (3) What operational metrics can be applied to better evaluate building performance in the future?

Using a mixed-methods approach, the study examines stakeholder perceptions in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana, investigates energy performance, indoor environmental quality, …

Selected Bird-Themed Chamber Works For Coloratura Soprano, Flute, And Piano, Jee Won Shin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines three bird-themed chamber works for coloratura soprano, flute, and piano, exploring how the human voice and flute intertwine to emulate birdsong and convey emotional depth. The selected repertoire spans from the Baroque to the Romantic era: (1) “Sweet Bird” from L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (1740) by George Frideric Handel, (2) “Le Rossignol” by Léo Delibes (a 19th-century French mélodie, arranged with flute obbligato by Ary van Leeuwen for soprano Lily Pons in 1933), and (3) “The Russian Nightingale” by Aleksandr Alyabyev (his famed 1825 song “Solovey,” later arranged with flute by Estelle Liebling for …

'There Is That Of God In All Of Us': Church, State, And Restrictive Abortion Policies, Kimsey J. Stewart

LSU Master's Theses

Unsafe abortion affects millions of women around the globe every year. Unsafe abortions are more likely to occur in countries with restrictive abortion policies. Yet, these policies persist, and the worldwide trend of liberalization of abortion laws is at risk of reversal. There is a disconcerting lack of research regarding what factors cause governments to enact, retain, and enforce restrictive abortion policies. This paper is an attempt to fill in such a gap. I theorize that countries in which the government has closer ties with religious organizations will have more restrictive abortion policies. My results indicate that this is likely …