Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Telework Conditions And Family-Supportive Supervisor Behaviors On Work- Family Outcomes, Tiffany Huynh

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Patterns Of Choice Adaptation In Dynamic Risky Environments, E Konstantinidis, J L. Harman, C Gonzalez

Faculty Publications

An important aspect of making good decisions is the ability to adapt to changes in the values of available choice options, and research suggests that we are poor at changing behavior and adapting our choices successfully. The current paper contributes to clarifying the role of memory on learning and successful adaptation to changing decision environments. We test two aspects of changing decision environments: the direction of change and the type of feedback. The direction of change refers to how options become more or less rewarding compared to other options, over time. Feedback refers to whether full or partial information about …

Examining The Relationship Between Health-Related Fitness And Motor Competence In College-Aged Students, Michael Crick

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

A D2 To D1 Shift In Dopaminergic Inputs To Midbrain 5-Ht Neurons Causes Anorexia In Mice, Xing Cai, Hailan Liu, Bing Feng, Meng Yu, Yang He, Hesong Liu, Chen Liang, Yongjie Yang, Longlong Tu, Nan Zhang, Lina Wang, Na Yin, Junying Han, Zili Yan, Chunmei Wang, Pingwen Xu, Qi Wu, Qingchun Tong, Yanlin He, Yong Xu

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Midbrain dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) neurons regulate motivated behaviors, including feeding, but less is known about how these circuits may interact. In this study, we found that DA neurons in the mouse ventral tegmental area bidirectionally regulate the activity of 5-HT neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), with weaker stimulation causing DRD2-dependent inhibition and overeating, while stronger stimulation causing DRD1-dependent activation and anorexia. Furthermore, in the activity-based anorexia (ABA) paradigm, which is a mouse model mimicking some clinical features of human anorexia nervosa (AN), we observed a DRD2 to DRD1 shift of DA neurotransmission on 5-HTDRN neurons, which …

Nams 2021 Utian Translational Science Symposium September 2021, Washington, Dc - >Charting The Path To Health In Midlife And Beyond: The Biology And Practice Of Wellness, Nanette F. Santoro, Helen L. Coons, Samar R. El Khoudary, C. Neill Epperson, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Hadine Joffe, Sarah H. Lindsey, Kara L. Marlatt, Patti Montella, Gloria Richard-Davis, Bonny Rockette-Wagner, Marcel E. Salive, Cynthia Stuenkel, Rebecca C. Thurston, Nancy Woods, Holly Wyatt

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Charting the Path to Health in Midlife and Beyond: The Biology and Practice of Wellness was a Translational Science Symposium held on Tuesday, September 21, 2021. Foundational psychosocial and behavioral approaches to promote healthy aging and strategies to disseminate this information were discussed. The following synopsis documents the conversation, describes the state of the science, and outlines a path forward for clinical practice. Wellness, in its broadest sense, prioritizes an orientation toward health, and an embrace of behaviors that will promote it. It involves a journey to improve and maintain physical and mental health and overall well-being to fully engage …

Variation And Predictors Of Gross Motor Coordination Development In Azorean Children: A Quantile Regression Approach, Sara Pereira, Flávio Bastos, Carla Santos, José Maia, Go Tani, Leah E. Robinson, Peter T. Katzmarzyk

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

We investigated the development of gross motor coordination (GMC) as well as its predictors in school-aged Azorean children. The sample included 181 children (90 girls), followed consecutively for 4 years from 6 to 9 years of age. GMC was assessed with the Körperkoordination-stest für Kinder, and predictors included body mass index, standing long jump, 50-yard dash, and shuttle run. The changes in GMC and the effects of predictors were analyzed with mean-modeling as well as quantile regression. In the latter, we considered the following three quantiles (Q): Q20, Q50, and Q80 as markers of low, median, and high GMC levels, …

Mhealth Intervention For Motor Skills: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Amanda E. Staiano, Robert L. Newton, Robbie A. Beyl, Chelsea L. Kracht, Chelsea A. Hendrick, Matthew Viverito, E. Kipling Webster

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Children's motor skills are a critical foundation for physical activity. The objective was to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of a mobile app-based intervention delivered to parents to improve preschoolers’ motor skills. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial randomly assigned children to: (1) Motor Skills, including instructional lessons, peer modeling videos, behavioral scaffolding, and structured activities or 2) Free Play. Both groups received a 12-week app-based intervention informed by social cognitive theory to deliver 12 hours (12-minutes per day, 5× per week) of instruction. The children were aged 3 to 5 y; parents and children had no mobility …

Organizational Commitment Profiles And Employee Well-Being: A Latent Profile Analysis, Hannah E. Perkins

LSU Master's Theses

The present study examined the influence that employees’ organizational commitment profile has on both work and non-work outcomes. While the nomological network of the three-component model of organizational commitment has been studied widely, the application of the latent profile analysis (LPA) has changed the way researchers explore organizational commitment. Specifically, while variable centered approaches (e.g., correlations, multiple regression) measure each type of commitment independently and ultimately assume the linear relationships detected are applicable to every employee, a person-centered approach (e.g., latent profile analysis) groups individuals according to patterns of the reported target variables, allowing researchers to explore the combined or …

Preventing Brand Activism From Backfiring: How The Use Of An Ingroup Model Can Limit The Negative Effects Of One-Time Csr History, Cole C. Dunnam

LSU Master's Theses

Brands are beginning to engage in corporate social advocacy (CSA) with social movements to form deeper connections with their audience, but not all are successful. This thesis asks why a brand’s target audience considers some CSA campaigns as more authentic than others. In Study I, I use Twitter data to conduct an exploratory analysis that applies existing research to two extreme CSA cases: Nike’s Emmy-winning “Dream Crazy” campaign starring Colin Kaepernick and Pepsi’s unsuccessful “Live for Now– Moments” campaign starring Kendall Jenner. Pepsi failed despite its history of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. I suggest that group identity theory impacts …

Does Chronic Risperidone Administration Affect Food Reinforcement In Adulthood In Mice?, Francis Torres, Paul Soto

LSU Master's Theses

Second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) increase weight gain and food consumption in humans and non-human animals. It has been speculated that SGAs increase the reinforcing effects of food, which increases food consumption and drives weight gain. The current study evaluated the effects of risperidone on sucrose reinforcement in male and female C57BL/6J mice using economic demand assessments. Demand for sucrose was measured by varying the fixed ratio (FR) value required to produce sucrose delivery across experimental sessions using five FR values: 1, 5, 15, 30, and 45. The effects of acute risperidone administration on demand for sucrose were first assessed by orally …

Cross-Issue Agenda Setting From Racism To Immigration: Spreading Activation Or Group Threat?, Martina Santia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Little research to date offers evidence for the “cross-issue agenda setting effect,” that is transfer of salience from media coverage of racism to perceived importance of immigration. Laboratory experiments afford the opportunity to facilitate causal inference in determining whether this cross-issue effect is due to a cognitive mechanism of spreading activation (as conventionally assumed in agenda setting research) or to a cumulative, affective process driven by perceived threat to a certain identity group. Observational data, on the other hand, allow to externally validate the experimental results beyond the constrained settings typical of laboratory experimentation.

This dissertation combines the strengths of …

From The Mouths Of Women: The Life Model Of Homelessness, Janeal M. White

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify commonalities in life events preceding a first episode of homelessness for women living in shelters in Texas. This built on the work of Nooe & Patterson (2010) who identified fourteen factors that contributed to increased risk of homelessness as visualized in the Ecology of Homelessness. While based on existing literature at the time, Nooe & Patterson may not have heard clearly the voices of women with lived experience. The current study sought to explore how these risk factors manifest in the lived experiences of women residing in Texas homeless shelters.

The significance …

Celebrating Wetland Foodways: Joining Ecosystems & Cultures On The Louisiana Gulf Coast, Deborah La Rue

LSU Master's Theses

Coastal Louisiana is bountiful in cultural and ecological diversity. Spotted with thriving estuaries, meandering bayous and swamps, and rippling grasses of coastal marshes, these wetland ecosystems sequester carbon, purify floodwaters, and buffer against storm surge. Historically, southern wetland landscapes have offered refuge to people of many folk and ethnic traditions escaping violence and oppression. Until the mid-twentieth century, the people living in present-day Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes enjoyed relative isolation from the rest of America, constructing cultural practices that emphasized attachment to wetland plants, animals, and ecosystem dynamics.

Today, changing environmental conditions and high rates of relative sea level rise …

The Role Of Child Life Specialists In Transitioning Patients With Sickle Cell Disease From Pediatric Care To Adult Management, Amanda Ochiltree

LSU Master's Theses

The transitional period when adolescents and young adults (AYA) no longer see pediatric specialists or pediatricians and transfer their care to adult health care providers is important for all but can be especially complex for AYAs with sickle cell disease (SCD). Disease-specific education, patient and family resources, and psychosocial care are important during the transitional period from adolescence to adulthood. Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLSs) are trained to provide developmentally appropriate preparation and education, psychosocial support, encouragement of emotional expression, and the opportunity to form trusting relationships with the medical care team (Romito et al., 2021). CCLSs work with the …

The Use Of Non-Immersive Virtual Reality As A Functional Rehabilitation Tool For Older Adults With Cognitive Decline, Ross M. Divers

LSU Master's Theses

There is currently no cure for age-related cognitive decline or dementia and current pharmacologic interventions have had limited success at improving daily functioning. Consequently, older adults who experience cognitive decline require assistance with daily activities, which can be quite expensive and lead to caregiver burden. Repeated performance of everyday tasks has been shown to improve performance but requires supervision and direction by another person. The present study evaluated a low-cost computer training program that will use non-immersive virtual reality to enable participants with dementia or cognitive decline to independently practice meaningful everyday activities (e.g., meal preparation). Participants (N= 8) with …

Use Of Rhythm Video Games As A Tool For Rhythmic Listening In Elementary School Music Students, Jennifer Webber

LSU Master's Theses

This posttest-only control group study sought to examine how rhythm video games, through the use of the rhythm game Rhythm Heaven, affect the rhythmic skills of elementary music students, in order to determine if rhythm video games are acceptable supplementary materials for aiding beginning music students in learning rhythm. Research questions were 1) Are participants who receive the rhythm game treatment able to reproduce rhythms more accurately than participants who do not do not receive the treatment? 2) Can participants who play a rhythm game more accurately imitate longer rhythms than those who do not play a rhythm game? 3) …

Recently Integrated Alu Elements In Capuchin Monkeys: A Resource For Cebus/Sapajus Genomics, J M. Storer, J A. Walker, C E. Rockwell, G Mores, J M. Storer, J D. Orkin, A D. Melin, K A. Phillips, C Roos, M A. Batzer

Faculty Publications

Capuchins are platyrrhines (monkeys found in the Americas) within the Cebidae family. For most of their taxonomic history, the two main morphological types of capuchins, gracile (untufted) and robust (tufted), were assigned to a single genus, Cebus. Further, all tufted capuchins were assigned to a single species, Cebus apella, despite broad geographic ranges spanning Central and northern South America. In 2012, tufted capuchins were assigned to their genus, Sapajus, with eight currently recognized species and five Cebus species, although these numbers are still under debate. Alu retrotransposons are a class of mobile element insertion (MEI) widely used to study primate …

Students With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities And Their Educational Pathways After High School: Transitional Planning And Access To Postsecondary Institutions, Shondra Antoinette White

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This phenomenological study aimed to address the growing number of students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) that aspire to attend a postsecondary institution. These students must be placed on a pathway in high school with this end goal. Educators should ensure that goals are met through transition planning, collaborative planning with parents, agency collaboration, and college access opportunities. This study details the perspectives, procedures, and resources concerning IDD students with postsecondary goals to attend a college or university. An area of focus for the study includes the perspectives of school administrators, teachers, and counselors that serve students with IDD, …

Louisiana Certified Child Life Specialists’ Perspective On The Effects Of Covid-19 On Child Life Services, Abby Johnson

LSU Master's Theses

The medical field has faced challenges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly changing the ways hospitals function and healthcare professionals serve patients and families. Healthcare professionals, specifically Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLSs), have continuously adapted their roles, programs, and services to ensure they adhere to the ever-changing infection control policies and mitigation efforts put in place by government officials and institutions. CCLSs provide pediatric patients and their families with interventions, hospital normalization, and opportunities to engage in play, contributing to pediatric patients’ healing environment during hospitalization. This study focuses on pediatric healthcare in the state of Louisiana, gaining insight from CCLSs’ …

Longitudinal Analysis Of Inflammation In Response To Perceived And Physiological Stress In Collegiate Female Athletes, Erin Gunther

LSU Master's Theses

The current study aimed to characterize the impact of psychological stress throughout the inaugural year of the COVID-19 pandemic on the biomarkers of stress (sIgA, cortisol, and DHEA/cortisol ratio) in (n=39) elite level collegiate female athletes. This study also looked at inflammatory and immune function effects of COVID-19 and how it relates to psychological health by use of blood plasma cytokines (IL-10, Il-1ra, TNF-a). Previous research has proven salivary biomarkers to be good indicators of psychological health, as well as blood plasma cytokines to relate to inflammatory/immune function. The data from this study was provided through salivary and blood plasma …

The Influence Of Clutter On Target Prevalence And Decision Making During Visual Search, Brandon Eich

LSU Master's Theses

Participants are sensitive to target prevalence effects in visual search. Low prevalence of targets leads to increased miss rates and shorter response times, and high prevalence of targets leads to increased false alarm rates and longer response times. These effects have been explained using the Multiple-Decision Model (MDM), in which two decisions impact performance during serial visual search. The first decision is whether an inspected item is a target. The second decision is whether the search should be ended with a target-absent response. Target prevalence influences these decisions, evidenced by changes in miss rate, false alarm rate, and response time. …

Examining The Relationship Between Functionally Assessed Parental Behavior And Child Anxiety, Allison Smith

LSU Master's Theses

Etiological theories of child anxiety suggest an interaction of multiple factors that lead to the development and maintenance of child anxiety. Environmental influence, specifically that involving the family or parent, has been a target area of study for decades. Additionally, functional assessment of behavior indicates that certain behaviors may be maintained primarily by specific functions. Functional assessment has been successful at identifying functions of problematic behavior and planning treatment accordingly. However, in the realm of child internalizing disorders, research has not utilized functional assessment in this way. Acknowledging the impact of parental behavior on child anxiety as well as the …

Exploring The Role Of Social Media Influencers In Promoting Sustainable Fashion On Twitter, Hannah L. Short

LSU Master's Theses

The fashion industry promotes a culture of frivolous consumption, especially with the offering of fast fashion items nearly everywhere. With the rise of social media platforms, ordinary people have been able to create a large following of people who are interested and persuaded by their opinions and lifestyles, thus being deemed a social media influencer. Social media influencers who have utilized their platforms to speak out about the detrimental effects of fast fashion and conspicuous consumption and for the need to shop with sustainable values in mind for the health of society as well as the environment are known as …

A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach With Prioritized Experience Replay And Importance Factor For Makespan Minimization In Manufacturing, Jose Napoleon Martinez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this research, we investigated the application of deep reinforcement learning (DRL) to a common manufacturing scheduling optimization problem, max makespan minimization. In this application, tasks are scheduled to undergo processing in identical processing units (for instance, identical machines, machining centers, or cells). The optimization goal is to assign the jobs to be scheduled to units to minimize the maximum processing time (i.e., makespan) on any unit.

Machine learning methods have the potential to "learn" structures in the distribution of job times that could lead to improved optimization performance and time over traditional optimization methods, as well as to adapt …

Black Students And The Fight For Racial Equity: Integrating Qualitative And Quantitative Methods, Relius Johnson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Black student enrollment at HWIs has continued to increase for several decades. However, their success at these institutions lags behind that of their White classmates and other student groups. This study explores the extent to which these students perceive that they confront issues of racial inequality on their campuses. This study is particularly relevant as the US confronts a legacy of racial inequality in society and is experiencing a new civil rights movement, known as Black Lives Matter. This study will provide the student’s perspective on the extent and manifestations of racial inequality and the impact of BLM on these …

World War Ii, Displacement, And The Making Of The Postwar Ukrainian Diaspora, 1939-1951, Jennifer Lauren Popowycz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As a result, in an effort to expand the literature on the Ukrainian DP experience, this dissertation will specifically examine how foreign occupation, forced labor, and displacement impacted the construction of Ukrainian cultural nationalism between 1939 and 1951. Using a variety of memoirs written by Ukrainian DPs, published primary sources, as well as archival material from the online Interview Archive of Forced Labor 1939-1945, Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, the United Nations Archive, and the online Archive of Ukrainian Periodicals it will argue that cultural nationalism not only served as a common link that united Ukrainians, but also served …

Smoking And Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms: The Impact Of Psychosocial Variables Among Individuals Receiving Medication Assisted Treatment For Opioid Detox, Cristina Abarno

LSU Master's Theses

Individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) endorse high rates of combustible smoking (Zale et al., 2015) which is associated with poorer outcomes (e.g., opioid craving and lower detoxification completion rates) among individuals receiving medication-assisted treatment (MAT; Mannelli, Wu, Peindl, & Gorelick, 2013) and lower smoking cessation rates in smoking cessation treatment (Okoli et al., 2010). The complex pharmacological relationship between opioids and nicotine may help explain these findings (Kohut, 2017), however little is known about psychosocial variables that influence MAT processes among combustible smokers with OUD. The present study sought to expand upon prior work (Mannelli et al., 2013) by …

Our Stories Light The Way: A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Experiences Of Black Women Stem Graduates From Predominantly White Institutions, Raeshan Davis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Grounded in a conceptual framework informed by Social Cognitive Career Theory, Intersectionality, and Community Cultural Wealth, this study explored the experiences of 17 Black women who graduated from STEM undergraduate programs at predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Utilizing a qualitative study approach provided rich, detailed insights into the internal and external contributors at play in the lives of the Black women who successfully navigated their STEM undergraduate programs at PWIs. Through the exploration of their individual and collective experiences, this study illuminated four major themes: (1) asserting one’s sense of belonging in the pursuit of a STEM career, (2) the value …

Implicit Bias In Speech-Language Pathology Students, Skyller Castello

LSU Master's Theses

Implicit racial biases have been documented across a variety of allied health professions. A systematic review conducted by FitzGerald and Hurst (2017) of implicit bias in healthcare professionals found that 20 out of 25 studies examined displayed bias against BIPOC in diagnosis, treatment recommendations, and other aspects of the medical care they received. A literature review completed by Hall et al. (2015) found similar results, stating that 9 of the 15 studies examined identified bias against Black clients. One allied healthcare profession, speech-language pathology, interacts with a diverse clientele in a clinical environment and yet have been excluded from much …

"Man Of The Machine": Ernst Jünger's Philosophy Of Technology And The Spiritualization Of The ��������������������������������, Andrea L. Wisniewski

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines how conservative German war veterans, in particular author Ernst Jünger, granted meaning to the First World War by affirming the technological encounter. Instead of succumbing to the feelings of powerlessness and inferiority engendered by the domination of machinery on the Front, Jünger and other conservative veterans elevated the Materialschlacht into a spiritual event, a battle between the spirit and the material in which the human spirit emerged victorious. Strengthened by their confrontation with the machine, humans gained the spiritual skills which would enable them to master the machine and, therefore, meet the demands of the technological world. …