Digital Commons Network^™

Corporate America And Web Access For The Blind: Are Public Relations Practioners Communicating With The Blind Public?, Jenice Daigle

LSU Master's Theses

Advances in technology have given the blind public a new voice in corporate America. Today, blind individuals are able to utilize the Internet independently using screen access software. However, like ramps for wheelchairs in physical spaces, Web site accommodations are needed in cyberspace for successful use. A review of the current literature indicates trends in public relations are shifting toward a corporate ethic of social responsibility, but on-line concerns for the disabled are not clearly demonstrated among the leading corporations in the United States. The purpose of this research is to determine if blind consumers are being accommodated on corporate …

The Dynamic Judicial Opinion, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Eskridge's article on Dynamic Statutory Interpretation advances an aggressively pragmatic theory of interpretation but has had more influence among academics than judges because of a failure to attend to the problems of writing a candid, pragmatic and dynamic judicial opinion. This article argues that, although not free from doubt, a candid judicial opinion is preferable, and discusses how to write such an opinion - suggesting that judges rely on the "intent of the statute," not legislative intent; and adopt a personal/exploratory style in presenting their views.

Identifying And Building On Strengths Of Children With Serious Emotional Disturbances, Michael Orval Taylor

Dissertations and Theses

The aim of this study is to explore strengths assessments and the participation of parents in assessment of strengths and functioning of their children challenged by serious emotional disorders. The children in this study have a high level of exposure to mental illness, domestic violence and substance abuse in their biological families. These children are living with family members or foster families in the community, with the majority at continuing risk of placement outside of their homes and communities due to serious emotional and behavioral problems.

The research questions investigated are the concordance of families and professionals in assessment of …

Aphrati And Kato Syme: Pottery, Continuity, And Cult In Late Archaic And Classical Crete, Brice L. Erickson

Dartmouth Scholarship

The analysis of ceramics from Aphrati sheds valuable new light on the history of this Cretan settlement and on its relationship with a nearby rural sanctuary at Kato Syme in the Late Archaic and Classical periods. It has long been held that Aphrati was deserted from ca. 600 to 400 B.C. A pottery deposit from the domestic quarter, however, now supports occupation of the city during this period. A ceramic classification system is presented and the morphological development and absolute chronology of several key shapes at Aphrati and Kato Syme are plotted. Historical implications of the ceramic evidence are also …

Portland State Magazine, Portland State University. Office Of University Communications

Portland State Magazine

PSU’s alumni magazine, published 2-3 times a year. In this issue: Professor Gary Perlstein has become a national media resource on terrorism; faculty to use new electron microscope to see the unseeable; record heard count prompts the urge to discover the typical PSU student; facial expressions become languages unto themselves that often defy translation; a PSU professor examines the Japanese monarchy just as the country greets a new princess; and more.

Preservice Teachers' Perceptions Of Service-Learning, Kim Flottemesch, Tuula Heide, Melvin Pedras

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

The study explored preservice teachers' experiences and perceptions of implementation of service-learning into the teacher preparation progrcun and its use as a teaching methodology in their own teaching. Through quantitative data generated from a survey instrument, the concept of a service-learning as a viable teaching method was well received. After an initial introduction to the concept of service-learning methhodology, a moderate percentage of preservice teachers stated they would likely use it in their own teaching. Data suggests no systematic relationship between certainty of teaching as a career choice and perceptions of service-learning. However, the data does suggest significant differences in …

Oh, What A Tangled Web-Site We Weave When First We Practice, Elizabeth Reynolds, James Reynolds

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Current emphases on computer technology have prompted a naive desire to use whatever is new regardless of its appropriateness to educational outcomes. Use of College level Web-based instruction has unearthed a variety of problems: misapplication of software, misplaced attempts to adapt traditional instruction to the Web, lack of teacher support, access and time difficulties, financial barriers, spatial/gender differences, and counterproductive approaches to learning that are unsystematic and independent versus organized, social, and cultural. The present study examined technological barriers to college student's achievement as well as student preferences regarding an optional Web-based ancillary designed to promote student achievement in an …

Classroom Practices For Literacy Development Of English Language Learners, Teresa J. Kennedy

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

The article discusses the need to adjust teaching practices to meet the needs of linguistically diverse students.

Developing Linguistic Literacy: Perspectives From Corpus Linguistics And Multi-Dimensional Analysis, Douglas Biber, Randi Reppen, Susan M. Conrad

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

In their conceptual framework for linguistic literacy development, Ravid & Tolchinsky synthesize research studies from several perspectives. One of these is corpus-based research, which has been used for several large-scale research studies of spoken and written registers over the past 20 years. In this approach, a large, principled collection of natural texts (a 'corpus') is analysed using computational and interactive techniques, to identify the salient linguistic characteristics of each register or text variety. Three characteristics of corpus-based analysis are particularly important (see Biber, Conrad & Reppen 1998):(1) a special concern for the representativeness of the text sample being analysed, and …

Models Of Inclusion: Standing At The Cross Roads. Building Inclusive Child Care Through Child Care Development Funds, Eileen M. Brennan, Shane Ama, Elizabeth Haran Caplan, Olivia Warfield, Sherry Archer

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 has produced a growing recognition that children with disabilities have the same rights as other children to participate in community-based child care settings (Whitney, Grozinsky, & Poppe, 1999). But even a legal mandate is not sufficient to guarantee access to realistic and suitable child care options for every family, particularly those having children with emotional or behavioral disorders (National Child Care Information Center [NCCIC], 1997). The presentation addressed governmental policy and planning efforts to include children with emotional or behavioral challenges in settings with typically developing children. Particularly, presenters …

Testimony, Landscape And The West: A Conversation With Stephen Trimble, David Thomas Sumner

Faculty Publications

This interview with Stephen Trimble is part of a series of conversations with contemporary western writers about the ethical and cultural implications of nature writing.

Querying Geographically Dispersed, Heterogeneous Data Stores: The Pperfxchange Approach, Matthew Edward Colgrove

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis details PPerfXchange’s approach for querying geographically dispersed heterogeneous data stores. While elements of PPerfXchange’s method have been implemented for other application areas, PPerfXchange shows how these elements can be applied to parallel performance analysis. The accomplishments of this thesis are:

• The design of an architecture for PPerfXchange, giving a uniform method to query heterogeneous data stores;
• A proof of concept prototype implementation of PPerfXchange including a partial implementation of an XQuery processor and a relational database virtual XML document; and
• Evaluation of PPerfXchange using example parallel performance analysis data.

Watershed Solutions: Collaborative Problem Solving For States And Communities, National Policy Consensus Center

National Policy Consensus Center Publications

In July 2002, the National Policy Consensus Center (NPCC) hosted a colloquium for people involved in watershed collaborations, academics, and other experts from government and non-profit organizations. Its aim was to identify lessons learned from successful watershed initiatives, and to develop recommendations for governors and other state officials on ways to enhance the use and effectiveness of watershed partnerships. This report is an outgrowth of that conference.

Studies on watershed collaborations are beginning to identify what makes them successful and what some of the barriers are to greater success. For example, contrary to the fears of some observers, successful collaborations …

The Goal Of This Study Was To Examine Differences In The Psychological Characteristics Of Patients Admitted To The Hospital For Acute Or Chronic Myocardial Infarction (Mi) Or Unstable Angina (Ua). Depression, Anger, Anxiety, Curiosity, Defensiveness, Social Support, And Coping Were Evaluated For 165 Patients (86 Mi And 79 Ua), Who Were Tested On The Cardiology Stepdown Ward Of Tampa General Hospital. The Following Psychological Measures Were Administered To These Patients: The Beck Depression Inventory (Bdi), The State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (Staxi-2), The Rationality/Emotional Defensiveness (R/Ed) Scale, The Adult Form Of The Coping Responses Inventory (Cri-Adult), The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (Isel), The Illness Perception Questionnaire (Ipq), The State-Trait Personality Inventory (Stpi), And The Structured Clinical Interview (Scid-I) For The Dsm - Iv. Significantly More Chronic Patients Than Acute Patients Met Criteria For Depression As Measured By The Scid Following Admission To The Hospital, And More Ua Than Mi Patients Also Met These Criteria. However, No Differences Were Found Between The Acute Vi And Chronic Mi And Ua Patients Two Weeks Prior To Admission. Results Of This Study Also Indicated That Chronic Patients And Ua Patients Reported A Greater Frequency Of Illness Symptoms And Tended To Cope With Their Heart Disease Through Avoidant Strategies. Chronic Patients Endorsed Higher Levels Of State And Trait Anger Compared With Acute Patients, And Ua Patients Were Less Likely To Believe That Their Illness Could Be Cured Or Controlled (Control Of Cure) Than Mi Patients. Based On The Results Of This Study, It Appears That Avoidance Coping May Be An Insufficient Strategy For Addressing Negative Emotions Of Chronic Patients And Ua Patients. In Addition, Perceived Lack Of Control Over The Success Of Treatment May Be Related To Depression For Ua Patients. These Findings Have Important Implications For The Development And Implementation Of Interventions Designed To Address Perceived Control Over Treatment Effectiveness And Coping Skills For Negative Emotions In The Treatment And Rehabilitation Of Cardiac Patients., Gregory J. Spirakis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the stability of hearing aid benefit, as measured by the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB; Cox & Alexander, 1995), between three months post hearing aid fitting and at next the annual audiological re-evaluation. The annual re-evaluation was at least, and as close to nine months as possible, after the previous audiological. The maximum time between the two evaluations was 18 months. Thirty-six hearing aid patients participated in this study. The participants were both male and female, and were fitted monaurally or binaurally with hearing aid(s). All participants had sensorineural hearing …

The Development And Change Process Needed For The Implementation Of The Electronic Writing Portfolio To Assess Student Writing At Eastern Illinois University, Debra Cross Hopgood

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze how the adoption of an electronic writing portfolio led to institutional change at an institution of higherEducation that chose to adopt the Electronic Writing Portfolio (EWP) to assess the writing skills of their students. This study also analyzed the perceptions and experiences of key administrators and faculty that participated in the adoption of the EWP. The research questions addressed in this study were: (1) To what extent has the institution demonstrated that the EWP is linked to the mission of the institution? (2) What is the institutional evidence that faculty participated in …

Turning Seats Into Shares: Causes And Implications Of Demutualization Of Stock And Futures Exchanges, Roberta S. Karmel

UC Law Journal

A dramatic shift in the economic and power structure of the securities industry is currently in progress. Traditionally, stock and futures exchanges have operated in the form of non-profit mutual or membership organizations. To the extent market power was not curtailed by competition or regulation, mutual governance gave specialist or market maker members of an exchange control of the price, quality and range of services produced by the exchange. Exchange profits were returned to broker and dealer members in the form of lower access fees or trading profits. Further, exchanges have long operated as self-regulatory organizations (SROs) with members contributing …

Satellite Tracking And The Right To Privacy, Aaron Renenger

UC Law Journal

The proliferation of location services brought on by technology like the Global Positioning System promises to bring new convenience to our lives. But this new technology also brings with it an all-toofamiliar problem-how to ensure personal privacy. Some consumer advocates have referred to the technology as "digital dog tags" and warned that location information will be sold to third parties such as aggressive advertisers or employers. This Note concludes that the torts that currently protect privacy offer very little protection to consumers whose location information is misused by third parties. Further, recent legislation passed to protect the privacy of consumer …

Cardboard To Concrete: Reconstructing The Texas Colonias Threshold, Roderick R. Williams

UC Law Journal

Third world diseases and general squalor have run rampant in the United States-Mexico border area, particularly in Texas. The problems facing residents in Texas colonias-developments often characterized by substandard housing including a lack of access to water and wastewater facilities-gained attention in Texas in the mid and late 1990s. However the Texas legislature and state and federal programs have not successfully solved the shocking problem. This note reviews the current state of Texas colonias, the conditions that allowed Texas' colonias to proliferate, and recent efforts to both halt the growth of colonias and meliorate the difficulties that current residents face …

Is This Journalism?: A Study Of Whether The Snapshots On The Front Page Of Usa Today Adhere To Journalistic Standards, Emily Arnette Vines

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examined 22 Snapshots on the front-pages of USA Today from April 2001 to determine whether they adhered to the journalism standards of wholeness, accuracy, and credibility. Fourteen were found not whole, 8 were not accurate, and 3 were not credible according to the definitions of this thesis. The researcher compared the data in the Snapshots to the data obtained from the cited source and interviewed sources as well as a news assistant and graphics editor at USA Today. The researcher found four possible explanations for the poor quality of the Snapshots and examined the routines of Snapshot production, …

Heidegger, Levinas, And The Feminine, Andrea Danielle Conque

LSU Master's Theses

Herein, I will reconsider the works of Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas with a feminist focus. Through a careful analysis of both the Heideggerian and Levinasian placement of the feminine and of sexual difference, I will suggest alternatives to some traditional readings of these two prolific figures offered by feminists and feminist philosophers. I will argue, in effect, for a Heideggerian model for re-thinking sexual difference. In addition, I will offer what I believe should be a 'new' goal toward which feminism should work, one beyond the goals that have been in place thus far and one based upon a …

Cases And Guidelines In Genetics, Roger B. Dworkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of A Parent Training Program On Adolescent Mothers And Their Communicative Interactions With Their Children, Sonja Lee Pruitt

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the “Tips About Talk” parent-training classes for increasing adolescent mothers’ knowledge about their children’s speech and language development and the quality of mothers’ interactions with their children. Seven mother-child dyads served as participants. All of the participating mothers were single, African American, and enrolled in a GED program. The mean age of the mothers was 20.57 years, and their mean educational level was 9.29 years. Their children were between the ages of 24 and 67 months. The experimental treatment involved four “Tips About Talk” parent-training workshops. The control …

Collaboration Or Self-Preservation: The Military Code Of Conduct, Rodney Ray Lemay

LSU Master's Theses

In 1955, Secretary of Defense Charles Wilson established a special committee to investigate allegations of misconduct by American POW’s during the Korean War. The Communists had used the prisoners for propaganda purposes and extended the battlefield into the POW camp as never before. The committee proposed the Code of Conduct as a means of preventing similar occurrences in future conflicts. The Code of Conduct puts into words, for the first time, concepts which had evolved from the experiences of American POW’s in the almost 200 years of combat preceding its development. Americans who became POW’s during conflicts after the implementation …

The Effects Of Implicit, Explicit, And Synergistic Training On Learning An Artificial Grammar, Thomas James Domangue

LSU Master's Theses

Participants were trained to generate exemplars of an artificial grammar by bubbling-in letters from exemplars (implicit training), observing a diagram of the grammar then reproducing it (explicit training), or tracing the path of exemplars through a diagram of the grammar (synergistic training). Performance was measured using a cued-generate task. It provided a template for an exemplar with two letters filled in. Participants attempted to generate exemplars that fit the template. The computer corrected the exemplar when it matched at least 70% of the letters in a valid string. Results showed that both explicit and synergistic training led to generation of …

The Effect Of Resource Cycling And Food Insecurity On Dietary Intake And Weight Of Low-Income, Single Mothers Living In Rural Louisiana, Jennifer Smith

LSU Master's Theses

Food security, nutritional adequacy, and anthropometrics were assessed in 30 low-income women living in rural Louisiana. For food stamp recipients, a 24-hour-diet recall was collected at the beginning (Day 1) and another at the end (Day 2) of their monthly resource cycle; for non-food stamp recipients, the first 24-hour diet recall was collected at a time that was specified by participants (Day 1) and the second was collected approximately 31/2 weeks later. Twenty-one of the 30 participants received food stamps. Ten of the 30 participants were food insecure. Of the 10 food insecure participants, seven received foods stamps. As a …

Antipredator Conditioning In Mississippi Sandhill Cranes (Grus Canadensis Pulla), Jennifer Jill Heatley

LSU Master's Theses

The Mississippi Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis pulla), the most endangered North American crane, is considered critically endangered and is protected by Federal and State law. Substantial funding has established the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Mississippi and an artificial insemination / breeding facility at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species in New Orleans, Louisiana to promote species recovery. In spite of extensive time, labor, and money invested in captive propagation, juvenile Mississippi Sandhill Cranes suffer substantial mortality due to predation by bobcats (Lynx rufus), coyotes (Canis latrans) and red tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) upon reintroduction …

Aisthetic Eros And Athenian Political Crisis: An Interpretation Of Plato's Seventh Letter, John Baltes

LSU Master's Theses

This paper investigates Plato's solution to political and social disorder by analyzing his advice and epistemology in the Seventh Letter. The first of three primary divisions provides the historical context of Platonic philosophy. The second discusses the central themes of his metaphysics, with specific attention to the Phaedo and Republic. The third analyzes the importance of aisthetic eros for the ascent to the Agathon, culminating in an interpretation of the relevant sections of the Seventh Letter.

Earnings Management : The Creation Of Misleading Financial Information, Alice Foerster

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

I Can Be Materialistic And Follow Christ ... True Or False?, Taryn Abbott Mcdowall

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Advisory Committee On The Federal Rules Of Evidence: Tending To The Past And Pretending For The Future?, Paul R. Rice

UC Law Journal

This Article characterizes the history of the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Evidence as disappointing. It argues that too often, over too long a period of time, the Advisory Committee has neglected its stewardship responsibilities and the blatant inadequacies of the codified evidence rules. As a consequence, significant problems have gone unattended as the Committee waits to see if the judges can solve the problems their rules have created.

The article notes that some concepts created in the codified evidence rules have proven to be problematic, if not completely inadequate, but there has been no willingness to re-examine …