Digital Commons Network^™

Violence And The Scapegoat In American Film: 1967-1999, Paul E. Graham Iii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study addresses the proliferation of cinematic violence since the demise of the MPAA’s Production Code in 1966. Bonnie and Clyde and The Wild Bunch were films that projected violence to comment on the civil fervent caused by the Vietnam War. Yet the floodgates these films opened allowed for virtually unlimited and graphic displays of bloodshed to redden big screens for the next three decades. Using the theories of René Girard, namely the scapegoating motif, this study proposes readings of film that, through cinematic ambiguity, contain humanitarian statements against violence by examining the consequences of using force to cause pain. …

2001 Louisiana Legislative Special Session: Do We All Read The Same News, Jennifer Bhatia Ledbetter

LSU Master's Theses

This study reviews the newspaper coverage given during the 2001 Louisiana special legislative session. It was convened to raise additional money to fund teacher pay raises through legislation impacting the state’s gambling tax requirements. The seven markets include Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Alexandria, Monroe and Shreveport. The session was a “last resort effort” in response to persistent pleas from educators that had elevated into statewide teacher sickouts. In the fall of 2000 the public voted down new taxes to fund their pay raises. The governor charged his administration to come up with a plan to raise teacher’s …

The Influence Of Imagined Interactions On Verbal Fluency, Charles Choi

LSU Master's Theses

Imagined interactions (IIs) are a type of social cognition and mental imagery whereby actors imagine an interaction with others for the purposes of planning. Within actual encounters, verbal fluency is a characteristic that contributes to the speaker's credibility. The planning that takes place through imagined dialogues can help a speaker overcome disfluency found in speech. This study shows that improvements in speaking style are also dependent upon the trait of communication apprehension that an individual experiences. Visualization can decrease apprehension levels, thus producing higher verbal fluency. Results from this study indicate planning's influence in the reduction of silent pauses but …

Scientific And Management Perspectives In Wetland Groundwater Hydrology, Lorna Veronica Inniss

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Wetland groundwater hydrology was investigated at different spatial scales to assess the usefulness of the information to coastal managers. Specific objectives were to: (1) review studies related to coastal groundwater discharge, evaluating techniques and identifying controls; (2) understand regional trends in groundwater flow along the U.S. East and Gulf coasts; (3) evaluate the applicability of naturally occurring radioisotopes as indicators of groundwater in a shallow deltaic system; and (4) evaluate groundwater-surface water exchange within Barataria Basin, Louisiana. Results of the review confirmed discharge estimates vary over several orders of magnitude, due to differences in precipitation and tidal prisms. In addition, …

Why A Board? Group Decisionmaking In Corporate Governance, Stephen M. Bainbridge

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article begins by briefly describing the role of the board both in law and in practice. Part II explores the distinction be- tween consensus and authority as modes of institutional decision- making. As hierarchical institutions, corporations rely far more heavily on authority than on consensus. Yet, at the apex of the hierarchy is a collegial body that functions mainly by consensus.

Part III is the core of the Article. In order to evaluate corporate law's preference for collective decisionmaking, we need to know whether group decisionmaking is superior to that of individuals. A wealth of experimental data suggests that …

Citation And Representation, Alex Glashausser

Vanderbilt Law Review

A war is raging in the legal citation field. Arbitrary changes in the Bluebook from one edition to the next have incited a populist rebellion in the form of the Association of Legal Writing Directors' ALWD Citation Manual. This Article traces the causes of the conflict and assesses its likely outcomes. Professor Glashausser compares the two citation guides to eighteenth- century Great Britain and America: the Bluebook is the elite empire clinging to its position, and the Manual is the challenger hoping to ride a wave of populism to revolution. Overall, Professor Glashausser's Article sides with the Manual as the …

Induction Of Tetraploidy In Zebrafish Danio Rerio And Nile Tilapia Oreochromis Niloticus, Eric Christopher Herbst

LSU Master's Theses

The goals of this thesis were to: 1) induce tetraploidy in zebrafish; 2) characterize single-female spawning in Nile tilapia for egg collection; 3) design and construct hatching systems for tilapia eggs; 4) induce tetraploidy in Nile tilapia. Tetraploidy was induced in zebrafish Danio rerio, by applying a 41 C heat shock to eggs for 2 min at 11, 13, 15, 17, or 20 min after fertilization (AF). A trend of increasing percent tetraploid yield occurred the later the shocks were applied. Shocks applied at 11 min AF yielded 1% tetraploidy and shocks applied at 20 min AF yielded 10%. There …

Chinese Intervention In The Korean War, Harry Martin Crocker

LSU Master's Theses

In late October 1950, the People's Republic of China (PRC) committed approximately 260,000 troops to combat in North Korea. The initial Chinese decision to intervene in the Korean conflict was based on a misperception of American commitment to halt communist expansion. American actions seemed to communicate the desire to avoid confrontation. The withdrawal of U.S. troops and the limited equipping and training of the South Korean army implied Washington's lack of interest in the fate of Korea. Therefore, Mao endorsed North Korea's proposal for the military reunification of Korea. China stood to gain international prestige and access to Soviet equipment …

A Comparison Of Storm Hydrographs From Small Urban Watersheds With Different Land Use Patterns In Baton Rouge, Josey Wade Walker

LSU Master's Theses

Statistics gathered by FEMA indicate that nine of ten federal disasters are related to flooding. Research has demonstrated that increases in flooding can be contributed to urbanization or the construction of new residential and commercial developments (Anderson, 1970; Arnold & Gibbons, 1996; Putnam, 1972). New development has two main problems associated with it. First is the increase in impervious surfaces due to new parking lots, buildings, and streets (Booth & Leavitt, 1999; Seaburn, 1969). Second is the elimination of natural vegetation, which reduces evapotranspiration and lowers the soil’s ability to absorb precipitation (Hewlett, 1982). This study first demonstrates the relationship …

An Empirical Analysis Of The Macroeconomic Effects Of Government Purchases, Eric Horent

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the implications of different methods of identifying exogenous shocks to defense purchases for estimating the macroeconomic effects of shocks to government purchases. Four identification schemes are examined: the narrative approach of Ramey and Shapiro (1997), a more comprehensive narrative approach that tries to isolate exogenous reductions in defense purchases as well as exogenous increases in defense purchases, the Choleski decomposition, and long-run restrictions. The effects of alternative methods of identifying policy shocks are examined within two common VAR systems estimated over specific sample periods. The benchmark model includes four lagged values of defense purchases, real GDP, the …

Aspects Of The Behavioral Ecology, Life History, Genetics, And Morophology Of The Hawaiian Kuhliid Fishes, Lori Keene Benson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Flagtails, members of the Genus Kuhlia, are Indo-Pacific fishes found in marine and freshwater habitats. Known locally as āholehole, they are important food fishes in the Hawaiian Islands and were often used by Hawaiians in traditional ceremonies. Local fishermen have noted the presence of two morphotypes in Hawai'i, although at the beginning of this study only one species, Kuhlia sandvicensis, was identified in the scientific literature. For this dissertation research, morphological and DNA studies of the two morphotypes determined that two species of the genus Kuhlia do exist in Hawai'i. Subsequently, Randall and Randall (2001) published a revision of this …

Prevention Of Eating Disorders In Athletes: An Intervention For Coaches, Brooke L. Whisenhunt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research has found that athletes, particularly those involved in "aesthetically-oriented" sports, are at increased risk for engaging in unhealthy weight reduction practices and developing clinical eating disorders. Prevention studies of eating disorders have had some success, but there are very few published studies that address prevention in athletes. This study was designed as an eating disorders prevention program that targeted coaches as change agents. Cheerleading coaches at national or regional conferences attended an intervention workshop or a control workshop. Coaches who attended the intervention workshop received information regarding nutrition, eating disorders, and ways to manage athletes with eating disorders. They …

Taking Pr To School: A Case Study Of The Three Private High School Public Relations And Development Departments, Christine Cidalise Indest

LSU Master's Theses

Few studies specifically explore public relations in private high schools. Statistics reveal that in Louisiana the number of nonpublic high school students continues to increase, therefore the competition among private schools for students increases as well as the demand to improve the private schools. These private schools need public relations to establish mutually beneficial relationships with strategic publics to attract students and to raise money to educate the students. This thesis is a case study of private school public relations programs at three Louisiana high schools. The theoretical basis for this thesis centered on the research of James Grunig. To …

Men, Women, And Children, Marie Dufour Goodwin

LSU Master's Theses

All of my fiction has to do with relationships. I suspect this is true of most creative writers, but in my place this broad theme takes precedence over other creative aspects of writing, such as language. While I would not call my prose minimalist, I have tried to set down my short stories in a plain rather than an involved or noticeably poetic idiom. As for the three-tiered division into “Men,” “Women,” and “Children,” the stories themselves naturally fell into these three categories, depending on the main, point-of-view character. I found it enthralling to change the authorial voice to conform …

The Chemistry Of Change: A Production Thesis In Directing, Anthony Greenleaf Winkler

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis is an account of the production process involved in directing The Chemistry of Change by Marlane Meyer. Particular attention is paid to the Suzuki and Viewpoint methods of actor training used in rehearsal; periods of discussion with the playwright regarding the script; negotiations with designers; and an evaluation of the audience reception of the public performances. These aspects of producing a play for the theatre are recorded from the point of view of the director and described with the intention of revealing the learning process for all involved in the collaborative process.

Body And Soul: Food, The Female (In) Corporeal, And The Narrative Effects Of Mind/Body Duality, Andrea Adolph

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study combines philosophical, historical, and cultural modes of inquiry in order to explore what has occurred when selected authors have attempted to "write the body." Augmented by archival and primary cultural research, the dissertation is grounded in the experiential, "everyday" qualities of women's lives. Samples of women's cultural materials such as beauty, cookery, and household management texts, and popular women's magazines serve as informative backdrops for an investigation of middle- and working-class British and Anglo-Irish women's culture during the twentieth century. This study investigates some of the ways in which women have thought about food in relation to more …

Analysis Of Death Trends In Coroner Cases In East Baton Rouge Parish From January 1, 1991 To December 31, 2001, Gina Ann Dimattia

LSU Master's Theses

Analysis of death trends in a geographic area can provide valuable information regarding the health of the people in that area. Additionally, evaluation of variables such as sex, race, age, and cause of death can aid local health officials in serving the needs of the population. East Baton Rouge Parish is located in southern Louisiana, includes the capital city of Baton Rouge, and has a population of 412,852. An analysis of death cases handled by the Coroner's Office in East Baton Rouge Parish has not been performed until now. This thesis presents results from an analysis of all deaths in …

Offline And Online Variants Of The Traveling Salesman Problem, John Ebenezer Augustine

LSU Master's Theses

In this thesis, we study several well-motivated variants of the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP). First, we consider makespan minimization for vehicle scheduling problems on trees with release and handling times. 2-approximation algorithms were known for several variants of the single vehicle problem on a path. A 3/2-approximation algorithm was known for the single vehicle problem on a path where there is a fixed starting point and the vehicle must return to the starting point upon completion. Karuno, Nagamochi and Ibaraki give a 2-approximation algorithm for the single vehicle problem on trees. We develop a Polynomial Time Approximation Scheme (PTAS) for …

Discrete Mathematics Topics In The Secondary School Curriculum, Aimee Beth Boyd

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis discusses two topics of discrete mathematics in a manner suitable for presentation at a secondary-school level. The introduction outlines the benefits of including discrete mathematics in the secondary-school curriculum. The two chapters which follow include detailed treatment of the two selected topics: the Traveling Salesman Problem and RSA encryption. The discussion of the Traveling Salesman Problem consists of introduction to the problem through several real-life scenarios, followed by a discussion of various methods for solving the problem. We discuss exact and approximate algorithms together with their computational complexity and practical limitations. The discussion of RSA encryption begins with …

The Role Of The Parisian Café In The Emergence Of Modern Art: An Analysis Of The Nineteenth Century Café As Social Institution And Symbol Of Modern Art, Karen Marie Dees

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the significance of the Paris café in Modern Art. In discussing the social and historical events of mid to late nineteenth century Paris, it establishes the atmosphere in which the first modern artists broke from the formal academy system. The primary focus is two-fold. First, how the café was established in Parisian culture as a social institution and the role this played as a replacement for the Ecole des Beaux Arts and in the formation of a new art movement. Second, how the new artists incorporated the café culture into their art as a representation of modern …

The Greek Sophists : Teachers Of Virtue, David Dwyer Corey

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a study of the Greek sophists as teachers of aretê (virtue or human excellence) and a study of the conflict between sophistic and Socratic political values as portrayed in the dialogues of Plato. The first section offers a new definition of the term "sophist" based on ancient sources and attempts to present as clear a picture as is historically possible of the sophists' activities. The second section examines and evaluates Plato's criticisms of the sophists drawing attention especially to the dependence of certain criticisms upon a questionable set of epistemological assumptions about the role of knowledge in …

Pay Satisfaction Consequences : Development And Test Of A Theoretical Model, Larry Hugh Faulk Ii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The considerable research examining pay satisfaction over the past thirty years has focused on antecedents and the conceptualization of the construct. Notably little attention has been given to pay satisfaction consequences. This dissertation incorporates organizational justice literature to develop a model of pay satisfaction consequences and then shows the effect of pay satisfaction on job performance, turnover intentions, organizational commitment, and other variables. Two typologies are created to explain the relationship between pay satisfaction dimensions and consequences. One typology classifies the dimensions of pay satisfaction according to their form and what type of exchange is created with the organization. The …

The Impact Of Institutional Stock Ownership On A Firm's Earnings Management Practice: An Empirical Investigation, Santanu Mitra

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines whether institutional investor shareholdings inhibit firm managers from engaging in earnings management practice. It investigates the empirical association between discretion/flexibility available to managers in managing abnormal non-cash working capital accruals and institutional stock ownership for a sample of 386 New York Stock Exchange firms over a period of 8 years, from 1991 through 1998. The differential institutional influence on the level of accrual management of firms having different information environment, S&P 500 versus non S&P 500, is also examined to see whether the difference in information environment of these two sets of firms has any effect on …

The Historic Landscape Of Mendocino: What Terms Define The Landscape Of A Rural Historic Landscape?, William Morrison

LSU Master's Theses

In this study, the terms that define a Rural Historic Landscape were examined. The examination of these terms determined the selection of the appropriate terms to identify the landscape of a Rural Historic Landscape. A case study of the Historic District of Mendocino, California was used to review the effectiveness of the landscape terms. The identified landscape elements in and around the Historic District were then evaluated using the National Register of Historic Places Standards. The result of the evaluation was the determination that a Rural Historic Landscape does exist separately from the Historic District as a landscape but a …

Louisiana Mass Media Perceptions Of The Lsu Agcenter's Communications Effort, Robert James Soileau

LSU Master's Theses

LSU AgCenter Communications sends news stories and materials to all three major mass media for news - newspaper, radio and television - in the state of Louisiana. These news releases are designed to educate and inform the general public about LSU AgCenter programs and research through the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service and the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station. LSU AgCenter Communications wanted to know the effectiveness of its news effort in terms of usage by the media, and what was the media’s perception of the LSU AgCenter and the topics covered by communications. Three researcher-designed surveys were developed, one for each …

The Influence Of The Use Of Recommended Management Practices On Milk Production In Southeast Louisiana, Ronald David Bardwell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The dairy industry in Southeast Louisiana is one of the largest agricultural industries, with a gross farm value of over 74 million dollars. Much of the economy of Southeast Louisiana parishes depends on the dairy industry. Therefore, improvements in production efficiency and/or effectiveness would have an enormous impact on the parish economy. This study identifies the use of recommended practices by dairy producers, thus allowing educational programs to be focused on specific areas of greatest need. The purpose of the study was to describe the management practices of Southeast Louisiana dairy producers and to determine if a relationship existed between …

The Interaction Between Hydrology And Water Quality For Urban Rainfall-Runoff: Implications For Management Strategies, Christopher Michael Dean

LSU Master's Theses

In urban environments, anthropogenic activity deposits potentially hazardous residuals onto impervious surfaces. To investigate the process of wet-weather constituent transport, twelve rainfall/runoff events collected at an experimental catchment site in Baton Rouge, Louisiana were analyzed for temporal delivery of aggregate constituents (SSC, COD, TDS) as well as dissolved and particulate-bound metal concentrations (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn). Event mean concentrations for the parameters analyzed often exceeded USEPA discharge limits. Rainfall-runoff events were characterized as either mass-limited or flow-limited. Events designated as mass-limited exhibited a high runoff volume, low vehicle to volume ratio (VPV), high stream power and a low correlation …

An Analysis Of Student Collaboration And Task Completion Through Project Based Learning In A Web-Supported Undergraduate Course, William Randall Thomas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past decade calls for reform in higher education have emphasized that education should become less instructor centered with students taking a more active role in their learning. Moreover, there is increasing pressure on university professors to implement student centered teaching strategies that negate time and place restrictions of the classroom by integrating technologies that support the active engagement of students through Internet based applications. The goal of this study was to gain insights into the interactions that occur in online communications in a project-based learning activity. Twenty-one undergraduate students participated in the study while completing a component of …

Open Space For The Public: An Evaluation Of Designed Open Spaces On Urban University Campuses, Elizabeth Errett Neil

LSU Master's Theses

A public university that is perceived as being physically open and accessible to the general public can help promote a better relationship between the city and the university. Public urban universities have a responsibility to provide usable, accessible open space for the public. Universities and designers recognize the importance of integrating their campus into the community and creating spaces for students that allow for outdoor and social activities. However, little attention has been given to the need to provide spaces that allow for outdoor and social activities for the public. The public urban university was used as a model because …

The Tardieu Moment: Andre Tardieus Failure As Prime Minister Of France, 1929-1930, Tim K. Fuchs

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis is concerned with André Tardieu, a French politician who had an outstanding career as a journalist and a politician. After the retirement of Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré in 1929, it seemed like Tardieu would be the natural choice as his successor. He was the only leader on the Right. Tardieu formed his first cabinet in November 1929 and proposed an ambitious program for public works projects to improve the country’s infrastructure. Despite solid funding, Tardieu’s proposal never passed the Chamber of Deputies and his ministry fell in December 1930. The purpose of this thesis is to find the …