Digital Commons Network^™

Truth's Veil: Language And Meaning In Merleau-Ponty And Derrida, Helen Troy Mellon

LSU Master's Theses

The linguistic structuralism of Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) attracted the attention of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, prompting what is thought to be Merleau-Ponty’s “linguistic turn” of 1947. Saussure’s theory of the self-referential structure of linguistic signs as constitutive of value, was tied by Merleau-Ponty to his conception of the structure of intercommunication as constitutive of human value and meaning. Jacques Derrida, in the 1960s, also appealed to Saussure’s theory in formulating his thesis of a deferring and differing relationship between linguistic signs as constitutive of meaning, but rejected what he saw as the privileging of a metaphysics of presence-to-meaning in Saussure. One …

Tracking Down The Marrons: Archaeo-Geography Of Marronage In The Caribbean, E. Kofi Agorsah

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

As the Maroons escaped from enslavement into unknown and inaccessible environments, they relied on their mental maps developed through sequential exploration of those environments to establish and defend their settlements. Initially they would take advantage of the knowledge of the areas surrounding the plantations from which they escaped, explore them thoroughly and then, at the appropriate time, link their escape routes and locations to those mental maps that they had acquired. That knowledge would have helped them to develop networks of familiar pathways and landmarks along, and around which, they arranged their settlements. This paper suggests that knowledge of such …

Radical Dialectics In The Experimental Poetry Of Berssenbrugge, Hejinian, Harryman, Weiner, And Scalapino, Camille Martin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I focus on the work of five contemporary experimental poets - Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Lyn Hejinian, Carla Harryman, Hannah Weiner, and Leslie Scalapino - in order to demonstrate various aspects of a philosophical dynamic at work in their poetry. The critical debates surrounding experimental poetry often tend to be structured as a dualistic opposition with, for example, the forces of coherence, narrative linearity, and transparent referentiality on one side, and the forces of semantic disruption, narrative discontinuity, and linguistic materiality on the other. On each side, critics attempt to bolster the essential value of one term or set …

A Comparative Study Of Two Treatment Approaches For Improving Middle School Students' Reading Comprehension, Vessa Annette Cartmill

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of having material read to and discussed with learning disabled students (i.e., a compensatory approach termed Accommodated Reading in this study) compared to teaching the literate language of text structures to students (i.e., a language intervention approach termed Communicative Reading Strategies). Participants were two 5th grade students and three 6th grade students, classified as learning disabled according to criteria of the State of Louisiana. Students took part in the study 3 times per week, 40 minutes per day for 5 ½ weeks during their regular speech-language therapy time. After each …

Jazz And The Cultural Transformation Of America In The 1920s, Courtney Patterson Carney

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the early twentieth century jazz was a regionally based, racially defined dance music that featured solo and collective improvisation. Originating in New Orleans, jazz soon spread throughout the country as musicians left the South for better opportunities-both economic and social-elsewhere in the country. Jazz greatly increased in popularity during the 1920s. No longer a regional music dominated by African Americans, jazz in the 1920s helped define a generation torn between the Victorian society of nineteenth century America and the culture of modernity that was quickly defining the early twentieth century. Jazz and its eventual popularity represented the cultural tensions …

Congressional Power To Regulate Sex Discrimination: The Effect Of The Supreme Court's "New Federalism", Calvin R. Massey

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

"Argument Is War"-Or Is It A Game Of Chess? : Multiple Meanings In The Analysis Of Implicit Metaphors, L. David Ritchie

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Both Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and Vervaeke and Kennedy (1996), in their critique of Lakoff and Johnson, drew narrowly from a broad range of reasonable interpretations of the metaphors they analyzed. Expanding the interpretations vitiates many of Vervaeke and Kennedy's criticisms, but it supports their call for an open interpretation of groups of metaphors and points toward a more complex elaboration of the theories put forth by Lakoff and Johnson. The results of applying this approach to "ARGUMENT IS WAR" suggest that war is not necessarily the primary conceptual metaphor for contentious argument, as Lakoff and Johnson claimed. Rather, there …

Census 2000: The Latino Population And The Transformation Of Metropolitan New York, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This study examines demographic and socioeconomic aspects of the Latino population of the New York City area according to the 2000 census.

Methods: Data on Latinos and other racial/ethnic groups were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa. Cases in the dataset were weighted and analyzed to produce population estimates.

Results: New York City’s Latino population increased from 23.7% of all New Yorkers in 1990 to 27% in 2000. If growth rates between 1990 and 2000 continue for the remainder of the decade, Latinos …

Flamenco Guitar: History, Style, And Context, Peter L. Manuel

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Reflecting The Pacific, Wolfgang Welsch

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

The title of my article has a double meaning: on the one hand, I intend to reflect the Pacific Ocean in the sense of mirroring it; and on the other, of course, also to think about this mirroring, to reflect on it.

Fergie's Prescience: The Changing Nature Of Diglossia In Tunisia, Keith Walters

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite criticisms it has received, Ferguson's (1959b) account of diglossia should be recognized for its prescience. It offered not only an admittedly idealized characterization of diglossia in Arabic, but also pointed out how and why it might change. Focusing on Tunisia, this article demonstrates the many ways in which Fergie was right. It examines the changing demographics of Tunisians' access to the high variety of Arabic; the complex ways in which Tunisians, and Arabs more generally, deal with the "communicative tensions" diglossia creates; and considers the changing nature of Arabic in what is, in many ways, a postdiglossic Tunisia.

The Interactive Work Of Prosody In The Irf Exchange: Teacher Repetition In Feedback Moves, John Hellermann

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article examines the interactive import of prosody from a perspective of participants' orientation to talk in interaction, taking advantage of data from institutional discourse to focus on the prosodic packaging of recurring turn sequences of the same discourse activity. The analysis focuses on the third slot of a ubiquitous three-part classroom discourse sequence, the IRF exchange (Sinclair & Coulthard 1975), a site in which teachers make repetitive feedback moves following student responses. Examination of more than 25 hours of classroom discourse and more than 300 third-turn teacher feedback types uncovered a systematic use of prosody for these teacher repetitions …

Book Review Of Arabic Language Handbook By Mary Catherine Bateson, Kristen Kern

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

Review of the book Arabic Language Handbook by Mary Catherine Bateson.

Recent Publications

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

No abstract provided.

Body Image As A Function Of Colorism: Testing A Theoretical Model, Alicia V. Hall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A Covariate Structure Model was used to examine a possible relationship between colorism as a component of body image and global psychological functioning in the hypothesized model. Two hundred-fifty-five African-American women were recruited from undergraduate psychology and social work classes to participate in the current study from state and community colleges in the southeastern United States, and from social groups and church organizations. The results indicated that the hypothesized model was not a good fit to the data; therefore, the model was re-evaluated. The results of the analysis of the revised model indicated that the revised model was not plausible. …

2002 Oregon Crime Victims’ Needs Assessment Final Report, Deborah Elliott, Alice Galloway, Karen Cellarius, Mary Louise Mcclintock, Mary Ellen Johnson, Mandy Davis, John Knutson

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

On behalf of the Crime Victims’ Assistance Section of the Oregon Department of Justice, Portland State University’s Regional Research Institute for Human Services conducted an 18-month (July 2001-December 2002) needs assessment of the current state of crime victims’ services and victims’ needs in Oregon. The primary objectives of the needs assessment were to identify:

• Gaps in the current service delivery system, including linkages among agencies
• Range and quality of services
• Barriers to accessing services, particularly among underserved populations
• How well Crime Victims’ Rights are implemented
• Model national and statewide programs

This report is a compilation of the findings gathered from …

Understanding Dance Understanding, Curtis L. Carter

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Perspectives On Comparative Literature, Alexandru Boldor

LSU Master's Theses

The main objective of this dissertation was to provide researchers interested in the history and evolution of "comparative literature" with a collection of references delineating the evolution of the concept and the development of academic departments dedicated to its study. The paper includes a first section describing the main issues contributing to the "identity crisis" with which studies and departments defining themselves as "comparative" were consistently confronted ever since the term was coined. The "preliminary concepts" section offers an overview of the elements that usually confer a "comparative" quality to a literary study, such as interdisciplinarity and multiculturalism, together with …

Storying The Body : Women's Narratives Through The Lens Of Breast Cancer, Janet A. Griffin

Theses : Honours

What can women's narratives contribute to our understanding of breast cancer and to feminist theories of the body? This thesis explores the meanings women construct to make sense of embodied experiences of breast cancer, and the profound experience of breast loss. Rich contextual data was elicited from in depth, guided conversations with five premenopausal women who have undergone mastectomy. Adopting feminist methodology, biographic-narrative was used to place the body at the heart of inquiry. This thesis explores the personal and theoretical meanings of mastectomy, embedded in the larger story of how these five women experience their breasts, throughout their lives. …

Phonological And Syntactic Processing, And The Role Of Working Memory In Reading Comprehension Among High School Students, John V. Holsgrove

Theses : Honours

The performance of 60 year8 students was examined on tasks measuring phonological processing, syntactic processing, and reading comprehension. The students were also administered several measures of working memory relating to the phonological loop and the central executive. A series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that phonological processing and syntactic processing were both predictors of reading comprehension, and that the presence or absence of the latter distinguished good and poor comprehenders respectively. The phonological loop was found to play a small but significant role in the processes involved in reading comprehension, but not the central executive. Gender differences suggested that boys …

Les Illuminations D'Arthur Rimbaud : Reflexions Sur Neuf Traductions En Anglais (1946-2002), Brian R. Rundgren

Theses : Honours

The aim of the thesis is to analyse nine translations of the Illuminations by Arthur Rimbaud including the latest translation by Wyatt Mason. The objective is to highlight certain difficulties confronted by all translators of poetic texts. The work will highlight some of the qualities and defects in the nine translations. The thesis also aims to give some insight into the extraordinary variety of techniques used by these nine translators. The nine translations of the Illuminations that we have studied in the thesis are those by: Louise Varese (1946,1957), Olivier Bernard (1962,!997), Wallace Fowlie (1966), Enid Rhodes Peschel (1973), Bertrand …

The Practice Of Homework : A Critical Ethnography : The Story Of Four Families, Jacqueline Hubbard

Theses : Honours

This thesis explores the homework experiences of four students and their families through the lens of critical inquiry. The stories of the participants are told through conversational interviews with students and their parents/caregivers, as well as their classroom teacher, in a bounded study. Drawing on these stories, the issue of homework is 'problematised', and analysed in light of issues such as institutional power and hegemony. A critical review of the literature reveals a significant gap in the existing research on homework in relation to the inclusion of student and parent voices. The study addresses this silence by listening to the …

Boys' Perceptions And Experiences Of Their Placement In A Secondary School Remedial Program : An Examination Of Self-Esteem, Attitude, Motivation And Reading Achievement, Angela Milmoe

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Remedial EngIish education has long focused on the development of students reading and writing skills, but research suggests that greater emphasis may need to be placed on affective factors such as self-esteem, motivation, attitude and perception. The influence of such 'non-cognitive' factors on any adolescent student's literacy development is often underestimated. For students experiencing difficulties in literacy, the interaction between perceived ability of degree of success in literacy and the affective factors often impact negatively on self-esteem, attitude and motivation. The relationship between self-esteem, attitude, perception, motivation and literacy needs to be explored, especially when dealing with students with literacy …

Closing The Achievement Gap One School At A Time: Reading Achievement And Hispanic Children, Nereida Inocencia Santa-Cruz

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Research indicates that the importance of learning to read is critical. An inability to read stands as an enormous barrier to one’s potential knowledge and social participation. Florida’s System of School Improvement and Accountability Act (1999, F.S.) also known as Florida’s High-Quality Education System rates schools in terms of performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Reading is the focal point of this accountability system. In Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), 29 elementary schools have been designated grade category F since the inception of the Florida’s High-Quality Education System. James H. Bright Elementary School was one of the originally …

Development And Evaluation Of A Prototype E-Learning Site To Train Japanese Elementary School Teachers How To Teach English To Children, Curtis H. Kelly

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide Japanese elementary school teachers assigned to teach English, the skills and tools to do so. Their training needs were assessed in order to develop a prototype e-learning site to provide that training. Seven research questions were answered: 1) What are the educational needs, both perceived and predicted, of Japanese elementary school teachers preparing to teach English to children? 2) What are appropriate systems of delivery for an educational program to satisfy these needs? 3) What are the criteria for the educational contents and format of an educational Web site to satisfy these needs? …

Entrance And Exit Guidelines For Speech And Language Programs In North Orange County, Joe H. Gillentine Jr.

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of applied dissertation was to assist the 5 school districts of the North Orange County (NOC) special education local plan area (SELPA) to develop entrance and exit guidelines for speech and language impairments (SLI).

Seventy-five state SELPA directors were asked if they had developed entrance and exit criteria for speech and language programs. Of the 18 responding, 4 directors reported that they had developed criteria. The state data revealed that all 4 of these SELPAs had a lower percentage of students identified as SLI than the NOC SELPA. Interviews of 10 speech and language pathologists (SLP) in the …

Improving Math Scores At Hutto Middle School, Marvin V. Thomas

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to determine if the Pre-Algebra Interactive Computer-Aided Natural Learning Education System (I CAN Learn Education Systems, 1999) could improve 8th-grade students’ performance in math on the Stanford Nine Achievement Test and Criterion Referenced Competency Test. Students are encouraged to become lifelong learners through a self-paced learning environment.

The writer implemented this system to deliver interactive multimedia curricula, enabling each student to learn at his or her own pace. Instruction was delivered to each student through a television-quality video, which is an integral part of every I CAN Learn (I CAN Learn Education Systems, 1999) lesson. …

Improving The Representation Of Minority School Age Children In Gifted Education Programs Through A Multifaceted Referral And Evaluation Process, Magali Balado

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to improve the problem that teachers were unable to meet the needs of academically talented minority children. The major goals for this applied dissertation were to increase the representation of academically minority children in gifted programs, provide training to teachers in the area of identifying gifted characteristics, and to develop a multifaceted process for the referral and evaluation of academically talented minority children.

The writer developed training materials to provide in-service and training to teachers, school staff personnel, counselors, and psychologists in the areas of observing and assessing gifted characteristics in academically talented minority children. …

The Development Of A Bilingual Program Assessment Tool, Francisco R. Grullon

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

An average of 43% of limited English proficient (LEP) students in Grade 4 failed the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System in spring 2001 compared to 6% of the regular education Grade 4 students within Massachusetts. The failure rate of LEP students should be at the same level or close to the same level as the failure rate of regular education students. Moreover, the achievement gap between regular and LEP students seems to increase from elementary school to middle school and on to high school.

This applied dissertation identified the variables that affect the academic achievement of LEP students through a review …

Bridging The Gap In Writing In High Poverty Schools, Alexis N. Gordon

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This report describes an intervention to improve writing scores of the 180 third and fifth grade students in six high poverty schools. These schools received Title I service in grades three and five. The Delaware State Testing Program (DSTP) identified these schools as schools in school improvement for 2000-2001, under review for 2001- 2002 or both. There was a 35% difference within these schools between the students described as high poverty and those who were not who met the writing standard.

The planned solution strategy was the development of a comprehensive writing program. Two Title I Itinerant Writing Teachers coordinated …