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Gringo And Teacher: A Study Of Professional Self-Formation Through Cross-Cultural Research, John Shock

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis is, in large part, the story of the author’s transformation from a teacher/researcher who studies others to one who studies himself. It is a story that unfolds against the backdrop of his experiences as a teacher, student, and researcher conducting qualitative research into issues of education in Louisiana and Mexico during the three-year period from the spring of 2001 to the spring of 2004—a tumultuous time in American history by any measure. At the heart of this thesis lies the decision to adopt a research approach that is more personal and open-ended than purposeful and intentional. It is …

Reliability And Concordance Of The Childhood Autism Rating Scale And Dsm-Iv In Adults With Severe And Profound Mental Retardation, Noha Farrah Minshawi

LSU Master's Theses

Researchers and clinicians have long treated autism as though it were a disorder that only affected children. As a result, little literature is available on the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of adults with autism. One of the first issues to address in this population is diagnosis. While several rating scales and diagnostic systems exist for surveying autistic behavior in children, researchers have not demonstrated the reliability of these scales for adults. The present study focused on two commonly used instruments, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). In the …

Variation In The Performance Of Speech Acts In Peninsular Spanish: Apologies And Requests, Laura Elizabeth Stapleton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines variations in the performance of speech acts and additional discourse features in situational speech patterns of Peninsular Spanish. Based on studies by Blum-Kulka, et al. (1989), nine situations were created, varying from less severe to more severe, to elicit natural responses for apologies and requests. Forty participants from Castile and Andalusia were interviewed, and the data were coded to examine the differences in speech act realizations and the use of specific discourse features. The participants’ responses were classified by regional, gender, and age differences for the data set. Sociolinguistic differences in the use of additional discourse features …

A Performer's Guide To Virgil Thomson's Five Songs From William Blake, Andrew David Whitfield

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Though perhaps his most well-known vocal works might be his operas, Four Saints in Three Acts and The Mother of Us All, American composer Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) did write nearly seventy songs for voice and piano, including several important song cycles. One of these cycles, the Five Songs from William Blake, represents an impressive composition for the baritone voice. Unfortunately, much of the previous scholarship about Thomson did not award these Blake songs adequate attention, nor was it able to draw upon many of the primary sources about Thomson’s life and work that are now available. The purpose of this …

Bezier Curves For Metamodeling Of Simulation Output, Harish J. Kingre

LSU Master's Theses

Many design optimization problems rely on simulation models to obtain feasible solutions. Even with substantial improvement in the computational capability of computers, the enormous cost of computation needed for simulation makes it impractical to rely on simulation models. The use of metamodels or surrogate approximations in place of actual simulation models makes analysis realistic by reducing computational burden. There are many popular metamodeling techniques such as Polynomial Regression, Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines, Radial Basis Functions, Kriging and Artificial Neural Networks. This research proposes a new metamodeling technique that uses Bezier curves and patches. The Bezier curve method is based on …

Route Planning Of Automated Guided Vehicles For Container Logistics, Sanjay Shankarrao Gurav

LSU Master's Theses

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are widely used in container terminals for the movement of material from shipping to the yard area and vice versa. Research in this area is directed toward the development of a path layout design and routing algorithms for container movement. The problem is to design a path layout and a routing algorithm that will route the AGVs along the bi-directional path so that the distance traveled will be minimized. This thesis presents a bi-directional path flow layout and a routing algorithm that guarantee conflict-free, shortest time routes for AGVs. Based on the path layout, a routing …

The Lsat, Law School Exams And Meritocracy: The Surprising And Undertheorized Role Of Test-Taking Speed, William D. Henderson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Within the field of psychometrics, it is widely acknowledged that test-taking speed and reasoning ability are separate abilities with little or no correlation to each other. The LSAT is a univariate test designed to measure reasoning ability; test-taking speed is assumed to be an ancillary variable with a negligible effect on candidate scores. This Article explores the possibility that test-taking speed is variable common to both the LSAT and actual law school exams. This commonality is important because it may serve to increase the predictive validity of the LSAT. The author obtained data from a national and a regional law …

Rebuilding The Closet: Bowers V. Hardwick, Lawrence V. Texas, And The Mismeasure Of Homosexual Historiography, Jody L. Madeira

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In an effort to engage in such specification, this paper will first address the mischaracterization of history in Bowers, which portrays the historic legal and ecclesiastical penalties of what the Court labels as "homosexual activities" as a continuous, unitary narrative extending from the halls of the Emperors Theodosius and Justinian to the legislative assembly rooms of Georgia and Texas. This illusory perspective portrays the criminalization of sodomy (and therefore the identity of homosexuality itself) as an impossible cultural continuum. The impossibility of this continuum lies not only in its implicit assumption that states and other lawmaking entities throughout history shared …

"I Pray It Happens In My Lifetime": The Life History Of Clara Byrd Glasper, A Black Woman Educator Fighting For Educational Equality, Carol Marie Miller

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to write the life history of a black woman educator is order to enhance our understandings of educational activism and social change in the Deep South. African American educators have been marginalized and under represented in their communities despite the roles they have played in ameliorating educational inequalities. The life history of seventy-year-old Clara Byrd Glasper’s activism as a black woman educator is one example. Life history, as a method of research, reveals an individual’s life experiences from their perspective and provides the appropriate methodology to explore the following research questions: In the context …

Fighting The Axis Of Illness: Hiv/Aids, Human Rights, And U.S. Foreign Policy, David P. Fidler

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Outlines Of Public Health's "New World Order", David P. Fidler

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Book Review. Taking Coase Seriously: Neil Komesar On Law's Limits, Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Venous Emptying On Reactive Hyperemic Blood Flow, Zeki Bahadir

LSU Master's Theses

Recent work by Tschakovsky & Hughson (Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 279: H1007, 2000) indicates that venous emptying serves as a stimulus for vasodilation. This suggests the importance of recognizing the potential influence of venous volume on reactive hyperemic blood flow (RHBF) following occlusion. Purpose: To examine the influence of venous emptying on RHBF. Methods: Non-dominant forearm in-flow, venous capacitance and outflow were examined in 21 individuals [age=23±2.27y]. Forearm arterial inflow, venous capacitance, and outflow were obtained two times using strain gauge plethysmography. Forearm blood inflow was estimated at rest and following 5 min of upper arm occlusion. Forearm …

Behavioral And Electrophysiological Assessment Of Children With A Specific Temporal Processing Disorder, Annette Hurley

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Auditory processing disorders (APDs) have received considerable attention over the past few decades. Much of the attention has focused on the controversy surrounding the operational definition of APD, the heterogeneous nature of APD, and an appropriate test battery for APD assessment. Temporal processing deficits are one characteristic of APD and are the focus of the present investigation. This investigation reports behavioral and early electrophysiological measures in a group of children with specific temporal processing difficulties and an age-matched control group. In an effort to better describe the subjects, two language tests and the SCAN-C were administered. Significant differences were found …

Estimation Of The Effect Of Misclassifications On Diagnostic Test Performance In Two Persistent Bovine Viral Infections, Kimberly Orr

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Validation of diagnostic assay performance is hampered where no gold standard exists. Bayesian estimates of the sensitivity and specificity were applied to studies of two persistent bovine infections: bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV), and bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). BVDV pathogenesis is well described. Losses of $20 million in 1992 alone led the Danish government to mandate eradication. Two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests were developed; one antibody-based to detect exposure, one antigen-based to detect persistent infection. Bayesian estimates of the sensitivity and specificity were 96.6% and 99.2%, and 98.2% and 99.8% for the antibody and antigen ELISA, respectively. Maximum Likelihood …

Protein Aggregation Studies: Inhibiting And Encouraging Β-Amyloid Aggregation, Jed Paul Aucoin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This work demonstrates peptide-based aggregation mediation of fibril forming peptides, notably β-amyloid (1-40), Aβ_1-40. To achieve the goals of this work, Aβ_1-40 aggregation was governed by ionic strength, temperature, and pH. After controlling and reproducing Aβ_1-40 aggregate formation (fibrils), each peptide-based aggregation mediator was evaluated for its ability to self-aggregate and to possess surface-active properties. The incorporation of these mediators in Aβ_1-40 solutions changed the surface tension and produced aggregate complexes of mediator and Aβ_1-40. Evidence that Aβ_1-40 fibril formation may be mediated by disorder-to-order transitions has been observed by layer formation …

Integration Of Management Tactics For The Rice Water Weevil Lissorhoptrus Oryzophilus Kuschel With Particular Emphasis On Use Of Plant Resistance (Tolerance), Li Zou

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Studies were conducted to test the hypothesis, significant benefits can be achieved for the management of rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, by the use of rice varieties with low levels of host plant resistance coupled with the judicious use of cultural practices and insecticides. Tolerant traits of a current commercial variety of rice, "Bengal", was manifested consistently over multiple years. Study on rice growth as effected by weevil injury showed that pruning of root systems by larvae of weevil resulted in a decrease in tiller number and shoot biomass of rice plants in the vegetative stage of growth. Yield …

Development Of A True Triaxial Apparatus For Soil Testing, Heath Stuart Williams

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis presents the development of a True Triaxial Testing TTT Apparatus. The TTT apparatus developed has the capabilities of applying the three principal stresses to a rectangular prismoidal specimen independently. The minor principal stress is provided by the cell pressure. The major principal stress is provided by a load actuator traveling at a constant velocity. A LabView software program instantaneously reads instrumentation, makes calculations, and commands a second load actuator to induce an intermediate principal stress that maintains a constant b-value; where b-value is equal to the intermediate principal stress minus the minor principal stress divided by the major …

Musical Play Across Ethnic Boundaries In Western Jamaica, Ronald Eric Dickerson

LSU Master's Theses

An ethnography of music, ritual, and festival in western Jamaica, this thesis reports on fieldwork performed in St. Elizabeth and St. James Parishes between June 2002 and January 2003. Featured field sites include rural dancehall events, Kumina performances, Accompong Town's Maroon Heritage Festival, and a Rastafarian music and nutrition festival called "The Supper of Rastafari." Building an account of these and other sites of cultural performance, this study focuses on social connections between groups of participants, traced through poetic, historical, and personal relationships among performers, especially across boundaries of ethnic, stylistic, or religious difference within Jamaica's national cultural identity.

Insect Pest Management Approaches Among Currently Recommended Sugarcane Varieties In Louisiana, Frederick R. Posey

LSU Master's Theses

The sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (F.), (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is responsible for more than 90% of the total insect damage to sugarcane in Louisiana. The decision to apply insecticides is complex and influenced by numerous variables. Included among these variables are insect infestation levels, varieties, weather conditions, production input levels, and environmental concerns. Predicting damage that may result from infestations occurring at a particular time of the crop production season is also important. The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of these variables on sugarcane borer populations and subsequent yield loss. Results from a two-year survey indicated a …

Constraining Modern Mercenarism, James R. Coleman

UC Law Journal

Mercenarism's metamorphosis during the final decades of the twentieth century from the profession of soldiers of fortune into the work of publicly traded private military assistance corporations has enabled modern mercenaries to evade a burgeoning international legal movement toward their eradication. Despite persistent efforts to recognize private military corporations as mercenary companies, the evolution of legal definitions of mercenarism has failed to keep pace with the strong international consensus against mercenaries, thereby causing the letter of international law to diverge from its spirit. Hiding mercenarism behind a corporate veil flouts the spirit of international law and serves to eviscerate the …

Testimonial Hearsay As The Basis For Expert Opinion: The Intersection Of The Confrontation Clause And Federal Rule Of Evidence 703 After Crawford V. Washington, Ross Andrew Oliver

UC Law Journal

The Supreme Court recently returned to the Framers' intent behind the Confrontation Clause and overruled precedent which allowed a court to admit hearsay against a criminal defendant upon a finding that the hearsay was particularly reliable. Now, a court may admit testimonial hearsay against a criminal defendant only if the defendant has an opportunity to cross-examine the declarant. This Note examines how this decision may affect expert witness testimony offered by the prosecution in a criminal trial.

Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, expert witnesses may rely on-and disclose to a jury-inadmissible hearsay that forms the basis of their opinions. …

Facilitating Auditing's New Early Warning System: Control Disclosure, Auditor Liability, And Safe Harbors, Lawrence A. Cunningham

UC Law Journal

This Article considers the interplay between new auditing standards governing audits of internal control over financial reporting and pre-existing legal standards governing auditor liability for audit failure. The interplay produces skewed liability incentives that, if unadjusted, threaten to impair the objective of this new control-audit regime. The regime's objective is, in part, to provide an early warning to financial statement users when current financial statements are reliable but control weaknesses indicate material risk of a company's future inability to produce reliable financial statements. To be meaningful, auditor disclosure of material weaknesses in control and their potential effects on financial statements …

Thinking Outside The Frame : How Museum Curators Shape The Viewer's Experience Of Art, Sara J. Hansen

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of The Implicit Theory Of Integrity On An Internal Auditor's Asessment Of Management Fraud Risk, Stephanie F. Watson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research project is to determine whether the implicit theory of integrity, a theory from the social psychology literature that predicts how social judgments and decisions are made, can explain internal auditors’ decisions. The implicit theory (Dweck and Leggett 1988) states that there are two types of people: (1) entity theorists and (2) incremental theorists. Entity theorists form strong inferences from observed behavior that are used to predict future behavior. Incremental theorists, on the other hand, do not infer characteristics from behavior, and therefore, do not attempt to predict future behavior. In an internal auditing context, the …

Metamorphosis Of A Songwriter, Troy Donnell Erickson

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

The Consideration Of Economic Consequences In Standard Setting For Accounting, Hursha Ramaiya

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Disorientations And Representations In Popular Culture Objects : The Case Of Redbook And Clara, Beth M. Eslinger

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Taxing The New Intellectual Property Right, Xuan-Thao N. Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine

UC Law Journal

Domain names, particularly generic domain names such as men.com, loan.com, beauty.com, cool.com, and car.com, have become the new valuable intellectual property right in recent years, commanding high monetary value in the marketplace. How should the acquisition costs of such domain names be treated under the current tax regime for intellectual property? Addressing this complex question requires an examination of the character of domain names through numerous doctrines ranging from traditional intellectual property right to government contract. In addition, the question dictates a critique of whether domain names are similar to existing rights to which the current intellectual property tax regime …

"Captive Audience" Meetings In Union Organizing Campaigns: Free Speech Or Unfair Advantage?, Elizabeth J. Masson

UC Law Journal

Union density in the private sector in the United States is less than ten percent. Yet studies have shown millions of nonunionized U.S. workers would like to be represented by a union. Employer resistance to unionization is a key factor in whether employees are able to successfully elect a union as their bargaining representative. Although some tactics employers use in antiunion campaigns are unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act, "captive audience meetings" are not. Employers may lawfully hold mandatory captive audience meetings, assembling employees to listen to anti-union speeches, during an organizing campaign. The sole restriction on such meetings …