Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Ethnic Embeddedness On The Gender Role Attitudes And Division Of Household Labor Of Married Hispanic Women, Susana Guerra

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this study I examine the effects of both network structure and network function on the gender role attitudes and division of household labor among Hispanic women. Using a representative sub-sample drawn from the first wave of the National Study of Families and Households, I determine to what extent network processes help explain the gender role attitudes and behaviors of Hispanic women. Specifically, I focus on how embeddedness within a Hispanic community, as well as a woman’s level of social support exchange with kin and non-kin help explain her current gender role attitudes and household labor allocation. I found that …

Development Of A Predictive Model For Student-Athlete Retention And Graduation At Louisiana State University, Mary Allyn Boudreaux

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The National Collegiate Athletic Association through its member institutions has implemented academic standards governing initial athletic eligibility and has led reform initiatives tying the ability to compete athletically to student-athlete retention and graduation. Louisiana State University (LSU), like many Division I institutions, admitted its scholarship athletes using these initial eligibility standards as a minimum qualification for admission. However, as NCAA requirements have become less stringent, the admissions requirements at LSU have increased. Concerns about the retention and graduation of student-athletes and an increasing gap between the academic credentials of the student body and student-athletes led administrators to question the wisdom …

Spatial Econometric Analysis Of Louisiana Rural Real Estate Values, Patricia Soto

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The general purpose of this study was to conduct a spatial analysis of the dynamics of rural land values in Louisiana. Specifically, spatial econometric procedures and hedonic price analysis were used to evaluate the impact of land characteristics on land prices across rural land markets in Louisiana. Initially, hedonic models were estimated by ordinary least squares (OLS) procedures to test for the presence of spatial autocorrelation using Lagrange Multiplier tests. Results suggested that there was spatial autocorrelation in the error terms. Hedonic models were then estimated using maximum likelihood (ML) spatial error techniques. Log likelihood numbers and likelihood ratio tests …

Modeling Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris Mill) Wood Properties Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy, Brian Kipling Via

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research demonstrated model development for important wood properties using near infrared spectroscopy (NIR); it considered the effect of outside sources of error, and the ability of NIR to measure fiber morphology. Strength, stiffness, and density were successfully modeled from wood samples taken throughout 10 longleaf (Pinus palustris Mill) trees. Principal components and multiple linear regression were compared for performance in prediction of density, strength, and stiffness. I found both modeling techniques to yield similar prediction accuracies. However, I found that density could be estimated through Beer-Lambert’s law since the absorbance at all wavelengths increased with density. Also, 5 of …

The Relationship Between Social Behavior And Mealtime Behavior Problems In Individuals With Severe And Profound Mental Retardation, David E. Kuhn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

One of the defining features of mental retardation is a problem in adaptive functioning. An area of adaptive skills commonly deficient in this population is social functioning, often characterized as behaviors that provide individuals with the means to interact effectively and appropriately with others. Researchers in this area have generally focused on improving appropriate social behavior and/or decreasing behavioral excesses that interfere with social interactions. Few studies have examined the effects of improving social behavior on collateral behaviors. The current study examined the relationship between social behavior and feeding and mealtime problem behavior in individuals with mental retardation. Individuals across …

Investigations Into Dna Vaccination Against Channel Catfish Virus, Heather C. Harbottle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The leading viral killer of commercially produced channel catfish is Channel Catfish Virus (CCV). Studies conducted to evaluate DNA vaccination against CCV compared encoded gene, dose, multiple DNA vaccines, and immune response to vaccination. Genes were selected (ORFs 1 and 3 [immediate early genes], ORFs 6, 19, and 46 [membrane genes], and ORF59 [putative major envelope glycoprotein gene], cloned into a plasmid, and expressed in mammalian and fish cell culture to detect predicted molecular weight proteins. Plasmid vaccines were injected into fish muscle in doses of 50 μg, 25 μg, 5 μg, or 1 μg and efficacy was evaluated upon …

Soils Of Regeneration: Exploring Conceptualizations Of The Natural World As A Context For An Ecologically-Sensitive Curriculum, Emily A. Demoor

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

David Orr (1994) asserts that the ecological crisis is a crisis of education. This study explores the relationship between the ecological crisis and education by examining the role that language plays in shaping perceptions of the natural world. Toward this end it analyzes narratives of science, literature and other disciplines that conceptualize the natural world as object and as subject. It evaluates how particular metaphors used in reference to the natural world enhance or impede ecological understanding and the cultivation of responsibility and stewardship and considers ways in which these conceptualizations might be used as a basis for new curriculum …

Numerical Simulation And Field Verification Of Inclined Piezocone Penetration Test In Cohesive Soils, Lei Wei

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A large strain finite element analysis is performed to analyze the effect of soil anisotropy on the inclined piezocone penetration test in normally consolidated cohesive soils. The piezocone penetration is numerically simulated using the commercial finite element code ABAQUS. The saturated clay is modeled as a two-phase material and the effective stress principle is used to describe its behavior. A frictional contact interface utilizing Mohr-Coulomb's theory was chosen to represent interactions between the surface of the cone and the soil. The Anisotropic Modified Cam Clay Model (AMCCM) by Dafalias (1987) was chosen and implemented into ABAQUS through user subroutine UMAT. …

The Role Of Mentoring In The Development Of African American Nurse Leaders, Jacqueline Jones Hill

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to explore the role of mentoring in the development of African American nurses who have achieved leadership positions in baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs. This study also explored the similar and dissimilar mentoring experiences in same-race versus cross-race mentoring relationships. The theoretical framework for this study is Levinson’s adult developmental theory. A sequential mixed design was utilized. Forty-seven African American nurse leaders participated in Phase I, of which 10 were interviewed in Phase II. The findings showed that mentoring plays a role in the personal and professional development of African American nurse leaders …

Service Recovery And The Elusive Paradox: An Examination Of The Effects Of Magnitude Of Service Failure, Service Failure Responsiveness, Service Guarantee And Additional Recovery Effort On Service Recovery Comes, Anthony Hugh Kerr

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Service failure and recovery remain critical issues for both academicians and marketing practitioners. Defined as a service provider’s response to a failed service, service recovery can mean the difference between a firm’s success and failure, for increasing customer retention and limiting customer defection are integral components of organizational growth and profitability. The purpose of this dissertation was two-fold: (1) to test the effects of magnitude of service failure, service failure responsiveness, and the presence of a service guarantee on customer satisfaction levels and other service recovery outcomes (Study 1); and (2) to test the effects of additional recovery effort and …

Applying The Transtheoretical Model To Promote Greater Fruit And Vegetable Consumption: A Successful Approach To Maintaining Behavioral Change, Hiba Ahmad Bawadi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the response of participants in the first three Stages of Change (SOC) to a preparation stage-tailored intervention to increase fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption. An on-line survey was delivered to 400 university employees, and included questionnaires about their demographic information, SOC, self efficacy (SE), and decisional balance (DB). One hundred fifty six (39%) responded to the survey. A total of 40 were selected from the first three stages, precontemplation (PC), contemplation (C), and preparation (P), and were assigned into two groups (PC/C and P) with consideration to the best possible matching in …

A Basic Interpretative Analysis Of Instrumental Music Education Majors' Approaches To Score Study In Varying Musical Contexts, Jeremy S. Lane

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purposes of this qualitative study were to 1) provide a holistic description of procedures used by undergraduate instrumental music education majors (N = 21) in music score study tasks; 2) examine relationships among these procedures and their use in varying musical contexts; 3) examine relationships among score study tendencies, education level, and overall musical ability; and 4) provide general comparisons of undergraduate music education majors’ score study procedures and those implied by expert conductors’ major disciplinary ways of thinking. Each subject participated in two one-on-one interview sessions with the investigator. During each session, subjects “thought out loud” as they …

A Program To Train Veteran Teachers As Mentors For Beginning Teachers, Sherritta Campbell

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem addressed in this applied dissertation was that the Orange County Induction Program did not provide districtwide training, nor was there a method to select and pair mentors with teachers. The purpose of this applied dissertation was to enhance the Orange County Induction Program by developing a training component that would prepare veteran teachers to be mentors for beginning teachers. This component contains criteria not only for training mentors, but also for selecting and pairing mentors with beginning teachers based upon their areas of need in the field of education. The development research methodology was used for this applied …

Increasing Third-Grade Students’ Reading Achievement At Maximo Microsociety® Elementary School, Barbara F. Hires

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The goal of this study was to increase the reading achievement of 3rd-grade students in order to maintain little or no mandatory retention based on the new state law related to Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores. In the 2002-2003 school year, Maximo MicroSociety® Elementary School’s 3rd-grade mean score was 256 on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test compared to the district’s mean score of 292. An analysis of the 3rd-grade reading Pinellas Instructional Assessment Plan scores for the 2001-2003 school years indicated that the percentage of the school’s students reading below grade level was greater than that of the district. The …

Improving Instructional Practice Through Professional Study Groups, Alice Howe Lindsay

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to assess the impact of professional study groups on educational reform efforts. The problem was that although teachers at the elementary school were being provided training in balanced reading strategies, they were not integrating the new strategies into their instructional practice.

Teachers at the school volunteered to participate in study groups centered on the topic of balanced reading. Prior to implementation, teachers attended a 4-hour training session to learn about professional study groups. The teachers attended monthly workshops to review strategies used in balanced reading: prereading, guided reading, and post reading. They had the opportunity …

Internal Revenue Service Restructuring And Reform Act Of 1998: A Test Of New Public Management, William Meriwether Vandenburgh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The enactment of the 1998 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Reform Act resulted directly from perceived lapses in the federal taxation administration, which was publicly highlighted in Congressional hearings. Congress reacted by fundamentally altering the IRS’s implementation of the Internal Revenue Code (for the first time since 1952). The Joint Committee on Taxation noted that the overall objective of the 1998 IRS Reform Act was to have “a well-run IRS [which] is critical to the operation of our tax system.” From a public administration paradigm, the IRS moved from a traditional tax management methodology to a New Public Management (NPM) methodology. …

A Genetic Study Of Resistance To Kernel Infection By Aspergillus Flavus In Maize (Zea Mays L.), Ruming Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Maize (Zea mays L.) kernel infection by Aspergillus flavus is a chronic problem in the southern USA. Genetic resistance to A. flavus is needed to solve this problem. To ascertain and understand the inheritance of resistance to field kernel infection by A. flavus, a five-parent diallel analysis and a half-sib family analysis of 35 maize crosses were conducted during 2003 and 2004 for percent kernel infection (PKI) rates. All parents contained the leafy gene (Lfy). From the combining ability analysis of the five maize parents and their 20 F1s, highly significant general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA), and …

Identifying School-Aged Children At-Risk To Develop An Eating Disorder, Natalie Jean Muth

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Current research supports that school-based eating disorder prevention programs have yielded unsuccessful results. Hypotheses presented in chapter one suggest failure to implement effective prevention programs are related to problematic screening attempts and a lack of focus on targeting prevention at the primary level. Chapter two outlines a review of literature analyzing eating disorder identification, history, prevalence, assessment and existing prevention programs. Chapter three describes the present study, which uses an eating disorder assessment instrument to screen a consenting sample of forth through twelfth graders. Results, presented in chapter four, suggest (a) that a significant number of students could benefit for …

The Frequency Of Imagery Use On The Performance Of A Complex Motor Skill, Eric Rebhuhn

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The use of imagery to enhance athletic performance has been an interesting topic for coaches, athletes, and researchers. Indeed, a number of researchers have found that using mental imagery resulted in improved athletic performance (Blumenstein, Bar-Eli, & Tenenbaum, 1995; Corbin, 1972; Feltz & Landers, 1983; Weinberg, 1981). In addition, imagery has been reported to be one of the most utilized cognitive strategies by athletes (Defrancesco & Burke, 1997; Gould 1994). Findings suggest that imagery can be an effective performance improvement strategy. Moreover, a majority of the research has focused on simple motor tasks performed in laboratory settings rather than on …

Sexual Orientation And The Paradox Of Heightened Scrutiny, Nan D. Hunter

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court performed a double move, creating a dramatic discursive moment: it both decriminalized consensual homosexual relations between adults, and, simultaneously, authorized a new regime of heightened regulation of homosexuality. How that happened and what we can expect next are the subjects of this essay.

Living With Lawrence, Nan D. Hunter

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This Article will proceed in three steps. First, I will examine the Court's treatment of liberty. I see Lawrence as marking the emergence of a new approach to substantive due process analysis, one that has been simmering in the concurring opinions of Justices Souter, Stevens, and Kennedy for the last decade. These three Justices apparently now have a majority for extending meaningful constitutional protection to liberty interests without denominating them as fundamental rights. They also appear to be jettisoning, at least prospectively, a special category for privacy rights. Second, I will turn my attention to the ramifications of Lawrence's equality …

A Qualitative Model Test Of The Nep/Dsp, Steven R. Junge

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study evaluates a model of environmental beliefs constructed by Lester Milbrath (1989). Milbrath contends that a New Environmental Paradigm is emerging in opposition to the Dominant Social Paradigm embraced by most members of contemporary Western societies. Milbrath conducted a longitudinal study of three nations: the United States, Great Britain, and Germany. He gathered data through surveying samples of environmental leaders,, business leaders, government officials, and citizens in each of these nations. Based on data collected through these surveys, Milbrath developed a model of the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) and Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) reflected in the attitudes people hold …

Children’S Perceptions Of Peers’ Intentions In Ambiguous And Aggressive Situations, Tara Jo Finch

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the study was to examine high aggressive and low aggressive children's perceptions of their peers' intentions in ambiguous and aggressive situations. Teacher ratings of aggression were assessed for 25 first grade children. Measures were taken to evaluate children's judgments about aggressors' intentions in ambiguous and aggressive acts. In the first part of the assessment, children were read three stories about an ambiguously aggressive situation, asked whether or not it was okay for the provoker to perform the action, and asked why they believed the provoker carried out the aggressive act. In the second part, children were read …

A Decision Support System (Dss) For Stormwater Management System Selection, Angie Shelley Miles

Master's Theses and Capstones

On December 9, 1999 the US EPA published Phase II of the Clean Water Act. Under Phase II all existing municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) located in “urbanized areas” (as defined by the Bureau of the Census) and construction activities that disturb more than or equal to one acre but less than five acres are required to attain a NPDES permit. The MS4 entities are obligated by Phase II to develop, institute and enforce stormwater management programs. These programs must include the selection and implementation of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to reduce the pollutant load to receiving waters. …

Creative Preaching: How Multi-Sensory Preaching Connects The Word Of God To The Twenty-First Century Culture, Mark D. Cummins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to identify the benefits of creative preaching for the purpose of connecting the 21st century to the Word of God. The project will reveal the media reformation that brought about a cultural shift from hearing words to seeing words. By examining the scriptures, the reader will discover that creative preaching through multiple sensory inputs is not a new idea. Finally, research-based practical advice and transitional resources will be given to help today’s preachers creatively connect the Word of God with the 21st century.

Against Biopoetics: On The Use And Misuse Of The Concept Of Evolution In Contemporary Literary Theory, Bradley Bankston

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a critical assessment of "biopoetics:" a new literary theory that attempts to import ideas from evolutionary science to the study of literature. Borrowing from the field of evolutionary psychology, the biopoeticists argue that some literary forms and themes are particularly valuable because they result from our innate and evolved cognitive structure; they also attempt to create a normative aesthetic from the idea that evolution is progressive. In its first half, this study examines the claims of evolutionary psychology and their application by the biopoeticists; in the second half, it examines the idea that evolution is progressive, and …

Investigation Of Structure-Property Relationships Of Heavy-Fermion Materials, Robin Macaluso

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This work focuses on how local structural features influence large effective masses, magnetism, and superconductivity that are yet to be understood in heavy-fermion materials. Three sets of structurally-related materials are discussed in light of dimensionality, layering effects, choice of transition metal, coordination, and structural distortions: LnnMIn3n+2 (Ln = La, Ce; n = 1, 2, ‡; M = Co, Rh, Ir), CePdGa6, and Ce2PdGa12, and CeNiSb3. The LnnMIn3n+2 (n = 1, 2, ‡; Ln = La, Ce; M = Rh, Ir) intergrowth homologous series presents a unique opportunity to study structure-property relationships. LnnMIn3n+2 (Ln = La, Ce; n = 1, 2; …

Spatial Analyses And Growth Of Trees In Selected Bottomland Hardwood Stands, Luben D. Dimov

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sustainable management and conservation of the extensive bottomland hardwood forest resource in the southeastern U.S. requires a good understanding of basic structural and competitive relationships within these forests. To gain an insight into these relationships, plot information from stands in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi were analyzed. The effects of individual tree attributes, distance-dependant, and distance-independent competition measures on 5-yr radial growth of red oak crop trees were examined. Selected species included cherrybark oak (Quercus pagoda Raf.), water oak (Q. nigra L.), and Nuttall oak (Q. nuttallii Palmer). Spatial continuity of tree variables was explored through geostatistical analysis. Finally, spatial distribution …

The Influence Of State Merit-Based Aid On Access And Educational Experiences: An Exploration Of The Louisiana Tuition Opportunity Program For Students (Tops), Roderick L. Smothers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Access to higher education at the beginning of the new millennium faces unprecedented challenges. Although many of those challenges have been identified and addressed through research and federal and state policies, there still exists an inherent gap in the current and potential future success of today’s college students. This is particularly true for minority and lower-income students. Some of the identified challenges include: lack of financial assistance, persisting through and graduating from college, pre-college preparation, socioeconomic status, and family support/motivation. This study focuses primarily on the financial barriers that impede the process of providing equal access to all students, which …

Mothering Modes: Analyzing Mother Roles In Novels By Twentieth-Century United States Women Writers, Preselfannie Whitfield Mcdaniels

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

For this dissertation, the following novels have been chosen as examples of the many issues that are involved in mothering in United States society: Chapter 1: Dorothy Allison’s Bastard Out of Carolina and Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Chapter 2: Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon and Dorothy West’s The Wedding, Chapter 3: Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife and Christina García’s Dreaming in Cuban, and Chapter 4: Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Paule Marshall’s Brown Girl, Brownstones. For this study, the term “mothering” is specifically related to the rearing of children by the female parent. Rearing is defined as …