Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancement Of English Language Learner Literacy In An Urban High School, Cassandra L. Barker-Carr

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was a study that used a curriculum unit that was developed by Thombs (1998). It was a study to investigate the use of e-mail and preservice teachers as tools to enhance the literacy skills of high school students enrolled in the English as a second language (ESL) classes. A curriculum unit was used to encourage mentor feedback facilitated by e-mail communication. The ESL students wrote on topics that were assigned by their teacher, submitted the writings to their mentor via e-mail, and then received feedback from the mentor in the same manner. Originally, this curriculum unit was …

Differentiating Beliefs Of Insured And Uninsured, Insurance-Eligible State Employees: A New Application Of The Health Belief Model, Jill Elizabeth Murray

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The increasing number of uninsured Americans is a crucial policy issue for the United States; however, there is a paucity of empirical social science research on the uninsured with which to guide the development of policy. Previous research indicates that when insurance is voluntary, whether offered through a state-initiated reform to reduce uninsurance or offered through an employer as a benefit, some people choose to remain uninsured. The literature calls for research to increase understanding of the factors that affect whether people offered insurance accept or decline that insurance. Research on the uninsured is lacking a theoretical framework to help …

The Supreme Court And Pledge Of Allegiance: Does God Still Have A Place In American Schools?, Charles J. Russo

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The dearth of statistical or anecdotal evidence aside, combined with the relative lack of reported litigation, it appears that most students and teachers regularly participate in perhaps the most common daily school ritual by joining in the patriotic recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance (Pledge) and the salute to the American Flag. Yet, as discussed throughout this article, this daily practice has had a history of controversy, whether in schools or political settings.

Turning specifically to schools, in Newdow v. United States Congress (Newdow), the Ninth Circuit set off a firestorm of controversy when, in a case from California, it …

Modulation Of Gabaergic Signaling In Retinal Amacrine Cells, Brian Kevin Hoffpauir

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The intricate circuitry formed by amacrine cells in the inner plexiform layer (IPL) of the retina suggests that these interneurons play a major role in shaping the visual message. The majority of amacrine cells in the vertebrate retina are GABAergic. Thus, elucidating how GABAergic signaling is modulated in the IPL is critical in order to understand how the visual message is processed in the retina. The results presented here suggest that GABAergic signaling between amacrine cells can be modulated by the activation of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) or by the production of the second messenger, nitric oxide (NO). A …

Adult Attachment Styles, Children's Self-Competence, And Children's Cognitive Ability: An Ecological Study, Elizabeth Benchea Block

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated children's perceived self-competence and its relationship to the social antecedent of adult attachment and the outcome of children's cognitive ability. Utilizing a predominantly African American sample, 154 mothers, 80 fathers and 205 children were included in this cross-sectional study of second and fourth grade children. Regression analyses indicated that the exploratory relationship between adult attachment as a predictor of children's self-competence was upheld with both second and fourth grade children of participating mothers and fathers. More specifically, maternal attachment was a significant predictor of second grade children's perceived physical competence, social acceptance, and maternal acceptance. Maternal attachment …

From Oklahomans To "Okies": Identity Formation In Rural California, Toni Ann Alexander

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Throughout the twentieth century difficult economic circumstances have resulted in reduced employment opportunities. In-migrants have long borne the brunt of these limitations, facing open hostilities from residents who felt that these "outsiders" were undeserving of employment and social services. Within the context of the 1930s Depression in the Central Valley of California, such negative public sentiment was often directed at "Okies," the 315,000 former residents of the "Western South" who crossed the California state line in search of employment in the agricultural fields of the Golden State. In this dissertation, I examine the changing conceptualizations of Okie identity throughout the …

The Mitigation Of Asymmetric Information Through The Use Of Earnouts, David Robert Beard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

We examine the use of a contracting method in mergers and acquisitions known as an earnout. In this type of transaction, the bidder agrees to pay the target an initial amount for the acquisition plus future payments contingent on the achievement of performance milestones. Theory suggests that the contingent payment associated with earnouts should reduce adverse selection problems facing both parties in the merger. The purpose of this dissertation is to study the ability of earnouts to mitigate problems associated with asymmetric information and problem of agency. Specifically, we answer the following questions in analyzing these transactions. First, empirical evidence …

Routes Of Freedom: Slave Resistance And The Politics Of Literary Geography, Judith Louise Kemerait

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation integrates rhetorical, historical, and spatial analysis in an effort to expand our understanding of the cultural work performed by antebellum narratives that take slavery in the United States as their subject matter. Specifically, it focuses on the complicated relationship between place and human praxis as revealed in five texts: The Confessions of Nat Turner, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Dred, Martin R. Delany’s Blake, Frederick Douglass’s “The Heroic Slave,” and Herman Melville’s Benito Cereno. In my attention to literary geographies, I trace spatial patterns in which considerations of organized resistance and slave rebellion are repeatedly placed in “wild-spaces” such as …

Performing Masculinities: U.S. Representations Of The Male Body In Performance Art Monologues, Darren C. Goins

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this study, I describe and analyze the masculinities constructed in four performance art monologues staged in the US on Broadway. I examined Whoopi Goldberg’s 1984 performance Whoopi Goldberg Live, Lily Tomlin’s 1987 performance in Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, Eric Bogosian’s 1990 performance Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, and John Leguizamo’s 1998 performance Freak: A Semi-Demi-Quasi-Pseudo Autobiography. My method of analysis is a critical interpretation incorporating the lenses of Robert Connell and Victor Seidler. It is grounded in a social-cultural perspective using Arthur W. Frank’s “sociology of the body.” By means of …

"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 …

The Significance Of Selected Piano Compositions By Pancho Vladigerov, Boriana Kojouharova Buckles

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines selected compositions for piano by Pancho Vladigerov - the Three Pieces for Piano, Opus 15, Bulgarian Rhapsody, Opus 16, Shumen Miniatures, Opus 29, and Improvisation and Toccata, from Episodes, Opus 36. These pieces strongly represent the various periods and stylistic trends of the composer. They are also among Vladigerov's most popular and frequently performed piano compositions. The first chapter provides a brief biography of Pancho Vladigerov and an overview of his most important compositions. Chapter Two contains an overview of the solo piano works of Vladigerov. Chapter Three examines the selected piano compositions from a formal and …

Characteristics Of An Effective Teacher Of Reading In An Elementary School Setting, Jennifer Aby Archer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Struggling readers have been the central focus of American politics for decades. Teachers of all ages and experiences across America deliver reading instruction in a variety of ways. The purpose of this study is to determine the characteristics of an effective teacher of reading in an elementary classroom setting. The study was conducted in a public and a private sector school in a capital city in the southern United States. Two principals, two second grade teachers, and two fourth grade teachers were participants in this study. A qualitative research focus provided the methodological basis for this study. The research design …

Utility Of The Implementation Of Programmatic Systems To Reduce And Eliminate Restraint Use For The Treatment Of Problem Behaviors With Individuals With Mental Retardation, Yemonja Smalls

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Persons with mental retardation continue to remain one of society’s most vulnerable groups as the number of individuals served increases and non-proportional resources are allotted to take of their needs. With results of national investigations indicating widespread indiscriminate abuse of restraints and overmedication to manage dangerous behaviors, federal mandates have been initiated to ensure ethical, safe and clinically sound use of these techniques. This study addressed the implementation of systemic changes that included a restraint education program and policy changes, careful monitoring and review of restraint and behavioral programming by oversight review bodies, and intense training of preventative and de-escalation …

Botany In Children's Literature: A Content Analysis Of Plant-Centered Children's Picture Books That Have A Plot And Characters, Sheila Lewis Goins

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This content analysis study examined 36 plant-centered children’s science picture books that have a plot and characters published from 1950 to present. Botanical subject matter and learning opportunities offered by these books were analyzed, along with the range and frequency of the National Science Education Standards-consistent and age-appropriate plant science concepts and principles. The science graphics, artistic innovations, and story plot of these books were also examined. Rubrics and research-based recommendations were developed to offer parents, teachers, and librarians assistance in identifying, evaluating, and using such books to help children of ages 4-8 learn about plants and enjoy plant science. …

Profiles Of Early Childhood Education Administrators: Looking For Patterns Of Leadership, Mary Aileen Sciaraffa

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic inquiry into the lives of six early childhood administrators. The researcher investigated stories these early childhood administrators told about their lived experiences and searched for patterns that emerged from the stories suggesting career paths, personal characteristics, and administrative styles. The sample was obtained from a purposive/criterion sampling of the population. Six early childhood administrators were chosen based on their representation as a strong administrator who had experience with working with young children and families. Data was collected through three interview sessions. The minimum time for each interview session was one …

A New Broad Spectrum Disinfectant Suitable For The Food Industry, Giovanna Aita Dequeiroz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A unique biocide composition (patent pending) that is formed from a hydrogen peroxide and sodium hypochlorite mixture was investigated. A biocidal "complex" is formed by adding the peroxide to the hypochlorite in an amount so that the weight ratio of the peroxide to the hypochlorite is no less than 1:10. The chemical structure of this biocidal "complex" is uncertain but we postulate that it is a semi-stable complex, whose stability is disrupted by heat, acid, U/V exposure and the presence of organic matter (i.e., microbes) The antimicrobial activity of the biocidal "complex" is most likely a combination effect between oxidation …

The Organ Works Of Fela Sowande: A Nigerian Organist-Composer, Godwin Simeon Sadoh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Fela Sowande (1905-1987) has a huge compositional output including orchestral and vocal works. However, his organ music outnumbered the totality of his compositions. His organ pieces represent a truly intercultural music in which distinct tripartite cultural idioms are evident—Nigerian, African American and European. Works of this nature serve as creative source materials for aspiring composers, performers, scholars, music educators, and students in Africa and the world. This composer, folklorist, and music educator was born into a well-known music family in Nigeria. He was active in radio broadcasting, Yoruba folklore and mythology, indigenous music research, Nigerian art music, performance, orchestral conducting, …

Evaluation Of Injury And Management Strategies For Stink Bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) On Cotton, Gossypium Hirsutum L., Melissa Marie Willrich

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The effects of brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), and southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.), feeding on pre-flowering, flowering, and senescing cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., plants were evaluated in field studies. Vegetative stage seedlings and flower buds (squares) were not significantly injured by adults or nymphs of either species in no-choice studies. Brown stink bug adults induced boll abscission, and reduced seedcotton yield and seed germination in bolls accumulating „T 350, „T 550, and 101 to „T 600 heat units beyond anthesis, respectively. In free-choice tests, boll preference was evaluated during each of the initial five weeks of …

A Study Of The Quintet For Piano And Strings By Richard Danielpour, Myung Jin Kuh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Richard Danielpour is recognized as one of the most successful and acclaimed composers today. His music is often described as neo-romantic: full of grand gestures, highly accessible, brilliantly orchestrated, and rhythmically powerful and exciting. His music is based on the traditions of European classical music; however, it also combines the American vernacular of the 20th century, including jazz, rock, and pop music. His special interests in metaphysics and non-Western culture, especially Zen Buddhism, are also reflected in his compositions. This study examines Danielpour’s Quintet for Piano and Strings, written in 1988. The work consists of three movements with the descriptive …

Integrating Technology In The Academic Classrooms Of An Independent School, Kim R. Crockard

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to increase the integration of technology in the academic classrooms of an independent college preparatory school. Technology had been introduced to the faculty in a random manner. Some teachers embraced technology, some were accepting but unknowing, and some were vocally resistant. There was no plan to present an administrative vision to the faculty in order to support a framework for technology integration, to provide a professional development program, to establish standards for teacher competency, or to determine an assessment process. These are necessary components of a successful technology integration effort as defined by the research. …

Flesh And Spirit Onstage: Chronotopes Of Performance In Medieval English Theatre, Gregory Lee Cavenaugh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study uses Mikhail Bakhtin's chronotope, which is the informing principle of one's experience of space and time, to explore different relations among space, time, actors, and audience in medieval theatre. Relations between the material and spiritual worlds as understood in the Middle Ages are considered in the context of relations between performers and audience members with two goals. First, I explore how the ontological status of the metaworld created through performance changed in the context of specific chronotopes. Second, I explore how diverse religious discourses affected medieval modes of representation. This study posits three chronotopes of performance informing medieval …

Reducing Discipline Referrals At State Bridge Crossing Elementary School In Alpharetta, Georgia, Renay R. Dixon

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The major purpose of this study was to reduce the number of student discipline referrals in a suburban elementary school with a student population of approximately 830 in 2003. An analysis of the annual School Administrative Student Information System Discipline Report indicated that over the past two years (2000-2002), discipline referrals had increased by 44%.

The design most conducive for this applied research was a descriptive design. Pre- and postdata were compared to determine if there was a decrease in student discipline referrals. Data were gathered from students, parents of the 133 representative fifth-grade students, and teachers regarding the school …

The Contributions Of Floyd Leslie Sandle To Black Educational Theatre In Louisiana, Ava Marie Brewster-Turner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Floyd Leslie Sandle appeared on the theatrical scene in 1938 on the campus of Grambling State University. From his humble beginnings in the segregated town of Magnolia, Mississippi, to Dillard University where his passion for theatre was nurtured by Dr. Sheppard Randolph Edmonds, Sandle made significant strides in the dvelopment of Black Educational Theatre in Louisiana. Through his unique approach of presenting plays to the residents of the rural community of Grambling, Louisiana, Sandle was able to establish a state certified Speech and Drama Department at Grambling State University. He trained students in educational theatre though his lectures, laboratory experiences, …

The Impact Of Pressure Group Conflict And Micropolitics On Boards Of Education, Kimberly R. Hammond

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this applied dissertation was to investigate the impact of conflict induced by pressure groups on board of education governance, conditions that result in the board capitulating to pressure group demands, and the resulting vulnerability of the superintendent.

Literature used as a framework for this applied dissertation included the relatively new field of micropolitics, the impact of micropolitics on school district leadership, vulnerability of superintendents, board/superintendent relations, the elite theory, why and how interest groups form, power of interest groups, and the dissatisfaction theory of democracy (R. Danis, 1984).

A qualitative approach was utilized for this applied dissertation. …

A Theory Of Effective Computer-Based Instruction For Adults, Janis Sue Lowe

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Computer-based instruction (CBI) was considered the technological phenomenon to revolutionize education and training. Today, the Internet and computer technology are reported to have significantly altered the education landscape (Johnson & Aragon, 2002). The rapid advances in technology, the need for lifelong learning, and the growth of non-traditional students have encouraged the use of the computer as a method of instructional delivery. Evaluating the effectiveness of CBI as a whole technology is very difficult. The inability to measure effectiveness is attributable in part to the fact that CBI is not just one component, but a complex range of services and activities …

Application Of Disturbance Theory To Assess Impacts Associated With A Three-Dimensional Seismic Survey In A Freshwater Marsh In Southwest Louisiana, Aaron Stuard Bass

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined various practical and theoretical aspects of disturbance in a coastal wetland marsh in southern Louisiana. A literature review approached disturbance ecology from both practical and theoretical perspectives and assessed its applicability to developing broad predictive models. However, specific knowledge of environmental variables, competitive relationships, and the interactive effects of multiple disturbances are required for meaningful usage of these models. The Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge (LNWR) proved to be an ideal laboratory to test various aspects of ecological disturbance theory. I found that the primary disturbances affecting the LNWR have been hurricanes, droughts, water-level manipulations, prescribed burning, oil …

"Walking The Queen's Highway": Ideology And Cultural Landscape In Nothern Ireland, Deborah J. Miller

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The use of public art and ritual in Northern Ireland leads to the creation of cultural landscapes heavy with symbolism – ideological landscapes – that maintain social divisions and incite conflict. Mural and curbstone painting, flag bearing, the construction of memorials, and parading are activities that inscribe messages in the landscape. This study documents the types of symbolism prevalent in Northern Irish landscapes, the meanings attributed to them, and the reactions and subsequent cultural landscape re-creations that result. Loyalist and nationalist marches that incite riots and civil disorder have disrupted and delayed peace efforts in Northern Ireland for decades. Both …

Molecular Systematics Of The Cashew Family (Anacardiaceae), Susan Katherine Pell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Anacardiaceae Lindl., the cashew family, is an economically important, primarily pantropically distributed family of 82 genera and over 700 species. This family is well known for its cultivated edible fruits and seeds (mangos, pistachios, and cashews), dermatitis causing taxa (e.g., Comocladia, Metopium, Semecarpus, Toxicodendron, etc.), and lacquer plants (Toxicodendron and Gluta spp.). The taxonomy of Anacardiaceae has not been thoroughly investigated since Engler established the currently used five tribal classification system over 100 years ago. This study evaluated evolutionary relationships of the family using nrDNA and cpDNA sequences. The first part of the study investigated the evolutionary position of Anacardiaceae …

The Effect Of Program Commitment On The Degree Of Participative Congruence And Managerial Performance In A Budgeting Setting, Kevin T. Breaux

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research endeavor is to investigate the effect that the degree of participative congruence has on the relationship between program commitment and managerial performance. The degree of participative congruence (Clinton and Hunton 2001) is a new measure of participation designed to determine the amount of congruence between the perceived need for participation and the degree of participation allowed. This study used a questionnaire to evaluate the antecedents of and effects of the degree of participative congruence (DPC) in a budgeting setting. In order to investigate these effects, the questionnaire was mailed to a sample of 1,500 AICPA …

Inhibition Of Membrane-Bound Methane Monooxygenase And Ammonia Monooxygenase By Diphenyliodonium: Implications For Electron Transfer, A. K. Shiemke, D. J. Arp, L. A. Sayavedra-Soto

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.