Digital Commons Network^™

Hi-Tech Cheating: A Study Of Student Attitudes On Academic Dishonesty Involving The Use Of Information Technology, Michael P. Smith

LSU Master's Theses

Despite the fact that research into cheating has continued for several decades, cheating in higher education appears to be widespread and endemic. This may be particularly troublesome for business school students, who, according to some research, appear to cheat more than students in other curriculums. Technology is giving students new opportunities to cheat. Companies are developing products specifically designed to help students cheat. Although there are some resources and tools to help faculty monitor things such as plagiarism, technology is providing a continuous stream of new opportunities for students to cheat, oftentimes without a high likelihood of being caught. Beliefs …

The Depression Scale For Severe Disability: A Diagnostic Tool For The Assessment Of Depression In Adults With Severe And Profound Intellectual Disabilities, Christopher Cooper

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Depression Scale for Severe Disability(DEPRESSED) is a clinically and empirically derived informant-report behavioral rating scale designed to measure depression in persons with severe and profound intellectual disabilities by assessing behavioral symptoms of depression. Behavioral symptoms of depression and item and factor analyses were used to construct the scale resulting in a 20-item four-factor solution producing factors that were labeled "Sleep"(F1), "Mood"(F2), "Skills"(F3), and "Motor"(F4). The DEPRESSED identified the core symptoms of depression including mood, anhedonia, sleep, appetite, fatigue, and psychomotor agitation and retardation. Internal consistency, interrater and test-retest reliability of the DEPRESSED scale were excellent. The DEPRESSED also demonstrated …

"Yes They're Out There": A Qualitative Study On Strong African American Marriages, Katrina D. Hopkins-Williams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Much of the research that exists on Black marriage is usually from a deficit perspective and focuses on the decline of marriages among Black Americans. Even so, many Black families are marriage based and it is unfortunate that little research exists that focuses on understanding these families from a strength-based approach. It is important that we learn what constitutes the characteristics of strong Black marriages and families and learn how Black U.S. families differ from and are similar to Euro U.S. families. This study looked at the hows, whys, and processes of enduring and sustaining marriages in Black families. Black …

The Convergent Validity Of The Scale For The Evaluation And Identification Of Seizures, Epilepsy And Anticonvulsant Side Effects-B (Seizes-B), Kimberly Robin Michelle Smith

LSU Master's Theses

Prevalence rates of epilepsy in individuals with intellectual disability (ID) are much higher than in the general population. Although antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy is considered the first line of treatment, a significant number of individuals on AEDs still do not achieve total seizure control. Further, many individuals experience side effects (SE) from long-term AED use. The assessment of AED SE in individuals with ID and epilepsy is an important aspect of treatment. The present study focused on the Scale for the Evaluation and Identification of Seizures, Epilepsy, and Anticonvulsant Side Effects-B (SEIZES-B), developed to assess SE from AED use in …

Expectation In Auditory Processing Of Environmental Sounds In People With Fluent Aphasia, Meghan Evelyn Collins

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the integrity of the nonverbal auditory system in subjects with fluent aphasia, and determine the relative preservation of the nonverbal auditory system in comparison to the lexical system. This was attempted through the task of expectation, a high level processing skill. Two groups of participants were examined: a group with fluent aphasia, and a group of non-neurologically damaged individuals. Participants were administered two nonverbal auditory conditions devoid of lexical information, a simple condition and a complex condition in which they were required to determine if the last sound heard in a sequence …

The Aggregate Harmony Metric And A Statistical And Visual Contextualization Of The Rehnquist Court: 50 Years Of Data, Peter A. Hook

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article contains aggregated data from fifty years of the annual matrixes of justice inter-agreement for particular Supreme Court terms published by the Harvard Law Review (1956 to 2005 terms). Aggregating how often any two justices sided together on cases for a particular term relative to the amount of cases the two justices heard together allows one to derive a measure of the particular term that reflects the relative amount of agreement or disagreement for the term. This new metric, called the Aggregate Harmony Metric, allows for comparative benchmarks. For instance, the 2005 term, with an aggregate agreement of 70%, …

Demographic And Psychological Factors Influencing Academic Success In A College Level Human Anatomy Course, Wanda Green Hargroder

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected demographic and psychological characteristics on the academic achievement of students enrolled in an undergraduate human anatomy course at a research-extensive university in the Southern region of the United States. As health care in the United States becomes increasingly strained due to a decreasing ratio of health care workers, educating more students to fill this gap has become a societal issue. Human anatomy forms the foundation of all health care professions. From the molecular to the macroscopic, anatomy provides a unique and necessary perspective of the human body. …

Family Resiliency Among Hurricane Survivors: Resource Loss, Prior Traumatic Events, And Cumulative Stress, Robin Michelle Knowles

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of the study was to assess predictors of family resiliency following a disaster and the relationships among them in an exploratory manner. Predictors that were assessed in the study were resource loss, prior traumatic events, cumulative stress and selected demographic characteristics. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) by combining Census data with storm damage estimates and purposive sampling, 50 participants affected by Hurricane Katrina from a single suburban community in Southern Louisiana in early spring 2006 were recruited and interviewed. In late spring and summer, data collection was continued in Southwestern Louisiana and 32 rural respondents affected by Hurricane …

A Home-Based Intervention To Promote Physical Activity In Low Income African American Adults, Dorothy Fauntleroy Whitehead

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Physical activity has long been regarded as a key component to a healthy lifestyle; however, the U.S. has disturbingly high rates of sedentary behavior and related chronic illnesses (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2003). While many studies have attempted to address inactive lifestyle, few have reached out to high risk groups, such as African Americans and low income individuals. A recent review of the physical activity literature among African Americans called for more research with this population and encouraged future studies to focus on enduring exercise behavior (at least 6 months post intervention) and use theory-based …

America's Decision To Drop The Atomic Bomb On Japan, Joseph H. Paulin

LSU Master's Theses

During the time President Truman authorized the use of the atomic bomb against Japan, the United States was preparing to invade the Japanese homeland. The brutality and the suicidal defenses of the Japanese military had shown American planners that there was plenty of fight left in a supposedly defeated enemy. Senior military and civilian leaders presented Truman with several options to force the surrender of Japan. The options included the tightening of the naval blockade and aerial bombardment of Japan, invasion, a negotiated peace settlement, and the atomic bomb became an option, once bomb became operational. Truman received recommendations, advice …

A Comparison Of Social Skills Profiles In Intellectually Disabled Adults With And Without Asd, Jonathan Wilkins

LSU Master's Theses

Although there has been a recent increase in research directed toward autism spectrum disorders (ASD), the study of intellectually disabled adults with ASD has gone relatively neglected as efforts have focused largely on young children. Current diagnostic and assessment procedures were created for and validated on this latter group. Many intellectually disabled adults with ASD have not been diagnosed due to the novelty of such instruments and the overlap between symptoms of ASD and severe intellectual disability (ID). A new assessment instrument, the Autism Spectrum Disorders-Diagnostic Scale for Intellectually Disabled Adults (ASD-DA) has been shown to make this fine distinction. …

Using Group Dynamics And Personality Characteristics To Form Learning Groups In High School Multimedia Courses, Kimberly Nichols Laprairie

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide insights into Emergenetics® STEPTM personality profiling as a selection and placement strategy to enhance process and performance in high school learning groups. An explanatory case study was conducted in a private high school currently subscribing to the Emergenetics® STEPTM program. Emergenetics® STEPTM Profile results of students enrolled in the school’s six Multimedia Productions courses were analyzed as the basis for learning group construction. Key individual thinking preferences (Analytical, Structural, Social, Conceptual) identified by the STEPTM Profile was the main variable of analysis. One learning group from each of the six classes (n …

Rural Care Registered Nurses' Interpretation Of Health Literacy And Its Effect On Patient Care, Brenda Matzke

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to describe rural care Registered Nurses’ interpretation of health literacy and its effect on patient care. Individuals who do not understand their disease and have poor management skills are at risk for low health literacy. The consequences of limited health literacy are poor healthcare outcomes and higher healthcare costs. Implications from this study are useful in educating practicing Registered Nurses in the development of the necessary skills to empower patients to actively participate in their healthcare. Education about health literacy should begin in grades Kindergarten through 12th, with the primary focus being …

The New Commerce Clause Doctrine In Game Theoretical Perspective, Maxwell L. Stearns

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Roberts Court emerges at a critical juncture in the development of Commerce Clause doctrine. While the Commerce Clause doctrine implicates federalism and separation of powers, concerns rooted in the earliest part of our constitutional history, the arrival of a new Court presents an ideal opportunity to critically assess existing doctrines and to develop new analytical paradigms. An analysis of Commerce Clause doctrine reveals that while the Rehnquist Court successfully imposed substantive limits on the scope of this important source of congressional power for the first time in sixty years, that Court was far less successful in developing a coherent …

The Art Of Perception: Robert Irwin's Central Garden At The J. Paul Getty Center, Jennifer Kay Zell

LSU Master's Theses

In this study of The Central Garden at the J. Paul Getty Center was found evidence that the Central Garden designed by Robert Irwin is a postmodern garden. Beginning with an evaluation and description of the individual elements and conditions of the garden, the study then explores the larger body of artistic work produced by Irwin. This investigation also extrapolates how the ideas of modernism and postmodernism have been applied to past works of landscape architecture. The precedents provide a basis for interpretation and analysis of the Central Garden. Direct observation of visitors at the Central Garden provided evidence of …

Towards And Explicit Balancing Inquiry - R.A.V. And Black Through The Lens Of Foreign Freedom Of Expression Jurisprudence, Matthew S. Melamed

UC Law Journal

In this Note, the author considers the Supreme Court's recent First Amendment jurisprudence-in particular R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul and Virginia v. Black, two cases concerning legislative attempts to criminalize cross-burning-through the eyes of foreign freedom of speech jurisprudence. He argues that the freedom of speech adjudicative models provided by the European Court of Human Rights and the Canadian Constitutional Court not only suggest a clearer mode of First Amendment adjudication, but may also enable us to more clearly understand the nature of the emergent case-by-case balancing jurisprudence implicitly present in both R.A.V. and Black.

Part I of the …

Of Elephants And Embryos: A Proposed Framework For Legal Personhood, Jessica Berg

UC Law Journal

What is a person? What responsibilities or obligations do we have to entities that we recognize as persons under the law? These are not simply theoretical questions. Questions of legal personhood have already faced courts and legislatures and are likely to become more relevant as technology advances.

Legal personhood has largely been ignored outside of the corporate context. Yet there is a pressing need to answer the question of what constitutes a person. This Article's focus is on legal status and the ways in which the law should recognize rights and interests of certain entities.

There are two bases for …

The Influence Of Values And Other Social And Psychological Factors On The Dress And Appearance Of African American College Students, Devona Linette Dixon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate values and other social and psychological factors influence on dress and appearance of African American college students (AACS). The dependent variable was dress and appearance. Independent variables consisted of external values (being well-respected, security, warm relationships with others, and sense of belonging) and internal values (self-respect, sense of accomplishment, fun and enjoyment, self-fulfillment, and excitement). Included in the independent variables were social factors (media and referents' influence (peers and family)) and psychological factors (self-consciousness, self-confidence, fashion leadership, and shopping enjoyment). Social adaptation theory provided the theoretical framework. The theory encompasses the social …

Review: Robert L. Carter, A Matter Of Law: A Memoir Of Struggle In The Cause Of Equal Rights, Kevin D. Brown

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Special Issues Raised By Rape Trials, Aviva A. Orenstein

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Rape cases reveal core conflicts in the space where evidence, law, and ethics intersect. Such conflicts include the tension between victim protection and the rights of the accused, the challenges attorneys face trying to negotiate the demands of sensitive and emotionally difficult cases, and the role of the law in counteracting stereotypes and bias.

In this essay, I will begin by presenting the cultural milieu surrounding rape allegations, briefly reviewing attitudes towards perpetrators and victims. Next, I will attempt to capture the legal zeitgeist concerning rape, focusing on two recent phenomena: the reversal of false rape convictions based on DNA …

Scholarly Discourse, Public Perceptions, And The Cementing Of Norms: The Case Of The Indian Supreme Court And A Plea For Research, Jayanth K. Krishnan

Articles by Maurer Faculty

For economic and nuclear reasons, India has received considerable attention over the last decade from observers in the United States. But attuned Americans are well-aware of India's rich culture and status as a shining constitutional democracy for most of its post-1947 independent history. For all that India has accomplished, however, its public has long viewed its government officials with great disdain. At the same time, a fascinating norm exists in this society which holds one institution in exceedingly high regard - the Indian Supreme Court.

In this article, I seek to examine what accounts for this counter-intuitive norm. As opposed …

The Individual And Customary International Law Formation, Christiana Ochoa

Articles by Maurer Faculty

A state monopoly on customary international law formation was once required and acceptable, given the status states enjoyed as the sole subjects of international law. Since the drafting of the most commonly cited doctrinal sources of customary international law, legal personhood has been extended to individuals. During this same time period, individuals have come to participate in treaty-making in some key areas of international law, including human rights. The customary international law of human rights, no less than treaty law, has direct effects on individuals. It sees them as the subjects protected by those provisions that have attained the status …

A Study Examining The Impact Of Scaffolding Young Children's Acquisition Of Literacy In Primary Grades, Judith Rollins Burch

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This case study explores the implementation of scaffolding in literacy learning in a first grade classroom setting. The complexities and nuisances of scaffolding present in the elementary school classroom context during reading and writing instruction are examined. Ten first graders, five from a pilot study an five from the case study, are followed in reading and writing in a public school classroom. Themes indicate that students in lower elementary grades benefit from reading and writing instruction that include the following strategic elements: 1) leveled predictable texts; 2) small group guided reading and writing instruction; 3) systematic, strategic instruction based upon …

Quantification Of Muscle Fatigue In Cerebal Palsy And Its Relationship To Impairments And Function, Noelle G. Moreau

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Three experiments were designed to explore the measurement of muscle fatigue in people with cerebral palsy (CP). The four aims were to 1) develop a feasible and reliable isokinetic protocol to assess muscle fatigue of the knee flexors and extensors in this population, 2) determine if muscle fatigue of the knee flexors and extensors in people with CP differs from subjects without a motor disorder, 3) determine whether muscle fatigue is related to functional measures of activity and participation, and 4) investigate possible contributing factors of muscle fatigue. Results show that muscle fatigue can be reliably assessed through an isokinetic …

Reiki And Primagravid Mothers In Anticipation Of Childbirth, Ashley Fries

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Public Relations And Political Controversy: A Case Study Of The Assembly Of Turkish American Associations' Public Relations Campaign Regarding The Ottoman Empire's Deportation Of The Armenians, Tamar Grace Meguerditchian

LSU Master's Theses

An organization will almost always use persuasive communication tactics to influence public opinion. Persuasive communication tactics can be either pubic relations or propaganda. The definitions of both public relations and propaganda, as well as a study of the relevant models, reveals that neither practice heavily stresses the importance of social responsibility. Using the importance of social responsibility in honest persuasive communication tactics, this qualitative case study of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations’ (ATAA) determined that the efforts of the ATAA’s persuasive communication efforts are in line with the methods of propaganda, as stated in the operational definition of propaganda …

Soliciting Desire: The Ad-Man As Narrative Negotiation Between Art, Desire, And Consumer Capitalism In Twentieth-Century Novels, Jessica Mckelvie Kemp

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation identifies ways in which novelists have used an ad-man protagonist as means to investigate the social and psychological implications of advertising in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Soliciting Desire takes as its primary subjects H.G. Wells’s Tono-Bungay, Theodore Dresier’s The “Genius,” Frederick Wakeman’s The Hucksters, Jonathan Dee’s Palladio, and William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition and demonstrates that the ad-man character’s particular constellation of traits provides a rich vehicle for fictional explorations of desire and subjectivity as they are formed in relation to ideologies of consumer capitalism and art. Guided by Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin’s theories of cultural/ capitalist …

Political Conspiracy In Napoleonic France: The Malet Affair, Kelly Diane Whittaker

LSU Master's Theses

The French Revolution ushered in a period of political unrest in France which appeared never-ending, even when a seemingly stable government rose to power. After a series of failed Republican governments, Napoleon Bonaparte seized control on 18 Brumaire VIII, promising to uphold the revolutionary ideals that had permeated the nation. As time passed, however, it became clear that he aimed at gathering all political power for himself. With his consular and imperial regimes accepted by French citizens, Napoleon effectively returned the country to autocratic rule. Needing talented officials to serve in his military, ministries, and prefectures, Napoleon enlisted the services …

Dr. Frankenstein Was A Designer: Methods For Educating Gen H--The Hybrid Design Student, Patricia Ferguson Vining

LSU Master's Theses

Business Week recently launched an innovation and design quarterly entitled In, as well as a Website section specifically dedicated to design and innovation. Fast Company, with its Third Annual Masters of Design issue, and Fortune have also added significant design content to their publications. The business world appears to have discovered design as a vital strategic tool and economic force. Globalization and the Internet knowledge explosion have changed our world in unprecedented ways. Design thinking, which was previously relegated to dealing with issues such as form and function, has become the twenty-first century methodology for the development of new business …

Relationship Between Problem Behaviors, Function, And Adaptive Skills In Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities, Noha Farrah Minshawi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The problem behaviors of self-injury, aggression, and stereotypies are among the most troubling and difficult to treat behaviors in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). One factor that has been implicated in the etiology and maintenance of problem behaviors in individuals with ID is adaptive skills deficits. However, the nature of the relationship between problem behaviors and adaptive skills deficits is not well understood. This relationship was assessed in two experiments. In Experiment 1, the researcher found an inverse, curvilinear relationship between problem behaviors (as identified by the Behavior Problems Inventory; BPI), and adaptive skills (as measured by the Vineland Adaptive …