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2009

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Voice Initiation And Voice Offset Patterns In Normal Females: Investigated By High Speed Digital Imaging, Rebecca Leblanc Jopling Jan 2009

Voice Initiation And Voice Offset Patterns In Normal Females: Investigated By High Speed Digital Imaging, Rebecca Leblanc Jopling

LSU Master's Theses

This preliminary study investigated the voice initiation period (VIP) and voice offset period (VOP) using high-speed digital imaging. The purpose of the study was to obtain preliminary data on VIP and VOP patterns of normal voice and to investigate the variability in VIP and VOP patterns in young female subjects within and between recording sessions. VIP was segmented into 3 phases: VIPa, VIPb, and VIPc. Results of the analysis of the data demonstrated that VOP is a more consistent measure than VIP and that VIPa is the most consistent phase of VIP. This study also suggested that changes in fundamental …

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Strutting It Up Through Histories: A Performance Genealogy Of The Philadelphia Mummers Parade, Corey Elizabeth Leighton Jan 2009

Strutting It Up Through Histories: A Performance Genealogy Of The Philadelphia Mummers Parade, Corey Elizabeth Leighton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the cultural performances of the parade community in one of the oldest and largest parades in the country: the Philadelphia Mummers Parade. The modern parade celebration consists of groups of mostly working-class white men from South Philadelphia who dress up in extravagant sequined and feathered costumes and, beginning in South Philadelphia, march toward City Hall on one of the largest streets in the city on New Year’s Day. The parade is competitive and marked by performance competitions at the end of each parade. The parade’s history in the city of Philadelphia is extensive but contested. Many locals …

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A Severe Weather Climatology Comparison Study For The Grand Forks, Nd And Duluth, Mn National Weather Service Forecast Office County Warning Areas, Kevin Skow Jan 2009

A Severe Weather Climatology Comparison Study For The Grand Forks, Nd And Duluth, Mn National Weather Service Forecast Office County Warning Areas, Kevin Skow

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

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Leaving Special Educators Behind?: An Analysis Of The No Child Behind Act And Its Impact On Special Education Teachers, Joseph Martin Abel Jan 2009

Leaving Special Educators Behind?: An Analysis Of The No Child Behind Act And Its Impact On Special Education Teachers, Joseph Martin Abel

LSU Master's Theses

From its inception in 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has been the subject of much debate among politicians, educators, researchers, and citizens. Much discussion has related to how NCLB affects students and their teachers in the classroom. This study examines NCLB’s direct impact on special education teachers in the East Baton Rouge parish school district of Louisiana by measuring different aspects of their satisfaction levels. Overall job satisfaction is measured using the Brayfield-Rothe Job Satisfaction Index (1951). Specific aspects of job satisfaction are measured using an abbreviated form of the Job Diagnostic Survey (Hackman & Oldham, 1975) …

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Platforms And Protocols For The Multidimensional Microchip Electrophoretic Analysis Of Complex Proteomes, John K. Osiri Jan 2009

Platforms And Protocols For The Multidimensional Microchip Electrophoretic Analysis Of Complex Proteomes, John K. Osiri

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The need for rapid, portable and high-throughput systems in proteomics is now prevalent because of demands for generating new protein-based disease biomarkers. However, 2-D protein profile patterns are lending themselves as potential diagnostic tools for biomarker discovery. It is difficult to identify protein biomarkers which are low abundant in the presence of highly abundant proteins, especially in complex biological samples like serum. Protein profiles from 2-D separation of the protein content of cells or body fluids, which are unique to certain physiological or pathological states, are currently available on internet databases. In this work, we demonstrate the ability to separate …

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Laser Assisted Friction Stir Welding: Finite Volume Method And Metaheuristic Optimization, Shivani Daftardar Jan 2009

Laser Assisted Friction Stir Welding: Finite Volume Method And Metaheuristic Optimization, Shivani Daftardar

LSU Master's Theses

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid state joining process that uses a non-consumable rotating welding tool to generate frictional heat at the welding location. Large forces are required to produce friction between the welding tool and the work piece which increases the wear rate of the welding tool in welding materials with high melting temperature. Several different approaches have been developed to address this problem. This thesis focuses on a new modification of friction stir welding, called Laser Assisted Friction Stir Welding, a process developed in the last decade. This process uses laser energy to preheat the work piece …

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Moppet*Sense, Tyler Rochelle Mackie Jan 2009

Moppet*Sense, Tyler Rochelle Mackie

LSU Master's Theses

Moppet*Sense is a hybrid collaboration between my adult self and a fictionalized version of me as a young girl, or moppet. Through use of craft, textiles, sound, light, color and narrative the work describes a space where both woman and moppet can join to engage with one another in a playful exchange of knowledge and experience. Saturated hues, exaggerated scale and a playful approach to the handicrafts offer the viewer an overwhelming, hyper-realistic experience of girlhood and play, which they can each physically explore and navigate throughout. The work refers to the nostalgic and domestic through its employment of familiar …

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Community Social Capital And Suicide Rates, Anna Cutlip Jan 2009

Community Social Capital And Suicide Rates, Anna Cutlip

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The integrating capacity of social institutions on community organization and the consequential benefits of community cohesion are well-known, i.e. lower crime rates, better health outcomes, economic and social stability. Drawing on the civil society and civic community literatures, this study applies the theory of social capital to study of suicide. Rather than focus on individual level data, macro-level data are analyzed to determine the relationship between the social capital of an area and the prevalence of suicide. Negative binomial regression is used to examine U.S. counties of 100,000 residents or more (urban) and counties of 1,000 to 25,000 residents (rural) …

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Amyloid Aggregation-Mitigating Peptides As Potential Alzheimer's Drugs, Cyrus Kipkurui Bett Jan 2009

Amyloid Aggregation-Mitigating Peptides As Potential Alzheimer's Drugs, Cyrus Kipkurui Bett

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Neuronal cytotoxicity observed in Alzheimer¡¦s disease (AD) is linked to the aggregation of £]-amyloid peptide (A£]) into toxic forms. Increasing evidence points to oligomeric species as the neurotoxic species compared to fibrils; disruption or inhibition of A£]ƒnself-assembly into oligomeric or fibrillar forms remains a viable therapeutic strategy to reduce A£] neurotoxicity. Amyloid aggregation mitigating peptides (AAMPs) were designed based on the A£]ƒn¡§hydrophobic core¡¨ A£]17-20, with C£\,£\-disubstituted amino acidsƒnƒv£\£\AAs) added into this core as disrupting agents. The number, distribution, and side chain functionality of £\£\AAs incorporated into the mitigator sequence was found influences the resultant aggregate morphology as indicated by ex-situ …

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Anthropogenic And Natural Perturbations On Lower Barataria Bay, Louisiana: Detecting Responses Of Marsh-Edge Fishes And Decapod Crustaceans, Agatha-Marie Fuller Roth Jan 2009

Anthropogenic And Natural Perturbations On Lower Barataria Bay, Louisiana: Detecting Responses Of Marsh-Edge Fishes And Decapod Crustaceans, Agatha-Marie Fuller Roth

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Barataria Bay, Louisiana is a dynamic estuary with ongoing disturbances that is in need of restoration. Development and validation of a lower Barataria Bay index of biotic integrity (IBI) for the summer season was the focus of my research. This IBI was created using 2005 data and evaluated with 2006 and 2007 data to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach in coastal Louisiana. The IBI successfully distinguished sites with differing levels of degradation using nine fish metrics. While pursuing this effort, two serendipitous events occurred when an oil spill then a hurricane impacted the study area. This gave me opportunities …

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An Evaluation Of Endurance And Combined Endurance And Resistance Training On Fitness And C-Reactive Protein, Laura A. Daray Jan 2009

An Evaluation Of Endurance And Combined Endurance And Resistance Training On Fitness And C-Reactive Protein, Laura A. Daray

LSU Master's Theses

PURPOSE: This study was designed to determine whether endurance or endurance + resistance training would influence circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and if these changes are related to alterations in aerobic fitness and/or body composition. METHODS: Fifty eight healthy young adults aged 18-24 yrs (78% female) were assigned to one of three groups: 1) endurance training (E) (n=18), 2) endurance + resistance training (ER) (n=11), or 3) active control (AC) (n=29). The E group completed 15 weeks of endurance training for either a half marathon (n=6) or full marathon (n=12). The ER group performed 15 weeks of periodized resistance training …

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Multiple Dataset Visualization (Mdv) Framework For Scalar Volume Data, Gaurav Khanduja Jan 2009

Multiple Dataset Visualization (Mdv) Framework For Scalar Volume Data, Gaurav Khanduja

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Many applications require comparative analysis of multiple datasets representing different samples, conditions, time instants, or views in order to develop a better understanding of the scientific problem/system under consideration. One effective approach for such analysis is visualization of the data. In this PhD thesis, we propose an innovative multiple dataset visualization (MDV) approach in which two or more datasets of a given type are rendered concurrently in the same visualization. MDV is an important concept for the cases where it is not possible to make an inference based on one dataset, and comparisons between many datasets are required to reveal …

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Factors That Influence College Students Who Choose Engineering As Their Major To Presist In That Major To Their Fifth Semester, Kelli Elaine Wildman Jan 2009

Factors That Influence College Students Who Choose Engineering As Their Major To Presist In That Major To Their Fifth Semester, Kelli Elaine Wildman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Individuals, institutions, and society are affected by whether or not students persist in college; therefore, persistence and retention on college campuses is an important topic for higher education systems. However, little research has been done on program retention. Since engineering as a profession is expected to increase, it is imperative to have students persist in the major. The primary purpose of this study is to determine the influence of selected demographic and academic characteristics in the decision of first time in college (FTIC) traditional-age undergraduates who declare engineering as their major at admission to persist in the curriculum from second …

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Do Tops Eligibility Requirements Predict In-System College Retention?, Jason J. Droddy Jan 2009

Do Tops Eligibility Requirements Predict In-System College Retention?, Jason J. Droddy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) is a state-funded, merit-based scholarship codified into Louisiana state law in 1997. More than $1 billion in awards have been distributed since the program’s inception. By 2006, eligibility for TOPS required a 2.5 high school grade point average on a legislatively specified 16.5-unit college preparatory curriculum, and a minimum ACT score equivalent to the average of the prior year’s test takers. These rules were believed to promote greater academic preparedness resulting in higher college retention rates. Only recently has the six-year graduation rate for Louisiana’s public universities passed the 30% mark. Since TOPS’ …

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Micro Characterization Of Deformations In Granular Materials During Shear, Alsidqi Hasan Jan 2009

Micro Characterization Of Deformations In Granular Materials During Shear, Alsidqi Hasan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

One of the greatest challenges in studying the engineering behavior of granular materials is the lack of tools for an unobstructed view of a large quantity of microscopic particles. This dissertation presents a thorough characterization of deformations in sheared granular materials. The investigation involves experimental programs, utilization of computed tomography (CT) techniques, and application of Distinct Element Method (DEM). The investigation was conducted at multi-scale (macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic) to better understand the physical properties and constitutive behavior of granular materials during shear. The experiments include conducting a series of axisymmetric triaxial, miniature axisymmetric triaxial, and biaxial experiments. They were …

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A Conference On The American Law Institute's Proposed Restatement Of Employment Law, Kenneth Glenn Dau-Schmidt Jan 2009

A Conference On The American Law Institute's Proposed Restatement Of Employment Law, Kenneth Glenn Dau-Schmidt

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this volume, the Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal presents the written reports of three working committees organized by the Labor Law Group on the American Law Institute’s Proposed Restatement (Third) of Employment Law, along with various written comments on and responses to these reports. These reports and comments were originally presented on February 7, 2009, at a conference on the American Law Institute’s Proposed Restatement (Third) of Employment Law held at the University of California – Hastings School of Law and co-hosted by the School of Law and the Labor Law Group. As the Chair of the Labor …

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Solving The Employee Reference Problem: Lessons From The German Experience, Kenneth Glenn Dau-Schmidt, Matthew Finkin Jan 2009

Solving The Employee Reference Problem: Lessons From The German Experience, Kenneth Glenn Dau-Schmidt, Matthew Finkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this article we examine the problem of declining employer references in the American economy. We argue that the problem is not that employers inordinately fear potential slander and libel liability for giving references, but that they have no assurance of benefits from reciprocal references in exchange for taking any risk or suffering any cost in giving references. We provide a comparative legal analysis and argue that the United States might benefit from adopting an employer letter of recommendation system similar to that currently used in Germany.

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Propensity Or Stereotype?: A Bad Evidence Experiment In Indian Country, Aviva Orenstein Jan 2009

Propensity Or Stereotype?: A Bad Evidence Experiment In Indian Country, Aviva Orenstein

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In a significant break with traditional evidence rules and policies, the Federal Rules of Evidence concerning rape and child abuse, Rules 413 and 414, permit the government to admit the accused’s prior sexual misconduct as evidence of character and propensity. Although these rules have been roundly criticized, insufficient attention has been paid to the fact that in allowing propensity evidence for federal sex offenses (as opposed to offenses under state law), these rules disproportionately affect one distinct civilian population: Indians.

The de facto concentration of Rules 413-414 cases in Indian Country raises troubling questions regarding what it means to have …

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Impact Of Endorser And Message Appeal On The Success Of An Online Aids Psa, Arti Kulkarni Jan 2009

Impact Of Endorser And Message Appeal On The Success Of An Online Aids Psa, Arti Kulkarni

LSU Master's Theses

This exploratory study investigated the impact of endorser type and message appeal on the success of an online AIDS public service announcement (PSA). The research sought to determine the main effects and interaction effects of endorser and message appeal on the measures of PSAs effectiveness (recall, recognition, attitudinal and behavioral). In order to achieve this goal, the research conducted a 3 X 2 factorial design experiment that manipulated three types of endorsers (celebrity, expert, and typical person) and two types of message appeals (emotional and rational) in the PSA. The researcher expected the expert endorser would be more effective than …

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Task Specific Ionic Liquids For Enantiomeric Recognition And Nanomaterials For Biomedical Imaging, David Kipkogei Bwambok Jan 2009

Task Specific Ionic Liquids For Enantiomeric Recognition And Nanomaterials For Biomedical Imaging, David Kipkogei Bwambok

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Ionic liquids (ILs) are organic salts that melt at or below 100°C. Interest in ILs continues to grow due to their unique properties such as lack of measurable vapor pressure, high thermal stability, tunability and recyclability. The first part of this dissertation explores the use of chiral ionic liquids (CILs) for enantiomeric recognition of chiral analytes using fluorescence spectroscopy. Chiral analyses continue to be a subject of considerable interest primarily as a result of legislation introduced by the Food and Drug Administration. This has led to an increased need for suitable chiral selectors and methods to verify the enantiomeric forms …

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The Structure Of Social Networks: Examining Gender Differences And Effects On Social Support And Psychological Distress, Lacie Lin Marie Michel Jan 2009

The Structure Of Social Networks: Examining Gender Differences And Effects On Social Support And Psychological Distress, Lacie Lin Marie Michel

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Empirical research demonstrates that social networks — the aspatial social structures created through social relations — constitute a critical context that affects individuals’ health and well-being. Net of individual characteristics, social network structures can increase perceived adequacy of social support and psychological health, particularly in the aftermath of a natural disaster. However, the question of whether social contexts affect men and women differently remains largely unanswered. This dissertation examines the effects of social structural characteristics on social network structures for both national and regional data. The General Social Survey (GSS) provides the nationally representative data on social networks; the 1985 …

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A Modular Approach To High Throughput Microsystems, Pin-Chuan Chen Jan 2009

A Modular Approach To High Throughput Microsystems, Pin-Chuan Chen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A modular high throughput microsystem was developed using microfabrication technology and nucleic acid analysis. The purpose of developing this microsystem is to identify acute infectious disease and prevent contagious outbreak in a matter of time. This microsystem included three major components, a reagent distribution device, a 96 CFPCR array, and a multi-zone thermal system, to efficiently amplify specific DNA fragments to determine the disease status or precisely pinpoint a disease from multiple patients. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the key component in the nucleic acid analysis for disease because it can be used to amplify interested DNA fragments by repeatedly …

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Arthropod And Vertebrate Determinants For Horizontal Transmission Of Rickettsia Felis, Kathryn Elizabeth Reif Jan 2009

Arthropod And Vertebrate Determinants For Horizontal Transmission Of Rickettsia Felis, Kathryn Elizabeth Reif

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Rickettsia felis is a gram-negative bacterium predominantly described in the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. Since first described in 1990 in a commercial cat flea colony in the United States, R. felis has been detected in numerous arthropod species in 28 countries around the world. Additionally, as the etiologic agent of flea-borne rickettsiosis, R. felis can cause disease in humans, with patients presenting with clinical symptoms typical of rickettsial diseases including: fever, headache, and myalgia. Transmission of R. felis within flea colonies is predominantly via vertical (transovarial and transstadial) transmission and mechanisms of horizontal transmission are undescribed. Studies are needed to …

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Computational Studies Of The Properties Of Copper Oxide Clusters And The Reactions Of Phenol And Chlorinated Phenols With Copper Oxide Clusters, Gyun-Tack Bae Jan 2009

Computational Studies Of The Properties Of Copper Oxide Clusters And The Reactions Of Phenol And Chlorinated Phenols With Copper Oxide Clusters, Gyun-Tack Bae

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

We used ab initio simulations and calculations to study the structures and stabilities of copper oxide clusters, CunOn (n=1-8) and CuOn (n=1-6). The lowest energy structures of neutral and charged copper oxide clusters were determined using primarily the B3LYP/LANL2DZ model chemistry. In CunOn clusters with n=1-8, a transition from planar to nonplanar geometries occurs at n=4. In CuOn clusters with n=1-6, all geometries of neutral, positively, and negatively charged clusters are planar or near planar structures. Selected electronic properties, including binding energies, ionization energies, and electronic affinities, were calculated and examined as a function of n. Stabilities were examined by …

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Xavier Gonzalez, Erika Katayama Jan 2009

Xavier Gonzalez, Erika Katayama

LSU Master's Theses

This essay analyzes a sampling of Xavier Gonzalez’s paintings and murals, and examines the connections between Gonzalez and Pablo Picasso through journals and notes by Gonzalez himself. Gonzalez’s career as an artist spanned decades, during which he explored many different types of media. His watercolors draw upon a Cubist legacy and integrate geometric elements within his realist subject matter. Gonzalez’s murals for the New Orleans Lakefront Airport feature sweeping scenes of flight that capture the modern experience. The murals represent the apex of Gonzalez’s career as an artist working in public spaces, though they later faded into oblivion as the …

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The Desegregation Of New Orleans Public And Roman Catholic Schools In New Orleans, 1950-1962, Kristina D. Mckenzie Jan 2009

The Desegregation Of New Orleans Public And Roman Catholic Schools In New Orleans, 1950-1962, Kristina D. Mckenzie

LSU Master's Theses

New Orleans has recently been called a “chocolate city” by its mayor. It is a curious choice of words, but resonates with anyone who knows anything about New Orleans, a city heavily populated by African Americans. The city is crime ridden and poor; consequently, New Orleans is ranked near the bottom in terms of education. Why does the city’s population remain uneducated? It would be presumptuous to suggest that there is only one reason; there are several. However, one of the most obvious reasons is the utter failure of desegregation in the city. New Orleans has always experienced atypical race …

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The Agricultural Industry As Percieved By Members Of The General Public Of Louisiana, Julie Baker Richard Jan 2009

The Agricultural Industry As Percieved By Members Of The General Public Of Louisiana, Julie Baker Richard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and perceptions of the animal, plant, environmental, and food sciences by the adult residents of Louisiana. This study was conducted using a survey research design. This survey utilized random telephone dialing techniques in order to survey 547 residents of Louisiana. The survey instrument consisted of fifty-five questions divided into three sections: demographic characteristics, agriculture knowledge, and perception of agriculture. The overall mean agriculture knowledge score of adult residents of Louisiana for the twenty items included in the survey instrument equaled 13.60 (SD = 2.743) or 68%. Perceptions of agriculture results …

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Psychopathology In Person With And Without Co-Morbid Autism, Martin Nicholas Ancona Jan 2009

Psychopathology In Person With And Without Co-Morbid Autism, Martin Nicholas Ancona

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Autism and intellectual disability are frequently co-occurring. In addition, a diagnosis of mild, moderate, severe, or profound intellectual disability increases the risk for co-occurring Axis I psychiatric disorders. This study utilized multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) to determine whether mean differences exist across three diagnostic groups: ID only, ID and autism, and ID and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) on the linear combination of subscales present on the Diagnostic Assessment of the Severely Handicapped-II (DASH-II), a psychometrically sound measure that assesses psychopathology in those with ID. The results of this study supported an association between the presence of …

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Mathematics Grade 8 Leap Scores: A Predictor Of Student Success In Dimensional Analysis?, Martha Lauren Baggett Jan 2009

Mathematics Grade 8 Leap Scores: A Predictor Of Student Success In Dimensional Analysis?, Martha Lauren Baggett

LSU Master's Theses

This study investigates whether the Mathematics Grade 8 LEAP score can be used to predict student success in a key concept of chemistry, dimensional analysis. Mathematics Grade 8 LEAP scores of 106 ninth grade students enrolled in physical science during the 2008-09 school year were tested for correlations with student performance on a pre-test of dimensional analysis, a post-test of dimensional analysis, and student learning gain. Significant, positive correlations were observed between the Mathematics Grade 8 LEAP scores and the pre-test scores of dimensional analysis scores, the post-test scores of dimensional analysis scores, and the dimensional analysis student learning gain. …

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The Efficacy Of Positive Peer Reporting Procedures For Use With Neglected-Status Students In General Education Classrooms, Lisa Libster Jan 2009

The Efficacy Of Positive Peer Reporting Procedures For Use With Neglected-Status Students In General Education Classrooms, Lisa Libster

LSU Master's Theses

Children who are neglected or rejected by their peers may require social skill interventions in order to develop the social competencies needed to establish satisfactory interpersonal relationships. One promising social skill intervention is Positive Peer Reporting, which has been shown to produce increases in positive social interaction and peer acceptance for these groups of children. As most previous investigations were conducted in residential or special education settings, further research is needed to support the use of this intervention in general education settings. Therefore, the present study examined the efficacy of Positive Peer Reporting with two neglected-status children in general education …

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