Digital Commons Network^™

Racism Recognized And The Reformation Of The South In Ernest Gaines‘, La Toya Session

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

According to Ernest Gaines‘ personal experiences as a Southerner, without addressing the history of slavery, the quest for human dignity becomes meaningless. The discourses and the ideologies of the characters in AGathering of Old Men represent a call for social change. A Gathering of Old Men is however, more than just a novel about whites dominating blacks; it is a novel about the fight for humanity in spite of the threat of a new social order. The social repercussions of slavery and the denial of black manhood are central issues in A Gathering of Old Men, but Gaines also exhibits …

Why Not Kinkade? An Evaluation Of The Conditions Effecting An Artists Exclusion From Academic Criticism., Kelly Drum Moran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Though prevalent in non-academic debate, the subject of Thomas Kinkade and his artwork is discernibly absent from the realm of academic discourse. This paper is an investigation into that condition and the circumstances for its perpetuation. Central to the issue is Kinkade's art theory and practice, which establishes his coexistence in both the art and business domains, creating inherent contradictions. Further explication is revealed through an evaluation of the contemporary criticism of four posthumously canonized artists: William Blake, Phillip Otto Runge, Vincent van Gogh, and Henri Rousseau. Consistencies among them correlate to the treatment of Thomas Kinkade, suggesting a common …

Student Outcomes And The Implementation Of A Ninth Grade Academy In A Western North Carolina High School., Monet Calloway Samuelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One purpose of this study was to compare outcomes of students who were part of a 9^th grade academy during their freshman year with outcomes of students who were not part of a 9^th grade academy during their freshman year. Student outcomes are defined for this study to include attendance, promotion rate to 10^th grade on time, in-school suspension assignments, Algebra I End-of-Course exam scores, and English I End-of-Course exam scores. The second purpose of this study was to compare outcomes of 10^th grade students who were part of a 9^th grade academy during their …

Correlation Between The Tcap Test And Thinklink Learnings Predictive Assessment Series Test In Reading Math And Science In A Tennessee School System., Jared Edwin Day

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine if a correlation existed between the Predictive Assessment Series (PAS) Test, marketed by Discovery Education, and the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test in reading, math, and science for grade 4, grade 6, and grade 8. The study included 4^th-grade, 6^th-grade, and 8^th-grade students during the 2008-2009 school year who had taken the ThinkLink Predictive Assessment Series for reading, math, and science in February 2009 and had taken the TCAP reading, math, and science test in April 2009.

The approach of the study was quantitative …

Military Women A Content Analysis Of United States And United Kingdom Newspapers Portrayal During The Iraq War., Audra Jaclyn Fritz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how the tone and roles of women serving in the Iraq War were portrayed in newspaper articles. Issues of how women in the military were portrayed in terms of page and story prominence were also of importance.

A content analysis was conducted in order to determine the tone, roles, story, and page placement of newspaper articles published in the United States and the United Kingdom over a 7-year time period. Newspaper articles related to the topic were retrieved from the LexisNexis database and analyzed.

The results showed that mentions of military women …

The Book Of Enoch And Second Temple Judaism., Nancy Perkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the ancient Jewish text the Book of Enoch, the scholarly work done on the text since its discovery in 1773, and its seminal importance to the study of ancient Jewish history. Primary sources for the thesis project are limited to Flavius Josephus and the works of the Old Testament. Modern scholars provide an abundance of secondary information. These scholars include R. H. Charles, D. S. Russell, Albert Baumgarten, Seth Schwartz, George Nickelsburg, and James VanderKam. The Book of Enoch was composed from roughly 300 BCE to 10 BCE. The Book of Enoch stands as substantial proof that …

Neo-Raconteur: Allocating Southern-Gothic Symbolism Into Design Media., Mark Daniel Compton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I created the term Neo-Raconteur to convey my interest in medium theory to support the artistic custom of revealing cultural conventions for allocation into artistic genres. The term evolved from the French word "Raconteur," meaning: somebody who tells stories or anecdotes in an interesting or entertaining way. In the past a Raconteur's anecdotes were verbally volleyed, ever voluble, yet quip. Neo-Raconteurs may decide not to speak at all choosing their anecdotal expression to manifest itself through singular or multiple means, manners, or methods of design and technology as well as or involving more traditional techniques of extraction to convey the …

Talking Heads: How Broadcast Media Frame The Public Relations Industry., Samara Rose Litvack

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Researchers conducted a content analysis to measure framing of the public relations industry in 354 English language broadcast transcripts from the United States, Canada, and Australia from Sept. 1, 2009 to Aug. 31, 2010.

The overall tone toward public relations was strongly negative. Mentions reflected one-way forms of communication and mentions of the pejorative term "PR" appeared more frequently than mentions of "public relations". The profession was almost always mentioned within the body of the broadcast, as opposed to the headline or the lead paragraph.

Exploratory research showed 15 shows that included negative mentions 100% of the time. Additionally, 27 …

The Digital Folklore Project: Tracking The Oral Tradition On The World Wide Web., Jasen Bacon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I collected forty-two e-mail forwards over the course of four months, and from those I formulated a framework that adapts existing theory in collection and study of real-world folklore to the emerging folk communities that exist on the internet. Through this analysis I prove that the same genres of folklore that is routinely collected by folklorists have been adapted to fit the digital environment of the internet. I then use the framework that I lay out to perform a study of the e-mails themselves.

Investing In Citizenship: Free Men Of Color Of Color And The Case Against Citizens Bank ~ Antebellum Louisiana, Hannah J. Francis

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Despite the popularity of free people of color in New Orleans as a research topic, the history of free people of color remains misunderstood. The prevailing view of free people of color is that of people who: engaged in plaçage, attended quadroon balls, were desperately dependent upon the dominant population, and were uninterested or afraid to garner rights for themselves. Contemporary historians have endeavored to amend this stereotypical perception; this study aims to be a part of the trend of revisionist history through an in-depth analysis of the co-plaintiffs in Boisdoré and Goulé, f.p.c., v. Citizens Bank and …

Statistical Spectral Parameter Estimation Of Acoustic Signals With Applications To Byzantine Music, Kyriakos Michael Tsiappoutas

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Digitized acoustical signals of Byzantine music performed by Iakovos Nafpliotis are used to extract the fundamental frequency of each note of the diatonic scale. These empirical results are then contrasted to the theoretical suggestions and previous empirical findings. Several parametric and non-parametric spectral parameter estimation methods are implemented. These include: (1) Phase vocoder method, (2) McAulay-Quatieri method, (3) Levinson-Durbin algorithm,(4) YIN, (5) Quinn & Fernandes Estimator, (6) Pisarenko Frequency Estimator, (7) MUltiple SIgnal Characterization (MUSIC) algorithm, (8) Periodogram method, (9) Quinn & Fernandes Filtered Periodogram, (10) Rife & Vincent Estimator, and (11) the Fourier transform. Algorithm performance was very precise. …

Measuring Early Numeracy Of Kindergarten Students In A Group Setting, Stacy A. Winck

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Early identification practices in assessment are crucial to preventing academic failure as well as identifying students at-risk for later learning disabilities. The PAM Early Numeracy Screening is a set of subscales designed to measure early numeracy in kindergarten students in a group setting. Given that the existing early numeracy measures are individually administered, the purpose of the current study was to explore the psychometric properties of the PAM Early Numeracy Screening. Correlational analysis was the primary research design used to investigate the evidence of reliability, criterion-related validity, and construct validity of the PAM Early Numeracy Screening. Criterion measures …

The Tripartite Tributaries Of Ush, Alicia Cognevich

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Inspired by Vladimir Nabokov’s metafiction novel Pale Fire and with Joseph Campbell’s research in comparative mythology and religion in mind, I explore the act of mythmaking and the composition of metafictional text in this work of fiction. The myth aspect combines elements of Classical, biblical, medieval, Romantic, and original materials to form a product that should strike readers as both familiar and alien, demonstrating Campbell’s notion of the monomyth as well as the ongoing tradition of mythmaking that continues to captivate both readers and writers. The metafictional portion of the text emphasizes a reader’s relationship to a work of fiction, …

Letters As Literature: Semantic And Discursive Features Of Irony In "Letters To Howard", Corinna Jo Cook

Arctic and Northern Studies

This thesis examines the literary features of the Letters to Howard, a series of letters to the editor of the Alaskan newspaper, the Tundra Times. Published over the course of several months in 1973, the letters were signed by two semi-fictional characters: an old Eskimo man, Naugga Ciunerput, and a lost VISTA volunteer, Wally Morton, the two lone inhabitants of the imagined Land's End Village, Alaska. Naugga and Wally had a pointed agenda: they were addressing editor Howard Rock and his readership with their concerns regarding the newly-passed Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, or ANCSA. In truth, Naugga and Wally's …

Visualizing The Present: Current Issues Within Contemporary Visual Sami Art - An Analysis Of Sami Artists And Their Art In Oslo, Norway, Birte Marie Horn-Hanssen

Arctic and Northern Studies

Until recently, contemporary visual Sami art has been little studied. However there is continuous activity within the Sami art world that is evident from the large amount of contemporary visual Sami art exhibits in northern Scandinavia. This paper provides an exploratory analysis of the current issues and artistic language contemporary visual Sami artists who live in Oslo, Norway are concerned with. Through contextualizing the artworks within a post-colonial framework highlighting the dominant Sami historical, political and societal narratives from the 1970s until now, and contrasting them with the official Norwegian image of Norway as a unified "oil and gas nation," …

College Readiness Of African-American Student Athletes, Carol Bos, Grace Chaidez, Andrew Nunn-Miller, Daisy Rodriguez

Program Design and Evaluation

Research project of The Larry English Foundation- Leading Education to Athletes for their Dreams, focusing on African-American student-athletes.

Illinois State University, One Hundred And Fifty-Second Annual Commencement, December 17, 2011, Illinois State University

Commencement Programs

Normal, Illinois
Illinois State University
One Hundred and Fifty-Second Annual Commencement
December 17, 2011

A Long Low Whistle In The Distance, Blair C. Runion

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Erin is returning to her childhood home on a Native reservation in New Mexico. She hopes to see her father one more time before he dies, but she has other motives as well. Her relationships with her family, and with her lover Maddie come under pressure through this change in her life. Between the looming dream of reuniting with her father, and coming to terms with the new stage in her life Erin is learning how to accept herself and others.

The Romani Place In Kosovar Space: Nationalism And Kosovo’S Roma, Melissa Hughes

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

On February 17, 2008,Kosovo declared its independence. The path to independence and the claim to Kosovo was a long process that developed in three primary phases: A) the fostering of territorial solidarity under direct rule and an emphasis on historical ties to the territory; B) the foundation of the national idea within the realms of proto-nationalism; and C) the emergence of peripheral and mass nationalism. This research seeks to define the development of nationalist ideologies in Kosovo and to explore where Roma fit within those ideologies. An historical and sociological approach to nationalism in Kosovo is critical in understanding the …

Oscar James Dunn: A Case Study In Race & Politics In Reconstruction Louisiana, Brian Mitchell

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The study of African American Reconstruction leadership has presented a variety of unique challenges for modern historians who struggle to piece together the lives of men, who prior to the Civil War, had little political identity. The scant amounts of primary source data in regard to these leaders’ lives before the war, the destruction of many documents in regard to their leadership following the Reconstruction Era, and the treatment of these figures by historians prior to the Revisionist movement have left this body of extremely important political figures largely unexplored. This dissertation will examine the life of one of Louisiana’s …

A Cast Of White Crabs, Jessica Suchanek

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

N/A

Ceas E-News 12.16.2011, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

College of Engineering and Applied Sciences News

Foundation Members Race SAE Baja Car, Innovation Day, Senior Design Presentations, Michigan Industry Road Trip

2011 Winter Boise State University Commencement Program, Boise State University Commencement Committee

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Harborwalk Extension Complete!, December 16, 2011, John Trecastelli

USF St. Petersburg Campus News and Press Releases

No abstract provided.

Promoting Unity Through Propaganda: How The British Government Utilized Posters During The Second World War, Elizabeth Tate Goins

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Comprised of four separate countries, the United Kingdom is a state unlike any other. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have distinct identities, which has been a cause for discord throughout British history. However, during the Second World War the Ministry of Information, under the guidance of the Conservative government and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, launched a poster-based propaganda campaign aimed towards unifying the UK under a common national self-identity. By emphasizing shared qualities such as resilience, pragmatism, humor, patriotism and even the concept of unity itself, the Ministry of Information fostered a sense of national self-identity with the …

The Vulnerability Assessment And Penetration Testing Of Two Networks, Steven L. Simpson

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Vulnerability assessments and penetration testing are two approaches available for use by internet security practitioners to determine the security posture of information networks. By assessing network vulnerabilities and attempting to exploit found vulnerabilities through penetration testing security professionals are able to evaluate the effectiveness of their network defenses by identifying defense weaknesses, affirming the defense mechanisms in place, or some combination of the two. This project is a discussion of the methods and tools used during the vulnerability assessment and penetration testing, and the respective test results of two varied and unique networks. The assessment and testing of the first …

Staff Senate Minutes, 2011 December 16, Clemson University

Staff Senate Minutes

No abstract provided.

Campus Influence On International Students' Perceptions Of The United States

Dissertations

International students not only have an economic impact on the United States in the billions of dollars, they culturally enrich college campuses and play a critical role in fostering U.S. foreign relations (NAFSA, 2006). The purpose of this study was to examine international students’ perceptions of the United States as a result of participating in a short-term ESL program at three campuses of a community college district in the Midwest, and to explore the influence of campus cultural attributes (diversity of the student body, breadth of support for international students, and setting) on these perceptions. This was a mixed-method study. …

Postcard, The Men At Studio@620 In St. Petersburg, Florida, Studio At 620

Postcard Collection

A promotional postcard for The Men, a play by Christian Couture, presented as part of the Golden Ticket Theatre Series at Studio@620. Directed by Bob Devin Jones, this mature comedy offered a humorous and campy exploration of its themes, providing audiences with an entertaining theatrical experience.

Characterization Of The Role Nuclear Bmp2 (Nbmp2) Plays In Regulating Gene Expression, Fialka Grigorova

Theses and Dissertations

The nBmp2 protein was first identified in a DNA affinity chromatography/mass spectrometry screen designed to detect proteins that interact with a cartilage-specific enhancer element (called D/E) from the type XI collagen gene Col11a2. The transcription factor SOX9, a protein from the Sox (SRY-related HMG box) family, binds to and activates gene expression from this enhancer. nBmp2 has no transcriptional activity of its own on this enhancer, but when co-transfected with SOX9 it increases SOX9's activation of D/E nearly 2-fold. SOX9 also activates cartilage-specific enhancer elements from the Col2a1, Col27a1, and Col9a1 genes. The purpose of this project …