Digital Commons Network^™

Engaged Client-Centered Representation And The Moral Foundations Of The Lawyer-Client Relationship, Katherine R. Kruse

Scholarly Works

The field of legal ethics, as we know it today, has grown out of thoughtful, systematic grounding of lawyers’ duties in a comprehensive understanding of lawyers’ roles and the situating of lawyers’ roles in underlying theories of law, morality, and justice. Unfortunately, in the process, the field of theoretical legal ethics has mostly lost track of the thing that Freedman insisted was at the heart of a lawyers’ role: the integrity of the lawyer-client relationship. As I will discuss, the field of theoretical legal ethics has developed in ways that are deeply lawyer-centered rather than fundamentally client-centered. I am going …

Assessing Attentional Bias And Cerebral Laterality In Specific Phobia Using A Dichotic Listening Paradigm, Whitney Shay Jenkins

LSU Master's Theses

Researchers have found fear to impact a variety of cognitive variables in individuals with specific phobia. Attentional bias is a cognitive variable that has received considerable attention in the specific phobia literature; however, the existing literature follows only one line of attentional bias—bias as encoded through images, words, or other content presented visually. This study aimed to expand on this area by assessing attention and cerebral laterality in individuals with specific phobia using a dichotic listening paradigm (i.e., via auditory means). Results indicated that participants with specific phobias do not significantly differ from controls in terms of the number of …

The Lady, Or The Tiger? A Field Guide To Metaphor & Narrative, Linda L. Berger

Scholarly Works

Metaphor and narrative reassure us that things hang together, providing a sense of coherence to the patterns and paths we employ for perception and expression. In this field guide, I hope to illustrate - with images and stories when possible - how better understanding of metaphor and narrative can guide those engaged in legal rhetoric and persuasion.

The article briefly summarizes cognitive theory relating to metaphor and narrative, provides snapshots of their use in the field, in real-life legal persuasion, and suggests ways to adapt metaphor and narrative to a specific example of legal persuasion. In the field guide section, …

Investigating The Use Of Graphic Organizers For Writing, Laura Nicole Delrose

LSU Master's Theses

Students are placed under increasing demands for more complex syntax and discourse structure in oral and written language as they age. Children with language and learning disabilities struggle to grasp the organization and relationships between the facts of the topic, making writing an increasingly daunting task. In addition, these students must also master conventions such as vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, and syntax to produce a written essay (Schumaker & Deshler, 2003). This study explored the efficacy of graphic organizers as a strategy to facilitate higher complexity of syntactic and discourse structures in sentence and story formation. After seven weeks of intervention, …

"The Colossal Vitality Of His Illusion": The Myth Of The American Dream In The Modern American Novel, James E. Ayers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation argues that the American dream is a large-scale cultural myth, and that through an analysis of the dream’s mythic structure we can locate a paradigm according to which both American literature and American culture are organized. The American dream has maintained unique relevance across the historical, regional, and cultural diversity of the American nation, in part because it always remains abstract and resists firm definition. Nevertheless, by breaking the broad myth into its most basic elemental parts we can begin to see patterns across the many distinctive versions of the American dream, such that we can identify the …

Book Review. European Copyright Law: A Commentary., Marshall A. Leaffer

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Family Capital Of Capital Families: Investigating Empathic Connections Between Jurors And Defendants' Families In Death Penalty Cases, Jody L. Madeira

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Mere Exposure On Responses To Foreign-Accented Speech, Lea Grossman

Master's Theses

The present study examined the effects of repeated exposure to the accent (standard American English vs. Asian Indian) of a prospective college professor on participants' cognitive reactions, affective reactions, and passage comprehension. Based on data collected from 115 undergraduate students, results showed that an Asian Indian-accented professor was perceived as being less competent, less likable, but more motivated than a standard American English speaking professor. In addition, the trustworthiness of the Asian Indian-accented professor decreased over time as well as participants' negative opinions of the professor. Finally, the results of the study indicate that when listening to the professor's foreign …

Comparison Of The Diagnostic Evaluation Of Language Variation-Screening Test (Delv-St) To Two Other Screeners For Low-Income, African American Children, Christy Wynn Moland

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the DELV-ST by comparing it to two other screeners, the Fluharty-2 and the Washington-Craig Language Screener (WCLS). The participants were 73 African American Pre-K and Head Start children, aged four- to five-years-old. Fail rates were higher than what has been reported in the literature. They were highest for the Fluharty-2 (57%), lower for the DELV-ST (52%), and lowest for the WCLS (46%); however, there were no statistical differences in the fail rates by screener. Approximately 54% of the children passed or failed all screeners. Unfortunately, the remaining 46% failed …

The Influence Of Selected Demographic And Biographical Characteristics On The Level Of Cultural Intelligence Among Mid-Level Managers Of Home Health Care Systems In The United States, Martha Stuart Williams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Disparities exist in health care quality among racial and ethnic minority groups. Minority Americans receive lower quality health care than non-minorities even after adjustment for insurance status and income. A leading cause of these disparities is the biases and prejudices of health care providers. The primary purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between levels of cultural intelligence (CQ) and selected demographic and biographical characteristics among mid-level managers of home health care systems throughout the United States. This research provides an understanding of factors influencing cultural intelligence among site directors in home health care. An examination …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Communication And Socialization Deficits In Infants And Toddlers With Autism And Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (Pdd_Nos), Megan Alice Hattier

LSU Master's Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are characterized by pervasive impairments in repetitive behaviors or interests, communication, and socialization. As the onset of these features occurs at a very young age, early detection is of the utmost importance. In an attempt to better clarify the behavioral presentation of communication and socialization deficits to aid in early assessment and intervention, impairments in these areas were examined among infants and toddlers (17-37 months) with Autistic Disorder (AD), Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), and non-ASD related developmental delay. The Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits-Part1 (BISCUIT-Part1) and the Battelle …

We Are What We Eat : Discovering The Key To Preventive Healthcare, Megan Riederer

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

I Can Has Thesis? A Linguistic Analysis Of Lolspeak, Jordan Lefler

LSU Master's Theses

Lolspeak, which I characterize as an internet dialect of English that is used in conjunction with images of cats, exhibits distinctive variations and patterns which differ from those of standard English. Lolspeak has influenced other language use and may have a significant impact on the English language, due in part to the internet’s role in the evolution of English (Crystal “Language and the Internet,” 2006:26-27). To approach this data, I created a multi-modal discourse transcription technique for analyzing Lolspeak utterances within the context of their images based on Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss “The Discovery of Grounded Theory” 2007:9). I …

Revolutionary Republics: U.S. National Narratives And The Independence Of Latin America, 1810-1846, James Weldon Long

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Revolutionary Republics analyzes how U.S. literature depicted the independence of Latin America, focusing on the period from the beginning of the Spanish American revolutions in 1810 to the outbreak of the U.S.-Mexican War in 1846. During this brief timespan, the nation’s literature featured a radical transition in which the independent republics of Latin America shifted from being viewed as “southern brethren” of the United States, a term used by such prominent public figures as Daniel Webster and John Quincy Adams, to hostile enemies allegedly in need of assistance from their northern neighbor. This reversal exposes a contradiction between the imperialist …

Rights, Needs, And The Creation Of Ethical Community, Natalie Susan Gaines

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite a half-century of dominance by the rights discourse, the supremacy of rights in theories of human obligation has recently come under attack from political theorists. Though scholars have questioned the ability of rights to explain satisfactorily the responsibility we have for the well-being of others, there are few viable alternatives offered. In this dissertation, I argue that a theory of needs provides a better explanation of the intellectual and moral foundations of obligation. Human need is deeply rooted in subjective potentiality, but studies in human psychology have also provided an increasingly universal picture of the needs human beings experience. …

The Contribution Of Implicit Stereotypes To The Overrepresentation Of African Americans In The Special Education Category Of Emotional Disturbance, Tai A. Collins

LSU Master's Theses

The overrepresentation of African Americans in special education is a problem that has plagued the field since its inception, yet very little progress has been made in alleviating the issue. The problem is especially troubling because of the host of negative outcomes associated with special education in general, as well as placing African American students into special education specifically. The current study sought to examine the contribution of implicit racial stereotypes to the overrepresentation problem. Participants were randomly assigned to conditions where they viewed vignettes about either an African American or Caucasian problem student, after which they completed a questionnaire …

An Examination Of Errors Of Coherence In Adolescent Sentence Combining, Ginger Gunter Collins

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Young adolescents should be able to write organized multi-paragraph compositions that develop a central idea and unfold in logical and sequential order, unified through the use of transitional words and phrases. In other words, the compositions should not just consist of a string of related sentences, but represent a dynamic text that has coherence. It is important that speech-language pathologists develop quick and reliable methods for assessing coherence to aid in making data driven decisions and progress monitoring consistent with principles of Responsiveness to Intervention. Yet, the holistic quality of coherence makes it difficult to assess, both within a composition …

A Survey Of Rudy Davenport's Byna: Life Songs Of A Southern Appalachian Woman Of Cherokee Indian Descent (A Chamber Work For Soprano, Piano, Oboe And Cello), Tiffany I. Bostic-Brown

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Composer Rudy Davenport aims to create music that is more relatable than the atonal compositions often associated with 20th century composers. Inspired by his own Appalachian and Cherokee heritages, Davenport, in collaboration with librettist Delilah Elsen, developed his own musical genre called “Appalachian Romanticism”. This genre is evident in his work BYNA: Life Songs of a Southern Appalachian Woman of Cherokee Descent for Soprano, Piano, Oboe & Cello. The purpose of this study is to understand and describe Rudy Davenport’s view on 20th century composition. To obtain this information I interviewed Davenport posing questions about his biography and musical preferences, …

An African American Discourse Community In Black & White: The New Orleans Tribune, Kristi Richard Melancon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In An African American Discourse Community in Black & White: The New Orleans Tribune, an archival study of the first black-owned daily newspaper in the United States, I argue that the newspaper rhetorically constructed a literate African American discourse community worthy of citizenship and equal political rights within the public sphere of Reconstruction United States. Although contemporaneous media in the South depicted blacks as both unable to read and write and as culturally illiterate, I demonstrate how articles across the lifespan of the Tribune represented, as well as encouraged and enabled, multiple literacies within the African American community. I ultimately …

Social Graces: The Natchez Garden Club As A Literacy Sponsor, June Graham

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study asks (1) how did the Natchez Garden Club conceptualize and promote literacy in their club and in the community?, (2) how might educational practices of select Southern, White, elite women be theorized in the lives of the Natchez Garden Club and its members during the 1930s, 40s and 50s?, and (3) how does an examination of the Natchez Garden Club illuminate understandings of select Southern, White, privileged women and the ways they took on roles as informal educators? To answer these questions, the study examined The Natchez Garden Club, an elite White women’s club in the South and …

Socio-Religious Factors And Their Influence In Semantic Interpretation, Michelle J. Goff

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis explores the influence of socio-religious factors in semantic interpretation. The principal objective of the investigation is to determine the level of that religious influence and make a call for the inclusion of socio-religious factors in all sociolinguistic semantic studies. The religious community of practice analyzed for this study was the Church of Christ. Its status as a community of practice is confirmed through the results of surveys and interviews, which fulfill the requirements promulgated by Lave & Wegner (1991). Participants inside and outside the community of practice, residing in three distinct cities were included: Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Houston, …

Una Pluma Fuera De Serie: La (Re)Presentación De La Lesbiana En La Trilogia De Lola Van Guardia, Rafael Valadez

LSU Master's Theses

Lesbian visibility and representation has been and continues to be marked from a patriarchal perspective, governed by heteronormativity. Heterosexuality and man have and continue to be points from which lesbians are defined. The lesbian has come to form part of a heteronormative sexual sequence in society, what Annamarie Jagose refers to as ‘sequencing.’ This sequence has placed the lesbian in a latter position of inferiority that depends on heterosexuality and/or man. Because of this reason, it has not been possible to reach a good representation of the lesbian. In order to obtain a better representation of the lesbian she must …

A Look At The Integration Of Wetlands And Hazard Mitigation Planning In Coastal Louisiana, Kathleen Melissa Bowers

LSU Master's Theses

Due to the destruction of the damaging hurricanes of 2005, Katrina and Rita, more effort has gone into the rebuilding and prevention of future disasters along the Louisiana coast than ever before. This research focuses on the use of wetlands, in the ten coastal parishes of Louisiana, as a mitigation effort aiding in the protection of coastal communities. Using content analysis and decision support software, a wetland ranking was created that represents how wetlands are utilized and protected within each parish. Criteria gathered from the plans include how many times wetlands were mentioned, collaboration with the state and other agencies, …

Hear (No) Evil, See (No) Evil, Speak (No) Evil: Artistic Representations Of Argentina's "Dirty War", Juliana Theresa Reineman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to analyze Argentina’s “Dirty War; in it, I argue that our view of the Other is the key to not repeating the past. Literature has long been accepted as a resource for understanding culture; this dissertation moves beyond literature, and includes photography, art, and film to demonstrate how artists have represented and responded to this period of political oppression. Adopting a psychoanalytic approach for my research, I begin with a literary analysis of multiple texts which exhibit features of what Anne Whitehead calls “trauma fiction,” texts in which the narrative voice displays the repetition …

Review: Riddles Of Belonging: India In Translation And Other Tales Of Possession, Anuradha Needham

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Disordered Thought, Disordered Language: A Corpus-Based Description Of The Speech Of Individuals Undergoing Treatment For Schizophrenia, Lucas Carl Steuber

Dissertations and Theses

The characteristics of patient speech are used in clinical settings to make assumptions about the thought processes of people with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. However, there have not been any studies of the language of people with schizophrenia that present evidence drawn from a large group of speakers. This study employs a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to determine whether 140 medicated individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia exhibit the linguistic abnormalities claimed in the literature. It also compares the speech of people with schizophrenia with that of people diagnosed with depression in order to assess whether there is a …

The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks: How A Best-Seller Diffused Online, Melissa Ann Shavlik

Dissertations and Theses

This study describes how information spread on the internet by examining diffusion, framing and source use surrounding coverage of the 2010 best-selling book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The book presented a rare opportunity to view how a story about science, discovery and race became a best-seller within weeks after its publication. Through a mixed-methods and case study approach, the author examines patterns of coverage using Google Alerts that traced the book's online coverage in the first six months of its release. The author found that online information clustered around several themes with the most prominent describing aspects of …

Toward A Taxonomy Of Diversity At Work: Developing And Validating The Workplace Diversity Inventory, Aisha Smith Taylor

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research was to develop a taxonomy of workplace diversity and examine its implications for understanding and predicting diversity at work. A 7-dimension taxonomy was originally developed by reviewing contemporary literature on diversity in the workplace. The taxonomy is grounded in Social Identity Theory. Preliminary research found that each of the seven dimensions of the taxonomy were present in 78 critical incidents describing work-relevant diversity dynamics. The current study reports the development and administration of an instrument, the Workplace Diversity Inventory (WDI), which was used to empirically examine the 7-factor model of the taxonomy in over 20 …

Motivation In Late Learners Of Japanese: Self-Determination Theory, Attitudes And Pronunciation, Shannon Guinn-Collins

Dissertations and Theses

The present study examined a hypothesized relationship between the following variables: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as described by Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), integrative and instrumental orientation (Gardner & Lambert, 1972), attitudes toward pronunciation, and accent in English-speaking late learners of Japanese. Data collection occurred in two steps: First, English-speaking participants completed three questionnaires designed to measure their motivation and attitudes toward pronunciation; they then provided speech samples in Japanese. Native speakers of Japanese then rated these speech samples holistically on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 indicating a strong foreign accent, and 5 indicating a native …

Storytelling As Loving Praxis In Critical Peace Education: A Grounded Theory Study Of Postsecondary Social Justice Educators, Amanda Smith Byron

Dissertations and Theses

Looking through the philosophical lens of love, this study seeks a deeper understanding and appreciation of how postsecondary social justice educators use storytelling, in the context of critical peace education, to create social change. This research explores the guiding question of how storytelling is used to encourage social change and to inspire action toward the goal of greater social justice. The argument for the importance of this research is located within the crisis of neoliberalism, where the very tenets of democratic education are being challenged by an educational agenda that favors standards-based learning and employment training over the critical and …