Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of The Allocation Of Fema Public Assistance Funds Along The U.S. Gulf Coast Following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, And Wilma, Pamela Camille Golden

LSU Master's Theses

Due to the effects of global climate change, natural disasters such as hurricanes are increasing in terms of both intensity and frequency. During the record-breaking hurricane season of 2005, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma struck the U. S. Gulf Coast, affecting areas from Texas to Florida and causing billions of dollars in damage. This study examines the allocation of FEMA Public Assistance across the affected Gulf of Mexico states, what factors account for variation in in assistance allocation, what are the priorities for recovery among county leaders and what obstacles they have encountered since 2005. This study includes 136 counties …

Characterization Of The Effect Of Alcohol On Recombinant Proteins Derived From Mammalian Adenylyl Cyclase, Emily Qualls Creekmore

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research suggests that the cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling pathway is implicated in the development of alcoholism. Previous work in our laboratory has demonstrated that alcohol enhances the activity of adenylyl cyclase (AC) in an isoform specific manner; human type 7 AC (AC7) is most enhanced by ethanol as measured by cAMP accumulation assay in whole cells. We hypothesize that alcohol enhances AC activity by directly interacting with the protein and that alcohol effects on AC can be studied using recombinant AC expressed in bacteria. Our objectives include: 1) design and optimization of the conditions for protein expression and protein purity …

Discrimination Of Sexual Minorities And Plans To Relocate, Margaret H. Smith

LSU Master's Theses

LGBTQ individuals make relocation decisions with their sexual orientation and gender identity in mind (Gorman-Murray, 2007). The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between non-violent discrimination faced by LGBTQ individuals and whether or not those individuals have future plans to relocate. A literature review of LGBTQ discrimination and LGBTQ relocation is discussed, and a secondary data analysis was conducted on a sample of LGBTQ individuals who participated in a quality-of-life survey. All hypotheses were supported except the hypothesis that analyzed anti-LGBTQ discrimination and its association with time until relocation. Results indicated that experiencing anti-LGBTQ nonviolent discrimination was …

Metacognitive Awareness : Impact Of A Metacognitive Intervention In A Pre-Nursing Course, Bronwyn Perry Doyle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

To function effectively as nurses in the evolving, complex healthcare system, nursing students must learn to be skilled thinkers, know how to learn, and know how to use what they know in novel situations. Research in the field of metacognition may offer a useful framework to improve learning and to enhance critical thinking and clinical decision-making in nursing students. The purpose of this study is to describe how pre-nursing students’ self-reported metacognitive awareness correlates with age and academic variables and to explore the effects of a metacognitive intervention on students’ metacognitive awareness. Using a quasi-experimental research design, the study consisted …

The Skeptic’S Guide To Information Sharing At Sentencing, Ryan W. Scott

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The “information sharing model,” a leading method of structuring judicial discretion at the sentencing stage of criminal cases, has attracted broad support from scholars and judges. Under this approach, sentencing judges should have access to a robust body of information, including written opinions and statistics, about previous sentences in similar cases. According to proponents, judges armed with that information can conform their sentences to those of their colleagues or identify principled reasons for distinguishing them, reducing inter-judge disparity and promoting rationality in sentencing law. This Article takes a skeptical view of the information sharing model, arguing that it suffers from …

An Examination Of Middle School Band Students' Ability To Match Pitch Following Short-Term Vocal Technique Training, Abby Bush Lyons

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine middle school band students’ ability to sing and play their instruments in tune following short-term vocal technique instruction. In a posttest-only design, individual participants listened to three-note stepwise sequences produced digitally and performed them in three ways—sung on the syllable /Zu/, sung on /Zi/, and played on the instrument. Performances were recorded and analyzed for cent deviation from equal-tempered tuning (reference A=440). Results showed a significant 3-way interaction among pitch direction, performance condition, and pitch, with the most inaccurate playing happening after the first time participants sang the pitch sequence. Singing accuracy, …

Snap Use Among Older Adults, Jennifer R. Geiger

LSU Master's Theses

Older adults participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at much lower rates than the general population. Possible explanations for this disparity include stigma, lack of information, and lack of transportation. However, past research focusing on SNAP use among older adults is limited and utilizes age cohorts in their analyses that may not accurately reflect actual age differences in SNAP participation. This study explored four different models of age categorizations as they relate to SNAP participation rates among older adults over 55. Using a sample of 10,116 from the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the research used …

Promises To Keep: Ensuring The Payment Of Americans' Pension Benefits In The Wake Of The Great Recession, Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this essay, I examine the problem of designing a pension plan within the context of our larger public policy of encouraging workers to save for retirement. I discuss the various problems and risks inherent in encouraging workers to adequately save for retirement, invest those assets efficiently, and ensure the planned level of retirement consumption for the remainder of their lives. I also discuss the three major types of pension plans in the American retirement system, defined benefit, defined contribution, and hybrid, and assess how well each of these types of plans deals with the problems encountered in designing a …

Problem Based Learning In A Middle School Science Class : Effect On Student Retention Of Concepts In Plate Tectonics And Rocks, Brittany Sharday Hinyard

LSU Master's Theses

This study investigated the effectiveness and student perceptions of Problem Based Learning (PBL) compared to Traditional Based Learning (TBL) in an eighth grade rural, public middle school using two earth science concepts. Over a four week period, students were taught concepts related to both Plate Tectonics and Rocks. The control group (TBL) for Plate Tectonics (n = 46) was the experimental group (PBL) for Rocks (n = 47). Similarly, the experimental group (PBL) for Plate Tectonics (n = 49) was the control group (TBL) for Rocks (n = 51). The pretest scores and learning gains for the students were compared …

An Analysis Of Femininity : How Popular Female Characters In The Media Portray Contemporary Womanhood, Stephanie Ortego Roussell

LSU Master's Theses

The impact of the media on adolescent girls has received greater theoretical, legal and societal focus over the last few decades. Several studies link the development of women’s gendered identities, healthy sexual activity and self-efficacy to how the media portray women. Restrictive or unrealistic themes of womanhood or femininity in the media can impact a young girl’s social construction of identity and provide limited examples of what it means to be a woman in today’s society. This study qualitatively examines femininity in contemporary media by analyzing—via textual analysis and focus groups—how popular female characters embody, portray and promote different conceptualizations …

Dragged Into The Future : How Interent Communications And Media Legitimacy Facilitate Lagging Gender Norms, Skylar C. Gremillion

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Social interaction is the driving force of human society and extends far beyond one-on-one conversations – it is how we learn about the behavioral expectations, beliefs and symbols of our culture. Sometimes these beliefs and expectations are related to celebrations and events that bring cultures together. Through interaction we learn that we are expected to bring a gift to a birthday party and why we even choose to celebrate birthdays at all. Yet that same framework – which is tied to the way humans categorize each other to make interaction easier – also allows cultures to share biases about different …

Vagrant Masculinity : A Process Of Masculine Self-Conceptualization In Formerly Incarcerated Black Men, Le'brian Alexander Patrick

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study explores the reorientation of masculine identities of formerly incarcerated Black men. Analysis is based on 20 in-depth interviews with 17 former inmates from the Louisiana prison system. This research investigates the impact of incarceration on the construction of masculinity. I explore the processes by which formerly imprisoned African American men construct, negotiate, and experience masculinity. My findings present how the way these men define masculinity and see themselves post-incarceration is influenced by not only their prison experience, but also by the reentry programs that they are affiliated. These men’s identities have been reformulated post-incarceration and are profoundly …

Uncovering Nodes In The Transnational Social Networks Of Hispanic Workers, James Powell Chaney

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the little studied but socially salient processes through which Latino migrant laborers find work, travel, and obtain documentation using transnational social networks spanning between their places of origin and destinations in the United States. This project focuses on the creation and maintenance of these transnational linkages with a particular interest in their expansion into locations throughout American South, the region with the highest growth rates of Hispanic populations. The aim is to understand how such migrant-labor processes influence migratory patterns and result in place creation, both in these case studies and more generally. The case studies in …

Tops Tech Utilization: Systemic Barriers And Facilitators In Louisiana, Melissa Clare Ledoux

LSU Master's Theses

TOPS Tech is a social welfare program in Louisiana that provides students with financial support to obtain the specific training that they need to get the jobs that are available in Louisiana. Since 1998, 42,918 students were eligible for the award, yet only 5,515 (12.85%) students enrolled full-time and utilized it (Louisiana Board of Regents, 2012). In order for educational leaders in Louisiana to improve participation in the TOPS Tech Program, they must first understand the barriers faced by students who want to utilize it. This study explored the potential factors contributing to the utilization (or underutilization) of TOPS Tech. …

"What Do Separate And Unequal Schools Look Like In The 21st Century? The Legacy Of State Sponsored Racial Segregation In The South", Jerel Williams

LSU Master's Theses

The vast majority of schools that have been subject to desegregation orders are located in the South. The official levels of state sponsored segregation by southern governments made the South unique. The South was a distinctive region when it came to racial brutality and resistance to racial integration. The American South is where the battle for school integration was fought with figures like George Wallace pledging segregation forever. What impact does the history of segregation have on southern schools today in relation to racial gaps in our education system? This analysis takes a look at the impact of historic state …

What's Love Got To Do With It? The Role Of Brand Love In Brand Community Experience, Phillip M. Hartley

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The work presented here explores and conceptually documents the consumer’s experience of brand communities—groups of people brought together by their mutual appreciation of a commercial brand. The relationships between individuals’ motives for joining, their participation, and the social and brand-related outcomes associated with such groups are tested. In addition, the role of Brand Love in the individual’s experience is assessed. The results of the research indicate that Participation may reduce the influence of a person’s original reasons for joining the community on the ultimate outcomes of membership. Further, a person’s degree of love for the underlying brand influences the likelihood …

Behind The Man In The Suit: Interview With The Chancellor, Julia Cooperman, Bailey Fitzgerald, Eric Routen, Joanne Liu

Quill & Scope

No abstract provided.

Factors Affecting Teaching Efficacy Of Beginning Secondary Agricultural Education Teachers, Marshall Swafford

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Teacher efficacy studies in agricultural education have primarily focused on documenting the perceived teaching efficacy of agriculture teachers. A limited number of studies have focused upon the factors that may help shape those efficacy beliefs. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that may contribute to the teaching efficacy beliefs of beginning agriculture education teachers. These factors included perceived collective efficacy, perceived principal support, and perceived teacher preparation program quality. The population for this study included all agriculture teachers in Missouri and Kansas (N=213) who had not completed more than five years teaching agricultural education …

International Adoption Discourse Analysis : Interdisciplinary Approaches To Media Discourse, Youngae Lee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research is focused on media discourse analysis with interdisciplinary perspectives in language, culture, and gender studies. The purpose of this study is to analyze the media discourse of live interpreter-mediated events with distinctive perspectives involving socio-cultural, structural, and linguistic approaches. The discourse used as data is collected from a live Korean TV program called “I Miss That Person” (IMTP). From IMTP, I titled the first clip “Han, Youngwoong’s Discourse” as Data 1 and the second clip “Lee, ChunShik’s Discourse” as Data 2. Two clips of each data can be seen at www.youtube.com. The analysis of the media discourse is …

Interrelationships Of Caregiving Characteristics, Burden Of Caregiving, Depressive Symptomology, Physical Health, Self-Care, Life Satisfaction And Social Support Of Social Workers, Katherine Riker Sternberg

LSU Master's Theses

With increasing numbers of Americans engaged in unpaid, informal caregiving for adults over the age of 18, there is a need for research that investigates caregivers’ experiences, with particular emphasis on their health and well being. This is the first known study to examine the experiences of social workers, engaged in direct practice, who are also managing responsibilities related to informal caregiving. The study examined interrelationships among social workers’ caregiving characteristics, burden of caregiving, depressive symptomology, physical health, self-care, life satisfaction and social support. Hypotheses included: (1) Burden of caregiving is positively correlated with depressive symptomology. (2) The burden of …

Peel-Off Lawyers: Legal Professionals In India's Corporate Law Firm Sector, Jayanth K. Krishnan

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This study is about hierarchy within the legal profession – how it presents itself, how it is retained, and how it is combated. The socio-legal literature on this subject is rich, with many roots tracing back to Professor Marc Galanter’s famous early 1970s article on the ‘Haves’ and ‘Have-Nots.’ Galanter’s piece and the work of those influenced by him rightly suggest that resources – institutional, financial, and demographic – contribute to whether lawyers are, and remain as, part of the ‘Haves.’ Yet, while resources of course greatly matter, as this study will argue other forces are significant as well. One …

The Dimensions Of Judicial Impartiality, Charles G. Geyh

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Scholars have traditionally analyzed judicial impartiality piecemeal, in disconnected debates on discrete topics. As a consequence, current understandings of judicial impartiality are balkanized and muddled. This Article seeks to reconceptualize judicial impartiality comprehensively, across contexts. In an era when "we are all legal realists now," perfect impartiality-the complete absence of bias or prejudice-is at most an ideal; "impartial enough" has, of necessity, become the realistic goal. Understanding when imperfectly impartial is nonetheless impartial enough is aided by conceptualizing judicial impartiality in three distinct dimensions: a procedural dimension, in which impartiality affords parties a fair hearing; a political dimension, in which …

The Changing Nature Of The Dominant Justifications That Legitimated The Oppression Of African-Americans In The United States, Kevin D. Brown

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The original justifications for the oppression of both African–Americans in the United States and Dalits in India were drawn from the religious systems of thought of both societies. However, over the centuries, the basic justifications for the oppression of African–Americans changed, while the primary rationale for the oppression of Dalits still remains rooted in religion. This essay sketches out the dominant forms that made and continue to make the oppression of African–Americans appear to be part of the natural order of things. It shows how the primary justifications for the oppression of Blacks changed over time. In so doing, this …

Comparing Social Skills In Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorders According To The Dsm-Iv-Tr And The Proposed Dsm-5, Jennifer Susan Beighley

LSU Master's Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is currently defined using criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). With the fifth edition of the DSM (DSM-5) forthcoming, one change the American Psychiatric Association has proposed is an increase in the number of overall symptoms necessary to meet criteria for ASD. Because social skills is well established as a core symptom of autism, the present study explores differences in social functioning using the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills in Youngsters-II (MESSY-II) in three groups of children ages 3-16 years including those diagnosed with ASD using the …

The Skeptic's Guide To Information Sharing At Sentencing, Ryan W. Scott

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The “information sharing model,” a leading method of structuring judicial discretion at the sentencing stage of criminal cases, has attracted broad support from scholars and judges. Under this approach, sentencing judges should have access to a robust body of information, including written opinions and statistics, about previous sentences in similar cases. According to proponents, judges armed with that information can conform their sentences to those of their colleagues or identify principled reasons for distinguishing them, reducing inter-judge disparity and promoting rationality in sentencing law.

This Article takes a skeptical view of the information sharing model, arguing that it suffers from …

Government Spending And Child Well-Being : A Correlational Study Of The Organization For Economic Co-Operation And Development (Oecd) Countries, Rachel Suzanna Foretich

LSU Master's Theses

Children who live in poverty are more likely to suffer from avoidable illnesses, become teenaged parents, be involved in the criminal justice system, and mature into adults who live in poverty (Isaacs et al., 2011). This study examines the relationship between government spending as a percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 21 child well-being indicators. The samples in this study were collected from 30 Organization of Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries for the years 2009 and 2012. The major finding of this study reveals that there is a statistically significant relationship between government spending as a percent of …

Female Collegiate Volleyball Athletes' Perceptions Of Identity, Specific To Sport And Gender, As Understood By Their In-Sport And Everyday Dress And Appearance Practices, Jessica Ann Pattison

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how female collegiate volleyball athletes use dress and appearance practices to create, maintain, and negotiate their sport identity and gender identity, in-sport and everyday, from the time they played collegiate volleyball to present day. The study was guided by grounded theory and phenomenology. Semi-structured, in-depth, active qualitative interviews with 12 women, who represented American, Brazilian, Canadian, and Romanian viewpoints, were analyzed using open coding and thematic analysis procedures. Analysis revealed three key themes related to female collegiate volleyball athletes’ use of dress and appearance practices as a means to shape and …

Cognitive Illiberalism, Summary Judgement, And Title Vii: An Examination Of Ricci V. Destefano, Ann C. Mcginley

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

A "Common" Proposal, Stacey A. Tovino

Scholarly Works

The Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (the “Common Rule”) is codified in separate regulations by seventeen federal departments and agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS’s version of the Common Rule currently contains a basic policy for the protection of all human subjects, codified at Subpart A of the Common Rule, as well as special provisions governing human subjects research involving three sets of vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, fetuses, and neonates (Subpart B); prisoners (Subpart C); and children (Subpart D). This Article proposes that HHS amend the Common Rule to add a …

Rethinking U.S. Legal Education: No More "Same Old, Same Old", Nancy B. Rapoport

Scholarly Works

In this Essay, I suggest that we should think about how to create a curriculum that encourages students to develop a variety of skill sets. Law students simply don’t need three years of Socratic questioning regarding the fine details of court opinions. They need a wide range of experiences, preferably building on skill sets (like the twenty-six Berkeley factors) that effective lawyers have developed. A law school’s curriculum should have courses that focus on different factors in each year of law school. Ultimately, what we should be teaching law students is how to develop the judgment to advise clients. Teaching …