Digital Commons Network^™

The Political Imagination Of Cormac Mccarthy, Drew Kennedy Thompson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a study in literature and politics and proceeds by tracing out the major political themes of McCarthy’s body of fiction and analyzing them toward their logical conclusions. The critical approach in this narrative-based anthropology looks at man first in profound isolation and then progresses through his novels in sequence, in an increasingly social context. McCarthy’s later fiction displays an increasingly affirmative view of the sacredness of human life and of the basic impulse toward community in even the most unreflective of characters; an essential characteristic of humans. To call any of McCarthy’s works a “political novel” would …

Promoting Literacy Development In The Early Childhood Classroom: An Evaluation Of Phonemic Awareness And Phonics Instruction, Elise Catherine Mciver

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research has consistently demonstrated that literacy skills are associated with a host of benefits that are both substantial and long lasting. Given the implications of reading skill development, efforts to understand the most effective methods of teaching students how to read are consequential. Fortunately, substantial research has been conducted on this topic and has subsequently highlighted two essential building blocks of a balanced literacy framework: phonemic awareness and phonics. The current literature on the reading acquisition process shows that if students are to benefit from phonics instruction, they must have a certain level of phonemic awareness proficiency. The question remains, …

Perceived Barriers To Autism Spectrum Disorder Services, Lindsey Willis Williams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder with hallmark symptoms that can be severely impairing to both the individual and the overall family dynamic. The path to diagnostic and therapy services is often lengthy and complex. Despite various state and federal efforts to improve service access, disparities remain evident across ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic lines with caregivers reporting financial, cultural, geographic, and practical (e.g., transportation, scheduling) barriers. For those able to access treatment, several interventions have been proven efficacious in addressing ASD symptoms, problem behaviors, and adaptive skills deficits. Other often-used interventions include those without established merit for …

The Influence Of Selected Academic And Demographic Characteristics On The Success Of First-Year Students Enrolled In A Baccalaureate Nursing Program, Scelitta F. Bond

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of the study was to determine the influence of selected demographic and academic characteristics on success in nursing education among first year baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in a private college in the Southern region of the United States. The participants in the study were 102 baccalaureate students admitted to the nursing program in Fall, 2013. For the purpose of the study, success was defined as a grade of C or higher in two clinical nursing courses in the first year of the nursing program. Academic and demographic criteria were examined and compared using means, standard deviations, Independent …

Participation In Active And Passive Music Interventions By Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease And Related Dementias: Effects On Agitation, Robert J. Prattini

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The ability of music to produce calming effects on us is well documented, and its use is becoming an increasingly accepted intervention with populations displaying agitated and disruptive behaviors, such as people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or other dementias. One reason for its widespread use is because research has demonstrated music’s efficacy in reducing agitation, and consequently disruptive behaviors, in those with AD. Prior studies on music’s effects on agitation in older people with AD have utilized either recorded music used passively, or active sessions with a music therapist or musicians, but none have compared the effects of each type …

Necessary Medicine: Rethinking Health Communication At Burning Man, Raquel Irene Polanco

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study turns to the annual Burning Man Festival held in Black Rock City, Nevada as a site of cultural performance where participants negotiate health meanings. I adopt a culture-centered approach to health communication and utilize critical performance ethnography and narrative performativity as methodological and theoretical frameworks to investigate the specific communication practices that bring about health meanings at the festival. Analysis revealed the significance of everyday life practices performed through narrative for understanding how Burning Man participants understand, reinforce, and counter various health meanings with implications for the field of health communication and performance studies.

The Multidimensional Bullying Victimization Scale: Development And Validation, Shannon Marie Harbin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

One in three middle and high school students are victims of bullying (National Educational Association, 2012). The prevalence of bullying has increased over the past 10 years by approximately 25% (Nation Center of Education Statistics, 2013) and is now considered a public health concern. Published measures of bullying lack breadth and/or psychometric support. The present study created a psychometrically sound measure assessing bully victimization in adolescents. This measure examines three dimensions of bullying: direct, indirect, and evaluative. Items were generated based on information collected from student focus groups, as well as previously published measures and themes within recently published literature. …

Process Monitoring And Data Mining With Chemical Process Historical Databases, Michael Carl Thomas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Modern chemical plants have distributed control systems (DCS) that handle normal operations and quality control. However, the DCS cannot compensate for fault events such as fouling or equipment failures. When faults occur, human operators must rapidly assess the situation, determine causes, and take corrective action, a challenging task further complicated by the sheer number of sensors. This information overload as well as measurement noise can hide information critical to diagnosing and fixing faults. Process monitoring algorithms can highlight key trends in data and detect faults faster, reducing or even preventing the damage that faults can cause. This research improves tools …

Testing The Asset-Based Theory Of American Social Welfare: Does A Future-Orientation Mediate The Relationship Between Asset-Ownership And Financial Responsibility?, Louie Fletcher Bickham Iii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The ownership of financial assets protects American households from experiencing the struggles of income poverty. The asset-based theory of American social welfare, which was conceptualized by Professor Michael Sherraden in 1991 and amended in 2001 by other scholars, posited that social welfare programs diminish the prevalence of poverty by enabling households to save funds to purchase assets. This theory has been scantly tested—especially among American households—despite a great amount of funds being invested into programs designed to help low-income American households to build assets. The only previous study that examined the intermediary role of future-orientations on the effect of asset-ownership …

Louisiana School Leaders’ Perceptions Of K-12 Online Technology Readiness, Jeffery Andrew Hand

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive study was to gain perspective of Louisiana public school leaders’ perceptions of their levels of preparedness to effectively integrate technology into their schools as a major component of their educational program. This research was guided by two overarching questions: (1) What is the perceived technology leadership preparedness level of Louisiana public school leaders as measured by their responses to the 2009 ISTE NETS-A standards? (2) Are there significant differences in how school leaders’ self-report on NETS-A standards by BESE state region? Results of this study indicate that school leaders, throughout all eight Louisiana BESE …

The Limits Of Professional Autonomy: An Interview-Based Comparative Analysis Of The Workplaces And Perceptions Of Educators And Healthcare Professionals, Joseph Paul Cleary

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Workplaces are the locations of significant social outcomes that are worth studying in their own right. In addition to pursuing and achieving their own intended outcomes (i.e. a well-educated and healthy public, in the case of the American public education and American healthcare systems), they are resources on which individuals rely for social, psychological, spiritual, and economic fulfillment and identity. Central to a person’s overall efficacy within the workplace is the extent to which they exercise influence over their time and behaviors. In contrast to sociological works on bureaucracies, research on professional autonomy tends to be symbolic-interactionist and qualitative in …

Idling Women: The Domestic Bildungsroman And The American City, 1830-1900, Jordan L. Von Cannon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In Idling Women: The Domestic Bildungsroman and the American City, 1830-1900, I explore urban narratives of female non-development. In city novels featuring female protagonists, there are two normative arcs of development: either women find new opportunities for marriage, work, and, in some cases, independence in the city, or they fall prey to threats of seduction, poverty, and even death. However, these two plotlines fail to accommodate stories of women who wait to develop, fail at it, or otherwise resist what might be considered character growth. By problematizing distinctions between idleness and the American “work ethic” often tied to the industrialized …

There’S A Skid Row Everywhere, And This Is Just The Headquarters: Impacts Of Urban Revitalization Policies In The Homeless Community Of Skid Row, Douglas Mungin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation tracks the historical shift from containment strategies for managing homeless populations in Skid Row to current strategies of using police and the penal system to periodically sweep the street of these unwanted bodies. This shift hinges on the construction of homelessness as a crisis requiring immediate and ongoing intervention. First, the state produces and reproduces homelessness as a state of crisis by withdrawing or denying support and public services and disallowing alternative, subsistence modes of survival. Then, it issues the performative utterance of the area as unclean or unsanitary. Developers and city officials mobilize the police to erase …

Factors Influencing The Perceived Effectiveness Of The Transition Assistance Program Among Exiting Military Servicemembers At Military Installations In Louisiana, Timothy L. Rose

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As proven in the aftermath of World War II, whenever the U.S. government shifts its efforts from wartime mobilization to peacetime demobilization, the Department of Defense (DoD) faces the complex task of transitioning military personnel to civilian life. In March of 2015, the researcher began an exploratory evaluation of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) employment workshops. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected personal and professional demographic characteristics on the perceptions of the effectiveness of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) in accomplishing its stated purposes among exiting military servicemembers at military installations in Louisiana. …

The Repertoire Of Understanding: The Linguistic Patterning Of Repetition And Alignment Within Supportive Conversations, Kaitlin Emily Cannava

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores a fundamental feature of all human interaction, behavioral coordination. Since early work on motor mimicry, scholars of human communication have invested tremendous energy to discover patterns of behavioral adaptation and the impact these patterns have on individual and relational outcomes. Outcomes such as individual health and well-being, as well as relationship satisfaction and divorce are all contingent on the ability to adapt and coordinate actions (Niederhoffer & Pennebaker, 2002; Stehl et al., 2008; Kulesza et al., 2013; Ireland et al., 2011). Several decades of research have advanced our understanding of specific characteristics of supportive messages and their …

Are We Really Bowling Alone? Family Changes And Social Capital In American Society, Ya-Feng Lin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

I explore the relationship between family changes and social capital in American society. Since the mid-20th century, new types of and additions to the family structure have emerged, including cohabitation family, single-parent family, employed women, and NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, and Training). Although new types of families symbolize a more flexible definition of family, some problems have emerged which are worthy of studying. In fact, these families have recently become a primary focus of study in academia, but their social lives are rarely mentioned. I argue in my dissertation that these new types of arrangements not only changed how …

Paying For Infrastructure In An Urban Environment: Roles Of Ideological Beliefs And Self-Interest In Support For Two Funding Mechanisms, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, Lenahan O'Connell, Khairul A. Anuar, Kaitrin Mahar

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

This study examines public preferences for two revenue options—fuel taxes and tolls—to finance transportation infrastructure in an urban area with the use of the results of a survey of residents of the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia. Specifically, the study addresses two related research questions: (a) To what extent do residents support instituting tolls, increasing the fuel tax, or both? (b) What roles do self-interest and ideological beliefs play in support of increasing the fuel tax, imposing tolls, or doing both? The study finds that 50% of respondents expressed a willingness to support fuel taxes or tolls for infrastructure, …

The Sea Is Rising… But Not Onto The Policy Agenda: A Multiple Streams Approach To Understanding Sea Level Rise Policies, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, Katharine Neill, Burton St. John Iii, Ivan K. Ash, Kaitrin Mahar

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

There has been little policy effort to address sea level rise in coastal states in the US. It is important to examine, at the state level, how the multitude of different (and changing) actors with different preferences and perspectives contribute to such inertia. This study examines state-level legislative inaction with regards to sea level rise. Using Kingdon's multiple streams framework, we draw a picture of the policy landscape in Virginia as one where the problem of sea level rise is perceived as a low priority, with little consensus on achievable policy solutions, and is politically controversial. We find that policy …

How Do Social Norms Affect Physical Activity And Performance On An Endurance Task?, Keith David Randazzo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite the extensive benefits associated with a physically active life style, less than 50% of US adults engage in recommended levels of physical activity (PA), so finding ways to structure environments to promote PA is an important concern. Social norms, conceptualized as an individual’s perception of peer behavior, provide a framework for exploring factors that influence decisions to be physically active. Although researchers have investigated how social norms influence a variety of behaviors, the PA domain has not been fully explored. The focus of this dissertation is to apply social norms theories to investigate how normative information influences PA intentions …

The Mechanisms Of Auditory Distraction: The Roles Of Interference-By-Process And Attention Capture, Danielle A. Lutfi-Proctor

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

It is generally believed that there are two main mechanisms of auditory distraction: attention capture and interference-by-process. Attention capture is said to occur when sounds drag your attention away from what you are attempting to focus on and harm performance as a consequence. Interference-by-process, meanwhile, states that the processing of the sounds can conflict with the processing needed to complete the task of interest. Whether or not the two mechanisms can jointly lead to distraction is unclear at this time. The following dissertation examined the roles of both distraction mechanisms in a cross-modal variant of the Stroop task, in which …

"I Listen To Their Story, They Listen To My Comments, And Then I Pocket My Fee:" Sherlock Holmes As Rhetorical Equipment For Living, Andrew Cessna Jones

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study argues that Sherlock Holmes serves as rhetorical equipment for living. Using Kenneth Burke’s theory of symbolic appeal and the critical tool proposed in the essay “Literature as Equipment for Living,” I explore how Holmes responds to the rhetorical situation of early nineteenth century England and consider why the Holmes symbol continues to appeal to audiences. I conclude that rhetoric is a necessary component of the Sherlock Holmes symbol and suggest that Holmes’s famous method is rhetorical rather than syllogistic.

Student Internalizing Behavior Screener And Student Externalizing Behavior Screener: An Analysis Of Reliability, Validity, And Usability In Elementary School Populations, Kelsey Lynn Hartman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Universal screening for emotional and behavioral risk in schools facilitates early identification and intervention for students as part of multitiered systems of support. Because early intervention has the potential to mitigate adverse outcomes of emotional and behavioral disorders and schools are prime locations to reach at-risk youth, research on the technical adequacy and usability of universal screeners to identify students for available school-based supports is vital. The purpose of this study was to extend existing research by Cook et al. (2011) and Cook, Volpe, and Gresham (2012) on the technical adequacy and usability of two universal screening measures, the Student …

Colonial, Anticolonial, And Postcolonial Myth And Memory In The French-Algerian Narratives Of Albert Camus, Frantz Fanon, And Assia Djebar 1942-1999, Gina Marie Breen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Algeria exemplifies a unique case of colonial domination, and of the problems that the colonial system generates. 132 years of colonial rule and settlement led to one of the bloodiest and most difficult battles of decolonization fought in the twentieth century. After eight years of war (1954-1962), which resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, Algeria became independent. As the postcolonial society abandoned the French language in an effort to promote Algerian nationalism and create and Arab-Algerian identity, Algeria entered another violent civil war in the 1990s. Thus today, more than fifty years after Algeria gained independence, and twenty years …

The Instruction Of Eros: A Content Analysis Of Sex Education Texts, Nicholas Ensley Mitchell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study is a directed content analysis that employs a memetic framework done in order to determine what discourses are evident in, how diversity is represented in, and how intersectionality is represented in two sex education texts, and to compare the relevant frequencies. Theories from the dominant schools of thought concerning sex education and sexuality are enumerated, compared, and contrasted. A historiography of sex education in the United States is provided to establish context for the sampled texts. A explanation of the content analysis process in general and the methodology specifically used in this study is discussed followed by the …

Professional Wrestling: Local Performance History, Global Performance Praxis, Neal Anderson Hebert

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Professional Wrestling: Local Performance History, Global Performance Praxis, is a work of interdisciplinary scholarship (combining elements of theatre history, performance studies, and philosophy) that addresses an area of performance currently under-researched within the liberal arts and humanities: professional wrestling. My dissertation directs much-needed attention to the fact that professional wrestling is the only kind of live drama many Americans ever see (or even want to see). Although it is no doubt easy for theatre historians and performance theorists to dismiss this performance practice because of its location somewhere between “illegitimate sport” and “lowbrow popular entertainment,” I contend that United States …

An Investigation Of How Accountability Systems Influence The Design And Development Of Student Centered Learning Environments, Peter James Mathis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research reported in this dissertation investigates the impact that accountability systems have on the design and development of student centered learning environments. The nature of student-centered learning environments (SCLEs) in this study is framed theoretically by cultural historical activity theory (CHAT). The investigation itself occurred within a specific practice context: an urban charter school serving elementary-aged children. The efforts to design and develop SCLEs in the school focused on the use of improvement inquiry by groups of stakeholders organized into a developing human ecology in educational contexts called networked improvement communities. The research sought to determine (1) how accountability …

Relationship Among Motivation, Emotion Regulation, And Psychological Well-Being Of Sophomore And Senior Level Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Aryene C. Delgado, Douglas Garner, Nicole Langhals

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Nursing education and professional work involve stressful circumstances that may indirectly lead to attrition, which can further contribute to the projected nursing shortage. This study examines the relationships between motivation, emotional regulation, psychological well-being and academic performance in baccalaureate sophomore and senior level nursing students at a Midwest urban university in the United States. The non-experimental, correlational study is guided by the self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) and uses online survey data collection and convenience sampling. Motivation, emotional regulation, psychological well-being (burnout; inauthenticity), and academic performance (GPA) are measured respectively with Deci and Ryan’s scale, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, …

The Effect Of Therapeutic Horseback Riding On Balance And Self-Efficacy In Children With Developmental Disabilities, Alexandra Smola, Lauren Hurley

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Therapeutic horseback riding (THR) has positive health related outcomes in children with developmental disabilities. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a 10-week THR intervention on balance and task-specific self-efficacy in children with developmental disabilities. Bandura’s social cognitive theory and the physical stress theory guided the quasi-experimental study. A pre-test post-test design (N=20) was implemented with a 10-week THR class at a riding center in Midwest United States. The first research question was: In children with developmental disabilities ages 5 to 18, does one 10-week session of THR affect balance? With time 1 balance mean at …

Suicide Prevention: The Professional And Moral Responsibilities Of The Speech-Language Pathologist, Madelyn Anderson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible connection between suicide and stuttering, identify warning signs and risk factors of suicide as they apply to our clients, and examine the moral implications and professional responsibilities of speech-language pathologists as they pertain to suicide prevention. From the research I conducted, I found that, as a whole, the national community of speech-language pathologists does not recognize any correlation between stuttering and suicide. However, as dictated by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA) Code of Ethics, we as speech-language pathologists are obligated to make referrals outside of our profession as the need …

A Systematic Review: Effects Of Psychosocial Interventions On Outcomes In Refugee Adolescents Resettled In The Us, Canada, And The Uk, Lauren Herr, Halle Kurtz

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Abstract

Problem: The number of refugee and displaced people in the United States (US) increases annually. Because of trauma in countries of origin, they may have mental health problems and disrupted adjustments during resettlement, resulting in problems with refugee adolescents and their quality of life, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and overall well-being.

Purpose: To describe and appraise evidence about the effects of psychosocial interventions in refugee adolescents resettled in the US.

Methods: Studies from US, Canada, and the United Kingdom (UK) were identified in four databases. Inclusion criteria included: primary studies, children and/or adolescents, psychosocial health interventions, and refugees.

Review of …