Digital Commons Network^™

Moral Foundations Theory And Ideal Romantic Partners, Rebecca Topp

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Exploring Teaching Approaches And Sociocultural Dynamics In The Middle And High School English Second Language Teaching Environment From The Perspective Of The Multicultural Educator, Nancy Laguna Luque

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT The act of teaching in the middle and high school involves highly complex sociocultural dynamics in challenging environments. English second language specialists are the type of educators that closely work with the most at risk students in that context. This study explored middle and high school multicultural ESL instructors’ literacy delivery approaches, the understanding they have of difficulties in their field of action, and their particular awareness, interpretation of otherness and attitudes regarding the specific characteristics of their working milieu. This qualitative study utilized participant observation and Developmental Research Sequence (Spradley, 1980) as the systematic approach to gather and …

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 …

Influence Of Motivation On Phonics Effectiveness, Rachel L. Bradley

LSU Master's Theses

Reading is a basic life skill, and is paramount to students’ success in school. In fact, skilled readers tend to succeed in subject areas including mathematics, social studies, and science (Valleley & Shriver, 2003). Phonics is one of the cornerstones of learning to read. Without mastering phonics, students are more likely to experience persistent difficulties in reading (Elbro, 1996; Bus and Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, 1999; Rose, 2006). However, student motivation to read can impact the effectiveness of reading programs (Melekoglu, 2011). The current study examines the influence of motivation on the effectiveness of a phonics program with six first-graders …

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 …

The Economic Burden Of Gluten-Free Products And The Potential Of Dietary Inhibitors Of Transglutaminase-2, Kristen Kramer

LSU Master's Theses

Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic immune-mediated disease of the small intestine caused by the ingestion of gluten. Gluten presents to the intestine largely intact where it is deamidated by Transglutaminase-2 (TG2), increasing affinity for Human Leukocyte Antigen DQ2 (HLA-DQ2) and forming a complex that elicits an inflammatory response ultimately leading to villous atrophy. The only current treatment is strict adherence to a gluten-free diet, though TG2 inhibition is an attractive therapy due its central role in CD pathogenesis. Cocoa contains procyanidin-B2, theobromine and caffeine and may be capable of inhibiting TG2-induced intestinal inflammation and reduce CD symptoms. Procyanidin-B2 rich …

What Every New Coach Should Know: Analysis Of Coaches' Goals For Organizational Entry/Assimilation, Through The Goals-Plans-Action Theory And Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, Destini J'Ne Hughes

LSU Master's Theses

This manuscript attempts to act as an organizational entry pamphlet, in providing a wealth of knowledge to those who are looking to get into collegiate coaching for the first time. The majority of participants were selected from the coaching staff of NCAA Division I collegiate women's basketball teams, with a total of 55 participants involved in this study. Although this study was conducted specifically for new collegiate women basketball coaches that are starting the job for the first time, successfully, the results of this study can be applicable to any coach and any sport. Based on the responses of these …

An Investigation Of The Generalizability Of Buoyancy From Academics To Athletics, Jackie Rae Victoriano

LSU Master's Theses

Buoyancy, the ability of an individual to handle everyday setbacks, has been applied successfully to academics, and has implications for performance and well-being. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if the concept of buoyancy can be successfully applied to the domain of sports (i.e., athletic buoyancy). This study sought to examine the relationship between academic and athletic buoyancy, as well as the efficacy of five sport-oriented predictors (5Cs), confidence, coordination (planning), commitment, composure (anxiety), and control, on both athletic and academic buoyancy. Sport club athletes (N = 285) aged 18 to 31 years completed a one-time survey assessing …

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 …

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 …

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 Danger Zone: How The Dangerousness Standard In Civil Commitment Proceedings Harms People With Serious Mental Illness, Sara Gordon

All Faculty Publications

Almost every American state allows civil commitment upon a finding that a person, as a result of mental illness, is gravely disabled and unable to meet their basic needs for food and shelter. Yet in spite of these statutes, most psychiatrists and courts will not commit an individual until they are found to pose a danger to themselves or others. All people have certain rights to be free from unwanted medical treatment, but for people with serious mental illness, those civil liberties are an abstraction, safeguarded for them by a system that is not otherwise ensuring access to shelter and …

Boys On Blue Benches: Disfigured Veterans Of The First World War, Brenna K. Pritchard

LSU Master's Theses

The First World War saw a multitude of facial wounds, with veterans coming home with severe facial mutilation numbering in the thousands. These veterans have been somewhat overlooked in the historiography of medicine in World War I, and this work seeks to remedy that by examining every aspect of their lives, from the moment of the wound, to the aftermath of their return home. The medical professionals who treated these men gave a great deal of thought to the philosophy behind their work, and frequently voiced the opinion that their work was essential for the wellness of these men’s psyches. …

Exploring The Relationship Between Long-Term Memory And Attention Through Attentional Templates, Rebecca Rose Goldstein

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

It is assumed that the contents of visual working memory (VWM) guide attention. This notion has been challenged by work which has demonstrated that multiple searches for the same target changes contralateral delay activity (CDA), an event-related potential that is the putative marker of the amount of information maintained in VWM. It has been suggested that the disappearance of the CDA with an invariable target marks the transfer of the attentional template from VWM storage to long-term memory (LTM) storage. Therefore, LTM may guide attention in many situations where it has previously been assumed that VWM guides attention. However, while …

From The Valley To The Mountaintop: A Case Study Of Resilience And Persistence Among First-Generation African American Males Who Have Achieved Doctoral Success, D'Jalon Janeece Jackson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This case study examined the lived experiences of three first-generation, African American men whom have persisted to achieve doctoral success in the form of Ph.D. attainment. Participants were interviewed in order to gather data in their own voices about their educational experiences as first-generation African American Males (AAMs). Participants attributed their success to what can be categorized as sociocultural capital in the form of resilience and persistence factors. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations were made to educational stakeholders on how to transform educational spaces into venues that build cultural capital and promote resilience and persistence within this …

Fear No Evil: Making Sense Of Intersectionality And Fear Of Crime Amongst Blacks In High Crime Neighborhoods, Melinda Jackson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The extant literature on fear of crime has relied almost entirely upon quantitative data and was criticized as atheoretical due to its focus on the demographic characteristics associated with vulnerability. Emerging qualitative research on fear of crime has begun to overcome this limitation by drawing upon an intersectional lens, but quantitative assessments have yet to fully incorporate this theoretical development. The current study addresses this limitation by analyzing qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and quantitative data collected as part of a large-scale survey. The primary goal of this dissertation is to take an intersectional approach to understand the relationships …

Turning The Table Over: Collaboration And Critique At The New Orleans Jazz And Heritage Festival, Erin Colleen Jordan

LSU Master's Theses

In the late 1970s, the African American Jazz Coalition responded to the marginalization of black vendors at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival by partnering with the Festival to create the Koindu Marketplace, now known as Congo Square. Whereas much public representation of the Festival suggests a transcendence of racial boundaries inside Festival grounds, the content and structure of contemporary interviews with the activists reflect continued racial tensions, power dynamics, and resentment. This thesis analyzes oral histories with the founders of the Afrikan American Jazz Coalition stored at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archive. Critical discourse analysis …

Developmental Math Education: The Bermuda Triangle Of Student Success--Many Enter, But Few Succeed., Julia Elizabeth Paxton Sullivan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study employed a quantitative design to evaluate the effectiveness of developmental math and the predictors of student success in developmental math for a period of three years. Four of the study’s original eight predictors of student success were statistically significant. However, a model was created using multinomial regression. The model was created using data from the fall 2013 semester and was tested using data from the fall 2014 semester. The effectiveness of developmental math in predicting a student’s success in the first college-level math course was tested using a multinomial regression. Although no statistical significance was found, the study …

Essays In Economics Of Institutions And Culture, Luiza Valeriyevna Pogorelova

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I present two distinct essays in economics of culture and institutions that can be read independently from one another. In Chapter 2, using the European Social Survey data, I investigate the impact of increased educational attainment, induced by compulsory schooling reforms, on religiosity and superstitious beliefs. I find consistently negative effects of education on religiosity, superstitious beliefs, social religious acts (attending religious services) and solitary religious acts (the frequency of praying). In Chapter 3, I examine the impact of “culture of leisure” and tax rates on labor force participation and hours worked of second-generation immigrants residing in …

Tracing The Development Of Willie Stark And Its Place In American Opera, Betsy Marie Uschkrat

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Highly praised American composer Carlisle Floyd (b. 1925), well known for his musical dramas Susannah (1955) and Of Mice and Men (1970), wrote Willie Stark (1981), commissioned by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and later Houston Grand Opera. Floyd’s libretto and musical score was based upon Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-Winning novel All The King’s Men. Despite the vast amount of publicity it received at the premiere, this opera has only occasionally been performed in the last 35 years. Chapter One discusses Carlisle Floyd’s creation of Willie Stark. Chapter Two discusses the workshop performance of the piece. Chapter …

Modeling Relationships Among Affective Measures Of Food Choice: Acceptance, Emotions And Satisfaction, Wisdom Wardy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The importance of ascertaining holistic product and consumer understanding beyond liking in the product development process cannot be overstated. This research investigated the role of attribute performance on satisfaction in explaining the relationship between food-evoked emotions and sensory preferences, and examined factors influencing the sensory-emotion profile of food products. In the first phase of this research, a series of consumer studies were conducted using eggs as a test product. First, the extent to which critical product attributes contribute to the satisfaction of quality requirements and purchase intent was determined using Kano modeling concepts. The emotional profile of the product was …

Toward An Advanced System Of Accountability For Improved Student Learning Outcomes: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Test-Based Accountability In Louisiana, Susan Nicole Kahn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The nature of federal and state policies regarding accountability testing narrows the taught curriculum to content tested, thereby changing what is officially valued as student learning. The over-emphasis on standardized test scores has narrowed the curriculum to content that is tested (Amrein & Berliner, 2002; Baker, 2008; Herman, 2008; Koretz & Hamilton, 2003; Linn, 2000). In Louisiana, test-based accountability defines local school quality through a letter grade rating scale that uses an index for school performance scores (SPS), which in turn impacts traditional and nontraditional (e.g. charter) school expansion, closure, and takeover, administration of opportunity scholarships (e.g. voucher) for private …

The Role Of Religious Coping In The Marital Stability Of Strong, African American Couples: A Strengths-Focused Approach., Antonius Delvecco Skipper

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Relatively few studies have examined the strengths of the African American family, while several have highlighted social issues that have affected the African American family such as divorce, single-parent households, and absentee fathers. This focus on deficit and dysfunction contributes to a research-based gap in understanding the African American marital dyad. Given that religion influences the lives of many African American couples, it is important to understand the impact that religious coping can have on marital stability in the African American community. The purpose of this study is to explore the underlying processes of religious coping for those African American …

A Stirling Education: Education In Antebellum Louisiana, Seth T. Eisworth

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the surviving archival evidence from several 19th century prominent West Feliciana families found in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections (LLMVC) at the LSU libraries in an effort to understand how Louisianans’ value and support education. The antebellum period was chosen for study because it was arguably the last time period in which the South was not influenced or controlled by the dominant narrative of the Common School Movement, which Wayne Urban (1981) refers to as the “phenomenon of Massachusetts Myopia.” The archival collections containing correspondence from the immediate family of Lewis Stirling, Sr. and their …

Curriculum And Compassion: An Inquiry Into The Relevance Of The Charism Of The Brothers Of The Sacred Heart In A Post-Modern World, Thomas Walter Eldringhoff

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the relevance of a curriculum that embodies the charism of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in a post-modern world. The project will investigate the understanding of the charism both by the researcher and by selected brothers who are in unique positions to articulate and explicate just what the charism entails. A variety of formational and foundational documents will also be subjected to philosophical analysis so a deep picture of the charism is available to the reader. Literature surrounding post-modernist curriculum theory serves as the theoretical framework for this investigation of the …

The Effect Of Thermacare Heat Wraps On Balance And Mobility In Seniors With Impaired Gait - A Cross Over Study, Jerrold S. Petrofsky, Michael S. Laymon, Iman Akef Khowailed, Haneul Lee

College of Health & Human Services (TUN) Publications and Research

To examine if the use of heat at home can result in better quality and safer mobility in the elderly with gait and balance impairments.

Setting: Randomized longitudinal cross over study design in a clinical setting.

Methods: 20 people with impaired mobility (assessed as a score of more than 4 on the Stepping On questionnaire) were tested with a multi-camera gait analysis system, a treadmill with pressure sensors, a balance platform and the timed up and go and walking speed tests before and after using ThermaCare continuous heat wraps on their legs and knees for 6 days at 4 hours …

The New School Segregation, Erika K. Wilson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Brief Gatekeeper Training For Suicide Prevention In An Ethnic Minority Population: A Controlled Intervention, Alan R. Teo, Sarah B. Andrea, Rae Sakakibara, Satoko Motohara, Monica M. Matthieu, Michael D. Fetters

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Suicide is a critical public health problem around the globe. Asian populations are characterized by elevated suicide rates and a tendency to seek social support from family and friends over mental health professionals. Gatekeeper training programs have been developed to train frontline individuals in behaviors that assist at-risk individuals in obtaining mental health treatment. The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of a brief, multi-component gatekeeper intervention in promoting suicide prevention in a high-risk Asian community in the United States.

Methods: We adapted an evidence-based gatekeeper training into a two-hour, multi-modal and interactive event for Japanese-Americans …