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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Extending To Fashion Category: An Exploratory Study On An Auto Brand Extension, Langchao Zhang Jan 2013

Extending To Fashion Category: An Exploratory Study On An Auto Brand Extension, Langchao Zhang

LSU Master's Theses

Brand extension has been one of the most commonly used marketing strategies. Many industries use existing well-known brand names to launch new lines or categories to reduce the cost for creating awareness. Auto companies have been increasingly looking for opportunities of broadening their brand halo to gain more profit, while the billion-dollar global fashion industries have been seeking the chance of brand extensions from established durable brands. Previous research has examined the factors affecting consumers’ attitude toward brand extension, however, the majority of brand extensions are reportedly not successful. There are no known studies investigating the case of extending into …


Family-Related Risk Factors And Their Associations With Behavior Problems Of Children In Foster Care, Jena Leigh Ourso Jan 2013

Family-Related Risk Factors And Their Associations With Behavior Problems Of Children In Foster Care, Jena Leigh Ourso

LSU Master's Theses

Children in foster care are at risk for problems associated with breakdowns in their ecological system. Possible explanations for this may be that children’s daily interactions in early childhood are primarily with their parents. The relationship between child and parent (the dyad) is a crucial part of the way children grow and develop. Past research focuses on the child’s behavior problems as separate and isolated instead of focusing on the behavior problems as a symptom of the dysfunction in the dyad. This study explored the role of two specific risk factors for children in foster care and how these may …


The Rebranding Of The Brooklyn Nets : A Discourse Analysis, Michael Shane Wunderlich Jan 2013

The Rebranding Of The Brooklyn Nets : A Discourse Analysis, Michael Shane Wunderlich

LSU Master's Theses

This study examined the rebranding of the Brooklyn Nets. A discourse analysis was conducted that observed messages generated by the Brooklyn Nets, selected media sources and fans regarding a number of elements relating to the Brooklyn Nets’ rebrand. Branding is important to businesses and building brand equity and brand associations with the external public is important for businesses looking to succeed in a profit driven world. This is no different for professional sports franchises who also focus on building brand equity and brand associations with sports fans and other members of the general public. By first examining the methods taken …


Backpacker Selves In A Hostel: Discourse, Identity, And Existential Authenticity, Emley Kerry Jan 2013

Backpacker Selves In A Hostel: Discourse, Identity, And Existential Authenticity, Emley Kerry

LSU Master's Theses

Backpacker tourists are able to boldly lay claim to authenticity to local place—especially as they see themselves in relation to more (by their categorization) mainstream tourists—through the feeling of an authentic self that arises through backpacking tourism. Backpacker discourse about travel embodied travel experiences reflects and shapes sense of existential authenticity, a transformative travel euphoria in which the backpacker’s true identity is discovered through intense, sensuous experiences and perception of immersion in a foreign culture. This thesis uses ethnographic information and methods collected in a number of hostels—but primarily in Bogotá, Colombia—in order to demonstrate the relationship between the material, …


Schizotypy: The Dynamic Relationship Between Trait And State Processes, Rebecca K. Macaulay Jan 2013

Schizotypy: The Dynamic Relationship Between Trait And State Processes, Rebecca K. Macaulay

LSU Master's Theses

Importantly, elevations in emotional reactivity to stress are often found in individuals vulnerable for psychosis. This study investigated several meaningful factors that appear to either increase vulnerability to stress (degree of schizotypy traits, trait negative affect, low perceived control, and impaired selective attention), or increase resiliency to stress (trait positive affect). A modified Posner spatial-cueing task utilizing affective cues was employed to assess selective attention within a neutral and an uncontrollable stressor condition. Between group differences (high, medium and low in schizotypy traits) and interactions between affective traits, state affect, and perceived control were evaluated in order to shed light …


The Effects Of Emotional Arousal On Item And Associative Memory, Leslie Ann Butler Jan 2013

The Effects Of Emotional Arousal On Item And Associative Memory, Leslie Ann Butler

LSU Master's Theses

Although the conclusions of research examining the impact of emotional arousal on associative memory are mixed (e.g., Mather & Nesmith, 2008; Zimmerman & Kelley, 2010), it has recently been suggested that associative memory should be enhanced by arousal when encoding is intentional rather than incidental (Mather & Sutherland, 2011). Research has also suggested that arousing items are more subject to interference effects in memory than non-arousing items. These predictions were explored across two experiments. In both experiments, participants intentionally encoded a series of picture pairs that consisted of two neutral pictures, two negatively arousing pictures, or one neutral picture and …


An Examination Of Induced Anxiety And Its Interaction With Trait Anxiety On Executive Functioning Tasks, Joseph Harris Jan 2013

An Examination Of Induced Anxiety And Its Interaction With Trait Anxiety On Executive Functioning Tasks, Joseph Harris

LSU Master's Theses

Anxiety is a common human experience which has been shown to have detrimental effects on cognitive abilities, particularly the executive abilities of inhibition, shifting and updating. Previous studies in this area have been highly specific in their focus, leaving gaps in the literature. As a result, the general nature of anxiety’s effect on executive functioning has yet to be fully defined. The current study attempted to establish such a definition by exploring the effects of state anxiety and trait anxiety on each of the executive functions, both in terms of task performance and efficiency. In addition, because working memory has …


Corporate Use Of Social Media, Viktorya Mirzoyan Jan 2013

Corporate Use Of Social Media, Viktorya Mirzoyan

LSU Master's Theses

Despite significant and constantly increasing volume of social media use by both individuals and corporate entities, scarce scholastic attention has been paid to practices undertaken by companies and organizations in creating presence on social media, managing social media accounts and communicating with constituents on social media. New social media platforms appear regularly, attracting millions of daily visitors, however, this new type of communication media still lacks in-depth analysis, which would provide guidelines to be used by corporate entities to make their presence on social media most effective. This study makes the first step to analyze possible relationships between companies’ practices …


On Human Biological Diversity : Variation In Sexual Dimorphism Of The Skull Between African-Americans And European-Americans, Amanda Grace Kittoe Jan 2013

On Human Biological Diversity : Variation In Sexual Dimorphism Of The Skull Between African-Americans And European-Americans, Amanda Grace Kittoe

LSU Master's Theses

This study assesses sexual dimorphism of the skull in samples of African-Americans (AA) and European-Americans (EA). Morphology of the cranium is classically referenced as an indicator of sexual dimorphism in the fields of bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology. Variation in size and shape of cranial elements has been found to differ significantly between ancestral populations. Abundant research suggests that patterns of sexual dimorphism also vary between ancestries. This study uses a sample of 55 AA females, 50 AA males, 49 EA females, and 49 EA males from the Hamann-Todd Collection at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the WM Bass …


A Case History Of Use And Management Of The Baton Rouge Fresh Water Aquifer System, A. Hays Town, Jr. Jan 2013

A Case History Of Use And Management Of The Baton Rouge Fresh Water Aquifer System, A. Hays Town, Jr.

LSU Master's Theses

The Southern Hills Aquifer located in southeastern Louisiana has provided residents of Baton Rouge and surrounding communities with high-quality, fresh drinking water for many decades. However in recent years increasing pumping rates, evidence of saltwater intrusion, and concerns about the equitable and sustainable use of the aquifer have led residents and researchers to begin to examine more critically how groundwater is managed in this area. Louisiana is one of only six states without a groundwater management plan, and to date, the officials in charge of monitoring the Southern Hills Aquifer have not developed any guidelines for limiting withdrawal. This thesis …


A Hybrid Procedure For Classifying Synoptic Weather Types For Louisiana With An Application To Precipitation Variability, Amanda Michelle Billiot Jan 2013

A Hybrid Procedure For Classifying Synoptic Weather Types For Louisiana With An Application To Precipitation Variability, Amanda Michelle Billiot

LSU Master's Theses

An automated synoptic weather classification system, based on the weather types devised by Robert Muller for Louisiana, is presented in this thesis and an application of the classification system to precipitation variability in Louisiana is demonstrated. The automated classification presented here is a hybrid classification system that uses sea level pressure composites for each Muller weather type as seeds in a correlation procedure to classify daily NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis sea level pressure patterns. The resulting hybrid classification is automated, objective, and has value in describing the surface weather variability in Louisiana. In the second part of this research project, the newly …


The Effects Of Interactivity And Involvement On Users' Attitude Toward And Perception Of Brands And Purchase Intent On Facebook, Christina Persaud Jan 2013

The Effects Of Interactivity And Involvement On Users' Attitude Toward And Perception Of Brands And Purchase Intent On Facebook, Christina Persaud

LSU Master's Theses

Communications practitioners have long studied factors related to consumers’ impressions of brands as well as their intent to purchase from brands. While early research has focused on traditional advertising methods, newer research is geared towards understanding how interactive features are changing this relationship. The rise of newer computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies, specifically social media, has lead to many changes in the way organizations market their brands as they allow for unique, interactive communication between an organization and its publics. While the notion of interactivity, a core feature of CMC, has no one definition, researchers continue to examine its effects within …


Translating The Fashion Story: Analyzing Fashion Captions In Two Women's Magazines, Ehimwenma O. Vosper-Woghiren Jan 2013

Translating The Fashion Story: Analyzing Fashion Captions In Two Women's Magazines, Ehimwenma O. Vosper-Woghiren

LSU Master's Theses

Fashion magazines are the most accessible source for women to learn the latest about fashion and trends. Publishing company Condé Nast owns many consumer fashion magazines including the American editions of Lucky and Vogue. Even though both magazines are classified under the genre of fashion, these magazines are branded differently. Vogue features editorial styling, which is garments arranged lavishly and creatively for the glossy fashion spreads. However, Lucky magazine contains both editorial and lifestyle styling. To reinforce the styled image, fashion magazines place captions in these editorials. Captions transform these garments into written language. Since each magazine uses different types …


Louisiana Department Of Children And Family Services : A Case Study Of Child Welfare Workers' Burnout, Crystal Ward Jan 2013

Louisiana Department Of Children And Family Services : A Case Study Of Child Welfare Workers' Burnout, Crystal Ward

LSU Master's Theses

Social work can be an extremely gratifying profession. However, social workers who are exposed to graphic realities related to vulnerable and traumatized individuals and families may experience challenging workload demands and increased levels of burnout. To best understand and support these key human service workers, it is important to investigate variables influencing levels of burnout. In this study, the author examined whether specific individual worker characteristics contribute to burnout among child welfare workers in Louisiana. Characteristics were compared to individual variables such as job tenure, agency department, supervisor/front line worker, and educational background. The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) was completed …


A Stylistic Analysis Of Libyan Short Stories : The Connotation Of Adjectives, Safa M. Elnaili Jan 2013

A Stylistic Analysis Of Libyan Short Stories : The Connotation Of Adjectives, Safa M. Elnaili

LSU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT Between 1969 and 2011, Libya experienced an oppressive dictatorship that paralyzed the country`s political, economical, and social growth. Libya`s literary identity was oppressed due to the policy of censorship and authors were unable to express their opinions freely. In fear of punishment, most Libyan writers criticized the regime and discussed their struggles in the society only implicitly. Censorship has led Libyan writers to adopt different literary styles to reflect on society. In this paper, I will shed light on one of the writers` techniques by examining six Libyan short stories using a stylistics analysis approach. I analyze the lexical …


Palate Shape And Depth : A Shape Matching And Machine Learning Method For Assessment Of Ancestry From Skeletal Remains, Christopher Allan Maier Jan 2013

Palate Shape And Depth : A Shape Matching And Machine Learning Method For Assessment Of Ancestry From Skeletal Remains, Christopher Allan Maier

LSU Master's Theses

The assessment of ancestry from skeletal remains is a vital aspect of forensic anthropology. As such, a myriad of techniques exists for estimating this particular component of the biological profile. The most traditional of these methods utilizes the naked eye and the observer’s experience. As replicability has become more important, objective, metric techniques have been developed. This study attempts to merge these two subfields: by taking a traditionally non-metric feature, palate shape, and using a computer, evaluating it quantitatively. Using 3D digitizer technology in conjunction with shape matching and machine learning methods common in computer science, palate shape curves were …


Three From The Bottom : Examining Racial And Ethnic Identity Among Italian Americans In Bossier City, Jamie Rene Digilormo Jan 2013

Three From The Bottom : Examining Racial And Ethnic Identity Among Italian Americans In Bossier City, Jamie Rene Digilormo

LSU Master's Theses

This study examines the use of ethnic and racial labels as they are used in the construction of social identity among Italian Americans in Bossier City, Louisiana. In particular, the researcher is interested in how racial and ethnic identities are constructed through linguistic features, such as labels, and how these labels can often reflect the beliefs, values, or ideologies that influence the speaker. By examining which labels are used and how, it is possible to better understand what it means for each participant to be an Italian American today. The researcher relies heavily on Foucault’s notion of knowledge/power and the …


Medical Issue Or Policy? A Framing Analysis Of The Medical Marijuana Issue In U.S. Newspapers, Christopher Lee Kaiser Jan 2013

Medical Issue Or Policy? A Framing Analysis Of The Medical Marijuana Issue In U.S. Newspapers, Christopher Lee Kaiser

LSU Master's Theses

This study conducted a framing analysis of the medical marijuana issue in United States print media. In addition, this analysis investigated whether the medical marijuana issue was portrayed as a policy issue or a medical issue, and based the inquiry in public opinion and health communication literature. This analysis extracted a sample (N=240) from newspaper stories that reported the issue within the past five years in states that have enacted medical marijuana legislation. The framing analysis measured the occurrence of frames in three different categories: gain vs. loss, types of frames, and policy vs. medical. Furthermore, this analysis determined if …


Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Abuse, Weight, And Attitudes Toward Obesity In Lesbians, Amy L. Wright Jan 2013

Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Abuse, Weight, And Attitudes Toward Obesity In Lesbians, Amy L. Wright

LSU Master's Theses

In many professional practice settings, it is very likely that social workers will work with female clients who identify as lesbian or bisexual. These sexual minority females are more likely to be overweight or obese, have a history of childhood sexual abuse, and have more positive attitudes toward overweight and obesity than heterosexual women. In this study, the author sought to identify the relationship between childhood sexual abuse, obesity, (specifically, body mass index [BMI]), and attitudes toward obesity among lesbian and bisexual women. Eighty-five sexual minority females completed a survey. Childhood sexual abuse was found to be positively correlated with …


Emergent Irrigation Agriculture And Settlement Patterns In The Lower Nepeña Valley, North-Central Coast Of Peru, Caitlyn Yoshiko Mcnabb Jan 2013

Emergent Irrigation Agriculture And Settlement Patterns In The Lower Nepeña Valley, North-Central Coast Of Peru, Caitlyn Yoshiko Mcnabb

LSU Master's Theses

The Andes is one of many regions thought to have developed as a pristine hydraulic state; thus the region serves as a testing ground for theories on the development of irrigation. Since Wittfogel (1957) proposed a correlation between irrigation and the development of pristine states, the relationships between social organization, political power, and coordinated subsistence strategies have been hotly debated. This research will examine the role of irrigation in the transition to early urban settlements in the Nepeña Valley, on the north-central coast of Peru. I especially focus on the nature of political structure and social organization, examining the validity …


An Examination Of The Relationship Between Measurement Methods Of Treatment Integrity Using The Good Behavior Game Classroom Intervention, Kristen Colleen O'Leary Jan 2013

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Measurement Methods Of Treatment Integrity Using The Good Behavior Game Classroom Intervention, Kristen Colleen O'Leary

LSU Master's Theses

School psychologists must often hand over the interventions they plan to be carried out by others. Collecting treatment integrity is a way to ensure that the interventions are being properly implemented according to the treatment plan. Treatment integrity can be measured in a variety of ways: direct observation, self-report, and permanent product, to name a few. However, little research has been done to see if these different methods are capturing the same information about the accuracy with which interventions are being implemented. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to collect all three types of integrity for a single intervention, …


Multitude Of Needs Met By An Online Mom Community, Shannon Alexis Snell Jan 2013

Multitude Of Needs Met By An Online Mom Community, Shannon Alexis Snell

LSU Master's Theses

Online communities for expectant mothers have existed for many years, but newer social media sites are allowing these groups to exist in different formats. This study features an online community of 94 women that originated from TheBump.com’s forums who then formed their own community, a Facebook group for February 2012 moms. The women exist in many different social media spheres including the group, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and a separate Buy/Sell/Trade Facebook group. This study used a survey questionnaire to determine whether these different social media sites and platforms met different needs for this specific group of women. The study also …


Secular Change In The Rate Of Dental Impaction, Kelly Heim Jan 2013

Secular Change In The Rate Of Dental Impaction, Kelly Heim

LSU Master's Theses

Current literature on the prevalence of impaction has not addressed the change over time (secular change) as it relates to the dimensions of the dental arcade. It has been suggested both that the prevalence of impaction is increasing and that the dimensions of the dental arcade may be decreasing, but no studies have investigated these two variables in conjunction with one another. This study aims to record secular change in the prevalence of impaction by utilizing two sets of data: individuals from the Terry collection represent a historic population from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and individuals from …


An Examination Of The Stimuli Used In And The Theories Behind The Cross-Modal Stroop Task, Danielle A. Lutfi-Proctor Jan 2013

An Examination Of The Stimuli Used In And The Theories Behind The Cross-Modal Stroop Task, Danielle A. Lutfi-Proctor

LSU Master's Theses

The classic Stroop task, during which one names the ink color of color words, has long been used as a measure of selective attention (Stroop, 1935). Selective attention generally refers to our ability to attend to one stimulus (a target) while ignoring another (a distractor). Since its initial creation, many variations of the classic Stroop task have been developed. One of these variations is cross-modal Stroop, which uses visual colored targets and auditory distractor color words. However, whether the same mechanisms and processes are used while completing the two tasks has yet to be determined. The following thesis examined cross-modal …


Speak, And Speak Immediately : The Risen Subpoena, The Executive Branch, And The Reporter's Privilege, Matthew Schafer Jan 2013

Speak, And Speak Immediately : The Risen Subpoena, The Executive Branch, And The Reporter's Privilege, Matthew Schafer

LSU Master's Theses

In 1972, Branzburg v. Hayes required the Supreme Court to consider whether the First Amendment to the United States Constitution conferred on journalists a right to quash grand jury subpoenas issued by the government. The Court held in a five-to-four opinion that it did not. Yet, in 2011, a federal district judge found that James Risen, a New York Times reporter, had a First Amendment reporter’s privilege that protected him from having to reveal his source for a book chapter about a secretive CIA operation. This judge is not alone in finding such a privilege in spite of Branzburg; indeed, …


When We Break Bread Together: Perceptions Of Consensus Amongst Queer Organizers, David M. Caswell Jan 2013

When We Break Bread Together: Perceptions Of Consensus Amongst Queer Organizers, David M. Caswell

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis aims to understand consensus decision making through the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) activists in Louisiana through autoethnography and interviews with various individuals involved in Louisiana LGBTQ organizations. When looking at the experiences and perceptions of the participants in relation to each other and the author’s own experiences, the ideas equity, responsibility, and flexibility stand out along with organizational structure. This suggests that consensus may be defined based on these elements. In the narrow scope of this thesis, consensus building in queer spaces in Louisiana can be defined as the opportunity to be in …


Where Do Transnational Terrorist Organizations Operate? : The Impact Of State Capacity And Civil Conflict, Rebecca Noto Jan 2013

Where Do Transnational Terrorist Organizations Operate? : The Impact Of State Capacity And Civil Conflict, Rebecca Noto

LSU Master's Theses

Despite overlapping explanatory theories for the occurrence of terrorism and civil conflict, these two phenomena have largely been studied in isolation. This study addresses this gap in the conflict literature by investigating the influence of state capacity and civil conflict on the presence of a transnational terrorist organization’s base of operations. It is postulated that weak state capacity provides the opportunity to organize while civil conflict increases this opportunity via the transmission of information on and the reduction in the state’s capacity to prevent organization formation. This hypothesis is then tested by estimating a logistic regression analysis for the years …


To Speak As A Human, A Modern And As An American : Blues Rhetoric In Cornel West's Prophetic Pragmatism, Raquel M. Robvais Jan 2013

To Speak As A Human, A Modern And As An American : Blues Rhetoric In Cornel West's Prophetic Pragmatism, Raquel M. Robvais

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines Cornel West’s description of the human condition and the works of art produced in three particular ways. First, there is being human which is a universal condition that speaks to all people and their struggles in the face of death and fallibility. Second, there is the condition of being modern, which speaks to people in a particular age in which power must be challenged with intelligence. Third, there is the idea of being American, which is to confront historical legacies of injustice through political action and agency. Rhetoric speaks to these existential crises and draws its resources …


Examining The Differential Effects Of The Mystery Motivator Intervention Using Chosen Versus Unknown Reinforcers, Natalie Marie Robichaux Jan 2013

Examining The Differential Effects Of The Mystery Motivator Intervention Using Chosen Versus Unknown Reinforcers, Natalie Marie Robichaux

LSU Master's Theses

Disruptive classroom behaviors are among the most prevalent of childhood problems and are associated with reduced instruction time, poor academic achievement, and persistent behavior problems throughout childhood. Class-wide interventions, such as the Mystery Motivator, are an easy and time efficient way to increase the level of classroom management and remediate disruptive behavior patterns. Although the effectiveness of class-wide interventions is well documented, the literature is still inconsistent as to which type of reinforcement is more effective when using behavioral interventions. Some research suggests individuals prefer a choice in reinforcement, while other research suggests choice is just as preferred as reinforcement …


Segmentation In Hispanic-Targeted Marketing, Silvia Irene Medrano Jan 2013

Segmentation In Hispanic-Targeted Marketing, Silvia Irene Medrano

LSU Master's Theses

Hispanic-oriented advertising is a growing area in the advertising industry. Findings reported in this research examined agency strategies for advertising in Hispanic-oriented advertising. Interviews with agency practitioners involved in the planning, creation and media selection provided insight into agency best practices in Hispanic-oriented advertising. In-depth interviews at two Hispanic-oriented agencies revealed that a focus on cultural understanding, client relationships, and opposition of common stereotypes and segmentation practices were key in creating successful advertising that connected to Hispanic mindsets. Research results suggest that growth in the U.S. Hispanic population will not only affect the advertising industry, but will also create changes …