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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Further Validation Of The Child Routines Inventory (Cri): Relationship To Parenting Practices, Maternal Distress, And Child Externalizing Behavior, Sara Sytsma Jordan Jan 2003

Further Validation Of The Child Routines Inventory (Cri): Relationship To Parenting Practices, Maternal Distress, And Child Externalizing Behavior, Sara Sytsma Jordan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The importance of establishing predictable routines during early childhood has been consistently emphasized by parenting experts in the popular press, despite limited empirical study or understanding of their relationship to child behavior. The lack of research may be partially due to a lack of instruments suitable for measuring children’s routines. The Child Routines Inventory (CRI) was developed as an empirically based parent-report measure of commonly occurring routines in school-aged children. Since its development, the CRI has demonstrated moderate correlations with related constructs, including family routines, child behavior problems, parenting stress, and maternal depression. However, child routines have not been evaluated …


Fractal Compression And Analysis On Remotely Sensed Imagery, Ke Xiao Jan 2003

Fractal Compression And Analysis On Remotely Sensed Imagery, Ke Xiao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Remote sensing images contain huge amount of geographical information and reflect the complexity of geographical features and spatial structures. As the means of observing and describing geographical phenomena, the rapid development of remote sensing has provided an enormous amount of geographical information. The massive information is very useful in a variety of applications but the sheer bulk of this information has increased beyond what can be analyzed and used efficiently and effectively. This uneven increase in the technologies of gathering and analyzing information has created difficulties in its storage, transfer, and processing. Fractal geometry provides a means of describing and …


The Effects Of Message Direction And Sex Differences On The Interpretation Of Workplace Gossip, Kristen Marie Berkos Jan 2003

The Effects Of Message Direction And Sex Differences On The Interpretation Of Workplace Gossip, Kristen Marie Berkos

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Gossip occurs in the organization and individuals exposed to these gossip messages must decide how to interpret the gossip. This dissertation explains the definitions and research for gossip, message direction, sex differences, message interpretation, politicalism, and believability. Applying symbolic interactionism and social exchange theory, seven relationships between variables are proposed. The seven hypotheses are tested via a web-based questionnaire that manipulated the message direction and sex of the gossiper and gossip receiver. Two hundred seventy-six full time employees completed instruments measuring gossip believability, purpose, and politicalism. Data were subjected to a MANCOVA, and correlation statistics. Results supported three of the …


Empirical Analysis Of Economic Growth, Winford Henderson Masanjala Jan 2003

Empirical Analysis Of Economic Growth, Winford Henderson Masanjala

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

International evidence on growth rates in per capita incomes reveals persistent differences in development patterns among nations, and shows that the world distribution of per capita income is multi-modal with several basins of attraction. This dissertation investigates the factors underlying these international variations in both the level and rate of growth of per capita incomes. The first essay examines whether nonlinearities in the aggregate production function can explain parameter heterogeneity in the Solow (1956) growth regressions. The choice of and alternative specification of the production function is justified by showing that cross-country level regressions are more consistent with the more …


Adherence To Medical Regimens In Low-Income Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: The Influence Of Perceived Control Constructs, Erin L. O'Hea Jan 2003

Adherence To Medical Regimens In Low-Income Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: The Influence Of Perceived Control Constructs, Erin L. O'Hea

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Individuals with Type 2 diabetes often do not adhere to their treatment regimens (e.g., exercise, diet, medication, glucose monitoring). Non-adherence results in poor metabolic control, further morbidity and mortality, and increased health care utilization and costs. One common thread among many health-behavior-theories that attempt to explain non-adherence behaviors is the importance of perceived control. This psychosocial variable has most often been conceptualized as ‘health locus of control,’ which refers to the belief that one has the ability to influence or change one’s health outcomes. Inconsistent findings have been reported regarding the relationship of health locus of control and medical regimen …


An Examination Of Individual And Organizational Factors Related To Emotional Labor, Robin Hughes Gosserand Jan 2003

An Examination Of Individual And Organizational Factors Related To Emotional Labor, Robin Hughes Gosserand

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Managing emotions in the workplace, termed emotional labor (Hochschild, 1983), is becoming increasingly important as the economy continues to become more service-oriented. Grandey (2000) defines emotional labor as the process of regulating feelings and expressions of emotions in order to achieve organizational goals. The regulation of observable expressions of emotions is known as surface acting, and the regulation of felt emotions is called deep acting. The current study tested a model of emotional labor including factors hypothesized to be related to surface acting and deep acting. Proposed antecedents include perceived display rule demands, commitment to display rules, positive and negative …


An Empirical Investigation Of Tax Policy In G-7 Countries, Kerim Peren Arin Jan 2003

An Empirical Investigation Of Tax Policy In G-7 Countries, Kerim Peren Arin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays on the effects of fiscal policy on the economic activity. The first and second chapters investigate the response of major macroeconomic variables to four different types of tax policy innovations within a VAR framework using contemporaneous restrictions and long-run restrictions, respectively. Although G-7 countries seem to react differently to tax policy innovations, we do not find any evidence for the existence of negative corporate tax multipliers (for output) or positive income tax multipliers (for output) with both identification schemes. The cross-country variation in the signs of indirect tax is considerably higher. The effects of …


The Relationship Between Depression And Feeding Disorder Symptoms Among Persons With Severe And Profound Mental Retardation, Stephen Bradley Mayville Jan 2003

The Relationship Between Depression And Feeding Disorder Symptoms Among Persons With Severe And Profound Mental Retardation, Stephen Bradley Mayville

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years, feeding disorders have been described in detail, and various assessment and treatment methods for these disorders have been reported. Within the literature, an emphasis has been placed on functional variables responsible for the onset and maintenance of feeding disorders, yet little has been reported on the relationship between feeding disorders and other forms of psychopathology. Therefore, the relationship between depression and feeding disorders was assessed. Three groups of individuals were compared across subscales and individual items on the Screening Tool for Feeding Problems (STEP) to assess for differences in problematic feeding behavior. Individuals who met diagnostic criteria …


Staying In Or Getting Out: Social Capital And Occupational Decision-Making Among Louisiana's Croatian Oyster Harvesters, Carl Marie Riden Jan 2003

Staying In Or Getting Out: Social Capital And Occupational Decision-Making Among Louisiana's Croatian Oyster Harvesters, Carl Marie Riden

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Social capital-resources embedded in social structures that can be accessed or mobilized by individuals in pursuit of some goal- is the most prominent in a long line of concepts developed by social scientists who wish to incorporate social and cultural elements into models of economic behavior. The research presented here is a qualitative exploration of social capital, its forms and functions, and its relationship to the occupational decision-making of current and former oyster harvesters in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Within this close-knit Croatian-American community, oyster harvesting has a long and rich history. As a result, extensive social capital through which individuals …


Voegelin's History Of Political Ideas And The Problem Of Christian Order: A Critical Appraisal, Jeffrey Charles Herndon Jan 2003

Voegelin's History Of Political Ideas And The Problem Of Christian Order: A Critical Appraisal, Jeffrey Charles Herndon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation will analyze the problem of Christian political order in light of Eric Voegelin’s History of Political Ideas. The great weakness in Voegelin, according to many critics, was his failure to deal with the historical appearance of Jesus of Nazareth and to fully examine the implications of Christianity for human beings in their political and social existence. The completed publication of the History of Political Ideas now offers the opportunity for a more complete assessment of Voegelin’s position with regard to the problem of Christian political order. The History contains his most comprehensive treatment of Christianity, in terms of …


The Nature Of Trust: Conceptual And Operational Clarification, Donna M. Romano Jan 2003

The Nature Of Trust: Conceptual And Operational Clarification, Donna M. Romano

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The importance of trust in working relationships is widely acknowledged among organizational researchers and practitioners. Unfortunately, trust is defined and measured differently across studies, making it difficult to integrate and compare research findings. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to clarify the nature of trust as it exists across research and organizational settings. First, trust was conceptualized in terms of 10 defining characteristics based on a convergence and reconciliation of inconsistencies among existing definitions. These 10 characteristics of trust were incorporated into a single definition of trust to offer a more comprehensive description of the construct. Second, the Functional …


The Means Of Ignorance: Genuine Dialogue And A Rhetoric Of Virtue, Daniel Anthony Grano Jan 2003

The Means Of Ignorance: Genuine Dialogue And A Rhetoric Of Virtue, Daniel Anthony Grano

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Aimed at core problems of contemporary moral rhetoric - pluralistic argument, incommensurable disagreement on ordering terms, and a theoretical move away from essence to relativism - this study is an attempt to restore rhetoric as an art capable of investigating and positing terms of order and being. This restoration relies upon viewing rhetoric as a practice of epistemic mediation between the experiential and language-based knowledge of the local, and the perfected knowledge of the Absolute. I propose characteristically Socratic notions of contingency and ignorance as the bases for this mediated approach. As a recognition of what is unknown and uncertain …


Augusto Boal's Theatre Of The Oppressed In The Public Speaking And Interpersonal Communication Classrooms, Jacqueline D. Burleson Jan 2003

Augusto Boal's Theatre Of The Oppressed In The Public Speaking And Interpersonal Communication Classrooms, Jacqueline D. Burleson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this study, I document and analyze how I applied Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) techniques in introductory Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication (IPC) courses. In the first chapter, Boal's democratic praxis is discussed in terms of critical performance pedagogy and Brecht's social aesthetics. I identify the qualitative social scientific method of data collection and analysis I used and base the significance of the study in my testing of TO in non-performance educational contexts and in the integrated communication studies curricula that resulted. In Chapter Two, I summarize Boal's career as an interactive theatre practitioner. My review includes synopses …


Integrating Natural Coping And Survival Strategies Of African American Women Into Social Work Practice: Lessons Learned From The Works Of Nannie Helen Burruoghs, Lolita Cecelia Boykin Jan 2003

Integrating Natural Coping And Survival Strategies Of African American Women Into Social Work Practice: Lessons Learned From The Works Of Nannie Helen Burruoghs, Lolita Cecelia Boykin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the historical coping and survival strategies of African American women - as reflected through the works of Nannie Helen Burroughs- that can be integrated into current social work practice. This research is important because is describes, explores and analyzes culturally relevant helping traditions, among African American women that have historically promoted their emotional and psychological well-being. An analysis of methods used by Burroughs was derived from articles, letters, speeches and minutes from various convention meetings. Also, a variety of secondary sources were also used during the research process. Results from the study are important in that they …


From Lime Kilns To Art Galleries: A Historical Anthropogeography Of The Maine Coast City Of Rockland, William Francis Fagan Jan 2003

From Lime Kilns To Art Galleries: A Historical Anthropogeography Of The Maine Coast City Of Rockland, William Francis Fagan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a historical anthropogeography that focuses on the city of Rockland, Maine from its prehistoric beginnings to the present. Throughout the historic period, a series of single industries have dominated Rockland's economy while its population has remained remarkably stable. Lime production, for mortar and plaster, was first, beginning with the earliest Europeans in the area in the eighteenth century and coming to its end in the 1930s. Shipping and shipbuilding were important outgrowths of the lime industry but shipbuilding ended by the early 1920s with the change from wood to steel as the favored material for shipbuilding. Commercial …


Water Resource Management By The Ancient Maya Of Yucatan, Mexico, Terance Lynn Winemiller Jan 2003

Water Resource Management By The Ancient Maya Of Yucatan, Mexico, Terance Lynn Winemiller

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Since the publication of popular accounts of exploration by adventurers such as John Lloyd Stephens captured the attention of an audience eager for tales from exotic places, scholars of the ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica have been fascinated with the silent crumbling remains of ancient Maya cities that dot the cultural landscape of Yucatán in staggering numbers. Scientific research began in earnest nearly one hundred years ago with the first of many great Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C. archaeological projects. Most researchers mention water resources in their reports, but no attempt has been made to study water resource management on a …


The Institutional Determinants Of Property Regime Change In New Democracies: The Russian Federation, Hungary, And Czechoslovakia, R. Vanessa Krasner Jan 2003

The Institutional Determinants Of Property Regime Change In New Democracies: The Russian Federation, Hungary, And Czechoslovakia, R. Vanessa Krasner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Is there a relationship between the design of democratic institutions and optimal collective decisions? Optimum decisions are defined as achieving goals important to the transition such as deep and equitable property reforms. Democratic institutions refer to first-order institutions of governance and the electoral rules for choosing leaders. Overseeing both are the written or "parchment" constitutions. Constitutions are designed to distribute power among actors, generate efficiency, and govern the interactions among actors. My findings showed that constitutional designs intentionally and sometimes with unanticipated consequences can result in highly cooperative, competitive, or conflictual struggles by political actors over high-stakes distributive issues such …


Social Sector Participatory Development In Honduras: A Process Across Institutions, Culturesval And Continents, Denese Ashbaugh Vlosky Jan 2003

Social Sector Participatory Development In Honduras: A Process Across Institutions, Culturesval And Continents, Denese Ashbaugh Vlosky

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research was conducted to determine whether our participatory process of curriculum development for vocational technical schools in Honduras was successful. This study analyzed program documents and correspondence to answer two questions: a) How did individual stakeholders perceive and negotiate the participatory process? and b) What factors --individual and environmental-- promoted and impeded the participatory process of development in this project? Participatory development concepts applied to Human Ecology Theory guided this research. Qualitative methodologies were utilized to develop the curriculum—Phenomenology-- and to evaluate the process of development—Grounded Theory and Matrix Analysis. An analysis of individual counterpart contacts revealed that stakeholder …


The Relationship Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome And Insomnia: Implications For Treatment, Danae L. Drab Jan 2003

The Relationship Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome And Insomnia: Implications For Treatment, Danae L. Drab

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a sleep-disordered breathing condition that causes disrupted sleep. Although OSAS is most often associated with daytime hypersomnolence, a number of OSAS patients complain of insomnia, i.e., disorders of initiating or maintaining sleep. If the insomnia in patients with OSAS is secondary to the medical condition, then it would be expected to abate with the successful treatment of OSAS. If, however, the insomnia is primarily of a psychological nature, thus considered primary or psychophysiological insomnia, little to no change in insomnia symptoms would be expected after the treatment of OSAS. The present study examined the …


A Path Analysis Of Binge Eating And Obesity In African Americans: Acculturation, Racism, Emotional Distress, Binge Eating, Body Dissatisfaction, Attitudes Towards Obesity, Dietary Restraint, Dietary Fat Intake, And Physical Activity, Joy Rose Kohlmaier Jan 2003

A Path Analysis Of Binge Eating And Obesity In African Americans: Acculturation, Racism, Emotional Distress, Binge Eating, Body Dissatisfaction, Attitudes Towards Obesity, Dietary Restraint, Dietary Fat Intake, And Physical Activity, Joy Rose Kohlmaier

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to test a general stress-related health behavior model as it applied to binge eating and obesity in African Americans using path analysis. Acculturation, racism, emotional distress, binge eating, and obesity were among the variables related to this theory, and included in the model. Other variables that have been implicated in the study of obesity in African Americans were also included, such as; lack of body dissatisfaction, accepting attitudes towards obesity, decreased dietary restraint, increased dietary fat intake and decreased physical activity. The study sample was 325 African Americans, including 187 females with a mean …


Gender Inequality, Concentrated Disadvantage, And Homicide Victimization: A Sex And Race Specific Analysis Of Homicide Victimization Rates In Large U.S. Cities, Ginger Donise Stevenson Jan 2003

Gender Inequality, Concentrated Disadvantage, And Homicide Victimization: A Sex And Race Specific Analysis Of Homicide Victimization Rates In Large U.S. Cities, Ginger Donise Stevenson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is designed to extend prior research on the structural correlates of homicide victimization among demographic subgroups in large U.S. cities. The present study draws on two broad theoretical traditions - the concentrated disadvantage perspective and gender inequality perspectives. Using Supplementary Homicide Reports data for 1990, race- and sex-specific homicide victimization measures were constructed for 120 U.S. cities. Due to the extremely rare prevalence of homicide victimization among some demographic subgroups, Poisson and Negative Binomial Regression techniques are used to test a series of hypotheses regarding the effects of concentrated disadvantage and gender inequality on homicide victimization for four …


Regimes, Institutions And Foreign Policy Change, David Baker Huxsoll Jan 2003

Regimes, Institutions And Foreign Policy Change, David Baker Huxsoll

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the effects that different political regime types and institutional arrangements have on the amount of foreign policy change occurring a state. Scholars in International Relations studying the democratic peace have identified a relationship between characteristics of democracy and non-democracy and the behavior of states. Scholars in Comparative Politics have noted that certain institutions more easily facilitate policy change. This dissertation synthesizes these perspectives and develops and tests a number of hypotheses relating regime type, institutional arrangement, and party system to the amount of foreign policy change a state undertakes. Employing a pooled, cross-sectional time series design, the …


Reporting The Movement In Black And White: The Emmett Till Lynching And The Montgomery Bus Boycott, John Craig Flournoy Jan 2003

Reporting The Movement In Black And White: The Emmett Till Lynching And The Montgomery Bus Boycott, John Craig Flournoy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines media coverage of two events in the Civil Rights Movement-the lynching of Emmett Till in 1955 and the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955-56. The study focuses on three publications aimed primarily at white audiences (Life, Look and the New York Times) and two aimed primarily at black audiences (the Birmingham World and Jet). The dissertation seeks to answer several questions. How did mainstream news organizations cover black Americans in the decades prior to the 1950s? In reporting on the Till murder case and the Montgomery bus boycott, did coverage by mainstream news organizations change? If so, in …


The Bardic Utterance In Situation Comedy Theme Songs, 1960-2000, Joni Melissa Butcher Jan 2003

The Bardic Utterance In Situation Comedy Theme Songs, 1960-2000, Joni Melissa Butcher

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the function of the bard in situation comedy theme songs. This study calls upon Fiske and Hartley's concept of television as a cultural bard, a singer and teller of stories that create and conserve community. The bard reaffirms the culture's identity while delivering social and political messages relevant to the culture at specific times throughout history. This study also draws upon social-historical and cultural perspectives, and a selective semiotic analysis to investigate the visual, vocal, and musical themes from four decades of television sitcoms. The shows and themes from the 1960s include …


Millennial-Scale Variations And Centennial-Scale Events In The Southwest Asian Monsoon: Pollen Evidence From Tibet, Caiming Shen Jan 2003

Millennial-Scale Variations And Centennial-Scale Events In The Southwest Asian Monsoon: Pollen Evidence From Tibet, Caiming Shen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Using quantitative reconstructions of vegetation and climate based on 234 surface samples and four fossil pollen records, a systematic study of millennial-scale variations and centennial-scale events in the Southwest monsoon over the last 14 000 years in the Tibetan Plateau was conducted. The SW monsoon stayed weak between 14 000 and 11 000 cal. yr BP. A marked drop in July temperature during 12 800 –11 500 cal. yr BP may indicate the occurrence of the Younger Dryas cold event. The SW monsoon started to intensify at 11 000 cal. yr BP. However, it did not increase monotonically, but abruptly …


Bureaucratic Influence In Congressional Roll-Call Voting, William Blair Jan 2003

Bureaucratic Influence In Congressional Roll-Call Voting, William Blair

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is on one of the many relationships that exist between the bureaucracy and government: decision-making by elected representatives and the political influence of government employees on their decision-making. Specifically, it is with bureaucrats and the degree to which they may utilize political influence to create a disproportionate influence over government policy and decision-making in the United States House of Representatives. I argue that the inherent qualities of bureaucrats suggest that they are significant and influential constituency for representatives. They are an identifiable constituency to representatives, and have the means and opportunity to wield political influence. …


Psychosocial Predictors Of Dietary Fat Reduction: The Role Of Stress And The Transtheroetical Model In A Dietary Intervention, Jennifer L. Francis Jan 2003

Psychosocial Predictors Of Dietary Fat Reduction: The Role Of Stress And The Transtheroetical Model In A Dietary Intervention, Jennifer L. Francis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Dietary fat is related to cardiovascular disease and numerous intensive, controlled clinical trials have successfully reduced dietary fat in symptomatic populations. However, there has been less success in large, community-based studies with healthy or mildly at-risk populations. Little is known about predictors associated with actual change in dietary fat intake and this is an important omission because dietary interventions are more likely to be successful if they are based on factors known to influence behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychosocial predictors of dietary fat and dietary fat reduction through the framework of the transtheoretical model …


Conservation Versus Survival: A Cultural Ecological Study Of Changing Settlement Patterns, Cultures, And Land Use In The Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve Of Northeast Honduras, Elizabeth Ann Fraser Jan 2003

Conservation Versus Survival: A Cultural Ecological Study Of Changing Settlement Patterns, Cultures, And Land Use In The Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve Of Northeast Honduras, Elizabeth Ann Fraser

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Conserving ecologically valuable areas is proclaimed a priority by governments, institutions, and citizens throughout the world. Preventing the erosion of the remaining indigenous cultures also receives widespread support. In response to these desires, numerous protected areas now exist; spaces that theoretically should attain both ecological and cultural preservation. However, many of these areas are found within a larger setting plagued by ongoing struggles to meet basic needs. Often these larger problems create a challenge to, if not work in opposition to, the original aims of protected areas. This study of nine communities looks at these and related issues in the …


Mediators Of Weight Loss In An Internet-Based Intervention For African American Adolescent Girls, Marney A. White Jan 2003

Mediators Of Weight Loss In An Internet-Based Intervention For African American Adolescent Girls, Marney A. White

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary aim of this study was to assess the process variables involved in a weight loss program for African-American adolescent girls. This internet-based intervention compared a behavioral treatment program to an educational treatment program; it was hypothesized that participants randomized to the behavioral condition would lose more weight at 6 months than those in the educational condition. Several process variables have been identified as affecting success in in vivo weight loss programs for adults and children, including program adherence, self-efficacy, and social support. The current study sought to broaden the understanding of these process variables as they pertain to …


Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up?: Bridging The Divide Between The Jesus Seminar And Its Opponents Through A Burkeian Approach, Carol Melissa Hopson-Sparks Jan 2003

Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up?: Bridging The Divide Between The Jesus Seminar And Its Opponents Through A Burkeian Approach, Carol Melissa Hopson-Sparks

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study employs a Burkeian cluster-agon analysis approach to analyze the rhetoric of four members of the Jesus Seminar; namely, Robert Funk, Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, and John Shelby Spong as well as that of two of the Jesus Seminar’s critics; Luke Timothy Johnson and N. Thomas Wright. Specifically, this study sought to discern the orientations or perspectives held by each of the examined rhetors in an effort to locate common ground or similar foundations within two seemingly disparate points of view. In doing so, this study creates a third perspective, or corrective, based on the orthopraxis approach of …