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2005

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Articles 8941 - 8970 of 9033

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Reinforcement Magnitude: An Evaluation Of Preference And Reinforcer Potency, Nicole M. Trosclair Jan 2005

Reinforcement Magnitude: An Evaluation Of Preference And Reinforcer Potency, Nicole M. Trosclair

LSU Master's Theses

Reinforcers that maintain problem behavior often are an integral part of treatment with differential reinforcement. Basic research suggests that various parameters of reinforcement (e.g., rate, quality, delay, and magnitude) may influence treatment outcomes. Germane to the current study, the voluminous basic literature on reinforcement magnitude indicates that this parameter may influence responding, especially in choice situations or when response requirements are systematically increased over time. Although consideration of reinforcer magnitude may be important for maximizing treatment effectiveness, relatively little is known about children’s preference for different magnitudes of reinforcement or the extent to which relative preference would be related to …

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East African Hydroclimatic Variability: 1950-1999, Varada Vasant Vaidya Jan 2005

East African Hydroclimatic Variability: 1950-1999, Varada Vasant Vaidya

LSU Master's Theses

The interannual variability in precipitation over East Africa is well-understood. Many studies have identified the factors influencing the interannual variability of precipitation such as El Niño – Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Indian Ocean Dipole Mode (IODM), and Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperature and pressure variations. The relatively arid conditions in much of the East African region are not understood fully. The objective of present study is to determine the meteorological association of aridity over East Africa with regional hydroclimatic variables as well as to find global teleconnections affecting spatial distribution of aridity over East Africa. The East Africa Aridity index …

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The Effect Of Emotion On Witness Suggestibility, Cristine Carmen Roussel Jan 2005

The Effect Of Emotion On Witness Suggestibility, Cristine Carmen Roussel

LSU Master's Theses

When witnesses are exposed to highly stressful and emotional events, the result is often increased arousal and a change in the pattern of attention. Both of these factors are likely to impact witnesses’ memory for the event. In addition, witnesses are often exposed to post-event information from a variety of sources (e.g., investigators, other witnesses, media reports). The goal of the present study was to explore, in the context of the eyewitness suggestibility paradigm, the impact of emotional arousal and attentional focus on event memory and the incidence of eyewitness suggestibility. A secondary goal of this study was to explore …

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Sinker Cypress: Treasures Of A Lost Landscape, Christopher Aubrey Hurst Jan 2005

Sinker Cypress: Treasures Of A Lost Landscape, Christopher Aubrey Hurst

LSU Master's Theses

Sinker cypress (Taxodium spp.) logs are timbers that were lost during transit from harvest locations in the swamps and mill sites during the industrial cypress harvest from 1880-1930. A small industry has developed, concentrated on the recovery of sinker logs. Most of the persons involved in the recovery of sinker cypress, mill the logs into lumber, and sell the timber directly to consumers or to distributors. A smaller number of pullers retain the logs for personal use. Recovery operations are a costly endeavor and require a significant investment on the part of the harvesters. Most pullers are owner/operators who do …

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Are Murders Equal In The Eyes Of The Media?: A Study Of Race, Gender, Class And Quality Of Coverage, Tobie Marie Blanchard Jan 2005

Are Murders Equal In The Eyes Of The Media?: A Study Of Race, Gender, Class And Quality Of Coverage, Tobie Marie Blanchard

LSU Master's Theses

Crime news is an important component of local news. A literature review suggested that the media’s coverage of crime news can reveal vital information about media routines and biases. The main issue in this study is race and the media. The subtext of crime news and how the media cover different races when dealing with crime can speak to the larger issues of race and the media. The primary focus of this study was to examine how the media cover victims of murder, but more specifically to investigate any differences that may exist in how they cover White and Black …

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Mania And Intellectual Disability: The Course Of Mania Symptoms In Persons With Disability Over Three Years, Melissa Luke Gonzalez Jan 2005

Mania And Intellectual Disability: The Course Of Mania Symptoms In Persons With Disability Over Three Years, Melissa Luke Gonzalez

LSU Master's Theses

Although bipolar disorder was one of the earliest described mental illnesses, there is a dearth of research on bipolar disorder in individuals with intellectual deficits. The present study aimed to extend this literature by comparing the presence and variation of manic symptoms over time of persons with intellectual deficits with and without bipolar disorder. Three groups of individuals participated: a bipolar group, a psychopathology group (other than bipolar disorder) and a control group. Two dependent measures of mania were taken from retrospective data, Mania subscale of the DASH-II and a Criterion-referenced subscale. The presence and consistency of mania symptom endorsements …

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Kingship, Structures And Access Patterns On The Royal Plaza At The Ancient Maya City Of Altun Ha, Belize: The Construction Of A Maya Gis, Olga A. Yermakhanova Jan 2005

Kingship, Structures And Access Patterns On The Royal Plaza At The Ancient Maya City Of Altun Ha, Belize: The Construction Of A Maya Gis, Olga A. Yermakhanova

LSU Master's Theses

The GIS of Plaza B represents the application of GIS in the analysis of buildings. The GIS contains information on six structures and recreates the development of the royal residential plaza at the ancient Maya site of Altun Ha, in northern Belize. Altun Ha is a small site with a long history of occupation, rich in architectural and artifactual forms. The major site expansion and development started in the end of the Early Classic (A. D. 400) with the emergence of the institution of kingship at the site. Two adjunct plazas, A and B, formed the largest ceremonial –residential complex …

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Determinants Of Abstention In The United States House Of Representatives: An Analysis Of The 102nd Through The 107th Sessions, Mileah Kay Kromer Jan 2005

Determinants Of Abstention In The United States House Of Representatives: An Analysis Of The 102nd Through The 107th Sessions, Mileah Kay Kromer

LSU Master's Theses

This paper examines the factors that influence roll call voting abstention in the United States House of Representatives. I control for factors both at the individual level and the institutional level. My data set includes all members of the House of Representatives from the 102nd (1991-1992) through the 107th (2001-2002) sessions of Congress. It is my intention to contribute to our scholarly understanding of abstention behavior in the United States House of Representatives and to help future research on Congressional roll call voting behavior. I find strong empirical support for individual level effects, such as seniority, last of term of …

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The Purpose Of Magazine Web Sites, Mark Marquez Ii Jan 2005

The Purpose Of Magazine Web Sites, Mark Marquez Ii

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to determine whether online versions of printed magazines shared an overall purpose. Guided by grounded theory, interviews were conducted of publishers and staff members from the Web sites of 15 printed magazines. The analysis of the interviews suggested that the overall purpose of online versions of magazines is marketing of the printed magazine, and that the sites also are intended to accomplish a number of secondary purposes.

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Models For Ancient Maya Coastal Site Development And Economy: Examination Of Pork And Doughboy Point, Port Honduras, Belize, Kevin Michael Pemberton Jan 2005

Models For Ancient Maya Coastal Site Development And Economy: Examination Of Pork And Doughboy Point, Port Honduras, Belize, Kevin Michael Pemberton

LSU Master's Theses

In the summer of 2003 I conducted an archaeological study at Pork and Doughboy Point, Belize, under the direction of Dr. Heather McKillop. The site, situated amidst other ancient Maya coastal settlements of the Port Honduras in southern Belize, has only been tested for offshore deposits in the three decades since it was reported. The current research involved the first reported terrestrial excavations at the site. The goals of this investigation were to recover pottery that could be used to date the ancient Maya occupation and obtain artifacts that would suggest the nature of the site. From artifact analyses I …

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Sacred Trust: The Voluntary Removal And Reburial Of Human Remains From A Historic Cemetery In Louisiana, Christian Williamson Jan 2005

Sacred Trust: The Voluntary Removal And Reburial Of Human Remains From A Historic Cemetery In Louisiana, Christian Williamson

LSU Master's Theses

Members of the Randolph family, a prominent plantation family that has lived in Louisiana since the late eighteenth century, contacted a team of anthropologists from Louisiana State University to help recover thirteen individuals from St. Mary’s Cemetery in Bayou Goula, Louisiana. The cemetery had been abandoned since 1970, its graves overgrown with weeds and desecrated by vandals. Of the thirteen individuals recovered, three sets of remains did not have associated grave markers. These three were taken back to the lab and analyzed using standard forensic procedures. Documentary research on the history of the cemetery, the once associated church, and the …

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Weight Concern And Smoking In Children, Darla E. Kendzor Jan 2005

Weight Concern And Smoking In Children, Darla E. Kendzor

LSU Master's Theses

Studies have shown that weight concern is prevalent in children and that many children believe smoking can be used to control appetite and weight. However, little is known about the impact of the combination of these factors on smoking initiation in children. Initial research has indicated that weight concern predicts smoking initiation in adolescents, but these studies have not addressed the role of weight control outcome expectancies. The purpose of this study was to prospectively investigate the relationship between weight concern and smoking initiation, and to evaluate weight control outcome expectancies as a moderator of this relationship in children. Cross-sectional …

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The Impact Of Training On Caregiver Responsiveness, Carrie Lou Ota Jan 2005

The Impact Of Training On Caregiver Responsiveness, Carrie Lou Ota

LSU Master's Theses

This is an evaluation of observation-based experiences in child care in the state of Louisiana to help determine the importance of training and its impact on caregiver responsiveness. Infant and toddler child care caregivers were observed prior to and following a six-hour statewide training provided by Louisiana State University Cooperative Extension. The focus of the training was the Right from Birth series (Ramey & Ramey, 1999). Caregiver responsiveness to infants and toddlers was measured using a multiple baseline design. Observers examined both positive and negative caregiver behaviors which were categorized as either active or passive on the part of the …

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Testing Democracy: The Case Of The 17th Amendment And Constituency Representation, Rhonda Wrzenski Jan 2005

Testing Democracy: The Case Of The 17th Amendment And Constituency Representation, Rhonda Wrzenski

LSU Master's Theses

This paper examines a unique aspect of Congressional history centering on the passage of the 17th amendment in 1913, which shifted the power of U.S. Senate elections from the state legislature to state electorates. This paper examines how the passage of the amendment affected the relationship between characteristics of the state electorate and the roll call behavior of U.S. Senators. Due to the historical nature of the time period, I use Presidential election results by state, party control of the governorship and upper and lower chambers of the state legislature, as well as a number of demographic variables, to estimate …

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Vernacular Exposures At The Aillet House: Anthropological Interpretations Of Material Culture And Cultural Change, Kelli Ostrom Jan 2005

Vernacular Exposures At The Aillet House: Anthropological Interpretations Of Material Culture And Cultural Change, Kelli Ostrom

LSU Master's Theses

The thesis project developed from preliminary archaeological testing in 1999 at site 16WBR45, the original location of the Aillet House. The results of the testing were informative as they suggested the placement of the house and attested to casual activity on the porch. However, the results certainly did not answer the need for a more discerning interpretation of the historic house museum known as the Aillet House, currently on display at the West Baton Rouge Parish Museum. I collaborated with the museum in 2004 to bring to their current interpretive program anthropological insights gained from archaeological remains, an architectural survey …

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Peer Relations And Academic Achievement In Early Elementary School, Natalie Ann Zitzmann Jan 2005

Peer Relations And Academic Achievement In Early Elementary School, Natalie Ann Zitzmann

LSU Master's Theses

The primary focus of the current study was to examine the relations between children’s peer relationships and academic performance. This study involved a secondary analysis of data provided by children, parents, and teachers. In all, 585 families participated in the study. The sample is predominately middle class, generally representative of the geographical regions, and demographically diverse; 52% of the children were male, 19% were of a minority or ethnic background, and 26% lived with single parents. The current study analyzed data collected over a four year period beginning when the children were enrolled in kindergarten. Data were obtained using classroom-based …

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Improving Homework In Adolescents With Adhd: Comparing Training In Self- Vs. Parent-Monitoring Of Homework And Study Skills Completion, Kara J. Meyer Jan 2005

Improving Homework In Adolescents With Adhd: Comparing Training In Self- Vs. Parent-Monitoring Of Homework And Study Skills Completion, Kara J. Meyer

LSU Master's Theses

Self-monitoring has been proven to be effective in increasing performance, on task behavior, and homework completion in students with learning disabilities and other academic difficulties. Parent supervision and involvement in homework also has been shown to improve performance. However, the effectiveness of parent vs. self-monitoring of homework completion and test preparation has never been examined in adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The current study compared the effectiveness of self- and parent-monitoring of homework and study skills completion in middle school students with ADHD. Students were trained in the SQ4R study strategy and homework completion skills. In one group students monitored …

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Covering The Revolution Of Roses (Differences And Similarities Between Georgia And Independent Television Companies), Nino Danelia Jan 2005

Covering The Revolution Of Roses (Differences And Similarities Between Georgia And Independent Television Companies), Nino Danelia

LSU Master's Theses

The study analyzed how independent and state media's news programs differ in the way they framed the Georgian Revolution of Roses. The paper analyzed what sources, frames and key words journalists used to describe the protest in order to investigate if the coverage was objective or biased in any particular direction. Study provides evidence that by framing protests in a different way, politicians and journalists give different meanings to the same issues and suggest what is at issue. Each party of the political elite tried to promote their own political viewpoints. By preferring sources from the ruling party and their …

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Dental Evidence For Division Of Labor Among The Prehistoric Ipiutak And Tigara Of Point Hope, Alaska, Felicia Madimenos Jan 2005

Dental Evidence For Division Of Labor Among The Prehistoric Ipiutak And Tigara Of Point Hope, Alaska, Felicia Madimenos

LSU Master's Theses

Among archaeological specimens, teeth can provide insight into the behaviors and cultural practices of a population. Inuit specimens are ideal for studying dentition because of the unique way teeth are used as tools. The prehistoric Ipiutak (ca.100 B.C. – A.D. 500) and Tigara (ca. A.D. 900 –1700) of Point Hope, Alaska, represent two environmentally similar, although culturally and temporally different, populations. Based on associated archaeological finds, the Ipiutak do not represent a whaling culture. Instead, they focused on hunting smaller sea mammals and caribou. Conversely, the Tigara represent a typical Inuit whaling culture. Whaling cultures depend on a distinct division …

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Food Security Status, Nutrient Intake At The Beginning And End Of The Monthly Resource Cycle, And Body Mass Index In Female Food Stamp Recipients, Caroline C. Burke Jan 2005

Food Security Status, Nutrient Intake At The Beginning And End Of The Monthly Resource Cycle, And Body Mass Index In Female Food Stamp Recipients, Caroline C. Burke

LSU Master's Theses

Diets are typically poorer and risk of chronic disease (e.g. obesity) is greatest in low-income populations. Food security status, nutrient intake, and Body Mass Index were assessed in 64 female food stamp recipients in Southeast Louisiana. One 24-hour dietary recall was collected at the beginning of the month (Day 1) and one at the end of the month (Day 2). Food security status was: 29 food secure (FS), 26 food insecure (FIS), and nine food insecure with hunger (FISH). Sixty-two % (n=39) of our study participants were obese. Mean % energy from protein (p=0.03); total fat (p=0.029), % saturated fatty …

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The Influence Of Presidential Operational Code Beliefs On U.S. Foreign Policy Actions In The Middle East, Samuel Robison Jan 2005

The Influence Of Presidential Operational Code Beliefs On U.S. Foreign Policy Actions In The Middle East, Samuel Robison

LSU Master's Theses

Empirical research on U.S. foreign policy has largely assumed that the president’s influence is subordinate to global and domestic political constraints. This idea is given further weight by the fact that, even within the political psychology literature, there is scant large-n, quantitative evidence supporting the notion that leaders matter. This study is an attempt to explore the influence of U.S. presidential psychological characteristics on foreign policy actions through assessment of two operational code constructs: “image of the political universe” (P-1), and “strategic preferences” (I-1). This is assessed through an extensive sample of operational code beliefs for every president from Ronald …

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Long-Term Changes And Variability In Northern Hemisphere Circumpolar Vortex, Kalyn Mackenzie Wrona Jan 2005

Long-Term Changes And Variability In Northern Hemisphere Circumpolar Vortex, Kalyn Mackenzie Wrona

LSU Master's Theses

Variability in the hemispheric-scale atmospheric circulation can be directly linked to variations in surface environmental features, such as temperature, precipitation, and pollutant transport. One indicator of the behavior of the hemispheric-scale circulation is the circumpolar vortex (CPV). This research utilizes a geographic information system (GIS) approach to determine the variability in the northern hemisphere (NH) CPV. Specifically, the area, shape, and centroid of the December, January, February, April, July, and October NHCPV are analyzed for 1959 – 2001 because these features may provide insight about relationships between hemispheric-scale circulation and global temperature change throughout the year. A “circularity ratio” is …

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Using Brownfield Redevelopment To Mitigate Technological Hazards In Shreveport, Louisiana, David Farritor Jan 2005

Using Brownfield Redevelopment To Mitigate Technological Hazards In Shreveport, Louisiana, David Farritor

LSU Master's Theses

Brownfields are "abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination" (USEPA 2003a). This thesis focuses on the practices of public and private institutions to redevelop brownfields in Shreveport, Louisiana, as a means of mitigating potential technological hazards. The theoretical concept framing this analysis is hazards-of-place, a model of vulnerability that proposes interactions among physical vulnerability, social vulnerability, and mitigation efforts. In this model, vulnerability is a process that involves not only the likelihood of a hazardous incident but also the processes of hazard creation and mitigation that occur …

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Urban Yellow Fever Diffusion Patterns And The Role Of Micro-Environmental Factors In Disease Dissemination: A Temporal-Spatial Analysis Of The Memphis Epidemic Of 1878, William Brennan Arden Jan 2005

Urban Yellow Fever Diffusion Patterns And The Role Of Micro-Environmental Factors In Disease Dissemination: A Temporal-Spatial Analysis Of The Memphis Epidemic Of 1878, William Brennan Arden

LSU Master's Theses

Most investigations that examine diffusion of disease through urban areas give relatively scant attention to the 'micro-environment.' Employing the many methods of macro-environmental analysis, most studies do not attempt to identify street-level or even residence-level temporal-spatial patterns of disease diffusion. As a result, the mechanisms that lead to diffusion on such small scales are left relatively undefined. There is no doubt that cumulatively these small-scale mechanisms contribute to the diffusion of disease over the urban environment. However, the level of contribution and the specific details of their dynamics remain unclear. This thesis investigated some of these unexplored areas by presenting …

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Changing Face: The Evolution Of Chinese Women's Dress And Appearance, Xiaolan Wang Jan 2005

Changing Face: The Evolution Of Chinese Women's Dress And Appearance, Xiaolan Wang

LSU Master's Theses

Women’s dress and appearance can reflect a lot about a civilized society. It is influenced by many factors as well. The dress and appearance of contemporary Chinese women have not been studied much by mass communication researchers. This paper, however, explored the factors that influence the development and evolution of contemporary Chinese women’s dress and appearance. It traced back from Dynastic China to Republican China and then to Mao’s red China to examine the historical and political influences imposed on the dress and appearance of Chinese women. Then, it used in-depth interviews to find out factors that influence women’s dress …

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Fashion Involvement Of Affluent Female Consumers, Robin Danielle Mcfatter Jan 2005

Fashion Involvement Of Affluent Female Consumers, Robin Danielle Mcfatter

LSU Master's Theses

Fashion involvement is a consumer’s perceived importance of fashion clothing (O’Cass, 2001). It is important to investigate fashion involvement to understand consumer purchase behavior and to develop improved marketing strategies. Although researchers agree that consumers consider apparel purchases to be important, there has been little research done regarding fashion involvement (O’Cass, 2000) of affluent female consumers. The purpose of this study was to measure the fashion involvement of selected affluent female consumers from eight metropolitan areas in the United States and to identify relationships between fashion involvement and other selected variables. After controlling for socioeconomic demographic characteristics, the following variables …

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Adoption In New Orleans: What Agencies Are Doing To Promote It, Emily Barbara Rivers Jan 2005

Adoption In New Orleans: What Agencies Are Doing To Promote It, Emily Barbara Rivers

LSU Master's Theses

Unplanned and unwanted pregnancies are a national concern in the United States. In addition, many people exist who would like to become parents, but cannot or do not reproduce biologically. While adoption could offer a solution to this problem, the actual number of adoptions that take place is very small. This study examined what adoption agencies in the New Orleans area are doing to promote themselves to women with unwanted pregnancies. In-depth interviews were conducted with five adoption agencies. Three of the five agencies reported using various methods of targeting women with unwanted pregnancies. These methods included public posters, flyers …

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Greenwashing: Visual Communication And Political Influence In Environmental Policy, Eric Jeffrey Jenner Jan 2005

Greenwashing: Visual Communication And Political Influence In Environmental Policy, Eric Jeffrey Jenner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Some contemporary theories in political science maintain that public lobbying is merely an expression of latent and resolute public opinion that is communicated to policymakers. Other theories contend that the public is highly manipulable and that public lobbying by extension can be considered a form of strategic framing that takes place through the news and paid media. Both theoretical approaches specify a function for words or text but are silent on the influence of photographs or images. In this dissertation, I hypothesize that environmental public lobbying operates as strategic framing and that text and photographs have unique and discrete effects …

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The Effect Of Environmental Forcing On The Suspended Sediment Within The Naomi Wetlands As Reflected In Turbidity Data, Molly J. Mcgraw Jan 2005

The Effect Of Environmental Forcing On The Suspended Sediment Within The Naomi Wetlands As Reflected In Turbidity Data, Molly J. Mcgraw

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years, several freshwater diversion structures have been constructed along the lower Mississippi River south of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. These structures divert freshwater and sediment into Louisiana’s coastal wetlands in an effort to combat Louisiana’s estimated annual wetland loss of 65 km2. The successful operation of these diversions depends upon the stage of the Mississippi River. An increase in river stage generally results in an increase in the suspended sediment load and in the discharge of water through a diversion. The subsequent transport of suspended sediment within an estuary is also influenced by local rainfall, tide, and wind speed …

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Re-Conceptualizing Southern Rhetoric: A Meta-Critical Perspective, Christina L. Moss Jan 2005

Re-Conceptualizing Southern Rhetoric: A Meta-Critical Perspective, Christina L. Moss

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The study of southern rhetoric and public address remains important to the study of American rhetoric and public address. However, recent years indicate a decline in the amount and variety of scholarship in this area of study. This project provides a meta-critical analysis of the history of southern rhetorical scholarship, focusing mainly on southern public address. By tracing ideology from the Agrarians, Richard Weaver, Dallas Dickey, Waldo Braden, Stephen Smith, and Stuart Towns, clear attitudes and definitions of the South, southern identity and southern rhetoric evolved to create an area of study in much need of revision. The remainder of …

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