Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The P600 Event-Related Potential Across Ages And Ear Conditions, Kyla Lewis Tree

Theses and Dissertations

Studying language development through event-related potentials provides specific information regarding how the brain processes specific aspects of language over time. In this study, the P600 component, a positive wave occurring approximately 600 ms post-stimulus and known for detecting syntactic errors, was specifically analyzed. Thirty children between the ages of 5 and 12 years listened to linguistically correct, syntactically incorrect, and semantically incorrect sentences in three ear conditions: monaurally to the right ear, monaurally to the left ear, and binaurally. The participants were instructed to judge the sentences to be correct or incorrect. Comparisons were then made of the latency and …

Designing A Simulation For Student Evaluation Using Scriven's Key Evaluation Checklist, Shelly Jensen Reed

Faculty Publications

Human patient simulation use has increased dramatically in nursing education over the past 10 years, with many benefits. One advantage is that it allows students to learn by practicing skills in a risk-free environment, with immediate faculty feedback. Another benefit is that it prepares and ensures the competence of student nurses, leading to improved patient safety outcomes. Student opinions gathered in a survey of nursing schools and simulator centers favored use of competency evaluation using simulation in at least some circumstances. As little research concerning use of simulation to evaluate student competency can be found, an established guide such as …

Acoustic And Spectral Patterns In Young Children's Stop Consonant Productions, Shawn L. Nissen, Robert Allen Fox

Faculty Publications

The aim of this study was to examine the acoustic and spectral patterns of stop articulation in the speech of pre-pubescent children. A set of voiceless stop consonants, /ptk/, produced by a group of adults and typically developing children 3-5 years of age were examined in terms of multiple acoustic and spectral parameters. Findings indicated that, with the exception of spectral kurtosis, the acoustic and spectral characteristics of the stop productions varied significantly as a function of place of articulation and vowel context. Sex-specific differences in spectral slope, mean, and skewness were found for the 5-year-old and adult speakers. Such …

Automated Identification Of Noun Clauses In Clinical Language Samples, Britney Richey Manning

Theses and Dissertations

The identification of complex grammatical structures including noun clauses is of clinical importance because differences in the use of these structures have been found between individuals with and without language impairment. In recent years, computer software has been used to assist in analyzing clinical language samples. However, this software has been unable to accurately identify complex syntactic structures such as noun clauses. The present study investigated the accuracy of new software, called Cx, in identifying finite wh- and that-noun clauses. Two sets of language samples were used. One set included 10 children with language impairment, 10 age-matched peers, …

Development Of Psychometrically Equivalent Speech Audiometry Materials For Testing Children In Mongolian, Meghan Elizabeth Caldwell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop, digitally record, evaluate, and equate Mongolian monosyllabic and bisyllabic child-appropriate words which can be used in the measurement of word recognition scores and speech-reception threshold (SRT) in children who are native speakers of Mongolian. Based on data collected from a survey of Mongolian child language professionals, a subset of child-appropriate materials was adapted from a set of materials developed for Mongolian adults. Two lists of 50 monosyllabic words and four half-lists of 25 words each were developed for testing the word recognition abilities of Mongolian children. The developed lists and half-lists were …

Student Satisfaction With Simulation Experiences, Angeline Abdo, Patricia K. Ravert

Faculty Publications

Background: Some nursing schools use patient simulators to simulate patient scenarios.

Methods: Nursing students participated in five sessions using a patient simulator and then completed a questionnaire related to their experiences.

Results: Participants felt the experiences recreated real-life situations, tested their clinical decision-making, prepared them for the “real-life” clinical setting, and increased their confidence when in the clinical setting.

Conclusions: Patient simulator experiences enhance learning. Further research regarding student perceptions and instrument validation would contribute to an increased understanding of the use of patient simulators in nursing education.

Patterns Of Vowel Production In Speakers Of American English From The State Of Utah, Larkin Hopkins Reeves

Theses and Dissertations

The English spoken in the United States has traditionally been divided into six dialect regions: New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southern, Midland, Northern, and Western. The acoustic properties of American English spoken in the Southern and Northern dialect regions have been the subject of intense research, but the acoustic properties of the Western dialect region have not been analyzed as thoroughly. The umbrella term, Western American English, includes the English spoken in a large geographic area that stretches from Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico to the Pacific coast. Research that has focused on the Western dialect has included participants from several …

The Withdrawn And Sociable Behaviors Of Children With Specific And Nonspecific Language Impairment, Heather Haskin

Theses and Dissertations

Recently researchers have identified a group of children with language impairment (LI) whose IQ scores are below the typical IQ cutoff of 85 for specific language impairment (SLI) but above the IQ cutoff of 70 for intellectual disability (Weismer et al., 2000). This group is referred to as having nonspecific language impairment (NLI). Eleven children with NLI, eleven same-age peers with SLI, and eleven same-age typical peers were compared on withdrawn and sociable behaviors demonstrated in the classroom setting using the Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (Hart & Robinson, 1996). Three subtypes of withdrawal (solitary-active, solitary-passive, reticent) and two subtypes of …

Syntactic Complexity In Persons With Multiple Sclerosis, Katherine A. King

Theses and Dissertations

Several studies using standardized tests have provided evidence for the presence of language disorders in persons with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and have suggested that persons with MS may have language that is less complex. One aspect not thoroughly studied is that of syntactic complexity in naturalistic, conversational settings. The present study collected language samples from 10 adults with MS and 10 age-matched controls and compared scores on five quantitative measures derived from those samples. No significant differences were found between groups on any measure. This finding suggests that in mild cases of MS or during periods of remission, individuals may …

The Variability In Children With Specific Language Impairment Compared To Children With Typical Language Development, Heather Michelle Wilde

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether children with specific language impairment (SLI) are more or less variable than children with typically developing language. In addition, the within child variability for children with SLI was analyzed to consider how heterogeneity influenced identification of areas of linguistic strengths and weaknesses in this population. Fifty seven children with SLI, 7:0–11:0, and fifty seven of their peers with typically developing language were assessed using five subtests and a composite language score from the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL) (Carrow-Woolfolk, 1999). The children with typically developing language were significantly more variable …

Oncology Nurses' Perceptions Of Obstacles And Supportive Behaviors At The End Of Life, Renea L. Beckstrand, Josie Moore, Lynn Callister, A. Elaine Bond

Faculty Publications

Purpose/Objectives: To determine the magnitude of selected obstacles and supportive behaviors in providing end-of-life (EOL) care to patients with cancer as perceived by oncology nurses.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: National survey sample.

Sample: A geographically dispersed national random sample of 1,000 Oncology Nursing Society members who had cared for inpatient patients with cancer, could read English, and had experience in EOL care.

Methods: Eligible respondents received a 68-item questionnaire in the mail adapted from previous studies and were asked to rate the size of obstacles and supportive behavior items in caring for patients with cancer at the EOL.

Main Research …

A Perceptual Evaluation Of The Effect Of A Pseudopalate On Voiceless Obstruent Production And Motor Adaptation, Megan Ann Cannon Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Electropalatography (EPG) has proven to be a useful clinical and research tool for measuring tongue-to-palate contact. Research has shown sensorimotor adaptation to an EPG device may be possible following a short period of speech practice. This study was developed in order to better understand how a listeners' perception of speech clarity is effected by the presence of a relatively thin artificial pseudopalate in the speakers' oral cavity. Twenty listeners rated 220 speech stimuli on a visual analog scale ranging from normal to very distorted speech clarity. The stimuli included two different American English sentences. Speech clarity ratings were looked at …

The Effects Of Intensive Lower Limb Training On The Speech Of Patients With Parkinson's Disease, Lauren Fjeldsted Allen

Theses and Dissertations

Research has documented the positive effects of physical therapy as a treatment for limb motor symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Previous studies have shown that speech and voice measures can be reflective of overall cardiovascular health and fitness in young, middle-aged, and older adults. In healthy individuals, increased respiratory drive has been found to influence vocal function and speech articulation. The rationale for the present study was that improved lower limb function might lead to improvements in overall fitness, which then may influence speech in individuals with Parkinson's disease. To investigate this premise, 10 participants diagnosed with mild to …

The Effect Of Fatigue On Acoustic Measures Of Diphthongs In Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis, Kristi Lee Hollis

Theses and Dissertations

Although recent literature suggests that fatigue influences the communication of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), its relationship to acoustic measures of speech, specifically formant transitions during diphthongs, has not been explored. In the present study, 11 participants diagnosed with MS, two of whom were perceptually dysarthric, and 12 control subjects were recorded as they performed selected speech tasks in both the morning and the afternoon. Before each recording session, participants rated their fatigue level. The participants with MS gave significantly higher ratings of fatigue than the control group. The speakers with MS had longer diphthong durations in a non-fatigued state, …

Finish-A-Rhyme-Story: A Rhyme Cloze Assessment For Preschool Children, Kimberly Jeanne Condie

Theses and Dissertations

Educators need measurement tools to determine phonological awareness in young children. This study investigated the appropriateness of rhyme cloze tasks, referred to as Finish-a-Rhyme-Story items, which were designed to measure preschool and kindergarten children's early rhyme development. The rhyme cloze tasks required children to verbally complete a sentence by filling in a final rhyming word that matched a rhyme pattern highlighted in a short story that was read aloud to them. The task required rhyme awareness as well as comprehension of the language in the story. Twenty-four items were individually administered to preschool (n = 207) and kindergarten (n = …

Validity Of Seven Syntactic Analyses Performed By The Computerized Profiling Software, Stacy Lynn Minch

Theses and Dissertations

The Computerized Profiling (CP) software extracts several quantitative measures from a transcribed sample of a client's language. These analyses include the Mean Length of Utterance in Words (MLU-W) and in Morphemes (MLU-M), the Mean Syntactic Length (MSL), the Syntactic Complexity Score (SCS), Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS), the Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn), and the Picture-Elicited Screening Procedure for LARSP (PSL). The validity of these measures was examined by comparing them to the number of finite nominal, adverbial, and relative clauses contained in samples from 54 first-, 48 third-, and 48 fifth-grade students and 24 young adults. The DSS and SCS …

Psychometrically Equivalent Monosyllabic Words For Word Recognition Testing In Mongolian., Valarie Nicole Haslam

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to record a set of Mongolian monosyllabic word lists that could be used to obtain a word recognition score. A word list was developed of 190 frequently used monosyllabic words which had been selected by a group of raters. Native male and female Mongolian talkers were utilized to make digital recordings. The 190 words were divided into 10 lists of 19 words. The lists were presented to 20 normally hearing subjects at 10 different intensity levels ranging from -5 to 40 dB HL in 5 dB increments. An S-curve distribution was used to divide …

Phonemic Categorization Of Eight-To-Ten Year Old Children With An Articulation Disorder, Marjorie A. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Phonemic categorization is the ability to discriminate and organize speech sounds into categories. This ability begins soon after birth and continues to refine as an individual matures. An association between categorical labeling and phonological awareness has been reported. A strong link between perception and production has been established. The present study examined phonemic categorization of two groups of four listeners. Eight-to ten-year-old children with an articulation disorder were compared with typically speaking peers to determine if the two groups differed in their ability to categorize speech sounds. Behavioral and electrophysiological measures were used to ascertain if any differences existed. These …

A Comparison Of Seven Automated Measures Of Syntactic Complexity, Laura Elizabeth Wilde

Theses and Dissertations

This study compared seven syntactic measures which can be automatically generated by the Computerized Profiling (CP) software: Mean Length of Utterance in morphemes or words (MLUm or MLUw), Mean Syntactic Length (MSL), the Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn), the Picture Elicited Scoring Procedure (PESP) for the Language Analysis Remediation and Screening Profile (LARSP), the Syntactic Complexity Score (MSC) scoring of LARSP, and Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS). Language samples came from 192 children, 106 typically developing children, ages 5;6 to 11;2 and 86 children with language impairment, ages 5;6 to 11;1. Patterns of correlation were consistent for children with or without …

Developing And Implementing A Simulation Program: Baccalaureate Nursing Education, Patricia K. Ravert

Faculty Publications

Brigham Young University (BYU) is a private university (owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), established in 1875. The main campus is located in Provo, Utah, 45 miles south of Salt Lake City at the base of the Wasatch Mountains and serves approximately 33,000 students. The College of Nursing (CON) was founded in 1952. The CON offers two programs, the undergraduate Bachelor of Science and the Master of Science; the latter program prepares family nurse practitioners. The CON programs are approved by the Utah State Board of Nursing and are accredited by the National League for Nursing …

The Case Of The Silent Crippler, Amanda Orme, Karlen E. (Beth) Luthy

Faculty Publications

Thirteen-year-old “Stephanie” has been complaining of bilateral leg pain and increasing lower extremity weakness. Stephanie's teacher recently approached her parents to inform them of concerns that Stephanie is walking differently and seems off balance at school.

Psychometrically Equivalent Bisyllabic Word-Lists For Word Recognition Testing In Spanish, Anna M. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to develop, digitally record, evaluate, and psychometrically equate a set of Spanish bisyllabic word lists to be used for word recognition testing. Frequently used bisyllabic words were selected and digitally recorded by male and female Spanish talkers. Twenty normally hearing subjects were presented each word to find the percentage of words which they could correctly recognize. Each word was measured at 10 intensity levels (-5 to 40 dB HL) in increments of 5 dB. Chisquare analysis was used to determine the equivalency among the final four psychometrically equivalent word lists of 50 words, and …

Psychometrically Equivalent Bisyllabic Words For Speech Reception Threshold Testing In Mongolian, Kristen Nicole Gilbert

Theses and Dissertations

Speech audiometry is an important aspect of audiological testing. One aspect of speech audiometry is the measurement of an individual's speech reception threshold (SRT). Materials needed to measure the SRT are available in many languages; however, recorded materials for the Mongolian Language are not widely available. The purpose of this study was to develop a list of psychometrically equivalent words for evaluating the hearing abilities of native Mongolian speaking individuals. A set of 90 commonly used bisyllabic Mongolian words were digitally recorded by a male and female talker of Mongolian and then evaluated by 20 native Mongolian listeners. A final …

The Effect Of Simulated Nodules On Vocal Fold Movement In A Two Layer Synthetic Model, Rachelle Nevitt Rauma

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the differences between normal vocal fold vibration and the movement patterns of vocal folds with mass lesions by means of a synthetic model. The experimenter molded and cast three sets of vocal folds, representing normal structure, small nodules, and larger nodules. Acoustic, aerodynamic, and digital video signals were recorded and analyzed in order to quantify air flow and pressure, measure vibratory stability, and visually assess closure patterns across the three structural conditions. Statistical analysis revealed that the presence of vocal nodules resulted in a significantly higher onset pressure, fundamental frequency, airflow at onset, and offset pressure. However, …

The Relationship Of Language And Emotion Understanding To Sociable Behavior Of Children With Language Impairment, Jami L. Potter

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between emotion understanding and language ability to the sociable behavior in children with language impairment (LI) and their typically developing peers. Twenty-nine children with LI and 29 age- and gender-matched peers with typical language were used in this study. Sociability was rated by his/her classroom teacher using the Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (Hart & Robinson, 1996). Language ability was assessed using the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (Carrow-Woolfolk, 1999). To assess emotion understanding, each participant was asked to perform several structural dissemblance tasks. Children with LI received scores significantly lower …

The Social Strategies And Goals Of Children With Language Impairment And Typically Developing Children, Veronica Gardner

Theses and Dissertations

Past research has indicated that children with language impairment (LI) struggle more than children with typical language in their social interactions (Fujiki, Brinton, & Todd, 1999). The purpose of this study was to determine if the social strategies and goals of children with LI varied from those of children with typically developing language. A social goals questionnaire was used to determine the strategies the children verbally indicated that they would use. The children were then asked why they would use the selected strategy. The responses were then separated into goal categories. A chi-square analysis indicated that children with LI varied …

Automated Identification Of Adverbial Clauses In Child Language Samples, Jessica Celeste Clark

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, computer software has been used to assist in the analysis of clinical language samples. However, this software has been unable to accurately identify complex syntactic structures such as adverbial clauses. Complex structures, including the adverbial clause, are of interest in child language due to differences in the development of this structure between children with and without language impairment. The present study investigated the accuracy of new software, called Cx, in identifying adverbial clauses. Two separate collections of language samples were used. One collection included 10 children with language impairment, 10 age-matched peers, and 10 language-matched peers. A …

Associations Between Linguapalatal Contact Patterns And Spectral Moments For /S/, Leslie Leatham Bennett

Theses and Dissertations

Both acoustic and palatographic measures have proven to be useful in speech science research. However, it is not known how closely or consistently these two measures are associated with each other. Therefore, this study investigated the association between changes in tongue-to-palate contact patterns and simultaneous changes in acoustic spectral moments for the fricative /s/. Twenty adults were fitted with pseudopalates and repeated VCV nonsense syllables consisting of an initial schwa followed by the target consonant /s/ and ending with one of three corner vowels (/i, ɑ, u/). EPG (electropalatography) data were quantified using three custom numerical indices (s-narrow, s-wide, and …

Automated Identification Of Relative Clauses In Child Language Samples, Hali Anne Michaelis

Theses and Dissertations

Previously existing computer analysis programs have been unable to correctly identify many complex syntactic structures thus requiring further manual analysis by the clinician. Complex structures, including the relative clause, are of interest in child language samples due to the difference in development between children with and without language impairment. The purpose of this study was to assess the comparability of results from a new automated program, Cx, to results from manual identification of relative clauses. On language samples from 10 children with language impairment (LI), 10 language matched peers (LA), and 10 chronologically age matched peers (CA), a computerized analysis …

Psychometrically Equivalent Trisyllabic Words For Speech Reception Threshold Testing In Spanish, Laurel Anne Keller

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop, digitally record, evaluate, and equate Spanish trisyllabic words which could then be used in the measurement of the speech reception threshold. A selection of 90 frequently utilized trisyllabic words were selected and then digitally recorded by male and female talkers of Spanish and presented to 20 subjects with normal hearing beginning at 6 dB below their pure-tone average (PTA) and ascending in 2 dB increments until one of the following criteria had been met: (a) the participant responded correctly to 100% of the test items, or (b) the presentation level reached 16 …