Digital Commons Network^™

A Study Of The Tags, An Enduring Teaching Tool: Teachers’ Perspectives On The Teacher Assessment Of Grammatical Structures Teaching Practices And Application, Andrea Martin

Independent Studies and Capstones

This paper is studied look at the Teacher’s Assessment of Grammatical Structures (TAGS), Teacher Assessment of Spoken Language (TASL), and Cottage Acquisition Scales for Listening, Language and Speech (CASLLS) criterion-referenced language assessments as well as an inquiry into how teachers of the deaf use the TAGS currently as a teaching tool.

Effect Of Auditory Processing On The Preference Of Monaural Amplification For Adults With Symmetrical Hearing Loss, Valerie Danielle Lynch

Independent Studies and Capstones

The purpose of this project was to determine if subjects with symmetrical hearing loss who prefer a monaural hearing aid fit to a binaural hearing aid fit may demonstrate an auditory processing disorder causing them to experience binaural interference when fit binaurally.

An Examination Of Cued Speech As A Tool For Language, Literacy, And Bilingualism For Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing, Sarah Elizabeth Reynolds

Independent Studies and Capstones

This study examines the purpose and uses of Cued Speech, its benefits and limitations, and its effectiveness as a tool for language, literacy, and bilingualism.

An Administrator's Guide To Implementing Effective Dual Immersion Programs, Melanie Dawn Mcgrath

Theses Digitization Project

This project fills a void in the area of dual immersion program implementation. Although there are general guidelines that exist, there is a paucity of specific guidelines that explicitly delineate the implementation of these critical components in the current accountability climate. We need to move beyond general categories and tailor them to the unique needs program models within situated contexts.

Determining The Efficacy Of Summer School On Maintaining Hearing-Impaired Children’S Language Levels, Paula Anne Mathias

Independent Studies and Capstones

This paper discusses the process of determining the efficacy of summer school on maintaining hearing-impaired children’s language levels.

Evaluating Social Skills In Long Term Cochlear Implant Recipients, Amy Lee Bell

Independent Studies and Capstones

A longitudinal study observing cochlear implant recipients' social skills using ratings from their parents and the students themselves over time. The study looked at how adolescents using cochlear implants rate their own social skills compared to an age matched normative group of hearing students, and compared these ratings with social skills ratings obtained from their parents. The study also compared social ratings in adolescence to previous ratings of the same children obtained in elementary school.

Activities For Social Skills Development In Deaf Children Preparing To Enter The Mainstream, Dorie L. Noll

Independent Studies and Capstones

A sample of regular education teachers was surveyed to assess the social skills of recently mainstreamed students from oral deaf programs in their classrooms. In addition, a curriculum of social skills activities was developed to help prepare students from oral deaf schools to enter the mainstream.

Advancing Transdisciplinary And Translational Research Practice: Issues And Models Of Doctoral Education In Public Health, Linda Neuhauser, Dawn M. Richardson, Sonja Mackenzie, Meredith Minkler

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Finding solutions to complex health problems, such as obesity, violence, and climate change, will require radical changes in cross-disciplinary education, research, and practice. The fundamental determinants of health include many interrelated factors such as poverty, culture, education, environment, and government policies. However, traditional public health training has tended to focus more narrowly on diseases and risk factors, and has not adequately leveraged the rich contributions of sociology, anthropology, economics, geography, communication, political science, and other disciplines. Further, students are often not sufficiently trained to work across sectors to translate research findings into effective, large-scale sustainable actions. During the past 2 …

Systems Biology By The Rules: Hybrid Intelligent Systems For Pathway Modeling And Discovery, William Bosl

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Expert knowledge in journal articles is an important source of data for reconstructing biological pathways and creating new hypotheses. An important need for medical research is to integrate this data with high throughput sources to build useful models that span several scales. Researchers traditionally use mental models of pathways to integrate information and development new hypotheses. Unfortunately, the amount of information is often overwhelming and these are inadequate for predicting the dynamic response of complex pathways. Hierarchical computational models that allow exploration of semi-quantitative dynamics are useful systems biology tools for theoreticians, experimentalists and clinicians and may provide a …

Preverbal Language Abilities In Monozygotic And Dizygotic Twins, Sara Albrecht

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

This study examined prelinguistic language development of twins by delineating: differences from developmental expectations; twin-twin communication and twin-mother communication differences; and monozygotic-dizygotic differences. Nine families with twins between seven and 16 months of age participated in the study. Five families had dizygotic twins, three of which were male/female pairs, and four families had monozygotic twins, only one of which was female. The primary caregiver completed a developmental history. Data consisted of Dares Primitive Speech Acts (PSA) coding during in-home video-taping (30 minute sessions) with a second coding from the video material, and maternal reporting of vocabulary and communication using the …

Hemispheric Differences In Indexical Specificity Effects In Spoken Word Recognition, Julio Gonza´Lez, Conor T. Mclennan

Psychology Faculty Publications

Variability in talker identity, one type of indexical variation, has demonstrable effects on the speed and accuracy of spoken word recognition. Furthermore, neuropsychological evidence suggests that indexical and linguistic information may be represented and processed differently in the 2 cerebral hemispheres, and is consistent with findings from the visual domain. For example, in visual word recognition, changes in font affect processing differently depending on which hemisphere initially processes the input. The present study examined whether hemispheric differences exist in spoken language as well. In 4 long-term repetition-priming experiments, the authors examined responses to stimuli that were primed by stimuli that …

The Multimodal Production Of Common Ground Understandings In Intercultural Flight Training, Saeko Nomura, Edwin Hutchins

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

In this paper we show how Japanese airline pilots and American flight instructors overcome pronounced differences in language and culture and achieve effective collaboration. They do this by drawing on a deep body of shared professional pilot culture and by exploiting richly multimodality situated communication practices to produce common ground understandings.

"Public-Private" Health Law: Multiple Directions In Public Health, Nan D. Hunter

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Psychiatric Rating Scales In Urdu: A Systematic Review, Syed Ahmer, Rafey A. Faruqui, Anita Aijaz

Department of Psychiatry

Background: Researchers setting out to conduct research employing questionnaires in non-English speaking populations need instruments that have been validated in the indigenous languages. In this study we have tried to review the literature on the status of cross-cultural and/or criterion validity of all the questionnaires measuring psychiatric symptoms available in Urdu language.Methods: A search of Medline, Embase, PsycINFO and http://www.pakmedinet.com was conducted using the search terms; Urdu psychiatric rating scale, and Urdu and Psychiatry. References of retrieved articles were searched. Only studies describing either cross-cultural or criterion validation of a questionnaire in Urdu measuring psychiatric symptoms were included.Results: Thirty two …

Reducing Disparities Beginning In Early Childhood: Short Takes No. 4, Kay Johnson, Suzanne Theberge, Copyright © 2007 By The National Center For Children In Poverty; Columbia University Mailman School Of Public Health Ny

Mickey Leland Center Information Portal

Research shows that many disparities in health and well-being are rooted in early childhood. These disparities reflect gaps in access to services, unequal treatment, adverse congenital health conditions, and exposures in the early years linked to elevated community and family risks.1 Early health risks and conditions can have long-range implications for physical, emotional, and intellectual development as well as health. Their contribution to disparities in health status, disabilities, and educational achievement is well documented.2 But many risks can be addressed in the early years, starting with quality prenatal care and interventions in the earliest stages of life. Thus, literally, reducing …

Assessing Effectiveness Of The Differential Assessment Of Autism And Other Developmental Disorders (Daadd) As A Diagnostic Screening Instrument, Caroline Dahlstrom

Masters Theses

Children with developmental disorders were thought to be more similar than different in the past (Greenspan & Wieder, 1998). Many developmental disorders are a result of neurological differences and/or delays in a child's acquisition of general skills and can present similarly at a young age (Richard & Calvert, 2003). Therefore, there has recently been an emphasis on the need for developmental disorders to be differentiated because of the differences being noted. Many assessment tools, including specialized checklists, interview formats, and standardized tests used to assist in the diagnosis of developmental disorders are available. The Differential Assessment of Autism and other …

The Impact Of A Community Health Advisor-Based Intervention On Self-Reported Frequency Of Dental Visits In A Rural, Low-Income African American Alabama Community, Stephen J. Clarke

All ETDs from UAB

Oral health disparities are wide and increasing for rural Southern African- Americans. This project trained 13 experienced Community Health Advisors (CHAs) from Uniontown, Alabama, in the basics of oral health, including regular dental visits, and assigned them to spread this information among their fellow community members. We tested whether a 1-year CHA-based oral health education intervention was associated with increased routine/preventive use of available dental services as measured by pre-post self-report, relative to a comparison community. We also hypothesized that any detected association between the intervention and use of dental services was mediated by attitudes toward dental visits. No direct …

Reducing The Social Exclusion Of Girls, Kelly Hallman, Eva Roca

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Across the globe, girls are systematically excluded from participation in social, economic, and political life. The absence of girls in these arenas has implications not only for the young women themselves but also for society as a whole, exacerbating poverty and perpetuating disparities in health, education, and economic achievement. Internationally, this marginalization makes it difficult or impossible for some countries to achieve society-wide goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals identified by the United Nations as benchmarks to reduce poverty. For a number of years, the Population Council has been studying the causes and effects of girls’ social exclusion in …

The Impact Of The User Board Majority Requirement On The Governance Of Community Health Centers, Nancy J. Bracken

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

The federal requirement that 51 percent of the governing boards of federally funded community health centers must be users of the health center was originally intended to insure that the community served had a voice in the services provided. This qualitative study attempted to determine the perceptions of key stakeholders of the impact of the requirement on the effectiveness of governing boards, as well as how boards develop and measure effectiveness. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews with five CEOs and five Board Chairs revealed few concerns about the challenges of complying with the requirement. Board training in South Carolina appears to be …

Acculturative Stress, Social Support, And Coping: Relations To Psychological Adjustment Among Mexican American College Students, Lisa J. Crockett, Maria I. Iturbide, Rosalie A. Torres Stone, Meredith Mcginley, Marcela Raffaelli, Gustavo Carlo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study examined the relations between acculturative stress and psychological functioning, as well as the protective role of social support and coping style, in a sample of 148 Mexican American college students (67% female, 33% male; mean age = 23.05 years, SD = 3.33). In bivariate analyses, acculturative stress was associated with higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Moreover, active coping was associated with better adjustment (lower depression), whereas avoidant coping predicted poorer adjustment (higher levels of depression and anxiety). Tests of interaction effects indicated that parental support and active coping buffered the effects of high acculturative stress on …

When Quantity Trumps Number: Discrimination Experiments In Cotton-Top Tamarins (Saguinus Oedipus) And Common Marmosets (Callithrix Jacchus), Jeffrey R. Stevens, Justin N. Wood, Marc D. Hauser

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The capacity for non-linguistic, numerical discrimination has been well characterized in non-human animals, with recent studies providing careful controls for nonnumerical confounds such as continuous extent, density, and quantity. More poorly understood are the conditions under which animals use numerical versus nonnumerical quantification, and the nature of the relation between these two systems. Here we test whether cotton- top tamarins and common marmosets can discriminate between two quantities on the basis of the amount of food rather than on number. In three experiments, we show that when choosing between arrays containing different numbers and sizes of food objects, both species …

A Human Factors Analysis Of Miscommunication Between Pilots And Air Traffic Controllers In Taiwan, Wen-Jiang Chang, Eric Min-Yang Wang, Wen-Ling Tsai, Wei Hsu, Jin-Ru Yen, Hero Ho

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2007

The objective of this research was to analyze the human factors, which involved in specific types of miscommunication between pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCs). The study was based on the transcripts of pilot and ATC communication, which including the thirty flight incidents filed by local ATC authority. The research team consisted of an experienced air traffic controller, a pilot, and professors of linguistics, transportation management, human factors, and several assistants. The cases were analyzed and discussed thoroughly; as a result, seventeen types of communication error were identified from these incidents. Among these communication errors, three of seventeen types were …

Changing Transitions To Adulthood In Vietnam's Remote Northern Uplands: A Focus On Ethnic Minority Youth And Their Families, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, Hac Van Vinh, Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Ethnic minorities, who tend to live in remote mountainous areas, account for 15 percent of Vietnam’s 84 million total population and, according to a recent estimate, 61 percent of them are poor. Evidence suggests that despite recent efforts by the Government of Vietnam to promote poverty reduction in remote areas, a majority of ethnic minorities have not yet experienced positive change, contrary to their Kinh (ethnic Vietnamese) neighbors who have enjoyed substantial improvement in living standards. To identify program interventions that promote healthy human development and, in turn, positively affect Vietnam’s economic growth, it is crucial to have a comprehensive …

Unruly Corporeality: Aids, Immigration And The Imagined Australian Body, Zoë Anderson

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

Particular bodies within the Australian nation can be seen to threaten to disrupt and destabilize dominant notions of cultural citizenship. Understood through intricate intersections of ethnicity, gender and sexuality, 'Australianness' - and its correlation to the geographical nation - is constantly monitored. Crucial here is the manner in which boundaries of whiteness, and 'true Australianess', are reconstituted, fuelling avoidance of the ambiguities of national belonging and ensuring the enduring pathologisation of the 'un'Australian. In particular, discursive associations between HIV/AIDS and the 'foreign' as perceived contaminates to the nation operate to reinforce these understandings. Here, the threat of disease both informs, …

A Program Evaluation Research Study On The Implementation Of The Mentors In Violence Prevention Program In A Public High School: A Dissertation, Nancy G. Beardall

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Program is the subject of this research study. MVP is a high school leadership and mentoring program that focuses on promoting gender respect and preventing harassment, sexual harassment and teen dating abuse in middle schools and high schools. This program evaluation study of the MVP program utilizes both quantitative and qualitative data. The findings suggest the MVP training supports the mentors in their ability to become active bystanders and leaders in this work, not only in the short term and while they are in the program, but over the long term, when they are …

Reducing Liver Cancer Disparities: A Community-Based Hepatitis-B Prevention Program For Asian-American Communities, Chiehwen E. Hsu, Louis Chih-Hung Liu, Hee-Soon Juon, Yu-Wen Chiu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: Several Asian-American groups are at a higher risk of dying of liver diseases attributable to hepatitis-B infection. This culturally diverse community should be well informed of and protected against liver diseases. The present study assesses the knowledge of hepatitis B before and after a hepatitis-B educational program and determines the infection status of an Asian community.

METHODS: Nine Asian communities of Montgomery County, MD, enrolled in the hepatitis-B prevention program between 2005 and 2006. They attended culturally tailored lectures on prevention, completed self-administered pre- and posttests, and received blood screening for the disease.

RESULTS: More than 800 Asian Americans …

The Clinical Utility Of Mlu And Ipsyn For Aae-Speaking Children, Emily Lee Jones

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical utility of two assessment measures for one group of nonstandard English dialect speakers, that of African-American English- (AAE) speaking children. The measures were mean length of utterance (MLU) and Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn). The clinical utility of these measures was examined by comparing MLU and IPSyn values of three different groups of AAE speakers to determine if these measures are influenced by a child’s socio-economic status, dialect status, and/or clinical language status. An item analysis was also completed for IPSyn to determine if the items on this tool are …

Management Of Complications, Pregnancy, Childbirth And The Postpartum Period In The Presence Of Fgm/C, Kenya Ministry Of Health

Reproductive Health

This reference manual is intended for health-care providers in Kenya working among communities that have a high prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and those who encounter women and/or girls who have undergone the practice. It was designed particularly for use by nonspecialist clinicians, including nurses/midwives, clinical officers, district medical officers, postgraduate medical officers, and medical students. It is also a resource for medical and other health-service providers at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, particularly those working in areas with a high prevalence of FGM/C. Since the evidence base for effective clinical practice is constantly evolving, readers are encouraged to …

Knowledge, Practice, And Coverage (Kpc) Survey: Baseline Report, Bagh District, Munir Afridi, Saman Naz, Nayyer Munir

Reproductive Health

The Primary Healthcare Revitalization, Integration, and Decentralization in Earthquake-affected Areas (PRIDE) program is designed to improve primary health-care services and health outcomes for populations in Bagh and Mansehra districts in northern Pakistan that were affected by the devastating earthquake that struck on October 8, 2005. The project aims to strengthen the financial and human resource management capacities of district health authorities and primary health-care providers. Access to and quality of primary health-care services will be improved through an essential package of health services and improved skills of primary health-care personnel. Community demand for quality services will be improved through an …

Knowledge, Practice, And Coverage (Kpc) Survey: Baseline Report, Mansehra District, Munir Afridi, Saman Naz, Nayyer Munir

Reproductive Health

The Primary Healthcare Revitalization, Integration, and Decentralization in Earthquake-affected Areas (PRIDE) program is designed to improve primary health-care services and health outcomes for populations in Bagh and Mansehra districts in northern Pakistan that were affected by the devastating earthquake that struck on October 8, 2005. The project aims to strengthen the financial and human resource management capacities of district health authorities and primary health-care providers. Access to and quality of primary health-care services will be improved through an essential package of health services and improved skills of primary health-care personnel. Community demand for quality services will be improved through an …