Digital Commons Network^™

Multi-Scale Hybridized Topic Modeling: A Pipeline For Analyzing Unstructured Text Datasets Via Topic Modeling, Keyi Cheng, Stefan Inzer, Adrian Leung, Xiaoxian Shen, Michael Perlmutter, Michael Lindstrom, Joyce Chew, Todd Presner, Deanna Needell

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

We propose a multi-scale hybridized topic modeling method to find hidden topics from transcribed interviews more accurately and efficiently than traditional topic modeling methods. Our multi-scale hybridized topic modeling method (MSHTM) approaches data at different scales and performs topic modeling in a hierarchical way utilizing first a classical method, Nonnegative Matrix Factorization, and then a transformer-based method, BERTopic. It harnesses the strengths of both NMF and BERTopic. Our method can help researchers and the public better extract and interpret the interview information. Additionally, it provides insights for new indexing systems based on the topic level. We then deploy our method …

The Rider (2022-10-31), Verilu Infante

The Rider Archives

Vol.8 No.10

The Effects Of Teaching Undergraduate Freshmen Biology Courses In Spanish And English, Angela M. Chapman, Amy A. Weimer, Mirayda Torres-Avila, Cristina Trejo, Alexis Racelis

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

This study examines the attitudes and experiences of bilingual learners across two instructional types, identifying how the language of instruction affects the context of learning, and how the experience of the learners differs. Participants included 269 predominantly Hispanic undergraduate students in a general biology course attending a Hispanic Serving Institution in a bilingual community along the US-Mexico border. A bilingual faculty member, who recognizes the sociocultural and contextual factors that affect student learning and adopts a teaching philosophy founded in Culturally Responsive Practices (CRP) and valuing students’ Funds of Knowledge taught the class. This study utilized a mixed method design …

Language Proficiency And Use Of Interpreters/Translators In Fieldwork: A Survey Of Us-Based Anthropologists And Sociologists, Katarzyna Sepielak, Dawid K. Wladyka, William Yaworsky

Sociology Faculty Publications

The proficiency in vernacular has long been a methodological ethos pervasive among field researchers and—despite new dynamics of fieldwork—still overshadows discussions related to collaboration with translators and interpreters, which are either marginalized or hidden within the category of a ‘research assistant’. The purpose of this study is to take a step beyond anecdotal evidence and explore trends in language proficiency and use of translation services among US based field researchers who had conducted international or domestic studies in an area where a language other than English was present. We conducted the largest-to-date survey on the subject and analyzed 913 responses …

Trauma In The American Asylum Process: Experiences Of Immigrant Families Under The Migrant Protection Protocols, Alfonso Mercado, Amanda Venta, Frances Morales, Amanda Palomin, Luz M. Garcini, Michelle Silva, Melanie M. Domenech Rodriguez

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Objective:

Latinx asylum-seeking families report posttraumatic distress that is 161–204% higher than in non-immigrants, with adverse consequences for health and well-being. Recent U.S. policies have further embedded trauma in the asylum-seeking process by forcing families to remain in Mexico, enduring dire living conditions in tent encampments near the border while awaiting processing. These families are now entering the United States in large numbers. This article sheds light on their recent experiences and mental health needs, using a mixed methods-grounded theory design, presenting quantitative and qualitative data to describe the experiences of six asylum-seeking families who waited for 1–2 years in …

Lessons Learned: Effective Reading Practices For The Struggling Reader, Maria M. Salaiz, Marie Simonsson, Velma D. Menchaca

Organization and School Leadership Faculty Publications

This study investigated schools who received Reading First (RF) monies to determine if student reading achievement in kindergarten through second grade was a function of the funding earmarked for implementation of the RF practices. The researchers also examined a seven-year reading progress trend to observe changes in Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI) composite means of 37 participating campuses by grade level and by assessment measure from 2006 to 2012. Multiple linear regression and one-way repeated measures outputs were used for evaluating the evidence. A longitudinal progress trend was used over a seven-year period. Both a linear regression and a repeated …

Implementing The Who Caregivers Skills Training Program With Caregivers Of Autistic Children Via Telehealth In Rural Communities, Cecilia Montiel-Nava, Megan Tregnago, Jeanne Marshall, Kristin Sohl, Alicia Brewer Curran, Melissa Mahurin, Melissa Warne-Griggs, Who Cst Team, Pamela Dixon

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Background: For families with autistic children living in rural areas, limited access to services partly results from a shortage of providers and extensive travel time. Telehealth brings the possibility of implementing alternative delivery modalities of Parent Mediated Interventions (PMIs) with the potential to decrease barriers to accessing services. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of implementing the World Health Organization-Caregivers Skills Training program (WHO-CST) via an online, synchronous group format in rural Missouri.

Methods: We used a mixed methods design to collect qualitative and quantitative data from caregivers and program facilitators at baseline and the end of …

Engl 3360 - Introduction To Language Studies, Régine Pellicer

Open Educational Resources - Books

Language studies cover a large variety of situations as language is embedded in every aspect of our lives. Finding a book that would study all the possible topics related to language is impossible. Therefore, with our UTRGV librarians, we have assembled a free book that covers the basic linguistics concepts you need to know for this course and other linguistics courses. Linguistics concepts such as phonology or language acquisition are not subject to last minute discoveries and the principles remain the same. We hope you enjoy learning more about linguistics thanks to this free resource.

Age Of Diagnosis, Service Access, And Rights Of Autistic Individuals In Argentina: Caregivers Reports Of Changes And Similarities Across Time, María Cecilia Montenegro, Estefani Bernal, Sebastián Cukier, Daniel Valdez, Alexia Rattazzi, Gabriela Garrido, Analía Rosoli, Cristiane Silvestre Paula, Ricardo Garcia, Cecilia Montiel-Nava

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Background: Many countries have developed health initiatives to protect those with disabilities and developmental concerns in the past few years. However, the needs of autistic individuals are still short of being fulfilled. Partially due to limited research expenditure, which would allow bridging the gap between evidence and practice, the long time it takes to implement passed laws, and the limited operationalization of inclusive policies.

Objective: To quantitatively examine changes in the child's age at the time of caregiver's first developmental concerns and age of diagnosis of their autistic child across 5 years. Also, to address challenges experienced by caregivers (e.g., …

A Small Wolf Eats A Large Apple: An Experimental Investigation Of The Temporal Processing Of Conceptual Magnitudes, Carolina Alvarez

Theses and Dissertations

When individuals are presented with two options and are asked to select the conceptually larger item, a size congruity effect is usually observed. A size congruity effect is present in comparison tasks when congruent stimuli, whose physical size and conceptual size match, are compared much faster than incongruent stimuli, whose physical size and conceptual size do not match. The current study used images and words as stimuli to investigate the two competing hypotheses for the size congruity effect using delta plots. Positive delta plots were observed when response time for incongruent items was compared to congruent items, providing evidence of …

Latina Preservice Teachers Embodying Teacher Identity Through Improvisation, Zulema Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Latina preservice science teachers make the transition from science student to teacher is scant. This study aims to address this gap by exploring improvisation as a pedagogical tool in order for Latina pre-service teachers make meaning of the transition from student to teacher and what this might mean in terms of identity.

According to Pool et al. (2011), “[u]sing arts-based instruction in a preservice teacher program has promise for fostering better pedagogical decisions to benefit learners at every level.” (p. 9). The purpose of this case-study is not only to fill a gap in the literature but also to explore …

La Asignación De Género De Los Préstamos En El Sureste De Tejas [The Gender Assignment Of Loans In Southeast Texas], Elsa Guadalupe Magana Orozco

Theses and Dissertations

En esta investigación se examina la asignación de género de préstamos del inglés al español en el Valle del Río Grande de Tejas basándose en 32 entrevistas sociolingüistas del Corpus bilingüe del Valle (Christoffersen y Bessett, 2019). Se han llegado a reconocer tres posibles factores que determinan la asignación de género (masculino o femenino) de los préstamos, tales como el sexo biológico, el género fonológico y el género analógico (Poplack, 1982; DuBord, 2004; Montés-Alcalá y Lapidus Shin, 2011). Los resultados muestran un total de 692 préstamos la mayoría fue asignado el género masculino un 50%, mientras 33% fue asignado el …

From Nepantla To Aztlan: Testimonios Of Faculty Mothers Of Color With Disabilities, Maria Bridges

Theses and Dissertations

From Nepantla to Aztlan: This dissertation sheds light on the supports and barriers that tenured/tenure-track Faculty Mothers of Color with Disabilities experience/d in their careers as students and faculty. Drawing from Indigenous methodologies (Relationality, Decoloniality, and Autoethnography), Liberation Psychology (Decolonial Designs, Conscientização, and Psicología social de la liberación), and Critical Theories (Latina Critical Theory, Pedagogies of the Home, Autohistoria-teoría and Disability Critical Theory), the researcher uses testimonios/pláticas as a method of inquiry to uncover the experiences of eight Nepantleras, Faculty Mothers of Color with Disabilities. The researcher initially hypothesized that she would find supports and barriers that fell into 4 …

On Playful Language Divergences. Code-Switching Among Spanish-Portuguese Bilinguals, Ana M. Carvalho, Katherine Christoffersen

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

Uruguayan Portuguese, a variety of Portuguese which occurs in contact with Spanish in northern Uruguay along the Uruguayan-Brazilian border, has been perceived to be a mix of Portuguese and Spanish, in which speakers are either unable to separate languages or engage in code-switching for pragmatic purposes. Here, we analyze in-group communication using visual and verbal data extracted from video recordings of conversations among bilinguals in northern Uruguay, in order to investigate whether all language mixing is random or if speakers engage in pragmatically meaningful code-switching. We identify instances where Portuguese was inserted into Spanish segments with the intention to shift …

Health Through A Human Right Lens At The Us-Mexico Border: Increasing Access To Healthcare For Central American Immigrants, Carolina Venturi, Diana Guízar-Sánchez, María Elena Ramos-Tovar, Melissa Torres, Flor D. Avellaneda, Luis R. Torres-Hostos, Omar Matuk-Villazon

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

The number of immigrants seeking entry into the U.S. through asylum requests or through irregular means is increasing, and most come from the Northern Triangle of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Immigrants come fleeing extreme poverty, violence, health and social inequities, and drastic climate changes. Most had limited access to healthcare at home, and even more limited care along the journey. Those that are allowed entry into the U.S., are confronted with feeling unwelcome in many communities, having to navigate an array of local, state, and federal laws that regulate access to healthcare. We need immigration policies that preserve the …

A Study Of South Texas English Learners’ Academic Achievement: A Function Of Sense Of Belonging, Acculturation, And Student Perception Of Teacher-Student Relationships, Cynthia B. Olivarez

Theses and Dissertations

This study looks at a group of Hispanic English Learners from a region in deep South Texas that is situated along the U.S.-Mexico border, and how their sense of belonging, acculturation, and their perception of the teacher-student relationship impacts academic achievement on the STAAR End-of-Course state assessments for English I and English II.There are limited studies on this population of students and these independent variables. Results from this study would help educators and school leaders assess student needs to improve student learning and close academic achievement gaps.

An Analysis Of Income And Healthcare Disparities Across Minority Populations By Incorporating Community Resource Collaboration In Public Policy, Ohioze O. Obadan

Theses and Dissertations

There is widespread literature on the connection between public policy, resource allocation, and income and health inequalities among minority communities. While various services are created to help communities, the distribution and allocation of these services remain elusive, without any collaboration towards a common objective among public policy leaders. This paper investigates the disparities in the access to healthcare within Florida, a state selected because of its documented problems with healthcare access. This thesis research analyzes the income and health inequalities in minority populations in Florida by integrating community resource collaboration into public policy. The study used secondary data from public …

Composing Her Growing Identities As A Mexican American, Xiaodi Zhou

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This article studies the growing and changing cultural identifications of one early adolescent Mexican American girl as represented by her engagements with literacy. Her writing behaviors in particular manifested a changing cultural identity that reacted to and represented her response to a changing world. Her bilingualism and biculturalism manifested a dialogic innervation of distinct voices and truths, particularly set in the Trump-era United States. Through a theoretical framework of cultural hybridity and bordered identity, this study analyzes the complex linguistic, developmental, and cultural identities of a young Mexican American woman in the rural South.

Reverse-Coded Items Do Not Work In Spanish: Data From Four Samples Using Established Measures, Amanda Venta, Cassandra A. Bailey, Jesse Walker, Alfonso Mercado, Cecilia Colunga-Rodríguez, Mario Ángel-González, Gabriel Davalos-Picazo

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

The potential for suboptimal psychometric performance of reverse-coded items may be particularly pronounced when scales are translated and administered in Spanish with these problems exacerbated in youth respondents. This is a significant concern, given the rapid rise in Hispanic-American and Spanish-speaking individuals in the US and their rightful, growing representation in psychological research and clinical care. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric performance of reverse-coded items across four Spanish-speaking samples spanning developmental stages including youth, college students, and parents (N = 1,084; Adolescents n = 107; M = 19.79; SD = 2.09; 41.1% female; Caregivers …

Justice And The Mathematics Classroom: Realizing The Goals Of The Amte Standards For Preparing Teachers Of Mathematics, Shandy Hauk, Marilyn Strutchens, Dorothy Y. White, Jennifer Bay-Williams, Jenq Jong Tsay, Billy Jackson

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

This chapter is an introduction to justice in the post-secondary context of mathematics courses for prospective teachers. The chapter is a research-to-practice report (i.e., it describes an aspect of instruction and discusses how it is informed by, connects to, or is illustrative of findings from research). While the reader might be any type of mathematics teacher educator, the focus here is supporting those who teach mathematics content courses for elementary school teacher candidates. In addition to having an effect on discipline-specific knowledge, college mathematics classes contribute to the ways candidates communicate in/with/through mathematics in working with children. The chapter includes …

Translanguaging Practices Of Chinese/English Bilingual Engineers’ Communications In The Workplace, Juan Du, Xiaodi Zhou

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Existing literature argues for the urgent need to improve workplace and professional communication in the engineering field across the world. This paper reports on a study examining Chinese/English bilingual engineers’ translanguaging practices in their communications in English-speaking high-tech corporations in the United States. Evidence showed that bilingual engineers translanguaged extensively to construct meaning to meet the diverse communication needs at their workplace, which enables them to demonstrate their professional talents and skills. However, when English was the sole language for the interaction, they struggled to sound like English native speakers to convey their ideas and present their work, which disadvantaged …

Intersections Of Identity, Culture, And Curriculum On The Threshold Of A Latinx Transforming Edd Program At A Hispanic Serving Institution, Caroline A. Hesse, Laura M. Jewett

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

A constellation of emergent research is devoted to critiquing the institutional identities of Hispanic Serving institutions (HSIs) as primarily Hispanic-enrolling institutions and then exploring frameworks and practices aimed at transforming them into what García (2019) terms Latinx-serving institutions. The purpose of this essay is to explore the intersections of culturally relevant, responsive, and sustaining approaches and as potentially decolonizing curricular spaces of EdD program (re)design at HSIs. This essay draws from two qualitative studies exploring critical approaches to curriculum and pedagogy and program redesign in order to re-align questions about serving Latinx students toward practices of critical consciousness situated at …

Female Students’ Perception Of Stem Identity At Utrgv, Kristen L. Hallas

Honors Theses

Despite the increase in representation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate programs, they are still underrepresented in the workforce. Recent statistics published by the National Science Foundation show that the rate of females and Hispanic/Latina females earning degrees does not match the rate in which they earn STEM occupations, especially advanced degrees. Moreover, out of early career doctorate holders, women are less likely to hold post-doctoral scholar positions and are more likely to hold an academic, non-tenure track position. In response to these disparities, I sought to identify the strongest motivators driving the ambition of female …

Paralinguistic And Rhetorical Capabilities Of Emojis In Marketing Communication, Jacob Christopher Almaguer

Theses and Dissertations

Consumers and social media marketers have over 3,000 emojis at their fingertips. Despite the popularity of emojis on social media, marketing research on emojis remains limited. Extant marketing research on emojis that does exist primarily focuses on the emotional and reinforcement capabilities, a remnant of the limitations of the emoticon ancestor, and largely ignores the additional paralinguistic and rhetorical potential of emojis. In this dissertation, emojis as a paralanguage are explored with a particular focus on the creation of meaning on social media (Essay 1), and emojis as a full (Essay 2) and partial (Essay 3) substitute for text in …

A Critical Content Analysis: Representation Of The Experiences Of Emergent Bilingual Mexican American Children In Literature, Cynthia Villarreal Cantu

Theses and Dissertations

This critical content analysis utilized the children's books Efrén Divided, The Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition, and They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems. As I read the literature, I documented how children's literature can accurately influence the representation of emergent bilingual Mexican American children in literature. This qualitative study demonstrated the need for authentic children’s literature that embraces a culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP). After analyzing the books, I realized that the power of literacy and language could help students form connections to their identity, agency, and power. Educators, administrators, and the community can include literacy in the …

Understanding The Intersectionality Of Bilingual Identities: Language And Biliteracy In Emergent Bilinguals, Natalia Carrillo

Theses and Dissertations

Cummins (2018) argued that “emergent bilingual students struggle, often unsuccessfully, to escape from the externally imposed identity cocoon within which they find themselves” (p. x). This struggle leads to negative views and deficit thinking approaches to educating these students. In today’s educational context, meeting the cognitive needs of bilingual students is not sufficient. Schools must provide learning opportunities to affirm their identities to support their academic success. Research indicates that we must develop a deep understanding of the intersectionality of language, students’ identity construction, and language use (Norton, 2010; Potowski, 2007; Poza, 2016).

This study aimed to examine …

Discourses Surrounding Specific Learning Disability In Reading: An Exploration Across Special Education Policies, Martha M. Briseno

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with disabilities have been subjected to deficit models that have led to unfair treatment, exclusion, and an unfitting education for years. Historical factors have informed policies toward the educational treatment and rights of individuals with disabilities in the United States since the 1600s. Before the enactment of The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) in 1975, it was common practice for children with disabilities to be segregated, excluded, and given an unsuitable education in comparison to their nondisabled counterparts. Throughout history, the language used in legislation and educational documents have compartmentalized students with disabilities based on …

Huérfanos: A Memoir, Mauricio Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

If you look hard enough, there are stories of children in foster care. Tales of their plight, longing for love, the love of their parents, love from the foster care system, or a foster care family. However, despite their existence, so much is left in the unknown. The story of how this child’s life came into the world, what outcomes transpired for a parent to give up a child, and the journey the child may have to take for closure. Answers to the why. Why was I given up, why was I not sought out, why did my family …

What Are The Testimonios Of Immigrant Students In A South Texas Middle School And How Do Their Narratives Of Schooling Emerge In Their Stories?, Jessica Marie Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

This research follows the tenets of qualitative-interpretivist research. The study focused on the following question: What are the testimonios of immigrant students in a middle school and how do their narratives of schooling emerge in their stories? The stories of immigrant students’ educational experiences attending U.S. schools, in particular South Texas Middle School, and their parent’s discourses on border crossings were taken via testimonio. The methodology was constructed from the theoretical frames of four emancipatory types of frameworks used, that consisted of Critical Race Theory, Latino/Latina Critical Theory, Subtractive Schooling, and Funds of Knowledge. …

A Case Study On Critical Consciousness In Dual Language Bilingual Education, Caroline A. Hesse

Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic case study explores how dual language bilingual education (DLBE) educators understand, enact, and acquire their perceptions of and tools to educate for critical consciousness, especially in relation to culturally and linguistically diverse students who are often labeled as “emergent bilinguals”, “native Spanish speakers” and/or “ELLs”. The present study responds to Cervantes-Soon’s (2014) call for attention to critical consciousness in DLBE. Hence, the purpose is to gain insight into the role of critical consciousness in DLBE educators’ work. The findings inform practitioners’ as well as scholars’ work, and lend insight for those who study critical consciousness, …