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Emergent Motor-Vocal Coordination In Pre-Linguistic Infants, Sarah M. Sanborn

Doctoral Dissertations

In adults, speech and gesture are very much intertwined with each other, but it remains unclear how this connection forms in the developing infant. Iverson and Thelen (1999) proposed that the speech-gesture linkage emerges between 6-9 months, when rhythmic motor movements and babbling are at their peak; however, few published studies have tested the speech-gesture theory. A major purpose of the current study is to provide support for the Iverson and Thelen theory using longitudinal data; in addition, this study explores how posture and social context affect motor-vocal coordination. Fifteen infants were videotaped in their homes at 6, 7, 8, …

The Role Of Maternal Input In Early Word Order Acquisition: The Case Of Mandarin Chinese, Margaret Ya-Ching Yeh

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examined the role of maternal input in word order acquisition of Mandarin-speaking children from the one-word to multi-word stages. Four questions about the role of maternal input were addressed: frequency effects, age-related changes, utterance type effects, and verb diversity effects. Predictions for each question were made based on the generativist and constructivist accounts. Spontaneous speech of 40 Mandarin-speaking mother-child dyads selected from CHILDES Zhou corpus, with 10 dyads in each of four age groups: 14-, 20-, 26-, and 32-month-olds, were coded for word order, utterance type, and verb type. Both maternal and child distributions were compared for analyses. …

Speech Acts And Silencing: A Social Account Of Speech Action And Restrictions On Speech, Casey R. Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

I develop a new, socially sensitive, account of conversation and assertion. According to traditional speech act theory, an utterance is a particular conversational move, like a question or a promise, when it has a particular kind of force. Traditionally, this force – called illocutionary force – has been understood in terms of various conditions, norms, and constraints that utterances either meet or fail to meet. This tradition has led some philosophers to attempt to account for this force by way of a constitutive norm. In my first two chapters, I argue that this way of understanding conversational moves is misguided, …

Crystallized Intelligence And Openness To Experience: Drawing On Intellectual-Investment Theories To Predict Job Performance Longitudinally, Christopher B. Patton

Doctoral Dissertations

Various approaches to conceptualizing and measuring intelligence have been utilized throughout history. Despite the plethora of intelligence theories, the field of industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology has been largely dominated by the psychometric tradition of intelligence and Spearman's general factor theory of intelligence (g). Moreover, other approaches to intelligence (e.g., the developmental perspective) have generally been ignored by I-O psychology. This is puzzling given the widespread acceptance among I-O psychologists of intelligence's substantial and increasing importance in the modern workplace.

Supported by a vast amount of research, g has often been recognized as the single best predictor of …

A Literary And Psychological Portrait Of The Belle Epoque, James Difilippo

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation depicts the Belle Epoque (1870-1914) whose Zeitgeist was epitomized by the motto, fluctuat, nec mergitur (Willms 339). The transformation in the spirit of Europe revealed the emergence of the conscious, the influence of the unconscious and the discovery of psychoanalysis. Although the fin de siècle was a period of degeneration, the epoch also represented hope for a new beginning. The Belle Epoque in Paris displayed a coat of arms that represented a metaphorical emblem of a tumultuous, sailing ship having an unattainable destination. The national self-awareness engendered a collective pathology, self-confidence and pride that characterized the consciousness of …

Electrophysiological Correlates Of Speech Perception In Young Children: Associations Among Erp, Nonword Repetition And Language, Vanessa Marie Harwood

Doctoral Dissertations

Event Related Potentials (ERP) recorded during infancy and early childhood have been used to

predict future language outcomes in children. Furthermore, there is recent evidence that

nonword repetition (NWR) can be used to identify language delay in toddlers. This investigation

assesses the relationships among ERP markers of sensitivity to phonemic stimuli, nonword

repetition, and language to determine if the aforementioned methodologies could improve

diagnostic measures for young children. Forty children between the ages of 24 to 48 months

participated in a series of behavioral speech and language measures including the mCDI-2, the

PLS-5, the GFTA-2 and conventional language sampling. ERPs …

Narrative And Horticultural Imperative: Predicting Discourse Ability In Traumatic Brain Injury From Cognitive And Communicative Factors, Karen Le

Doctoral Dissertations

Purpose: The goal of the current research study was to advance our knowledge of cognitive-communicative disorders following traumatic brain injury (TBI) by identifying the cognitive and communicative processes underlying narrative discourse ability. The study 1) examined the role of working memory (WM) and inferencing in narrative discourse, 2) tested key assumptions posited by the Structure Building Framework (SBF; Gernsbacher, 1990), a cognitive model of normative discourse comprehension and 3) attempted to disambiguate the relationship between discourse comprehension and discourse production.

Methods: Forty-four native English speakers participated, comprising 21 individuals with TBI, all with closed-head injuries, and 23 non-brain-injured (NBI) …

Language (Re)Appropriation In The Francophone Caribbean Region: Challenges And Perspectives, Marky Jean-Pierre

Doctoral Dissertations

The development of the subject depends on whether the subject re-appropriates his/her creation or remains alienated by it. In Material Culture and Mass Consumption. Daniel Miller describes the challenges and perspectives for the subject to re-appropriate his/her creation and what happens when he or she remains alienated by it. Miller combines the work of Hegel, Marx, Simmel, and Munn in an attempt to frame his theory of culture. The key concept that reverberates throughout Miller’s reflection on Hegel, Marx, Simmel, and Munn is his notion of “objectification;” however, an analysis of his work suggests that perhaps Miller’s greatest achievement …

Prosodic Phrasing In Adolescents With High Functioning Autism: Production Following Intervention And Under Dual Load Conditions, Jessica Mayo

Doctoral Dissertations

Atypical expressive prosody is reported as a consistent challenge for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and is associated with a broad set of clinical impairments including perceptions of oddness from others. Theories of atypical prosody in ASD have attributed these impairments to the broader symptoms of ASD, particularly in the social domain. Using precise analysis of speech timing, the current study examined associations between expressive prosodic phrasing and more general cognitive processes in a group of adolescents with High Functioning Autism (HFA) and an age- and IQ- matched typically developing (TD) control group. Participants completed a psycholinguistics task during …

Encoding Of Shape And Repetition Rate In The Rat Auditory Cortex, Christopher M. Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

Virtually all animals use time-varying (temporal) cues to categorize sounds, communicate and act appropriately within their environments. In mammals, the auditory cortices are essential for behavioral discrimination of temporal cues and yet the neural mechanisms underlying this ability remain unknown. Primary (A1) and ventral non-primary auditory cortical fields are physiologically and anatomically organized and specialized to represent distinct spectral and spatial cues in sound. The current study investigates cortical field differences for encoding envelope shape and periodicity in sound. We use shuffled correlation analysis to quantify reliability, precision (jitter), and temporal coding fraction of single neuron spike timing responses to …

Horizons Of Difference: Polyphonous Intercultural Literature From Germany [Horizonte Der Differenz: Polyphone Interkulturelle Literatur In Deutschland], Nicole Coleman

Doctoral Dissertations

In my dissertation, I ask in what way intercultural literature contributes to the re-definition of ‘Germanness.’ I define intercultural literature as an inclusive term encompassing all texts that are written and read in Germany, thus uncoupling the attribute intercultural from the author’s biography. Intercultural is too often used to refer politely to migrant literature. However, I intend the term to highlight the dynamic among all literary voices writing in the same historical moment. The goal is to transcend ethnic categorization of literature and to point to the inherent interculturality of texts that negotiate alienness. I analyze novels that represent aspects …

Examining Parents' Perceptions Of The Individualized Education Program Meeting, Christine A. Sullivan

Doctoral Dissertations

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, most recently reauthorized in 2004, explicitly reinforces the role of parents as partners with school professionals in the education of their children with disabilities. As members of the individualized education program (IEP) team, parents participate in all decisions about their child’s educational program. Research on parents’ perceptions of their experiences in their children’s individualized education program (IEP) meetings however, documents a lack of meaningful participation and involvement in decision-making. In this study, a researcher-developed survey was utilized to investigate the perceptions of parents of children with disabilities in grades three through five. Thirty-four parents …

Ear Specific Anl Measurements In Individuals With Unilateral And Asymmetrical Sensorineural Hearing Loss, Rebecca Howard

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study sought to determine if ANLs differ between ears within subjects with unilateral or asymmetrical SNHL. ANL was measured in four conditions (i.e., binaural, better ear, poorer ear unmasked, and poorer ear masked) in fifteen adults, nine with unilateral SNHL and six with bilateral asymmetrical SNHL. A significant difference between ANL in the four conditions (i.e., binaural, better ear, poorer ear unmasked, and poorer ear masked) was identified; however, the subjects with unilateral and asymmetrical SNHL behaved similarly throughout the testing. When comparing the four conditions, the results showed a significant difference between both the binaural ANL and …

The Effect Of Auditory Processing Abilities On Acceptable Noise Levels, Brandee E. Richardson

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to determine typical acceptable noise levels (ANLs) in children diagnosed with auditory processing disorder (APD) and compare those to ANLs in children without APD. Sixteen participants, eight children with APD and eight children without APD, were administered a complete audiological evaluation and a series of APD tests [Filtered Words, Competing Sentences, and Auditory Figure Ground (0) subtests of the SCAN– 3C; Staggered Spondaic Word test; and Pitch Pattern test] to determine normal or abnormal auditory processing ability. Conventional ANLs were measured on each participant to determine acceptance of background noise. The results …

I Want My Ict: Information Communication Technology, Governance, And Poverty In The Developing World, Jack J. Barry Iii

Doctoral Dissertations

The contradictory findings in studies investigating the impact of Information Communication Technologies on poverty in the developing world compose the primary puzzle I tackle in this dissertation. The argument presented here can be summarized as ‘guardedly optimistic’ about the impact of the Internet and mobile phones as I believe they can contributed to improving the lives of the poor, yet only when their limitations are addressed: primarily cost, education, and language. I posit that good governance is a forgotten, yet vital, missing link in the literature.

The following ten claims are put forth: (1) Internet and mobile phones have more …

Syntactic Operations On Heads And Their Theoretical Implications, Shigeki Taguchi

Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis examines Case-licensing and its consequences. I claim that there are several cases where a DP is base-generated in SpecCP, and examine how it is Case-licensed. The relevant cases are the Exceptional Case-marking (ECM) construction in Japanese and the mean construction in English (as in What do you mean that I’m a liar?). In particular, I argue that the embedded subject of Japanese ECM is base-generated in SpecCP as a bare topic (i.e., it is an instance of embedded bare topicalization), and is Case-licensed by the matrix verb. I discuss two conflicting sets of data regarding Japanese ECM; …

Beyond Boston: Catholicism In The Northern New Borderlands In The Nineteenth Century, Molly Gallaher Boddy

Doctoral Dissertations

This study uncovers the religious and ethnic history of northern New England- Maine and Vermont- which has remained for too long on the periphery of scholars’ attention. In 1836, the Vermont Catholic missionary priest Jeremiah O’Callaghan warned members of the New England Catholic Church that “our own Catholicks (are) every where scattered in the woods,” writing not only of the hostile outside Protestant world faced by Catholics in Vermont during the nineteenth century, but also of the difficulty of ministering to such a geographically removed or “scattered” rural population. Still today, the story of these northern New England Catholics that …

"Upward Bound Is College Bound": Pre-College Outreach Programs' Sponsorship Of Academic Writing, Shauna Wight

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines how Upward Bound (UB), a federally-funded pre-college outreach program for underrepresented students, impacted participants' access to academic writing and higher education. Based on the perspective that writing practices both reflect and shape identity, I constructed a series of case studies that followed five linguistically and culturally diverse students from the Upward Bound summer program to determine how this intervention impacted their identifications with academic writing during their senior year of high school and the college admissions process.

This year-long qualitative study used transcribed student interviews and focus groups along with writing samples as primary data sources. These …

Computational Intelligence Based Complex Adaptive System-Of-Systems Architecture Evolution Strategy, Siddharth Agarwal

Doctoral Dissertations

The dynamic planning for a system-of-systems (SoS) is a challenging endeavor. Large scale organizations and operations constantly face challenges to incorporate new systems and upgrade existing systems over a period of time under threats, constrained budget and uncertainty. It is therefore necessary for the program managers to be able to look at the future scenarios and critically assess the impact of technology and stakeholder changes. Managers and engineers are always looking for options that signify affordable acquisition selections and lessen the cycle time for early acquisition and new technology addition. This research helps in analyzing sequential decisions in an evolving …

Documenting The Experiences Of Gay Latinos In Higher Education Through The Use Of Testimonio, Lorenzo Fabian Garcia

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study focuses on the stories of six self-Identified Gay Latinos in a higher education. The participant’s stories are documented using Testimonio. The six men were uniquely situated to give their testimonios about their campus experiences of seeking support in that they were the narrators of the experiences. Key findings indicated a pipeline of support which began with supportive families. Multidimensional identity was well defined by the participants as understanding of being both Latino and Gay. The participants, while exploring campus spaces for support, found themselves navigating through one identity or the other resulting in a process of selective …

Using Computer Simulations As A Pre-Training Activity In A Hands-On Lab To Help Community College Students Improve Their Understanding Of Physics, Blanca Pineda

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of using computer simulations as a pre-training activity to a hands-on lab to improve students’ understanding of induction topics in physics. The computer simulation activity was compared to an overview presentation. Conceptual understanding and spatial ability were measured. A two-group descriptive repeated measures design was implemented with a convenience sample of 35 community college physics students in the Bay Area. Participants were randomly assigned to a simulation group (n = 17) or a presentation group (n = 18). A 30-item spatial ability assessment was given to all participants one week …

Exploring Metacognitive Online Reading Strategies Of Non-Native English-Speaking Translation Students, Shayesteh Zarrabi

Doctoral Dissertations

International students, a growing population in US universities, need to possess excellent reading skills in order to succeed. American universities also benefit from admitting students who do not require remedial English classes. Reading online has become an integrated part of college education, which requires students to have additional skills. Awareness and usage of online reading strategies, known as metacognitive online reading strategies, are proven tools to enhance reading skills in online environments.

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to investigate the metacognitive online reading strategies employed by highly proficient non-native English-speaking graduate students of Translation, Interpretation and Language Education …

Investigating English Teachers' Perceptions Of Intercultural Communicative Competence In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Hazem Ahmed Osman

Doctoral Dissertations

This mixed-method study examines the perceptions of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) by English teachers in the Preparatory Year (PY) program at King Saudi University. Studies that aim to investigate teachers’ perception of ICC and its implementation in a foreign language classroom are relatively scarce. Additionally, the majority of the studies that generally targeted the concept of ICC in a foreign-language learning context were studies that either relied on online blogs, discussion forums, and chat rooms to allow students to communicate cross-culturally, or examined ICC development during sojourns or study abroad periods in the target country. Relatively fewer studies have addressed …

Comprehensive Self-Selected Reading And Student Engagement With The Novel: A Program Evaluation, Jennesis Kathleen Jensen

Doctoral Dissertations

Not reading (Krashen, 2009) is a phenomenon widely noted in students assigned to read as a part of school curriculum. A solution to the many criticisms and deficits cited in the literature surrounding the practice of not reading may lie in the CSSR (Comprehensive Self-Selected Reading) program chosen for focus in this study. In this high school student-reading program, incoming students are guided through a process of textual self-selection and evaluation in an enthusiastic, engaging, and motivating manner. During an eight-month study duration, thirty-two 10th grade students actively read a total of 24,419 pages collaboratively, and 763.09 pages on average. …

Factors That Affect The Reading Comprehension Of Secondary Students With Disabilities, Karen L. Sanford

Doctoral Dissertations

Factors that Affect the Reading Comprehension of Secondary Students with Disabilities

Thirty-million Americans are considered functionally illiterate and are unable to complete job applications or understand health care forms. Fifty-seven percent of adults with disabilities believe that job opportunities are limited due to their poor reading ability. Without strong literacy skills, post-secondary college and employment options are limited. The genesis of adult literacy issues can be linked to below-grade level reading at the elementary and secondary school levels. For students with disabilities (SWD), reading deficits are rampant and lead to low self-efficacy and higher drop-out rates. While reading difficulties are …

Latina Immigrant Mothers' Counterstories Of Education: Challenging Deficit Myths, Nancy Aileen Mcnee

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite major gains in working-class Latin@ immigrant graduation rates and college attendance in recent years, most educators and administrators still perceive Latin@ students with deficit mindsets. Majoritarian storytelling perpetuates deficit myths about working-class Latin@ immigrant students and their families not valuing education. This study joins a growing body of research that uses counterstories to challenge deficit mentalities in education toward working-class Latin@ immigrant students and their families.

This qualitative study involved individual, focus group, and member checking interviews with four Latin@ immigrant mothers in the San Francisco Bay Area. The goal of the study was to learn about the following …

Keeping Kids In School: A Slippery Slope For Miskitu Families Living In The Pearl Lagoon Basin Of Nicaragua, Patricia Ann Conway

Doctoral Dissertations

In 2014, Miskitu participants in the communities of Raitipura and Kahkabila and several of their children had dropped out of school. Earlier quantitative research revealed a problem of low matriculation in elementary and high schools in all of Nicaragua. This inquiry differed from others in that it was a qualitative study focusing on one group of people: the Miskitu community members living on Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast. This investigation employed the participatory-action research methodology, allowing participants to tell their own stories about the events leading up to their dematriculation.

The six participants, male and female, are of Miskitu heritage, were at …

Methods And Algorithms For Service Selection And Recommendation (Preference And Aggregation Based), Kenneth Kofi Fletcher

Doctoral Dissertations

"In order for service users to get the best service that meets their requirements, they prefer to personalize their non-functional attributes, such as reliability and price. However, the personalization makes it challenging because service providers have to deal with conflicting non-functional attributes when selecting services for users. In addition, users may sometimes want to explicitly specify their trade-offs among non-functional attributes to make their preferences known to service providers. Typically, users' service search requests with conflicting non-functional attributes may result in a ranked list of services that partially meet their needs. When this happens, it is natural for users to …

Utilizing Computer Programming To Analyze Post-Tonal Music: A Segmentation And Contour Analysis Of Twentieth-Century Music For Solo Flute, Kate Sekula

Doctoral Dissertations

Two concepts will be synthesized in this dissertation: 1) the creation of accessible computer applications for melodic segmentation and contour reduction and 2) the application of segmentation and contour reduction to analyze twentieth-century post-tonal works for unaccompanied flute. Two analytical methodologies have been chosen: James Tenney and Larry Polanski's Gestalt segmentation theory and Robert Schultz's refinement of Robert Morris's contour reduction algorithm. The investigation also utilizes Robert Schultz's concept of diachronic-transformational analysis in conjunction with contour reduction. While both segmentation and contour reduction are invaluable analytical tools, they are meticulous and time-consuming processes. Computer implementation of these algorithmic procedures produces …

Mythological Rewriting: New Perspectives On Algeria's Postcolonial History, Elena Telegina

Doctoral Dissertations

Mythological Rewriting: New Perspectives on Algeria’s Postcolonial History.

Elena Telegina, Ph.D

University of Connecticut [2014]

Abstract

Algerian history, falsified and distorted by different Algerian regimes, obscured the nature of many contemporary problems, while creating a climate of confusion about the present and anxiety about the future. Beneath Algeria’s relative calm during the uprisings of the “Arab Spring”, violence and social dissociation, continue to threaten the society, showing that deep-seated historical conflicts in Algeria remain unsolved.

While historians and political scientists attempt to clarify the contemporary situation from a scientific perspective, Francophone Algerian novelists have addressed these issues by drawing on …