Digital Commons Network^™

Son Of A Thousand Fathers, Colter Patterson Cruthirds

Dissertations

The following collection, which explores the often tenuous relationships between fathers and sons, was written by the author between 2008-2011.

Strike Out Across The Shoreless Ocean, Julia Claire Paajanen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

What happens between a reader and a poem is none of my business. The world has always been yours; find your own way.

(1) Every choice is correct.

(2) Everything is true.

(3) What is anything, unless so far as it is enjoyed?

All you have to do is see the course, and when you see it, go.

The Association Between Reading Comprehension And Prerequisite Skills For Children In Poverty, Hyo Jin Yoon

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between reading comprehension and the prerequisite skills typically assessed by a school based speech pathologist with a focus on children raised in poverty. Based upon previous studies, three hypotheses were developed. First, children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds would not perform as well as children from the standardization sample on norm referenced language tests although the language tests would predict reading comprehension. Second, decoding would not be as good a predictor of reading comprehension for children from low SES backgrounds as it is in typically developing children from middle …

And They Were Thirteen, Daniel Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In the critical introduction to my thesis, I explore how the progression of my creative work straddled the gap between fiction and nonfiction and how, in trying to make the creative work a combination of both, I failed to make it work as successfully as I could have as a narrative. I then segue into my research on Joseph Campbell’s monomyth and how it has even affected narratives focusing on teachers. I then explain how elements present in my work coincide with aspects of the monomyth. Because of the prevalence of the monomyth in American pop culture, I make an …

“Breakfast Shots” And Other Stories: Collected Fiction Of Joseph D. Haske, Joseph D. Haske

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The following thesis for the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing consists of two parts. The first part contains five excerpts from a short story cycle, tentatively entitled Breakfast Shots. The second part includes experimentation with the short story form, including the noir-influenced Bloqueo and two minimalist stories derived from this piece. Several stories included in this thesis have been published in journals such as Boulevard, Fiction International, and Dark Sky. The rest are currently under consideration for various journals and anthologies.

“Oye: Words Are One Big Mind” A Collection Of Poems, Samuel Arizpe

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Oye: Words Are One Big Mind. A Collection of Poems comprises forty poems arranged into three sections. It is preceded by a critical introduction in which the author discusses: 1) the childhood provenance of his love for language; 2) how his Latino linguistic, religious and cultural roots from South Texas set him on the path of poetic discovery and contextualized his poetic style 3) the influence of early Chican@ poets upon his poetry; 4) commonalities of Latin American poetry in his own work; 5) the convergence of spiritual, social, religious, mystical, and universal issues in his work.

Exploring Language As A Source Of Dif In A Math Test For English Language Learners, Minji K. Lee, Jennifer Randall

NERA Conference Proceedings 2011

English language learners (ELs) have shown lower performance in mathematics than non-ELs although mathematics is an area that uses the least amount of language among the subjects that are mainly tested. If this differential performance is due to the bias in test items, then validity of using ELs’ test scores in comparison to non-ELs’ is compromised. For this reason, studies have investigated whether the differential performance can be attributed to language load in the tests. The results of these studies were not consistent. Some studies did find its effect, whereas others did not. Some of the difficulties encountered by researchers …

Relocating Basic Writing., Bruce Horner

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

I frame the continuing value of basic writing as part of a long tradition in composition studies challenging dominant beliefs about literacy and language abilities, and I link basic writing to emerging--e.g."translingual"--approaches to language. I identify basic writing as vital to the field of composition in its rejection of simplistic notions of English, language, and literacy; its insistence on searching out the different in what might appear to be the same and the familiar; and its commitment to work with students consigned by dominant ideologies to the social periphery as in fact central, leading edge. These positions enable basic writing …

The Role Of Language In Therapy : How Bilingual/Multilingual Therapists Experience Their Work With Bilingual/Multilingual Clients, Sofia Maia Rosenblum

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Bilingualism and multilingualism have not been afforded adequate exploration in clinical social work practice. This exploratory study examined the experiences of bilingual/multilingual therapists working with bilingual/multilingual clients. Utilizing interviews with twelve bilingual/multilingual therapists who were linguistically diverse, this study looked at the process of language switching in therapy, the effects of shared versus different languages on countertransference experiences, the interview subjects' conceptualizations of linguistic identity and how these identities have come to influence professional development, as well as the role that language plays in academic and training settings for mental health practitioners. The findings of the research showed the natural …

Intact Statistical Word Learning In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Jessica Mayo

Master's Theses

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have impairments in language acquisition, but the underlying mechanism of these deficits is poorly understood. Implicit learning appears potentially relevant to language development, particularly in speech segmentation, which relies on sensitivity to the transitional probabilities between speech sounds. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between implicit learning and current language abilities in school-aged children with autism (n = 17) and typical development (n = 24) using a well-studied artificial language learning task. Results suggest that the ASD and TD groups were equally able to implicitly learn transitional probabilities from a lengthy …

A Genre-Specific Study Of English And Persian Newspaper Editorials / Alireza Bonyadi Babaee, Alireza Bonyadi Babaee

Student Works (2010-2019)

Newspaper editorials constitute a part of media discourse, which is an extremely important field of research in intercultural rhetoric analysis. The interface between the linguistic analysis of newspaper editorials and teaching of English as a foreign/second language is also a relevant issue in language teaching. Thus, drawing on the theory of inter-cultural rhetoric analysis and considering the important role of newspaper editorials in shaping public opinions, the present study aimed at conducting a genre-specific analysis of newspaper editorials culled from the editorials of the English newspaper, The New York Times, and those of Persian newspaper, Tehran Times. Addressing different discourse …

Re-Visioning The Semantic And Semiotic Registers In The Study Of Culture And Religion, Gary S. Bedford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The term `God' may be understood as the desire for the complete epistemological condition of thought; language expresses this condition in statements of `meaning.' `Religion' expresses this desire in texts and ritual practice which may be examined by in academic study; however, because the `third term' of religio is understood as the condition of being `bounded to or by,' the study of religion is itself bounded to or by this desire for the completion of thought. This desire cannot be understood as an `alterity' of thought but is rather the internal native or `alter-native' condition of thought itself. …

The Effect Of Language On Economic Behavior: Evidence From Savings Rates, Health Behaviors, And Retirement Assets, Keith M. Chen

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Languages differ widely in the ways they encode time. I test the hypothesis that languages that grammatically associate the future and the present, foster future-oriented behavior. This prediction arises naturally when well-documented effects of language structure are merged with models of intertemporal choice. Empirically, I find that speakers of such languages: save more, retire with more wealth, smoke less, practice safer sex, and are less obese. This holds both across countries and within countries when comparing demographically similar native households. The evidence does not support the most obvious forms of common causation. I discuss implications for theories of intertemporal choice.

Strange Places, Alex James Morris

Dissertations

Strange Places is a collection of short stories and short shorts written during my time at The University of Southern Mississippi. Set primarily in Akron, Ohio, the stories in this collection explore a range of themes, such as trauma, death, alienation, social class, and the struggle to connect to others. This collection is preceded by a critical introduction.

Mameluk Una Novela Corta, Ruben Baldazo

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

La presente tesis es un trabajo de creación creativa literaria. En esta novela corta se relata la historia de Anilez, una guerrera mameluk mitad demonio y mitad humano, la cual, tras el aniquilamiento de su protectora y amiga, busca y asesina a una serie de demonios denominados como shekskas en las distintas misiones que es asignada por una organización secreta conocida simplemente como la Hermandad. Los géneros en los cuales se desarrolla la trama de la historia son la aventura y el dark fantasy, teniendo como temas centrales la búsqueda, el encuentro de identidad, la venganza, el psicoanálisis y …

Characterizing And Predicting Outcomes Of Communication Delays In Infants And Toddlers: Implications For Clinical Practice, Rhea Paul, Forma P. Roth

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

Purpose: This article focuses on using currently available data to assist speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in making decisions regarding a child's eligibility and considerations for recommended "dosage" of early intervention (El) services. Method: Literature describing the characteristics of infants and toddlers who are likely recipients of El services was reviewed. Results: Current literature provides information that can be used to inform clinical decisions for infants and toddlers with established medical conditions, as well as those with risk factors, for oral language, communication, and subsequent literacy disabilities. This information is summarized. Conclusion: Extant literature suggests that El makes a critical difference in …

The New Chicana Heroine: Representations Of Anzaldua's Mestiza Consciousness In Chicana Feminist Cultural Productions, Monica E. Montelongo

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis analyzes Gloria Anzaldúa‟s mestiza consciousness as a representation seen thematically in Chicana feminist cultural productions. Mestiza consciousness, defined in Anzaldúa‟s Borderlands/La Frontera, is a non-binary feminist ideology, which proposes a third space in female identity, explored in terms of gender, class, race, and sexuality identification. The representation of mestiza consciousness in Chicana feminist cultural productions is proposed as a new trope in Chicana\o cultural studies, which I term the “New Chicana Heroine.” The New Chicana Heroine is both a proposal and representation of a third space in female identity. An examination of several authors, artists, and filmmakers, spanning …

Normes Endogènes : Pratiques Culturelles, Traduction Impossible, Rafaël Lucas

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The words novel, drama and poetry can be translated because they refer to well-known specific concepts. Words referring to endogenous or indigenous forms and norms with cultural codes unknown to us cannot be translated. The translation of these words does not provide much information about them. The word koteba in bambara, a language spoken in Mali, means “a big snail”. The word hainteny (science of speech in Malagasy) refers to a specific type of popular oral poetry. What does the word concert-party (used in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo) or the Swahili word manganja mean? An analysis of these endogenous genres with …

The Intention-To-Cause Bias: Evidence From Children's Causal Language, Paul Muentener, Laura Lakusta

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The current study explored causal language in 3.5- to 4-year-old children by manipulating the type of agent (human acting intentionally or unintentionally, or inanimate object) and the type of effect (motion or state change) in causal events. Experiment 1 found that the type of agent, but not the type of effect, influenced children's production of causal language. Children produced more causal language for intentionally caused events than for either unintentionally- or object-caused events, independent of the type of effect. Experiment 2, which tested children's judgments of descriptions for the events, found a similar pattern. Children preferred causal descriptions more for …

Andre Goeritz Mfa Thesis Statement, Andre M. Goeritz

CGU MFA Theses

I strive to make objects of no complicity--arranging smaller parts to create larger forms, or allowing the combination of parts to allude to narratives without linearity, foreshadowing, point of entry, point of attack, conflict, context, or catharsis; a state of sustained stillness until equilibrium is no longer a desired result, at which point the parts of the whole can be dismantled, reconfigured, made anew. I think about words, rhythm, inflection, resonance or timbre, vocal dissonance, dismembered disjointed utterances, and repetition--somatic impulses guided by intent. Intention translates into action--an act of will, a willful act, an act of willful intent--a marker …

Temperament-Language Relationships During The First Formal Year Of School., Natasha Benfield Gouge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to investigate temperament-language relationships among school-age children and across a wider variety of SES. Head Start, Pre-K, and Kindergarten classes of 10 elementary schools located in rural Appalachia were sent information about the study and 35 children were consented to participate. Parents completed a short demographic survey and the Child Behavior Questionnaire Very Short Form (CBQ-VSF). Children were administered the Preschool Language Scale-4 (PLS-4). Participants were split into low and high SES groups so associations between the CBQ and PLS-4 scores could be compared at each SES strata. Both reactivity and self-regulation were …

Bilingualism And Bilingual Education In The U.S., Zakaria Jouaibi

Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Media Technology

No abstract provided.

Tierra Sagrada: Stories, Jose Rene Martinez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis consists of fourteen stories and a critical introduction. Each story is set in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas and features Mexican American characters. The critical introduction discusses the history of the Rio Grande Valley and traces my development as a writer. It also shows the influences Mexican American writers such as Américo Paredes have had on my work.

Awake: A Young Adult Novel In Verse, Minerva Vasquez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This project is a manuscript for a YA novel written in verse and represents the type of YA literature I hope to publish after graduating. Awake chronicles the story of Alejandra de Luna, a high school student from the Rio Grande Valley who must come to terms with an abusive home situation, while at the same time struggling to find her place and her voice as an artist, writer, daughter, and young Latina. To complicate her world more, she begins to dream of Tenochtitlan, the former capital of the Aztec Empire. She experiences Aztec culture as one of patriarchy and …

Between Morality And Myth: A Parodic Visual Manifesto, Patricia J. Quilichini

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Acting on the belief that art communicates, that an image speaks all languages, these works were created as a visual manifesto responding satirically to the absurd way in which myths are elevated to the status of moral values. The photographic works created for this thesis challenge long held beliefs and emotions that associate sex with shame and guilt, and that grow out of the moral traditions we have inherited. Judeo-Christian traditions and religious beliefs have created widely unchallenged social/moral constructs, which regard sexuality and sexual awareness as sinful and woman as subservient to the moral authority constructed by men. I …

Language And Legend In The Fantasy Fiction Of J.R.R. Tolkien, Melissa K. Cornwell

Honors Theses

J.R.R. Tolkien’s series, The Lord of the Rings, had a great impact on the literary world. Tolkien himself made quite an impact on English society as a philologist and teacher, and he wrote his novels because of his passion for language and mythology. The Lord of the Rings series included the books The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, and he wrote The Silmarillion after completing the series as a sort of prequel to the events in the other books. Tolkien’s life was profoundly affected by language and literature, …

How To Remain Childlike, Billy Ray Middleton

Dissertations

How to Remain Childlike examines themes of place and identity, focusing on how regionalism impacts the individual’s perception of self. The stories herein, set in the post-millennial South, focus on characters with a worldly recognition of prevailing misconceptions that cast Southerners as unsophisticated and anti-intellectual. Though these characters recognize the beauty of the South, they possess ambivalence toward the region, a desire to be less insular and more cosmopolitan. This ambivalence, a love for the South coupled with a longing to escape it, highlights the importance of place in the process of self-definition.

Spanish/English Language Definitions For Applied Behavior Analysis Terminology, Claudia Arteaga

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Experimental analysis of behavior has grown enormously within recent years. Mexico is one of the main centers of this growth and therefore, as a result, specific Spanish terminology has developed. This thesis offers a list of suggested Spanish translations for terms and definitions in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) as a resource in support of bilingual students in the area of experimental analysis of behavior. The first and second chapters explain the origins and history of ABA and its development in the world and specifically in Mexico. The third chapter provides details about the methodology. A book entitled …

The Ripening Of Mangos, Katherine Hoerth

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This project is a collection of poems which draw influence from Romantic, confessional, and post-modern poetry movements, and can most accurately be described as Confessionalistic, though they are resistant to categorization. The poems function to dismantle archetypal definitions of feminine identity, and instead aim to depict identity to be fluid and multifaceted.

The Ripening of Mangos is divided into four sections. The first section deconstructs the 'angel' or 'virgin' archetype, while the second deconstructs the 'monster' or 'whore' archetype. Section three includes voices of procreation, and functions to complicate the image of 'the mother.' The last section, Transplanting, shows gendered …

The New Woman Persona In “Dracula” And The “Twilight” Series: An Elliptical Struggle Of Social Order, Silvia E. Herrera

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis will explore the existence of the New Woman persona found in the Gothic works, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series. By exploring this persona, we can shed light on the internal struggle, comprised of Victorian gender roles and one’s desire to seek greater liberation, which results in the presence of an elliptical struggle that finds itself at a constant state of progression and digression. In order to have a greater understanding of the New Woman persona, we must explore both works’ themes of the uncanny figure, sexuality and female heroism. Through the exploration of these themes, …