Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2011, Speech Language Pathology

The purpose of this study was to explore the changes in Deaf individuals' ASL usage as their cognitive status declines. To date, there have been no published systematic studies describing the deterioration of native ASL users' signing abilities among those with dementia. This study involved 10 participants: 5 with no cognitive impairments (Control group) and 5 with cognitive impairments (Experimental group) as considered by the Mini-Mental State Examination (adapted version of the MMSE; Dean, Feldman, Morere, & Morton, 2009). Each participant was allowed up to 2 minutes to describe the The Cookie Theft picture (Goodglass & Kaplan, 1972). Discourse was analyzed for the dependent variables of number of utterances, number of words per utterance, correct use of phonology, morphology, and syntax, an error analysis of phonology, morphology and syntax, and content units. The results of this study revealed there were significant differences between the number of words per utterance of the Control group and the Experimental group. The Experimental group produced phonological errors. There were no phonological, morphological, or syntactic errors among the Control group utterances. The frequency of content units was higher in the Control group than the Experimental group. The correlations revealed there is a strong positive relationship among the Experimental groups' MMSE scores and number of content units. In conclusion, the data revealed ASL usage does change as cognitive status declines, while morphology and syntax remain relatively preserved.

Committee: Michelle Bourgeois PhD (Advisor); Lisa Milman PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Aging; Behavioral Sciences; Behaviorial Sciences; Cognitive Psychology; Families and Family Life; Foreign Language; Gerontology; Health Care; Language; Linguistics; Mental Health; Modern Language; Morphology; Neurology; Occupational Therapy; Physical Therapy; Psychology

PHD, Kent State University, 2014, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

The Deaf World is part of the national fabric with its citizens utilizing American Sign Language as an indigenous language. Sign language interpreters facilitate sociolinguistic access between Deaf and hearing persons. Information presented in this inquiry focused on interpreter cognitive and behavioral development of Deaf-World cultural competence. Cultural competence relates to learning new patterns of cross-cultural behavior with effective application in various contexts (Gallegos, Tindall, Gallegos, 2008). The inquiry explored expert participants descriptions of interpreter Deaf-World cultural competence. Participants described transformational processes interpreters experienced entering the Deaf-World or in other words, becoming HEARING, the ASL representative gloss for the sign hearing. This inquiry explored how participants made meaning around co-constructed Deaf-World cross-cultural connections. Participants expressed lived experience stories of Deaf-World cultural competence informed by the concept of currere narrative (Pinar, 1975, 2006). Data were coded in aggregate and themes found in participant narratives. Analysis described participants significant statements, themes and essence of the phenomenon (Creswell, 2007) within the data set. Themes expert Deaf and hearing participants described about Deaf-World cultural competence included: HEARING participants avowed Deaf-World affiliation or affiliation-alliance and ascription of Deaf-World efficacy; and Deaf participants avowed Deaf-World alliance and efficacy as well as conditional ascription of interpreter affiliation or affiliation-alliance. The essence of the phenomenon consisted of the idea that becoming HEARING included co-constructed community and cultural connections leading to Deaf-World affiliation or affiliation-alliance. Participants also described a tacit seven step process of entering the Deaf-World titled the interpreter affiliation-alliance narrative (IAAN) paradigm. (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William Bintz Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Teresa Rishel Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Gregory Shreve Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Curricula; Education; Foreign Language

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Medicine: Clinical and Translational Research

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are the most prominent imaging feature of small vessel disease (SVD). WMH and other imaging features of SVD are likely the result of ongoing insults associated with cognitive decline and cerebrovascular events. Emerging evidence suggests degradation of the neurovascular unit may underlie the pathogenesis of SVD. This prospective pilot study employed MRI in 19 subjects (68.2 ? 11.5 years of age) for diffusion-weighted imaging, applied to intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) modeling, to characterize microstructural and microvascular properties throughout the brain and arterial spin labeling, using multiple labeling and delay times, to measure dynamic perfusion properties including blood-brain barrier permeability (PS) in gray matter (GM). IVIM revealed WMH to have significantly greater blood volume fraction and lower pseudodiffusion and bulk diffusion than normal-appearing white matter (NAWM). IVIM parameters and PS, in canonical GM network regions, correlated with WMH volume with at least moderate effect size. Findings suggest evidence of neovascularization and restricted diffusion in WMH compared to surrounding NAWM. Regional changes in GM pertaining to the NVU scale in proportion to WMH load. Observed GM changes precede visible MR imaging abnormalities. Their early detection could elucidate SVD mechanisms of brain injury and inform future preventative measures.

Committee: Patrick Ryan Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Bin Zhang Ph.D. (Committee Member); Achala Vagal (Committee Member) Subjects: Radiology

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2023, Speech Pathology and Audiology

Joint attention provides children with important opportunities for language learning. To engage in JA children must be able to visually attend to their parents and an object. Children with autism tend to struggle with visual attention. Deaf parents of deaf children have been shown to be more adept at facilitating visual attention in their deaf children. Both autistic and deaf children have unique visual attention needs. To determine if Deaf parents are also more adept at facilitating visual attention in autistic children, we sought to identify the strategies used by Deaf parents of autistic children. We obtained videos of our participants playing with their children and identified 15 strategies which occurred in a single modality or bimodally. We found that most frequently deaf parents were using gaze shifts, linguistic utterances, touching their child's body, and object manipulation to gain and maintain their attention. Additionally, they use the same adaptations Deaf parents use in child directed sign, as well as the unique adaptation of shifting their eye gaze toward their own signs. Eventually, we hope to determine the efficacy of these strategies and if they carry over to hearing and heterogeneous dyads.

Committee: Aaron Shield (Advisor); Amy Lieberman (Committee Member); Donna Scarborough (Committee Member); Trace Poll (Committee Member) Subjects: Speech Therapy

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2022, Educational Leadership

The following is a mixed-methods action research study entitled, “Increasing Retention and Graduation Rates of BIPOC and/or Male Students in ASL Interpreting at Sinclair Community College.” This action research broadly focuses on increasing student retention in the American Sign Language and Interpreting for the Deaf (IEP) program for students of color and/or males by increasing equity, cultural competency, a sense of belonging, and diversity of curriculum in the Sinclair College ASL IEP program. The study has a foundational framework in the Critical Theory of Love, Sociolinguistic Theory, Catholic Marianist values and by (Re)Framing the Deaf Heart Theory. This research addresses the fact that BIPOC and/or male interpreters are not well represented in the field or classroom. For this study, both qualitative and quantitative data was gathered through surveys, interviews, and focus groups. The participants were alumni, and current students in the SCC IEP program. The participants' responses identified four themes which guided the SCC IEP program towards creating a more equitable, and inclusive IEP. Listening to the alumni and students' voices throughout this research was powerful and demonstrated where the program is doing transformation work, as well as identified gaps. This action research can be easily replicated in one's own program, by following the action plan. Having hard conversations in the classroom, with the Deaf community and out in the field to address racism, and microaggressions against BIPOC and/or male ASL interpreters make way for transformational change to the field of ASL interpreting.

Committee: Matthew Witenstein, Ph.D. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Language

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2021, Speech Pathology and Audiology

To better understand the language development of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who use American Sign Language (ASL), this study seeks to 1) determine the cognitive and linguistic profile of native signing children with ASD who produce palm reversal (PR) errors, and 2) compare the cognitive and linguistic profile of children who produce PR errors to that of children who produce pronoun reversal errors. Seventeen children with ASD (ages 5-14) and a control group of 24 Deaf children who are typically-developing (ages 6-13) participated in an assessment battery to gather information regarding nonverbal intelligence, linguistic abilities, and social skills. The participants then participated in a fingerspelling task, which was analyzed for accuracy of palm orientation. Five of the 17 participants with ASD consistently produced PR errors on fingerspelled letters; however, this high frequency of PR errors did not extend to lexical or numeric signs and was not reflected in the more naturalistic communication of the participants. The participants with ASD who produced PR errors had statistically significantly lower receptive language abilities compared to the participants with ASD who did not produce palm reversal errors. More research is needed to determine if PR errors are analogous to pronoun reversal errors.

Committee: Aaron Shield (Advisor); Jennifer Green (Committee Member); Megan Gross (Committee Member) Subjects: Language; Speech Therapy

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2019, Anatomy

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique used for measuring cerebral blood flow (CBF) in a completely non-ionizing and non invasive fashion. ASL is useful in perfusion studies on healthy adult & pediatric subjects, individuals who need multiple follow-ups, and patients with varying cerebrovascular diseases where changes in CBF can be used as an indicator of tissue viability. We used a variation of the ASL technique known as pseudo-continuous ASL (pCASL). This form of ASL is the clinical standard (Alsop et al., 2015). However, it is not well documented the that pCASL is reliable between sessions spanning days to weeks. In this study, we assessed the inter-session reliability of CBF through the use of the pCASL technique. We hypothesize that the pCASL technique can be used to quantify CBF measurements across a 24-hour and 48-hour period. Subjects included 15 healthy, active duty Air Force military personnel recruited by the Wright Patterson Air Force Base from a larger experiment. Of the 15 subjects scanned on day 1 and day 2, 2 did not return for scanning on the third day. All participants were scanned in three identical evening sessions separated by 24 hours. MR imaging was conducted on a 3T MRI scanner with a 24-channel head coil. Each of the iv three days began with a baseline imaging scan followed by sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and another identical imaging session. MRI acquisition included a 12-min resting-state function MRI (fMRI), three task fMRI, a T1-weighted MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) imaging, and resting pCASL. Our work only shows the baseline imaging from each day and the resting pCASL results. Quantitative CBF maps were computed from the raw pCASL data using proton density maps and a single compartment perfusion model through the use of the clinical processing pipeline on the MRI. These CBF maps w (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kathrin Engisch Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Matthew Sherwood Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); David Ladle Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Anatomy and Physiology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Earth Sciences

Tide gauges record relative sea level (RSL), i.e. the vertical position of the sea surface relative to the adjacent land mass or relative to the seafloor under the gauge. A tide gauge cannot distinguish between a rise in sea level or subsidence of the land or seawall or pier that supports the gauge. Absolute sea level (ASL) refers to the level or height of the sea surface stated in some standard geodetic reference frame, e.g. ITRF2008. Since satellite altimeters make a geometrical measurement of sea level, this constitutes a determination of ASL. Satellite altimeters suffer from instrumental drift and thus need to be calibrated using tide gauges. This requires us to estimate the rate of RSL change at each tide gauge and convert this into an estimate of the rate of ASL change. This is done using a GPS station located at or near the tide gauge, since it can measure the vertical velocity of the lithosphere – often referred to as vertical land motion, VLM – which allows us to exploit the relationship ASL = RSL + VLM. This goal has motivated geodesists to build dozens of continuous GPS (or CGPS) stations near tide gauges – an agenda sometimes referred to as the CGPS@TG agenda. Unfortunately, a significant fraction of all long-lived tide gauges – especially those in the Pacific - have also recorded non-steady land motion caused by earthquakes. Rather than simply delete such datasets from the agenda, this thesis explores a new analytical method, based on the concept of a geodetic station trajectory model, that allows us to compute RSL and ASL rates even at tide gauges affected by regional earthquakes. We illustrate this method using two tide gauges (PAGO and UPOL) and three GPS stations (ASPA, SAMO and FALE) located in the Samoan islands of the Southwest Pacific. In addition to managing the impact of large regional earthquakes, we also seek new approaches to reducing noise in RSL rate estimates by suppressing the higher frequency sea level changes associated with ocean (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Michael Bevis (Committee Chair); C.K. Shum (Committee Member); Loren Babcock (Committee Member); Michael Barton (Committee Member) Subjects: Earth; Geological; Geophysical; Geophysics; Geotechnology; Ocean Engineering; Oceanography

BS, Kent State University, 2018, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences

Magic Mae is a children's novel about a deaf girl who is placed in the public school setting. In this thesis, there is an in-depth analysis developed, commenting on the writing and illustrations done by the author. This book highlights many different topics, including Deaf culture, diversity, language development, oppression in the form of audism, and stereotypes, in addition to many other issues.

Committee: Jamie McCartney Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Minority and Ethnic Groups

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2017, Medicine: Immunology

Mycobacterial disease plagues over one-third of the global population. The most devastating of which – Mycobacterium tuberculosis – kills more than 1.5 million annually and multi-drug resistance increases its catastrophic reach. Host-directed therapy is a promising counter-balance against drug resistant mycobacteria, warranting further investigation into anti-mycobacterial host defense. Key immune populations –macrophages and T cells – are regulated by the availability of the amino acid L-arginine. Nitric oxide (NO), a potent anti-mycobacterial agent deployed by macrophages, and appropriate Th1 functions – e.g. proliferation, IFN-γ production – demand L-arginine. However, mycobacterial infection restricts L-arginine by inducing myeloid arginase, resulting in diminished NO production by macrophages and hyporesponsive T cells. Previously, our group found that synthesis of L-arginine from the endogenous precursor, L-citrulline, is a necessary metabolic pathway for anti-mycobacterial immunity, but the mechanism of action within the immune population was unknown. Herein, we define the immunological consequences of L-citrulline metabolism during mycobacterial infection. We found that L-citrulline metabolism endows macrophages and T cells with a mechanism to circumvent arginase-mediated inhibition of anti-mycobacterial function in vitro. Utilizing novel mouse models of L-citrulline metabolism deficiency, we uncovered an unappreciated necessity of L-citrulline metabolism for macrophage and T cell immunity to mycobacterial infection in vivo. Additionally, our data show that mice supplemented with L-citrulline exhibit enhanced control of pulmonary M. bovis BCG infection compared to vehicle-treated controls, revealing the potential of this metabolic pathway as a novel therapeutic to combat mycobacterial disease.

Committee: Joseph Qualls Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Claire Chougnet Ph.D. (Committee Member); George Deepe M.D. (Committee Member); David Haslam M.D. (Committee Member); Edith Janssen Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Immunology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2017, Popular Culture

During the over fifty-year history of The X-Men comic books and the numerous stories told within the various series, the mutants have been intentionally written as metaphors for how ethnic, racial, sexual, religious, and cultural minorities are treated in the United States. During that same time, the writers also unintentionally mirror deaf individuals and Deaf Culture in their portrayal of mutants and X-Men. Considering the vast number of stories in existence, I focus on the early works of Stan Lee, Grant Morrison's time as author of New X-Men, Joss Whedon's time as author of Astonishing X-Men, and Matt Fraction's time as author of Uncanny X-Men. In this thesis, I perform a close reading of these four authors' works and compare them to the history of the deaf and Deaf in America. In this close reading, I found three recurring themes within The X-Men comics that paralleled Deaf Culture: Geography, Colonization, and Culture. Both groups' origins lie in the residential schools that were founded to provide a supportive educational environment. From this environment, a culture developed and spread as students graduated. These same schools and cultures came under similar attacks from the dominant culture. They survived the attacks and have grown stronger since. Throughout, I use theorists such as Gramsci and Althusser alongside Deaf Studies scholars such as Lennard Davis and Douglas Baynton to analyze these themes, parallels, and events. These parallels potentially allow readers to be more accepting and understanding of Deaf Culture because they introduce Deaf Culture to the reader in the familiar setting of the superhero comic narrative.

Committee: Jeremy Wallach Ph. D. (Advisor); Jeffrey Brown Ph. D. (Committee Member); Katherine Meizel Ph. D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Comparative

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, EDU Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this study was to describe middle school DHH students' understandings (and/or misconceptions) of the Earth-Sun-Moon relationship before and after completion of a 10-day instructional unit and to examine the change in understandings from pre- to post-instruction. Analysis focused on students' conceptual understandings both before and after participation in an instructional unit on the Earth-Sun-Moon relationship. Data from classroom observations conducted during instruction were analyzed to determine the influence of classroom talk on students' understanding of concepts. The influence of teacher perceptions was also addressed as a potential factor in student learning. Prior to receiving instruction, the majority of students possessed an alternative or fragmented understanding of the Earth-Moon-Sun relationship and lunar concepts. Results from the measure of students' knowledge of the Earth-Moon-Sun relationship on the three component questions (Earth-Moon-Sun relationship, gravity, patterns of orbit) indicated a moderate degree of conceptual change. Results from the measure of students' understanding of lunar concepts showed a greater gain in conceptual understanding than was shown on the Earth-Moon-Sun relationship measure. Consistent with the findings of previous research by Molander et al. (2007, 2010), ambiguity in the scientific meaning of the classroom dialogue or misconceptions arising from the use or omission of a particular term in sign language were found to have an effect on students' learning. Analysis of the scientific classroom talk that occurred during instruction showed that the teacher maintained a high level of control over the discourse. Data from pre- and post-instruction interviews with the teacher provided insight into her perceptions of her students' abilities. The teacher expressed her perception of her students as largely dependent learners, which seemed to have an effect on how she delivered instruction. The teach (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Tiffany Wild (Advisor); Peter Paul (Committee Member); Mollie Blackburn (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Special Education; Teaching

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2016, Geography (Arts and Sciences)

The CAM5 non-coupled Community Atmospheric model version 5 (CAM5) is used to study the role that natural and anthropogenic forcings (ozone forcing, radiative forcing, tropical forcing) play in the Antarctic pressure pattern in the last century. Seasonal pressure reconstructions at key Antarctic stations through the 20th century are employed as the best estimates of Antarctic pressure variability since 1905, especially as it is shown here that pressure reanalyses are unreliable in the early 20th century. Three experiments are conducted with the CAM5 model; the first of these experiments allows radiative forcings to vary in time with prescribed, time-varying tropical sea surface temperatures, with the goal being to isolate the role of radiative forcings on the pressure pattern over the continent (when compared with another simulation), and to act as the control, as this is most like the real world. The second experiment that is performed with the model has time varying ozone forcing and climatological sea surface temperatures. The goal of this experiment is to isolate the role of ozone forcing on the Antarctic pressure pattern. The final experiment has fixed radiative forcing at 1990 values, but time-varying prescribed tropical sea surface temperatures. The goal of this experiment is to isolate the role of tropical sea surface temperature variability, or aid in isolating the role of radiative forcing when compared with the first experiment. While each of the simulations of the model results contained interanual variability as expected, the results of the model in each experiment were well within the range of the pressure reconstructions, demonstrating reliability. Additionally, when smoothed, similarities between experiment trends and reconstructions trends were clearly identifiable. Model trends showed that tropical sea surface temperatures have a marked influence on the negative pressure trends in Antarctica, particularly near the Peninsula and West Antarctica an (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ryan Fogt (Advisor); Jana Houser (Committee Member); Dorothy Sack (Committee Member) Subjects: Atmosphere; Atmospheric Sciences; Climate Change; Geography; Meteorology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Electrical and Computer Engineering

American Sign Language (ASL) is a multichannel communication system that involves manual components such as hand-shape and movement, and nonmanual components as body posture, head motion and facial expressions. While significant progress has been made to understand the features defining ASL manuals, after years of research, much still needs to be done to understand its nonmanual components. ASL nonmanual linguistic research has been typically addressed by manually annotating facial events (e.g., brow raising, mouth opening, among others), and comparing the frequency of such events to find some grammatical clues about a given event in a sentence or as linguist called them construction. This tedious process is difficult to scale, especially when the number of facial events and the number of samples grow. Additionally, another major obstacle to achieve this goal is the difficulty in finding correlations between facial features and linguistic features, especially since these correlations may be temporally defined. For example, a facial feature (e.g., head moves down) occurring at the end of the movement of another facial feature (e.g., brows moves up), may specify a Hypothetical conditional, but only if this time relationship is maintained. It is however unknown for many grammatical constructions the facial features that define these dynamical facial expressions of grammar. In this work, we introduce a computational approach to efficiently carry out analysis of nonmanuals. First, a computational linguistic model of the face is defined to characterize the basic components used in ASL facial and head nonmanuals. Our results verify several components of the standard model of ASL nonmanuals and, most importantly, identify several previously unreported features and their temporal relationship. Notably, our results uncovered a complex interaction between head position and mouth shape. These findings define some temporal structures of ASL nonmanuals not previously identified b (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Aleix Martinez (Advisor); Kevin Passino (Committee Member); Yuan Zheng (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Science; Electrical Engineering; Linguistics

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2014, Speech Pathology and Audiology

This paper examines the arguments for American Sign Language (ASL) as a foreign language and the development of a complete ASL curriculum to fulfill a foreign language requirement at Miami University. The development of a curriculum grounded in evidence of second language learning pedagogy is essential for the fulfillment of Miami University foreign language requirements. This paper used primary sources from peer-reviewed literature, books, and current organizational websites to examine the importance of ASL instruction at institutions of higher learning and establish a complete curriculum based on language learning pedagogy and foreign language proficiency standards.

Committee: Kathleen Hutchinson- Marron Ph.D. (Advisor); Shelly Bromberg Ph.D. (Committee Member); Amber Franklin Ph.D. (Committee Member); Megan Gross (Committee Member) Subjects: Foreign Language; Speech Therapy

Master of Arts (MA), Wright State University, 2011, Applied Behavioral Science: Criminal Justice and Social Problems

Since 2008, the Deaf Off Drugs and Alcohol (DODA) Program has provided culturally appropriate cessation and recovery support services via e-therapy to Deaf/HH individuals with a clinically diagnosed substance use disorder (SUD). The information collected by the DODA program presented an opportunity to study the relationship between delayed language acquisition and suicidal ideation and attempts in a population that has historically been understudied, yet has increased prevalence in both suicidal behavior and significantly delayed language acquisition compared to the general population. Of the 107 prelingually Deaf consumers in the program, 18 reported language acquisition later than age ten. This study proposed that manifestations of this delay may contribute to known risk factors for suicidal behavior as well as adaptive communication in the form of suicidal gestures and parasuicide. As hypothesized, the lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts increased with substance use disorder or mental illness. Suicide attempts were also higher in this sample than studies suggest with comorbidity of substance use disorder and co-occurring mental illness. Each of these factors was amplified among those participants with significantly delayed language acquisition. Although caution should be exercised when comparing these results with the hearing population, they underscore the need for increased attention and further inquiry.

Committee: David Orenstein PhD (Committee Chair); Julie Williams PsyD (Committee Member); Karen Lahm PhD (Committee Member); Dennis Moore EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences

Master of Arts in Psychology, Cleveland State University, 2012, College of Sciences and Health Professions

Variability in talker identity, which is commonly referred to as one type of indexical variation, has demonstrable effects on the speed and accuracy of spoken word recognition. In the current study, I conducted two experiments designed to examine whether talker variability has an effect on the perception of words in American Sign Language. Native and non-native signers participated in two long-term repetition-priming experiments in which they performed two separate blocks of lexical decision trials. In Experiment 1, all participants were native signers. In Experiment 2, all participants were late signers. In both experiments, all participants performed both an easy and a hard lexical decision task. In the easy lexical decision task, the non-signs did not resemble real signs, making the task relatively easy. In the hard lexical task, the non-signs resembled real signs, making the task relatively difficult. In both experiments, some of the signs (and non-signs) in the second block also appeared in the first block (primed conditions) and some were new stimuli that had not appeared in the first block (control condition). Half the primed stimuli were produced by the same signer in the two blocks (matched condition) and half were produced by a different signer (mismatched condition). Based on previous research in spoken word recognition, I made the following predictions: 1) primed stimuli would be responded to more quickly than unprimed stimuli, 2) signs in the match condition would be responded to more quickly than signs in the mismatch condition (i.e., a signer-specificity effect), and the signer-specificity effect was expected to be greater when processing was relatively slow, that is 3) in Experiment 2, with late signing participants, and 4) in the hard lexical decision task. The results inform theories and models of sign language perception, add to the knowledge of the circumstances in which variability is expected to have an effect on the recognition of words, and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Conor McLennan PhD (Committee Chair); Naohide Yamamoto PhD (Committee Member); Lisa Doane PhD (Committee Member) Subjects:

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2012, Spanish

This study investigates the effects of anxiety on second language acquisition within the context of a university Spanish classroom. There are two types of anxiety investigated: the anxiety specifically related to the foreign language classroom and the general anxiety experienced before performing an evaluative task. The study also identifies other factors possibly related to anxiety in relation to acquisition, such as the linguistic competence of the second language, the level of the class and the gender of the participant. The participants were taking four university-level Spanish classes. They completed the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale survey and anxiety-rating forms before participating in evaluative tasks in the classroom, such as quizzes, exams or compositions. The results indicate that students do experience significant amounts of anxiety in the classroom, but the effect of the anxiety on acquisition is limited depending on the type of anxiety. The anxiety related to the classroom, which represents learners' fears in general about the context, was moderately correlated to success on tasks in the first two introductory levels, but this effect decreased in the second two year levels. The anxiety before performing an evaluative task had no effect on performance. In addition, the amount of anxiety experienced by the participants diminished over the courses, suggesting that students at more advanced levels of acquisition are more comfortable in the foreign language classroom. In reference to gender, there was a significant difference in the amount of anxiety experienced, with the females feeling more anxious than the males. However, the performances on the evaluative tasks were fairly equal. This suggests that female students, although more anxious than male students, have sufficient enough coping mechanisms in order to not allow the anxiety to affect their acquisition and success. The results of this study will help to clarify some contradicting findin (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lynn Pearson PhD (Committee Chair); Cynthia Ducar PhD (Committee Member); Valeria Grinberg Pla PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Education; Foreign Language; Language; Linguistics; Teaching

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2013, Speech Pathology and Audiology

This paper examined the arguments for American Sign Language (ASL) as a foreign language and the development of a new ASL curriculum to fulfill a foreign language requirement at Miami University. Due to the large number of individuals in the United States using ASL as a language and the steady increase in ASL course enrollments at colleges and universities since 1990, an argument can be made that Miami University is behind the times in not offering ASL as a foreign language. This paper used primary sources from peer-reviewed literature, books, and current organizational websites to not only look at the importance of ASL instruction at institutions of higher learning but also create a new curriculum based on language learning pedagogy and new foreign language proficiency standards.

Committee: Kathleen Hutchinson-Marron PhD (Committee Chair); Ann Bromberg PhD (Committee Member); Amber Franklin PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Curriculum Development; Education; Foreign Language; Language

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2012, Arts and Sciences: Physics

The quantitative assessment of perfusion is important for early recognition of a variety of heart diseases, determination of disease severity and their cure. In conventional approach of measuring cardiac perfusion by arterial spin labeling, the relative difference in the apparent T1 relaxation times in response to selective and non-selective inversion of blood entering the region of interest is related to perfusion via a two-compartment tissue model. But accurate determination of T1 in small animal hearts is difficult and prone to errors due to long scan times. The purpose of this study is to develop a fast, robust and simple method to quantitatively assess myocardial perfusion using arterial spin labeling. The proposed method is based on signal intensities (SI) of inversion recovery slice-select, non-select and steady-state images. Especially in this method data are acquired at a single inversion time and at short repetition times. This study began by investigating the accuracy of assessment of perfusion using a two compartment system. First, determination of perfusion by T1 and SI were implemented to a simple, two-compartment phantom model. Mathematical model developed for full spin exchange models (in-vivo experiments) by solving a modified Bloch equation was modified to develop mathematical models (T1 and SI) for a phantom (zero spin exchange). The phantom result at different flow rates shows remarkable evidence of accuracy of the two-compartment model and SI, T1 methods: the SI method has less propagation error and less scan time. Next, twelve healthy C57BL/6 mice were scanned for quantitative perfusion assessment and three of them were repeatedly scanned at three different time points for a reproducibility test. The myocardial perfusion of healthy mice obtained by the SI-method,5.7±1.6 ml/g/min, was similar (p=0.38) to that obtained by the conventional T1 method, 5.6± 2.3 ml/g/min. The reproducibility of the SI method shows acceptable results: the maximum (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Endorf PhD (Committee Chair); Janaka Wansapura PhD (Committee Chair); Charles Dumoulin PhD (Committee Member); Scott Holland PhD (Committee Member); L.C.R. Wijewardhana PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Physics