Browsing by Subject "Fluency"
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Item The effect of phonological, semantic, and hybrid associates on accurate recall and false memories of adults who stutter : a preliminary study(2011-05) Delahoussaye, Amy Leigh; Byrd, Courtney T.; Sheng, LiThere are data to suggest that the phonological representations of young children who stutter are less specified than their typically fluent peers. The purpose of the present study is to determine if this apparent difference in phonological encoding persists in adults who stutter. Utilizing a false memory paradigm, nine adults who stutter (AWS) were asked to listen to and then recall/produce 12 lists of 12 words each. Each word list was comprised of either semantic, phonological or an equal number of semantic and phonological associates of a single, unpresented, critical ‘lure’ word. Three parameters of recall performance were measured across these three conditions: 1) number of accurately recalled productions, 2) number of lure intrusions and 3) number of other intrusions. AWS produced significantly more accurate recalls in the semantic condition than either the hybrid or phonological conditions, and significantly more lure intrusions in the phonological and hybrid conditions than the semantic condition, but there was no significant difference on measures of other intrusions. These results extend the findings with young children who stutter, and indicate that the phonological representations are less robust than the semantic representations in the lexicon of AWS.Item Effects of instruction in creative problem solving on cognition, creativity, and satisfaction among ninth grade students in an introduction to world agricultural science and technology course(Texas A&M University, 2007-09-17) Alexander, Kim DarwinThe use of Creative Problem Solving (CPS) as an instructional strategy to increase the creativity levels of students across all levels of the curriculum is currently a popular topic of investigation. Curriculum content and the underlying objectives that are presented to students in public schools have been the subject of close scrutiny since school accountability became a hot topic during the 1980's. However, despite all the efforts to improve student productivity through a well defined curriculum, and possibly because of the increased emphasis on student accountability to reflect that student improvement, concern for the apparent declining creativity levels among students appears to be growing. The purpose of this dissertation was to compare conventional instructional methodologies with those of creative problem solving. It was hypothesized that students' low, high, and total cognition levels, overall creativity levels, and satisfaction with instructional methodologies, improve as a result of instruction through creative problem solving strategies. By improving the levels of creativity within students, they will be better equipped to deal with the complex types of problems the future will present. This study utilized an experimental, posttest only, control group design. Participants were ninth grade students (n=20) who were enrolled in an Introduction to World Agricultural and Science Technology I course. Posttests were administered to measure low, high, and total levels cognition at the conclusion of the course. For this measure of the dependent variable, a forty question (10 true/false, 25 multiple choice, and 5 short answer) test was administered. Pretests and posttests were administered to measure student creativity. A standardized Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) was used as the measure of the dependent variable of creativity. Pretests, mid-tests, and posttests were used to measure student satisfaction. A satisfaction instrument developed by Brashears (2004) was used for the measurement of clarity, delivery, content, and total satisfaction as the dependent measure of satisfaction. These instruments were used to measure the five research hypotheses of the study. Results of the study did not support the hypotheses that significant differences exist between creative problem solving and traditional instructional strategies, as they pertain to student cognition, creativity, and satisfaction. However, although not significant, possibly due to the small sample size, upon closer examination of group means, one can detect definite patterns of greater mean score gains among the CPS group over the traditional group in cognition, creativity, and satisfaction. Based on these findings, this researcher suggests that replications of this study be performed with larger sample sizes in different curriculum areas to further perpetuate the integration of creative problem solving strategies as an effective instructional strategy for all age groups and in all areas of the curriculum.Item Effects of instruction in creative problem solving on cognition, creativity, and satisfaction among ninth grade students in an introduction to world agricultural science and technology course(Texas Tech University, 2007-05) Alexander, Kim Darwin; Shinn, Glen; Baker, Matt; Hartmeister, Fred; Harlin, Julie; Fraze, StevenThe use of Creative Problem Solving (CPS) as an instructional strategy to increase the creativity levels of students across all levels of the curriculum is currently a popular topic of investigation. Curriculum content and the underlying objectives that are presented to students in public schools have been the subject of close scrutiny since school accountability became a hot topic during the 1980's. However, despite all the efforts to improve student productivity through a well defined curriculum, and possibly because of the increased emphasis on student accountability to reflect that student improvement, concern for the apparent declining creativity levels among students appears to be growing. The purpose of this dissertation was to compare conventional instructional methodologies with those of creative problem solving. It was hypothesized that students’ low, high, and total cognition levels, overall creativity levels, and satisfaction with instructional methodologies, improve as a result of instruction through creative problem solving strategies. By improving the levels of creativity within students, they will be better equipped to deal with the complex types of problems the future will present. This study utilized an experimental, posttest only, control group design. Participants were ninth grade students (n=20) who were enrolled in an Introduction to World Agricultural and Science Technology I course. Posttests were administered to measure low, high, and total levels cognition at the conclusion of the course. For this measure of the dependent variable, a forty question (10 true/false, 25 multiple choice, and 5 short answer) test was administered. Pretests and posttests were administered to measure student creativity. A standardized Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) was used as the measure of the dependent variable of creativity. Pretests, mid-tests, and posttests were used to measure student satisfaction. A satisfaction instrument developed by Brashears (2004) was used for the measurement of clarity, delivery, content, and total satisfaction as the dependent measure of satisfaction. These instruments were used to measure the five research hypotheses of the study. Results of the study did not support the hypotheses that significant differences exist between creative problem solving and traditional instructional strategies, as they pertain to student cognition, creativity, and satisfaction. However, although not significant, possibly due to the small sample size, upon closer examination of group means, one can detect definite patterns of greater mean score gains among the CPS group over the traditional group in cognition, creativity, and satisfaction. Based on these findings, this researcher suggests that replications of this study be performed with larger sample sizes in different curriculum areas to further perpetuate the integration of creative problem solving strategies as an effective instructional strategy for all age groups and in all areas of the curriculum.Item Lexical influence on phonological processing in adults with and without stuttering(2011-05) Moriarty, Kirsten Elizabeth; Byrd, Courtney T.; Hampton, ElizabethPurpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how phonetic complexity influences the accuracy and rate of speech production in adults who do (AWS, N=15) and do not stutter (AWNS, N=15). Target words were characterized according to high phonetic complexity (HIPC) and low phonetic complexity (LIPC), and were controlled for lexical influences such as word frequency and neighborhood density. It was hypothesized that if phonetic complexity influenced speech production, there would be a difference in reaction time and accuracy for AWS during the HIPC condition. Method: Participants produced two rounds of 40 target words corresponding to specific line drawings, during a confrontational naming task. Speech reaction time (SRT) was recorded from initial presentation of picture, and fluency and accuracy of production were coded for each target. Results: There was no significant difference in SRT according to HIPC and LIPC for either AWS or AWNS. AWS participants had slower SRT recorded compared to AWNS for all conditions tested. There was no relationship found between HIPC and increased moments of disfluency. Accuracy of target word production decreased during LIPC words. Conclusion: Phonetic complexity does not affect rate or fluency of speech production for either AWS or AWNS. While there is no difference in phonetic complexity measures, AWS are consistently slower than AWNS across both groups of target productions. Increased errors for both groups on LIPC target words may indicate a motor component to accuracy of speech production.Item Studying Spanish in Texas: an exploration of the attitudes and motivation of Anglos(2009-12) Martin, Annjeanette; Horwitz, Elaine Kolker, 1950-Motivation has been widely studied in the field of second language learning as one of the most important predictors of linguistic proficiency. Initial studies suggested that socio-cultural factors such as attitudes toward the target group were strongly associated with a desire to learn and the effort expended in learning the target language. Though a second wave of studies emphasized more individual contributions to learner motivation, there has recently been a return to a more contextualized view of learning and the role that motivation plays within a given social context. The present study examines the specific socio-cultural context of the Southwestern U.S. in which Anglos, the dominant socio-linguistic group, have chosen to study Spanish, a minority language. Analyses address intensity of motivation, attitudes toward Spanish and Spanish speaking populations, and motivational orientations; this study also examines issues of social distance and discusses differences in perception regarding Spain and Mexico based on self-report questionnaires from the participants involved. Results indicate that Anglo learners of Spanish are moderately motivated to learn Spanish; though they responded quite positively on items related to desired fluency, participants do not seem necessarily willing to invest the time and effort required to achieve that fluency. Findings suggest that participants have somewhat neutral attitudes toward the Spanish language and Spanish speakers. Participants seem generally positive about the need for English speakers to understand and appreciate Hispanic culture; they are more reticent, however, on issues of language learning responsibilities. It also appears that participants have slightly more negative perceptions of Mexico than of Spain. In addition, results show that motivational intensity is moderately associated with attitudes, supporting many of the initial studies of motivation in language learning that found that more positive attitudes are associated with higher levels of motivation. Although many participants responded that they were only taking Spanish courses to fulfill the language requirement, they also seemed to recognize that there were other compelling reasons to study Spanish. Participants indicated that the usefulness of Spanish was the most important reason for studying the language and that a desire to have a more personal connection with the target group and culture was the least important reason.Item Support groups for people who stutter : the role and perspective of speech-language pathologists(2013-05) Dunaway, Laura Susan; Byrd, Courtney T.In an effort to improve understanding of the role that support groups such as the National Stuttering Association (NSA) play in helping people who stutter, speech-language pathologists who participate in the NSA were asked to participate in a research survey. Previous research and anecdotal evidence has shown that support groups not only benefit people who stutter, but also the professionals who work with them. Participation in the NSA can enhance SLPs' understanding of stuttering, and their comfort level and competence working with people who stutter. However, the relationship between support groups and professionals has not been adequately studied.Item Treatment for speech production and fluency in two individuals with non-fluent primary progressive aphasia(2015-05) Daigle, Wylin Marie; Henry, Maya; Chandrasekaran, BharathPurpose: The current study examined the utility of a script-based treatment protocol for improving speech production and fluency in two individuals with the non-fluent variant of primary progressive aphasia (PPA). Method: The treatment protocol was a modified version of the "speech entrainment" technique examined in non-fluent stroke aphasia by Fridriksson and colleagues (2012). Personalized scripts were recorded as videos of a healthy speaker's mouth. Scripts were rehearsed via synchronized spoken production in daily homework. Treatment sessions with the clinician targeted memorization and conversational usage. The protocol was modified from the original study in its use of 1.) topics of interest to the participant, 2.) tailored speech rate based on the participant's habitual rate of speech in reading and spontaneous speech tasks, and 3.) tailored level of script difficulty based on the participants' motor and linguistic profile. Speech entrainment is a homework-based treatment and required participants to practice thirty minutes per day over the course of nine weeks of treatment in addition to receiving in-person treatment twice per week. Outcome measures for trained and untrained scripts were percent correct and intelligible scripted words, errors by word class, total number of grammatical errors, and total percent intelligibility. Results: Both participants showed significant improvement in intelligibility and accuracy of trained scripts and generalized improvement on untrained scripts was observed in one participant. Participants showed a significant reduction in grammatical errors after treatment. One participant showed significant changes in overall intelligibility after treatment, and maintenance of intelligibility and script accuracy at three months post treatment. Conclusion: Script training using speech entrainment resulted in improved intelligibility, grammaticality, and overall accuracy for scripted material in two participants with PPA. Speech entrainment may be a viable treatment method for individuals with non-fluent PPA, particularly with modifications to support increased intelligibility for those with concomitant motor speech deficits. Because speech entrainment is homework-based, the frequency and dosage of treatment are maximized without necessitating an increase in face-to-face treatment sessions. This has promising implications for individuals facing limited reimbursement for treatment and for individuals who have mobility issues.Item Visual to auditory silent matching task in adults who do and do not stutter(2015-05) Novack, Julie Sarah; Byrd, Courtney T.; Hampton, ElizabethThe purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of phonological working memory in adults who do and do not stutter through a visual to auditory silent matching task. This task also explored the possible relationship between auditory processing and its ability to affect performance on the task. Participants were 13 adults who stutter (mean age = 28 years), matched in age, gender, handedness, and education level with 13 adults who do not stutter (mean age = 28 years). For the nonvocal visual to auditory task, participants silently read an initial target nonword and matched that target nonword to four subsequent auditory nonword choices. The participants completed this task for 4- syllable and 7- syllable nonwords (N = 8 per set). Results indicated that adults who stutter were significantly less accurate than adults who do not stutter at both syllable lengths. Our present findings support previous research that suggests less efficient phonological working memory in adults who stutter.Item Voluntary stuttering and the covert stutterer(2014-05) Stergiou, Erin Jo; Byrd, Courtney T.Abstract Voluntary Stuttering and the Covert Stutterer Erin Jo Stergiou, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2014 Supervisor: Courtney T. Byrd The purpose of the present study was to investigate the use of voluntary stuttering among individuals who self-identify as covert stutterers. Specifically, this study explored the perceived thoughts and feelings of covert stutterers regarding the impact of this strategy on their speech and on their lives overall. Further, the present study touches on the seemingly paradoxical relationship of initial discomfort but greater benefit that covert stutterers may perceive with the use of voluntary stuttering. Data for this research was compiled from an on-line survey distributed to members of the National Stuttering Association listserv and clients of the University of Texas Speech and Hearing Center. Results from this study suggest that covert stutterers presented with less aversion towards voluntary stuttering than had been predicted. Furthermore, present data points to the general lack of use by many participants as one of the potential reasons for their expressed neutrality regarding this tool. The results from this study, however, should be considered in light of the large, but potentially homogenous pool of participants reached via survey distribution methods.