UMD Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3
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Item SECOND LANGUAGE LEXICAL REPRESENTATION AND PROCESSING OF MANDARIN CHINESE TONES(2018) Pelzl, Eric; DeKeyser, Robert; Second Language Acquisition and Application; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation investigates second language (L2) speech learning challenges by testing advanced L2 Mandarin Chinese learners’ tone and word knowledge. We consider L2 speech learning under the scope of three general hypotheses. (1) The Tone Perception Hypothesis: Tones may be difficult for L2 listeners to perceive auditorily. (2) The Tone Representation Hypothesis: Tones may be difficult for L2 listeners to represent effectively. (3) The Tone Processing Hypothesis: Tones may be difficult for L2 listeners to process efficiently. Experiments 1 and 2 test tone perception and representation using tone identification tasks with monosyllabic and disyllabic stimuli with L1 and advanced L2 Mandarin listeners. Results suggest that both groups are highly accurate in identification of tones on isolated monosyllables; however, L2 learners have some difficulty in disyllabic contexts. This suggests that low-level auditory perception of tones presents L2 learners with persistent long-term challenges. Results also shed light on tone representations, showing that both L1 and L2 listeners are able to form abstract representations of third tone allotones. Experiments 3 and 4 test tone representation and processing through the use of online (behavioral and ERP) and offline measures of tone word recognition. Offline results suggest weaknesses in L2 learners’ long-term memory of tones for specific vocabulary. However, even when we consider only trials for which learners had correct and confident explicit knowledge of tones and words, we still see significant differences in accuracy for rejection of tone compared to vowel nonwords in lexical recognition tasks. Using a lexical decision task, ERP measures in Experiment 3 reveal consistent L1 sensitivity to tones and vowels in isolated word recognition, and individual differences among L2 listeners. While some are sensitive to both tone and vowel mismatches, others are only sensitive to vowels or not at all. Experiment 4 utilized picture cues to test neural responses tied directly to tone and vowel mismatches. Results suggest strong L1 sensitivity to vowel mismatches. No other significant results were found. The final chapter considers how the three hypotheses shed light on the results as a whole, and how they relate to the broader context of L2 speech learning.Item The Health Implications of Stress among Asian Americans in the US and Chinese In China: the Effects of Perceived Stress and Caregiving Stress on Cardiovascular Risk Factors(2018) Lu, Xiaoxiao; Lee, Sunmin; Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Prior research suggests that stress plays a role in the etiology and progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD). To lend a more accurate depiction of the associations between stress and CVD risk factors, this dissertation used a comprehensive approach to conceptualizing stress by assessing two dimensions of stress: perceived stress and caregiving stress. The objective of this dissertation was to investigate the associations between multiple dimensions of stress and the risk factors of CVD. This dissertation also explored the potential mechanisms that underlie the relationships between stress and CVD risk factors. In Paper 1 (Chapter 3), we assessed the associations between perceived stress and hypertension across varying levels of social support and social network among 530 Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese Americans. Results indicated that individuals with high perceived stress were 61% more likely to have hypertension compared to those with low levels of perceived stress (Odds Ratio (OR): 1.61, 95% Confidence interval (CI): 1.15, 2.46). Social support had a direct beneficial effect on hypertension, irrespective of whether individuals were under stress. In Paper 2 (Chapter 4), we used five waves of longitudinal data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey to examine the association between parental caregiving and blood pressure among 2,586 Chinese women. We found that parental caregivers were associated with higher systolic (β-coefficient (β) = 1.16; p ≤ 0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (β = 0.75; p ≤ 0.01) compared with non-caregivers across multiple waves. In Paper 3 (Chapter 5), we investigated the relationship between caregiving trajectory and Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) among 1,636 Chinese women. Three caregiving trajectories were identified by using group-based trajectory analysis. Results showed that ‘rising to high-intense’ caregivers (OR = 1.90; 95% CI: 0.90, 4.00) and ‘stable low-intense’ caregivers (OR = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.06, 2.29) were associated with higher risk of MetS compared with non-caregivers. This dissertation is innovative in its examining the associations of multiple dimensions of stress with CVD risk factors among Asian subgroups. Findings from the proposed study will be used to develop future stress management interventions, and incorporating culturally and linguistically appropriate strategies into community outreach and education to decrease cardiovascular disease risk within the Asian population.Item CHINESE GRADUATE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT IN THE US: A QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION(2017) Lu, Yun; Miller, Matthew J; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Chinese international students are the largest and fastest growing international student body on US campuses (Open Door Report, 2016). This study used the consensual qualitative research method (CQR; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997; Hill, 2012) to capture the complexity of the challenges and growth Chinese graduate international student may experience adjusting to their lives in the US in the current sociopolitical context. Nine participants (6 females; 3 males) enrolled in graduate programs from various disciplines were interviewed about their perceptions of the sociopolitical environment, cultural adjustment expectations and experiences, and social support systems. Findings revealed an on-going evaluative process where participants negotiated their expectations with cultural adjustment changes in multiple life areas to achieve a subjective sense of satisfaction and well-being. Findings have implications for professionals working with CIS to help them mitigate the negative impact of internationalized oppression and develop a more individualized and realistic sense of purpose.Item Transcendence of Time and Space: The Lived Experiences of Chinese International Graduate Students in the United States(2014) Pan, Yali; Hultgren, Francine H.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of seven Chinese international graduate students in the United States. The students in this study range in age from the twenties to thirties and are pursuing advanced degrees in various disciplines including Education, American Studies, Economics, and the STEM field (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The phenomenological question is: What are the lived experiences of Chinese international graduate students in the United States? This research is conducted in the tradition of hermeneutic phenomenology drawing on the work of philosophers such as Heidegger, Gadamer, Dilthey, Merleau-Ponty, and Casey as foundational "grounding" for the study. Each of these philosophers brings key foundations to help illuminate the phenomenon, through such existentials as lived body, space, time and relation. Van Man provides the methodology to guide the study. Through individual conversations with each participant, the themes generated revolve around orienting to a new environment, both academically and socially; finding familiarity in the midst of unfamiliarity, while living in between two languages and two cultural worlds, both literally and metaphorically. Their journey to the U.S. is a journey with possible return to their home country; however, the return to their past and familiar practices is transformed and different. Their self-doubt and identity navigation are all revealed in this dissertation, such as their eagerness to "fit in" the U.S. environment while still making an effort to maintain their "Chineseness." They also desire to establish friendships with Americans, contribute to their study fields, and experience the joy of freedom to achieve their "American Dreams." This study concludes with pedagogical recommendations that can help international students become more self-oriented and find fulfillment in their studies. The importance of listening and genuine care surfaced. In addition, it takes more a collaborative effort amongst different academic and support units to create a home community where international students can find places to belong.Item A WORLD APART, A HEARTBEAT AWAY(2013) Feng, Xuejuan; Bradley, Karen Kohn; Dance; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)When I first came to the US from China, I felt mute and deaf, unable to communicate through the opaque language barrier enveloping me. But with the loss of speech, came the crystallization of other perceived sensations and realizations. Though many ideological differences exist between American and Chinese culture, none became clearer to me than the unspoken ideals of feminine beauty and aesthetics. Like a first language, one's sense of the femininity is consciously and subconsciously shaped by one's environment and culture from an early age, manifesting into one's way of speech, thought and movement. At first, immersed in the US aesthetics, I'd never felt further from home. But the longer I find myself in this country, the more my viewpoint changes of what feminine beauty is and should be.Item Comparison of an Integrative Inductive Approach, Presentation-and-Practice Approach, and Two Hybrid Approaches to Instruction of English Prepositions(2012) Mueller, Charles Mark; DeKeyser, Robert M; Second Language Acquisition and Application; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Certain semantic categories, such as the polysemous senses of English prepositions, present specific problems for adult second language (L2) learners, whether they attempt to acquire these meanings through implicit learning mechanisms or through explicit mechanisms associated with incidental learning or instruction. This study examined research on categorization and practice, along with results of learner corpus analyses, to arrive at a characterization of the learning problem posed by English prepositions. An experiment then assessed the effectiveness of a novel pedagogical intervention called semantic highlighting (SH), which employed an inductive, integrative approach to the acquisition of procedural knowledge while accounting for some of the distinctive features of the learning problem posed by polysemy and semantic complexity. A between-subject comparison examined the performance of a control group and four treatment groups. One treatment group (D-P) received explicit explanations of the senses of various prepositions, followed by practice with immediate feedback. Another group (SH) received only a practice session in which cues, referred to here as "semantic highlighting" (SH), were used to draw participants' attention to concrete form-meaning mapping as it applied to the target sentences. The other two treatment groups received hybrid instruction with explicit explanations preceding SH practice (D-SH) or with SH practice preceding explicit explanations (SH-D). Acquisition was measured using a fill-in-the-blanks (FB) test and a written sentence-elicitation (SE) test that was scored using a target-language use analysis (Pica, 1984). Two ANCOVAs, using pretest scores as a covariate, showed significant differences between groups on the FB measure (p < .001) and SE measure (p < .001) at an alpha level of .025. On the FB test, results indicated an advantage for the SH (p < .001) group relative to the SH-D group. On the SE measure, the SH group outperformed the D-P (p = .010), SH-D (p = .013), and D-SH (p = .002) groups. The results suggested that the SH treatment, and possibly the D-SH treatment, as well, constitute viable alternatives to a conventional presentation-and-practice approach when teaching complex semantic targets. The results were further discussed in terms of implications for theoretical accounts of explicit instruction and categorization.Item From China to the US: nutrition, diet and acculturation of Chinese employed in high-tech industries - Results from a web-based survey(2007-08-06) Wang, Chunling; Sahyoun, Nadine; Nutrition; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Background: Due to the fast development of economies in China and the great needs of professionals in the US, the population of highly educated young Chinese professionals working in high-tech industries has grown very fast in both countries. This population was suggested to have risk of consuming high energy and fat diet in both countries. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the associations of dietary intake with nutrition knowledge, attitude, dietary self-efficacy and acculturation among Chinese working in high-tech industries in China and in the US. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional self-administered online survey. We studied 925 Chinese aged 20-45 years, who worked in high-tech industries and had at least a bachelor degree in four sub-groups: employees of Chinese companies in China; employees of American companies in China; Chinese-born immigrant in the US; and American-born Chinese in the US. A web-based questionnaire including a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed to assess total energy and fat intakes, nutrition knowledge, attitudes, dietary self-efficacy. Four domains of acculturation were assessed among Chinese in the US. Using these data, we compared the four sub-groups and tested the prediction model of dietary intake and BMI. Results: Our results showed that American-born Chinese participants consumed significantly higher energy and fat than the other three groups. Participants in the US had higher nutrition knowledge, attitude and self- efficacy than participants in China. Chinese-born immigrant men in the US had the highest nutrition knowledge and attitude and the lowest prevalence of overweight among the four study groups of men. The study results suggested that preferring Chinese food and Chinese leisure activity are predictors of lower energy and fat intake in Chinese-born immigrants. Conclusions: The Chinese-born immigrants showed significant advantages in nutrition knowledge, attitude, and dietary self-efficacy and had the lowest prevalence of overweight in men. American-born Chinese consumed the highest energy and fat among the four study groups even though their nutrition knowledge, attitude and self-efficacy were high. Future nutrition promotion programs should make use of these cultural and environmental differences when designing theses programs. The web-based survey method can be utilized in future nutrition research.Item Strategies in International Broadcasting: A Grounded Analysis of Communication Values Across Cultures(2006-06-05) Swartz, Brecken Chinn; Cai, Deborah A.; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation is a cross-cultural examination of strategic communication values that drive journalistic decision-making. Several issues are addressed: 1) developing tools to engage in systematic producer-centered qualitative media research across cultures , 2) testing a comprehensive grounded category scheme to characterize media producers' strategic presentational values, 3) broadening discussion of the influence of culture on media decision-making by moving beyond national culture and looking also at age, gender, organization, and level of training, 4) working methodologically with a three-tiered inductive approach to structure analysis of interview data, and 5) examining the utility of these qualitative tools cross-culturally by testing the framework with both Western and Chinese international broadcasters. Fifty American, British, and Chinese international feature reporters were interviewed at the Voice of America, the BBC World Service, and state-run Chinese international broadcast agencies (China Central Television, China Radio International, and the Xinhua News Agency) to identify patterns in their journalistic decision-making. Journalists completed semi-structured interviews along with a freelisting task and a selection task to further characterize their strategic presentational values within simulated free and constrained contexts. This study moves beyond classical gatekeeping research to propose a set of ten strategic communication categories (aesthetics, breadth, convenience, depth, emotionality, freshness, germaneness, helpfulness, incisiveness, and justice) that facilitate discussion of content and presentational style beyond the yes/no of story selection based on newsworthiness criteria. The gatekeeping paradigm is extended by comparing the complex decisions driving the production of mediated messages to the multi-faceted process of preparing food for the consumption of others, as both are strategic endeavors that profoundly affect the wellbeing of individuals and communities. This research provides a new direction to debates on cross-cultural differences in mass communication. Data in this study reveal a notable pattern for Chinese journalists (both in China and in the West) to emphasize the value of justice in their responses, although data suggest that Chinese journalists tend to equate this value with complete objectivity and neutrality in contrast with Western journalists' tendency to consider issues of broader social justice. Developments in modern international propaganda broadcasting are also explored.