Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
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Item SURVIVING AND THRIVING: A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO THE LIVES OF FIVE FILIPINA TEACHERS IN A U.S. URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICT(2011) Nones-Austria, Maria Dolores; HUGHES, SHERICK; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study centers five Filipina non-native English speaking (NNES) teachers, who teach English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). It explores how we construct our identities as persons and as teachers who are surviving and thriving in one U.S. public urban school district. This study emphasizes the meanings of our experiences as language learners and as ESOL teachers in relation to our identity construction, and highlights the effects of cultural, linguistic and interpersonal elements on our identity transformation. The specific purpose of this study is to seek alternatives to (1) develop and enrich our understanding of the diverse learning and teaching journeys of Filipina NNES ESOL teachers that Mid-Atlantic Public Schools (MAPS) hired between 2005 and 2006, (2) understand and co-construct our identities as supported and marginalized, (3) look at other Filipina NNES ESOL teachers to juxtapose their experiences to my own, as a person with an insider/outsider perspective, and (4) to use our narratives to inform MAPS and other U.S. school district's efforts to recruit, support and retain Filipino teachers as well as other international teachers. Through narrative life history interviews, email follow-up interviews, informal conversations, and questionnaires, the study explored Filipina NNES ESOL teachers' experiences of becoming and being ESOL teachers in MAPS. The study hopes to encourage local and state policy makers and curriculum developers to design professional development plans for Filipino teachers, and to encourage researchers to do further research on the lived experiences of other K-12 international teachers; which may include groups such as Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Hispanic, Indians, Nigerians, Jamaicans, etc. through additional qualitative research designs like case study, portraiture and ethnography.Item Fluency and Speech Rate in Children with Localization-Related Epilepsy: Correlations with fMRI Profiles(2010) Steinberg, Mara E.; Bernstein Ratner, Nan; Hearing and Speech Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Fluency and speech rate were examined in children with epilepsy, a group known to demonstrate depressed language skills. We also sought possible functional markers of increased disfluency during speech production tasks regardless of group. Children with epilepsy had significantly more disfluencies in their narratives than their typically-developing peers, while speech rate did not differ between groups. fMRI activation in working memory regions during a covert language processing task was significantly correlated with increased disfluency in another task involving narrative speech production. Additionally, there was a significant positive correlation between disfluency frequency and laterality of activation in the cerebellum. These results support the hypothesis that children with weaker language skills demonstrate increased levels of disfluencies in their narrative speech. Findings also suggest that children with higher rates of conversational speech disfluency may activate additional language and working memory regions when processing language, possibly reflecting the need for more mid-utterance incremental processing.Item Nasometric Assessment of Bilingual Spanish/English Speakers(2008) Doetzer, Ruthanne; Tian, Wei; Hearing and Speech Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of native language on speech tasks requiring velopharyngeal closure, particularly the standardized Nasometric assessment of voice resonance. Comparison of ten native-English-speaking adults (N) and ten bilingual Spanish/English speakers (B) indicates that native language did not significantly influence standardized assessment scores, although the effect of gender remains ambiguous, with female participants generally producing higher nasalance scores. Within-subject comparison of the bilingual speakers' individual scores on the English and Spanish stimuli indicated significant differences in the scores obtained on the nasal sentence sets and the oro-nasal paragraphs. Highly fluent bilingual English/Spanish speakers, like the participants of this study, can be accurately assessed using the standardized English nasometry passages. Nevertheless, future researchers and diagnosticians investigating velopharyngeal movement and voice resonance should be aware of the possible gender effect and its potential interaction with native language.Item The effects of phonological neighborhoods on spoken word recognition in Mandarin Chinese(2007-08-27) Tsai, Pei-Tzu; Bernstein Ratner, Nan; Hearing and Speech Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Spoken word recognition is influenced by words similar to the target word with one phoneme difference (neighbors). In English, words with many neighbors (high neighborhood density) are processed more slowly or less accurately than words with few neighbors. However, little is known about the effects in Mandarin Chinese. The present study examined the effects of neighborhood density and the definition of neighbors in Mandarin Chinese, using an auditory naming task with word sets differing in density levels (high vs. low) and neighbor types (words with neighbors with a nasal final consonant vs. words without such nasal-final neighbors). Results showed an inhibitory effect of high neighborhood density on reaction times and a difference between nasal-final neighbors and vowel-final neighbors. The findings suggest that neighbors compete and inhibit word access in Mandarin Chinese. Yet, other factors at the sublexical level may also play a role in the process.Item Early Understanding of Negation: The Word "Not"(2006-06-05) Loder, Lisa Sue; Newman, Rochelle; Hearing and Speech Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Few experimental studies provide data on early comprehension of negation. Commonly accepted norms are based on parental report and observational studies using a small number of participants. The purpose of this study was to determine if 18-month-olds (n=24) understand the word not. The study used a preferential looking paradigm, in which children saw two video screens showing a puppet performing a different action in each video. They then heard a voice, telling them to "Look! The ____'s not ____ing." For the three sets of videos used in the study, children only looked significantly longer at the matching video during one set of trials. However, for no set of trials did the children look longer at the puppet overtly named in the auditory stimulus. These results suggests that although children did not demonstrate a clear understanding of the word not, they may be developing an understanding of not at this age.Item Searching for Meaning in Law, Literature, and Language(2006-05-03) DeSanctis, Christy Hallam; Israel, Michael; English Language and Literature; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This paper presents a preliminary analysis of the potential application of literary theory and cognitive language theory to the law, specifically to the judicial process of statutory interpretation. The process of interpreting statutory text has long been the subject of a polarized debate in the law and has produced competing approaches for carrying out the task of meaning construction. Equally as intriguing as the merits of the debate itself, however, is the staunch reticence among members of the legal community to employ insights from other disciplines that have long grappled with similar debates over ways in which a written text acquires or is assigned meaning. Observations from literary theory and cognitive linguistic theory can be instructive in revealing the legal community's interpretive assumptions and in enriching the vocabulary of the legal debate.Item A Syntactic Structure of Lexical Verbs(2005-12-12) Mori, Nobue; Uriagereka, Juan; Linguistics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In this thesis, I propose a syntactic structure for verbs which directly encodes their event complexities. I present a model that is 'internalist' in the Chomskyan sense: Aktionsart properties of predicates are not a real-world affair, but the interpretation of a mind structure. For this purpose, I base my proposal on the Dimensional Theory of Uriagereka (2005, forthcoming). Syntactic constructs are in this view the results of operations that create increasingly complex objects, based on an algorithm that is homo-morphic with the structure of numerical categories. First, I propose that Aktionsart can be read off from structural complexities of syntactic objects and their associated 'theta-roles'. Specifically, I present the SAAC Hypothesis: Syntactic complexity in a verb is reflected in the number of syntactic arguments it takes. This approach, within the confines of the Dimensional Theory, results in an emergent 'thematic hierarchy': Causer > Agent > Locative > Goal > Theme. I test the accuracy of this hierarchy and concomitant assumptions through paradigms like the control of implicit arguments, selectional properties of verbs, extractions, aspect-sensitive adverbials, etc. Second, I argue that the verbal structure I propose is syntactically and semantically real, by extending the proposal in Lasnik (1999) on VP ellipsis from inflectional to derivational morphology. I discuss two contrasting methods of morphological amalgamation in English and Japanese, executed in Syntax and PF, respectively. This demonstrates a tight network of entailment patterns that holds of verbs, derived crucially from the architecture I argue for. Third, an analogous point is made through the structural positionings of causative and inchoative derivational morphemes in Japanese. There, each order of structural complexity has a profound impact on the class of eventualities a derivational morpheme can describe. 'Dimensional talks' are observed between certain derivational morphemes, which presumably find their roots in operations of the computational system within the Dimensional Theory. I show that the verbal structure in Japanese reflects directly an underlying bi-clausality that I argue for, in terms of derivational morphemes, further supporting a natural mapping between syntax and semantics. This is, in the end, an attempt for a 'Minimalist' theory of Aktionsart.Item Proust and the Discourse on Habit(2004-12-20) Loeserman, Amy Ross; Verdaguer, Pierre; French Language and Literature; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust is replete with a discourse by the principal character, the narrator Marcel, on the subject of habit ("habitude" in French). This discourse meticulously explores the ubiquitous but concealed role that habit plays with respect to the most significant aspects of life, such as emotions, cognitive processes, and aesthetic experiences, and it explicitly relates not only to the novel's characters, but to humanity in general. The critical commentary on the novel has largely ignored this subject. This dissertation provides the only comprehensive collection and analysis of the Proustian commentary on habit in A la recherche du temps perdu. It is not by chance that habit was deeply explored in Proust's novel or that it has been largely overlooked by the critical commentary. Historically, philosophers have paid substantial attention to habit. Habit was a focus of controversial philosophical/psychological theories in 19th century France regarding memory and consciousness, spirit and matter. Proust's commentary was directly related to the prominent philosophical issues of his time. This dissertation discusses the broad meanings of habit, first as developed by Aristotle and St. Thomas; then by French essayists, through Montaigne, Pascal, and the philosophes; and finally culminating in the great 19th century works on habit by Maine de Biran and Félix Ravaisson. It also reviews substantial contributions on habit made by other French writers and philosophers, notably Stendhal and Alfred Fouillée. Proust's reflections on habit may thus be appreciated in context. This dissertation then analyzes the contributions which Proust's novel made to contemporary theories on habit and argues that they were substantial. It also argues that presentations of the major themes in the novel should include, prominently, habit. For example, on the philosophical plane, Proust's theories relating to involuntary memory and time are inextricably interwoven with his theories on habit. Finally, this dissertation considers why habit fell out of the philosophical/psychological discourse after about 1930, and the extent to which Proust's novel may inform the philosophical/psychological/biological discourse in the 21st century, which is reflecting a renewed interest in habit. A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust is replete with a discourse by the principal character, the narrator Marcel, on the subject of habit ("habitude" in French). This discourse meticulously explores the ubiquitous but concealed role that habit plays with respect to the most significant aspects of life, such as emotions, cognitive processes, and aesthetic experiences, and it explicitly relates not only to the novel's characters, but to humanity in general. The critical commentary on the novel has largely ignored this subject. This dissertation provides the only comprehensive collection and analysis of the Proustian commentary on habit in A la recherche du temps perdu. It is not by chance that habit was deeply explored in Proust's novel or that it has been largely overlooked by the critical commentary. Historically, philosophers have paid substantial attention to habit. Habit was a focus of controversial philosophical/psychological theories in 19th century France regarding memory and consciousness, spirit and matter. Proust's commentary was directly related to the prominent philosophical issues of his time. This dissertation discusses the broad meanings of habit, first as developed by Aristotle and St. Thomas; then by French essayists, through Montaigne, Pascal, and the philosophes; and finally culminating in the great 19th century works on habit by Maine de Biran and Félix Ravaisson. It also reviews substantial contributions on habit made by other French writers and philosophers, notably Stendhal and Alfred Fouillée. Proust's reflections on habit may thus be appreciated in context. This dissertation then analyzes the contributions which Proust's novel made to contemporary theories on habit and argues that they were substantial. It also argues that presentations of the major themes in the novel should include, prominently, habit. For example, on the philosophical plane, Proust's theories relating to involuntary memory and time are inextricably interwoven with his theories on habit. Finally, this dissertation considers why habit fell out of the philosophical/psychological discourse after about 1930, and the extent to which Proust's novel may inform the philosophical/psychological/biological discourse in the 21st century, which is reflecting a renewed interest in habit. A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust is replete with a discourse by the principal character, the narrator Marcel, on the subject of habit ("habitude" in French). This discourse meticulously explores the ubiquitous but concealed role that habit plays with respect to the most significant aspects of life, such as emotions, cognitive processes, and aesthetic experiences, and it explicitly relates not only to the novel's characters, but to humanity in general. The critical commentary on the novel has largely ignored this subject. This dissertation provides the only comprehensive collection and analysis of the Proustian commentary on habit in A la recherche du temps perdu. It is not by chance that habit was deeply explored in Proust's novel or that it has been largely overlooked by the critical commentary. Historically, philosophers have paid substantial attention to habit. Habit was a focus of controversial philosophical/psychological theories in 19th century France regarding memory and consciousness, spirit and matter. Proust's commentary was directly related to the prominent philosophical issues of his time. This dissertation discusses the broad meanings of habit, first as developed by Aristotle and St. Thomas; then by French essayists, through Montaigne, Pascal, and the philosophes; and finally culminating in the great 19th century works on habit by Maine de Biran and Félix Ravaisson. It also reviews substantial contributions on habit made by other French writers and philosophers, notably Stendhal and Alfred Fouillée. Proust's reflections on habit may thus be appreciated in context. This dissertation then analyzes the contributions which Proust's novel made to contemporary theories on habit and argues that they were substantial. It also argues that presentations of the major themes in the novel should include, prominently, habit. For example, on the philosophical plane, Proust's theories relating to involuntary memory and time are inextricably interwoven with his theories on habit. Finally, this dissertation considers why habit fell out of the philosophical/psychological discourse after about 1930, and the extent to which Proust's novel may inform the philosophical/psychological/biological discourse in the 21st century, which is reflecting a renewed interest in habit. A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust is replete with a discourse by the principal character, the narrator Marcel, on the subject of habit ("habitude" in French). This discourse meticulously explores the ubiquitous but concealed role that habit plays with respect to the most significant aspects of life, such as emotions, cognitive processes, and aesthetic experiences, and it explicitly relates not only to the novel's characters, but to humanity in general. The critical commentary on the novel has largely ignored this subject. This dissertation provides the only comprehensive collection and analysis of the Proustian commentary on habit in A la recherche du temps perdu. It is not by chance that habit was deeply explored in Proust's novel or that it has been largely overlooked by the critical commentary. Historically, philosophers have paid substantial attention to habit. Habit was a focus of controversial philosophical/psychological theories in 19th century France regarding memory and consciousness, spirit and matter. Proust's commentary was directly related to the prominent philosophical issues of his time. This dissertation discusses the broad meanings of habit, first as developed by Aristotle and St. Thomas; then by French essayists, through Montaigne, Pascal, and the philosophes; and finally culminating in the great 19th century works on habit by Maine de Biran and Félix Ravaisson. It also reviews substantial contributions on habit made by other French writers and philosophers, notably Stendhal and Alfred Fouillée. Proust's reflections on habit may thus be appreciated in context. This dissertation then analyzes the contributions which Proust's novel made to contemporary theories on habit and argues that they were substantial. It also argues that presentations of the major themes in the novel should include, prominently, habit. For example, on the philosophical plane, Proust's theories relating to involuntary memory and time are inextricably interwoven with his theories on habit. Finally, this dissertation considers why habit fell out of the philosophical/psychological discourse after about 1930, and the extent to which Proust's novel may inform the philosophical/psychological/biological discourse in the 21st century, which is reflecting a renewed interest in habit. A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust is replete with a discourse by the principal character, the narrator Marcel, on the subject of habit ("habitude" in French). This discourse meticulously explores the ubiquitous but concealed role that habit plays with respect to the most significant aspects of life, such as emotions, cognitive processes, and aesthetic experiences, and it explicitly relates not only to the novel's characters, but to humanity in general. The critical commentary on the novel has largely ignored this subject. This dissertation provides the only comprehensive collection and analysis of the Proustian commentary on habit in A la recherche du temps perdu. It is not by chance that habit was deeply explored in Proust's novel or that it has been largely overlooked by the critical commentary. Historically, philosophers have paid substantial attention to habit. Habit was a focus of controversial philosophical/psychological theories in 19th century France regarding memory and consciousness, spirit and matter. Proust's commentary was directly related to the prominent philosophical issues of his time. This dissertation discusses the broad meanings of habit, first as developed by Aristotle and St. Thomas; then by French essayists, through Montaigne, Pascal, and the philosophes; and finally culminating in the great 19th century works on habit by Maine de Biran and Félix Ravaisson. It also reviews substantial contributions on habit made by other French writers and philosophers, notably Stendhal and Alfred Fouillée. Proust's reflections on habit may thus be appreciated in context. This dissertation then analyzes the contributions which Proust's novel made to contemporary theories on habit and argues that they were substantial. It also argues that presentations of the major themes in the novel should include, prominently, habit. For example, on the philosophical plane, Proust's theories relating to involuntary memory and time are inextricably interwoven with his theories on habit. Finally, this dissertation considers why habit fell out of the philosophical/psychological discourse after about 1930, and the extent to which Proust's novel may inform the philosophical/psychological/biological discourse in the 21st century, which is reflecting a renewed interest in habit.