published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Curriculum Studies / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / English / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Children who are identified with slow expressive language development (SELD) around the age of two are producing less than fifty intelligible words or no two word phrases. Current research suggests that some children with SELD outgrow their delay while others continue to develop long term language difficulties. The literature shows varied findings of short term recovery but long term deficits, and shifts in the specific expressive language deficits ~s the child with SELD matures and encounters increased language demands. Suggestions are found for a mix of monitoring and early intervention, in step with signs of readiness and dynamic assessments, to facilitate improved performance and hasten development, particularly in the areas of metalinguistics and narratives. This study attempted to support the recommendation of early intervention, particularly for those children with an initial greater severity levels of expressive communication delay at the age of two. The 24 male and seven female SELD subjects were part of the Portland Language Development Project, a longitudinal study. Intake was at two years, and placement in the Intervention (Rx) or No Intervention (No Rx) group was a result of follow-up information gathered from parents regarding enrollment in any early intervention services before the age of four: Using mean Developmental Sentence Scores (DSS) for four outcome points, 1-tests determined that no significant differences existed in the improvement of language production between the Rx and No Rx groups. Secondly, 1-tests showed no significant differences in the two group's initial severity levels, using the Expressive Communication sub-domain of the Vine~and Adaptive Behavior Scale (V ABS), as the measure of severity at intake. A non-significant trend of consistently higher actual mean DSS scores across all outcome points, and an actual lower mean Expressive Communication score on the V ABS at intake was noted for the Rx group. A significant difference was found in the mean intake ages of the two groups, with older toddlers falling into the Rx group. Research and clinical_ implications are discussed, including attention to the length, type and content of very early intervention services, effective initial and follow up assessments, and factors that favor recommending early intervention

This study examined community college students’ educational goals at the time of first enrollment in college and the status of attainment of those goals two and four years later. A comparison of the traditional definition of success for community college students - on time graduation or transfer to a four-year institution - and a definition reflecting Southern Association for Colleges and Schools criteria for institutional effectiveness was conducted to determine what effect changing success criteria would have numbers of students who are considered successful. Between 1985 and 1989, 11,553 student attending community colleges in southwestern Virginia were tracked to determine the degree to which they attained entry level educational goals. Students who enrolled for the purpose of attaining a credential were more likely to graduate and to exceed their educational goals than their non-degree-seeking counterparts. Non-degree-seekers were more likely to attain their educational goals exactly and then discontinue their community college enrollment. Differences among demographic groups are discussed and suggestions for policymakers are given. / Ph. D.

Leung Yin-Wa. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-59). / Abstract and questionnaires in English and Chinese. / ABSTRACT-English --- p.i / ABSTRACT - Chinese --- p.ii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.iii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / METHOD --- p.17 / RESULTS --- p.23 / DISCUSSION --- p.32 / REFERENCES --- p.47 / APPENDIX A TO APPENDIX F --- p.60 / FOOTNOTES --- p.66 / TABLE 1 TO TABLE8 --- p.67 / FIGURE CAPTIONS --- p.75 / FIGURE1 / FIGURE2 / FIGURE3

This thesis investigates the development of intonation in questions and L1 influence. It is a longitudinal study using data from classroom interaction over six ten-week terms. The data was from video recordings at the National Labsite for Adult ESOL at Portland State University.Yes-no/and wh-/questions from one Russian speaking learner of English were analyzed over time and by language support level. Both acoustic and perceptual analysis was done. The yes-no/questions showed a clear pattern of target-like boundary tones more often without language support than with language support. A much smaller percentage of wh-/questions were target-like. The influence of L1 on L2 intonation was evident in both the yes-no/and wh-questions, although more so in the wh-questions. There were some aspects of interlanguage observed and there was no change in intonation patterns over time to become more target-like. Implications for this study include the importance in teaching intonation explicitly and how classroom exercises may or may not facilitate the development of L2 intonation.

The neurophysiological basis of cognition changes with age is relatively unexplained, with most studies reporting weak relationships between cognition and measures of brain function, such as event related potentials, brain size and cerebral blood flow. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) is an in vivo method used to detect metabolites within the brain that are relevant to certain brain processes. Recent studies have shown that these metabolites, in particular N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), which is associated with neuronal viability, correlate with performance on neuropsychological tests or other measures of cognitive function in patients with a variety of cognitive disorders associated with ageing and in normal ageing subjects. We have studied the relationship between metabolites and cognitive function in elderly patients 3 months and 3 years after a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) and in an ageing comparison group. Metabolites were no different between stroke/TIA patients and elderly controls, however, there were significant metabolite differences between stroke/TIA patients with cognitive impairment (Vascular Cognitive Impairment and Vascular Dementia) and those without. Frontal measures of NAA and NAA/Cr predicted cognitive decline over 12 months and 3 years in stroke/TIA patients and elderly controls, and these measures were superior predictors than structural MRI measures. Longitudinal stability of metabolites in ageing over 3 years was associated with stability of cognitive function. The results indicate that 1H-MRS is a useful tool in differentiating stroke/TIA patients with and without cognitive impairment, with possibly superior predictive ability than structural MRI for assessing future cognitive decline. The changes in 1H-MRS that occur with ageing and cognitive decline have implications for the neurophysiological mechanisms and processes that are occurring in the brain, as well as application to clinical diagnosis, the early detection of pathology and the examination of longitudinal change.

College student retention has been described as a puzzle because retention rates have stagnated, and in some cases declined, despite over seventy years of research into the problem. The magnitude of the problem is that 50 percent of college students will leave their institution before obtaining a degree (Braxton, Hirschy, & McClendon, 2011). In an effort to improve retention rates, colleges and universities have concentrated their attention on first year students. But this concentrated strategy may have simply transferred the retention problem into the second year where retention rates for many schools are as low as first year rates (Amaury, Barlow, & Crisp, 2005). While advising practices have been identified as one of the three top contributors to increasing retention, major gaps exist about the role academic advising might play in the retention of second year students. The present correlational study was undertaken to fill gaps in the mostly conceptual second year literature base which implies second year students differ from first year and upper division students. Advising formed the focus of the study because advising has been identified as one of the most important methods for putting students into a mentoring relationship with college staff and faculty, a practice with strong ties to retention (Habley & McClanahan, 2004; Kuh, 2008). Six research questions were posed in the study which asked whether second year students differed from first year and upper division students and whether retained second year students differed from not retained second year students in their attitudes toward and experiences with advising. Using simultaneous and logistic regression models, and controlling for confounding variables, statistically significant differences were found between second year students and their first year and upper division peers as well as between retained second year students and not retained second year students. The findings of difference between second year and other students provide the growing second year retention literature with an empirical basis to support previously held assumptions about difference between class years which had also formed the basis for presumptions about practice for second year success and retention. Many of the findings in this study also support present retention and second year research and prescriptions for practice provided by that research.

The purpose of this study was to test a conceptual model for assessing the effects of student aid on community college student persistence. A sample consisting of all students who had entered a public community college during the 1980 fall term was drawn from the database of High School and Beyond, 1980 Senior Cohort. Omitting transfer students brought the sample size to 1,364 students. The model of student persistence was based on Tinto's theory of student integration and prior research that suggested student aid may be related to the persistence of community college students. Persistence was defined as the number of terms of enrollment over a two year period (1980-81 and 1981-82). Receipt of aid was associated with lower socioeconomic status, higher tuition charges, above average high school grades, and an ethnic background other than Asian or non-Hispanic white. Aid recipients considered college costs and the availability of aid more important factors in their college choice. A model of student persistence composed of eight exogenous and five endogenous variables was tested through path analysis. It was found that the receipt of student aid did not have significant effects on any of the subsequent variables in the model. Estimation of a reduced path model omitting the aid variable did not result in a significant reduction in explained variance. Degree goals, initial expectation regarding higher education, encouragement to attend college, academic integration, and full-time work were the most important influences on persistence. These findings validated the importance of some of the major constructs in the theory of student integration, but they did not support the research hypothesis that student aid recipients would have a higher rate of persistence than nonrecipients when other factors were held constant. Since encouragement from significant others had a strong and positive association with student persistence, it was suggested that future research consider the role of encouragement on persistence. / Ph. D.

published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy