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Previous studies suggest that bilinguals have certain executive function advantages over monolinguals. However, few studies have examined specific working memory (WM) differences between monolinguals and bilinguals using complex span tasks. In the current study, 52 bilingual and 53 monolingual speakers were administered simple and complex WM span tasks, including a

Previous studies suggest that bilinguals have certain executive function advantages over monolinguals. However, few studies have examined specific working memory (WM) differences between monolinguals and bilinguals using complex span tasks. In the current study, 52 bilingual and 53 monolingual speakers were administered simple and complex WM span tasks, including a backward digit-span task, standard operation span tasks and a non-verbal symmetry span task. WM performance was a strong predictor of performance on other WM tasks, whereas bilingual status was not. Thus, the present study did not find evidence of a bilingual advantage in WM capacity.

ContributorsRatiu, Ileana (Author) / Azuma, Tamiko (Author) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor)
Created2015-01-02
Description

The purpose of this creative project was to design a children’s book for parents, educators, caregivers, and speech language pathologists to promote vocabulary growth in young readers. Children’s books are commonly used in classrooms to connect students with new places and ideas. Books are a powerful learning tool that speech-language

The purpose of this creative project was to design a children’s book for parents, educators, caregivers, and speech language pathologists to promote vocabulary growth in young readers. Children’s books are commonly used in classrooms to connect students with new places and ideas. Books are a powerful learning tool that speech-language pathologists utilize during therapy sessions to support their language and speech development. El Papalote Perdido (The Lost Kite) is a multidimensional children’s book that provides a representation of Hispanic culture, the biodiversity of the Sonoran Desert, and a shared book reading guide that can be a tool in classrooms and therapy sessions. This literature review summarizes the research and importance of Codeswitching, Shared Book Reading, and representation. The goal of the projected children’s book, El Papalote Perdido, is for Hispanic children to increase self-worth by being represented in the illustrations and Spanish embedded in the text. Additionally, the book is for adults to learn reading strategies to build young readers' language and literacy development.

ContributorsBañuelos, Emilia (Author) / Morgan, Victoria (Co-author) / Restrepo, Maria Adelaida (Thesis director) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor)
Created2022-05
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Instrumental music has been used to evoke natural environments and their qualities for centuries, and composers have employed a variety of methods in order to successfully invoke such sensations in their listeners. When composers and sound teams for video game soundtracks write pieces to accompany in-game settings, they may use

Instrumental music has been used to evoke natural environments and their qualities for centuries, and composers have employed a variety of methods in order to successfully invoke such sensations in their listeners. When composers and sound teams for video game soundtracks write pieces to accompany in-game settings, they may use a similar set of strategies. The nature of these tracks as an accompaniment to an interactive visual media and as a piece that must be able to indefinitely loop leads them to emphasize environment over emotion, and thus draws out or exaggerates these same techniques. This study seeks to understand the relationships between the acoustics of various setting backing tracks and the perceptual qualities of environments that listeners feel they evoke through the statistical method of multidimensional scaling. The relationships of three perceptual factors (coldness, brightness, wetness) and two acoustic factors (beats-per-minute, spectral envelope slope) are of greatest interest in this study.
ContributorsJackson, Jalen (Author) / Azuma, Tamiko (Thesis director) / Patten, Kristopher (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Speech & Hearing Science (Contributor)
Created2022-05
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Description
Adults with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) often show deficits in executive functioning, which include the ability to inhibit, switch, and attend to task relevant information. These abilities are also essential for language processing in bilinguals, who constantly inhibit and switch between languages. Currently, there is no data

Adults with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) often show deficits in executive functioning, which include the ability to inhibit, switch, and attend to task relevant information. These abilities are also essential for language processing in bilinguals, who constantly inhibit and switch between languages. Currently, there is no data regarding the effect of TBI on executive function and language processing in bilinguals. This study used behavioral and eye-tracking measures to examine the effect of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) on executive function and language processing in Spanish-English bilinguals. In Experiment 1, thirty-nine healthy bilinguals completed a variety of executive function and language processing tasks. The primary executive function and language processing tasks were paired with a cognitive load task intended to simulate mTBI. In Experiment 2, twenty-two bilinguals with a history of mTBI and twenty healthy control bilinguals completed the same executive function measures and language processing tasks. The results revealed that bilinguals with a history of mTBI show deficits in specific executive functions and have higher rates of language processing deficits than healthy control bilinguals. Additionally, behavioral and eye-tracking data suggest that these language processing deficits are related to underlying executive function abilities. This study also identified a subset of bilinguals who may be at the greater risk of language processing deficits following mTBI. The findings of this study have a direct impact on the identification of executive function deficits and language processing deficits in bilinguals with a history mTBI.
ContributorsRatiu, Ileana (Author) / Azuma, Tamiko (Thesis advisor) / Goldinger, Stephen D (Committee member) / Liss, Julie M (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
Mild TBI (mTBI) has been associated with subtle executive function (EF) and

cognitive-communication deficits. In bilinguals, there are unique cognitive demands required to control and process two languages effectively. Surprisingly, little is known about the impact of mTBI on EF, communication, and language control in bilinguals. Therefore, the aim of this

Mild TBI (mTBI) has been associated with subtle executive function (EF) and

cognitive-communication deficits. In bilinguals, there are unique cognitive demands required to control and process two languages effectively. Surprisingly, little is known about the impact of mTBI on EF, communication, and language control in bilinguals. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the cognitive-communication abilities in bilinguals with a history of mTBI, identify any language control impairments, and explore the relationship between these language control impairments and domain-general cognitive control abilities. To this end, three-hundred and twenty-seven monolingual and bilingual college students with and without mTBI history participated in two experiments. In these experiments, EF, communication, and language control were examined using experimental and clinical tasks as well as self-rating scales. In Experiment 1, there was an interaction between mTBI history and language group (monolinguals vs. bilinguals) in how participants performed on a clinical measure of EF and a verbal fluency task. That is, only bilinguals with mTBI scored significantly lower on these tasks. In addition, there was a significant correlation between errors on a language switching task and performance on non-verbal EF tasks. In Experiment 2, a subgroup of bilinguals with persistent cognitive and behavioral symptoms reported greater everyday communication challenges in their first and second languages. Also, unbalanced bilinguals reported greater EF difficulties than monolinguals and balanced bilinguals regardless of mTBI history. In conclusion, bilinguals may face unique cognitive-communication challenges after mTBI. Factors related to the bilingual experience (e.g., language balance, daily language use) should be

considered in clinical evaluation and future research.
ContributorsAlateeq, Halah (Author) / Azuma, Tamiko (Thesis advisor) / Ratiu, Ileana (Committee member) / Lavoie, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
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Description
Languages, specially gestural and sign languages, are best learned in immersive environments with rich feedback. Computer-Aided Language Learning (CALL) solu- tions for spoken languages have successfully incorporated some feedback mechanisms, but no such solution exists for signed languages. Computer Aided Sign Language Learning (CASLL) is a recent and promising field

Languages, specially gestural and sign languages, are best learned in immersive environments with rich feedback. Computer-Aided Language Learning (CALL) solu- tions for spoken languages have successfully incorporated some feedback mechanisms, but no such solution exists for signed languages. Computer Aided Sign Language Learning (CASLL) is a recent and promising field of research which is made feasible by advances in Computer Vision and Sign Language Recognition(SLR). Leveraging existing SLR systems for feedback based learning is not feasible because their decision processes are not human interpretable and do not facilitate conceptual feedback to learners. Thus, fundamental research is needed towards designing systems that are modular and explainable. The explanations from these systems can then be used to produce feedback to aid in the learning process.

In this work, I present novel approaches for the recognition of location, movement and handshape that are components of American Sign Language (ASL) using both wrist-worn sensors as well as webcams. Finally, I present Learn2Sign(L2S), a chat- bot based AI tutor that can provide fine-grained conceptual feedback to learners of ASL using the modular recognition approaches. L2S is designed to provide feedback directly relating to the fundamental concepts of ASL using an explainable AI. I present the system performance results in terms of Precision, Recall and F-1 scores as well as validation results towards the learning outcomes of users. Both retention and execution tests for 26 participants for 14 different ASL words learned using learn2sign is presented. Finally, I also present the results of a post-usage usability survey for all the participants. In this work, I found that learners who received live feedback on their executions improved their execution as well as retention performances. The average increase in execution performance was 28% points and that for retention was 4% points.
ContributorsPaudyal, Prajwal (Author) / Gupta, Sandeep (Thesis advisor) / Banerjee, Ayan (Committee member) / Hsiao, Ihan (Committee member) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Yang, Yezhou (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
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Description
This study focuses on the properties of binaural beats (BBs) compared to Monaural beats (MBs) and their steady-state response at the level of the Superior Olivary Complex (SOC). An auditory nerve stimulator was used to simulate the response of the SOC. The simulator was fed either BBs or MBs stimuli

This study focuses on the properties of binaural beats (BBs) compared to Monaural beats (MBs) and their steady-state response at the level of the Superior Olivary Complex (SOC). An auditory nerve stimulator was used to simulate the response of the SOC. The simulator was fed either BBs or MBs stimuli to compare the SOC response. This was done for different frequencies at twenty, forty, and sixty hertz for comparison of the SOC response envelopes. A correlation between the SOC response envelopes for both types of beats and the waveform resulting from adding two tones together was completed. The highest correlation for BBs was found to be forty hertz and for MBs it was sixty hertz. A Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) was also completed on the stimulus envelope and the SOC response envelopes. The FFT was able to show that within the BBs presentation the envelopes of the original stimuli showed no difference frequency. However, the difference frequency was present in the binaural SOC response envelope. For the MBs, the difference frequency was present within the stimulus and the monaural SOC response envelope.
ContributorsCrawford, Taylor Janay (Author) / Brewer, Gene (Thesis advisor) / Zhou, Yi (Committee member) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
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Description
Research suggests that some children with primary language impairment (PLI)

have difficulty with certain aspects of executive function; however, most studies examining executive function have been conducted using tasks that require children to use language to complete the task. As a result, it is unclear whether poor performance on executive function

Research suggests that some children with primary language impairment (PLI)

have difficulty with certain aspects of executive function; however, most studies examining executive function have been conducted using tasks that require children to use language to complete the task. As a result, it is unclear whether poor performance on executive function tasks was due to language impairment, to executive function deficits, or both. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether preschoolers with PLI have deficits in executive function by comprehensively examining inhibition, updating, and mental set shifting using tasks that do and do not required language to complete the tasks.

Twenty-two four and five-year-old preschoolers with PLI and 30 age-matched preschoolers with typical development (TD) completed two sets of computerized executive function tasks that measured inhibition, updating, and mental set shifting. The first set of tasks were language based and the second were visually-based. This permitted us to test the hypothesis that poor performance on executive function tasks results from poor executive function rather than language impairment. A series of one-way analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were completed to test whether there was a significant between-group difference on each task after controlling for attention scale scores. In each analysis the between-group factor was group and the covariate was attention scale scores.

Results showed that preschoolers with PLI showed difficulties on a broad range of linguistic and visual executive function tasks even with scores on an attention measure covaried. Executive function deficits were found for linguistic inhibition, linguistic and visual updating, and linguistic and visual mental set shifting. Overall, findings add to evidence showing that the executive functioning deficits of children with PLI is not limited to the language domain, but is more general in nature. Implications for early assessment and intervention will be discussed.
ContributorsYang, Huichun (Author) / Gray, Shelley (Thesis advisor) / Restrepo, Maria (Committee member) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Green, Samuel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
Autism shows a pronounced and replicable sex bias with approximately three-to-four males diagnosed for every one female. Sex-related biology is thought to play a role in the sex bias, such that female biology may be protective and/or male biology may increase vulnerability to autism in the context of similar genetic

Autism shows a pronounced and replicable sex bias with approximately three-to-four males diagnosed for every one female. Sex-related biology is thought to play a role in the sex bias, such that female biology may be protective and/or male biology may increase vulnerability to autism in the context of similar genetic risk. Beyond etiology, sex-related biology has also been implicated in lifespan risk for health and psychiatric conditions that show common co-morbidity in autism. Thus, understanding how sex-related biology impacts autism etiology and progression has important implications for prognosis and treatment. Neuroimaging offers a powerful tool for in-vivo characterization of brain-based sex differences in autism, especially given emerging efforts to develop large, well-characterized longitudinal samples. To date, however, neuroimaging studies have shown mixed and inconsistent findings, which remain challenging to integrate in the broader literature context. In a recent systematic review of neuroimaging studies of typical sex differences, few to no replicable effects were found beyond brain size, suggesting the brain is not “sexually dimorphic.” Instead, it is argued that the brain is a “mosaic” of features from various sources, including masculine and feminine biological processes as well as individual genetics and environment. Thus, designing neuroimaging studies that are sensitive to brain-based sex differences in autism likely requires careful study design and analytical method selection. Through a series of studies, the overarching dissertation aim was to identify optimal methods for characterizing neuroimaging-based sex differences in autism and to test these methods in preliminary samples. Study 1 comprised a systematic review of studies examining neuroimaging-based sex differences in autism with the aim of identifying optimal study designs, neuroimaging modalities, and analytical methods. Study 2 focused on examining the sensitivity of a connectome-wide approach to identify functional connectivity hubs underlying sex-biased behavior associated with autism (e.g., camouflaging). Study 3 used a connectome-wide functional connectivity approach to characterize sex differences in longitudinal changes associated with autistic traits vs. categorical diagnosis. These studies suggest that optimizing study design and methods improves identification of biologically plausible and clinically meaningful brain sex differences in autism. The relevance of findings to etiology and prognosis are discussed.
ContributorsWalsh, Melissa (Author) / Braden, B. Blair (Thesis advisor) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Rogalsky, Corianne (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
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Description
The bilingual experience is an often-studied multivariate phenomenon with a heterogeneous population that is often described using subtypes of bilingualism. “Bilingualism” as well as its subtypes lack consistent definitions and often share overlapping features, requiring researchers to measure a number of aspects of the bilingual experience. Different variables have been

The bilingual experience is an often-studied multivariate phenomenon with a heterogeneous population that is often described using subtypes of bilingualism. “Bilingualism” as well as its subtypes lack consistent definitions and often share overlapping features, requiring researchers to measure a number of aspects of the bilingual experience. Different variables have been operationalized to quantify the language proficiencies, use, and histories of bilinguals, but the combination of these variables and their contributions to these subtypes often vary between studies on bilingualism. Research supports that these variables have an influence not only on bilingual classification, but also on non-linguistic outcomes including perceptions of self-worth and bicultural identification. To date, there is a lack of research comparing the quantification of these bilingual subtypes and these non-linguistic outcomes, despite research supporting the need to address both. Person-centered approaches such as latent profile analysis (LPA) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) have been applied to describe other multivariate constructs with heterogeneous populations, but these applications have yet to be used with bilingualism. The present study integrates models of bilingualism with these analytic methods in order to quantitatively identify latent profiles of bilinguals, describe the sets of conditions that define these subtypes, and to characterize the subjective experiences that differentiate these subtypes. The first study uses an existing data set of participants who completed the Language and Social Background Questionnaire (LSBQ) and performs LPA and fsQCA, identifying latent profiles and the sets of conditions that these subtypes. The following studies use a second set of bilinguals who also completed the LSBQ as well as a supplementary questionnaire, characterizing their identification with biculturalism and their feelings of self-worth. The analyses are repeated with these data to describe the profiles within these data and the subjective experiences in common. Finally, all analyses are repeated with the combined datasets to develop a final model of bilingual subtypes, describing the differences in language use and history within each subtype. Results demonstrate that latent models can be used to consistently characterize bilingual subtypes, while also providing additional information about the relationship between individual bilingual history and attitudes towards cultural identification.
ContributorsMcGee, Samuel (Author) / Azuma, Tamiko (Thesis advisor) / Gray, Shelley (Committee member) / Roscoe, Rod (Committee member) / Grimm, Kevin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022