Undergraduate Research Day Projects
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/10657/2212
Organized by the University of Houston Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards, Undergraduate Research Day is an annual event showcasing exceptional scholarship undertaken by the UH undergraduate community.
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Browsing Undergraduate Research Day Projects by Department "Communication Sciences and Disorders, Department of"
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Item Bilingual Phonological Acquisition with Cochlear Implant Use: A Comparison of Vowel Production with Normal Hearing Peers(2023-04-13) Knowles, LaceyPurpose: This pilot study aims to investigate a specific aspect of how bilingualism and hearing loss may impact phonological development by examining the production of the low front unrounded lax vowel (e.g., the vowel in “cat”) by Spanish-English-speaking bilingual children with hearing loss who use cochlear implants (CIs) and their Spanish-English-speaking bilingual peers with normal hearing (NH). Method: 20 Spanish-English-speaking bilingual children who use CIs (mean age of 6:0) and 20 Spanish-English-speaking bilingual children with NH (mean age of 6:1) produced single-word productions elicited through well-established techniques. The productions were recorded and saved as digital .wav files. The [æ] vowel of target words bat, cat, and hat were analyzed using established procedures in WaveSurfer. A waveform, formant plot, and pitch contour were used to determine the vowel’s duration, fundamental frequency (F0) and its first two formants (F1 & F2). A GLM repeated measure was ran with word at three levels (bat, cat, and hat) and measure at 4 levels (F1, F2, F0, and duration) as the within subject variables. CI use and NH were the between-subject variables. Result: The results showed no statistically significant difference between bilingual CI users and their bilingual peers with NH in reference to the production of the /æ/ phoneme. Conclusion: This study shows no evidence of a difference in the productions of CI users versus their peers with NH. Further investigation will include analyses of other vowels, such as /ɑ/, /i/, and /u/ in English and /ɑ/, /i/, and /u/ in Spanish.Item Education as a Fundamental Cause of Health(2022-04-14) Chavana, CitlaliMy project is over racial/ethnic health and educational disparities through the sociological perspective. I chose this topic because I have an interest in both the education and health fields. In my Sociology of Health Care course that was taught by Dr. Kate Anderson, my now mentor, I learned that racial/ethnic minorities are in poorer health when compared to white populations. The biggest influence to this phenomenon is socioeconomic status.Item Effectiveness of Key Wording on Story Comprehension and Visual Attention for People with Aphasia(2023-04-13) Bernadel, LaurentAphasia is a neurogenic disorder affecting the language centers of the brain. People with aphasia(PWA) experience deficits in expressive and/or receptive language which make it difficult to participate in everyday conversation. One technique that is used by communication partners of PWA to facilitate conversation is key wording. Key wording occurs when a communication partner provides written and spoken information simultaneously to support the comprehension of a PWA. Although key wording is a commonly used technique, guidance is lacking in regarding how much text is necessary to provide to PWA for optimal comprehension support. The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of three levels of input (i.e. full transcription, noun and verb, and no key words) on the story comprehension and visual attention of PWA. In each condition, participants will view on an eye-tracker monitor a person reading a short story while one of three texts levels is presented on the screen next to the reader: full transcription of the spoken words, only the nouns and verbs read in the story, and no text. We will also use eye-tracking technology to analyze participants' visual attention allocation during each condition. We anticipate PWA will demonstrate significantly better comprehension when presented solely with nouns and verbs, and that no significant differences in comprehension will be noted between the full transcript and no key wording conditions. We also expect that PWA will visually attend more to the text during the noun and verb condition than the full transcription condition.Item Evaluating the Effectiveness of Dual Language Programs for English Learners in Texas Secondary Schools(2020-09-29) Patel, SaloniCompared to traditional English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, Dual Language (DL) programs offer a promising approach for schools to help their English Learners (EL) become English proficient. This research project will compare the effectiveness of Dual Language and ESL programs for English Learners in secondary schools throughout Texas. Aggregate STAAR data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) was used to gather a list of 57 Texas secondary schools that offer both DL and ESL programs. The Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) dataset was used to measure the average percentage of English Learners who progressed at least one proficiency level on the TELPAS from the 2017-2018 academic year to the 2018-2019 academic year. A propensity score match was conducted, in which the treatment group consisted of the 57 secondary schools that offer DL and ESL programs, and the control group consisted of the remaining secondary schools (4,565) that only offer ESL programs. After the matched control group was identified, the TELPAS “yearly progress” data was pulled for the English Learners in the treatment and matched control groups. On average, a higher percentage of English Learners in the treatment group progressed at least one proficiency level on the TELPAS compared to the English Learners in the matched control group. These results suggest that, in Texas secondary schools, Dual Language programs are more effective than ESL programs in helping English Learners improve their English proficiency from one academic year to the next.Item Phonological Processes Produced by Spanish-English Bilingual Children who Have Hearing Loss and Use Cochlear Implants Compared to their Normal Hearing Peers(2023-04-13) Ramirez, ClaudiaPhonological processes are patterns of speech errors. In communication, there are typical and atypical phonological processes that may affect the intelligibility of speech. Typical phonological processes are more common and may resolve on their own. Atypical phonological processes are less likely to resolve on their own and typically require speech therapy. Cochlear implants are hearing devices that can be used to improve speech perception in individuals with severe to profound hearing loss. This study examined the difference between phonological process usage between Spanish-English bilingual children who had normal hearing and those who used cochlear implants. My research question was: Do bilingual Spanish-English speaking cochlear implant users display significantly different percentages of occurrence for phonological processes compared to their normal hearing peers? A literature review was conducted to examine previous research. Ten phonological processes common among bilingual and cochlear implant populations were chosen for analysis within this study. Data was analyzed over the speech of 40 participants using LIPP, or the Logical International Phonetic Program. Twenty children used cochlear implants and twenty children had normal hearing. The analysis showed that children who had cochlear implants used a significantly larger amount of phonological processes. There were small differences in phonological process usage based on language; however, these differences are largely due to differences in structures between the two languages. This research is essential to speech-language pathologists to better inform speech therapy practices for diverse populations and is essential as the Hispanic population within the United States grows.Item Speech Sound Production of Bilingual Children With Cochlear Implants(2019) Perez, ElizabethThis study addresses the need to better understand speech and language development in bilingual children with hearing loss (HL) who use cochlear implants (CIs)Item The Impact of COVID-19 School Closures and Home Language on the Spanish and English Receptive Vocabulary Trajectories in Bilingual Children(2021-04-01) Martinez, Damaris; Ronderos, JulianaPurpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and the home language on bilingual children’s receptive vocabulary in both languages. Method: 113 bilingual children between 4-8 years old with and without developmental language disorders (DLD) participated in the first year of the longitudinal study all with face-to-face (F2F) language assessment sessions. 102 of these children returned for sessions in the second year of the study (2019-2020), due to the COVID-19 pandemic 46 of these sessions were conducted F2F and 56 via telehealth. We examined change in receptive vocabulary scores in both languages, including the effect of the language spoken in the home. Results: Using multi-level models analysis, we predicted the raw scores for receptive vocabulary in each language including fixed effects for age, delivery, language spoken at home, and diagnostic classification and random effects for child. Results suggest that only age and diagnostic classification were significant predictors for receptive vocabulary in both languages. Conclusion: Results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic did not adversely impact children’s receptive vocabulary growth. Perhaps children were able to adapt from face-to-face learning to online learning for receptive vocabulary regardless of language spoken at home through other forms of exposure. It seems that suspension of learning due to COVID-19 was not long enough to impact receptive vocabulary growth. However, receptive vocabulary may be less sensitive to loss than other language measures not explored in this study.Item Virtual Therapy Experiences of Speech-Language Pathologists Working with Clients with Aphasia(2023-04-13) Gomez, AlejandraDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) made the abrupt transition from in-person therapy to virtual platforms. Even after the pandemic, virtual therapy has made its mark on service provision and continues to be a practical option for many. The purpose of this research project was to document the experiences and viewpoints of SLPs who conduct virtual therapy with people with aphasia (PWA). Aphasia is a neurological language disorder that results in expressive and receptive language impairment. Due to the complexity of aphasia, SLPs must provide multimodal supports (e.g., written words, images) to improve language comprehension and expression. Therefore, it is necessary to identify methods to improve service provision via telepractice. We conducted semi-structured interviews with SLPs with experience providing services to PWA virtually. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and four themes emerged from the dataset. Themes included the importance of shared communication space, the need for just-in-time supports, the importance of visuals, and technological challenges experienced by PWA and SLPs.