Purpose: This study examined the effect of high- vs. low-exemplar variability practice in the treatment of functional speech sound disorders in children. Method: Sixteen children with dual diagnoses of functional speech sound disorders and developmental language disorder received treatment for their speech sound errors. Treatment targeted a singleton speech sound in word-initial position, five-days per week during a six-week summer language program. Half of the children practiced their speech sound target in 24 unique words (high-exemplar variability practice condition) and the other half practiced production of their speech sound target in six unique words repeated four times each (low-exemplar variability practice condition). Generalization probes were used to measure speech sound target learning. Results: Both the high-variability and low-variability conditions produced significant change in the children’s use of their speech sound target posttreatment. No statistical difference was found between conditions; however, the low-variability condition evidenced slightly larger gains. Conclusion: Differences in exemplar variability practice did not significantly influence treatment outcomes for children with functional speech sound disorders. Daily treatment sessions of short duration are a viable service-delivery model for the treatment of functional speech sound disorders.

This dissertation deals with the development of place of articulation and of rhythm in adult second language learners. English and Spanish, while sharing similar phonological stop inventories, have coronal stops that differ as a matter of gestural target: In English, the coronal stops have an alveolar place of articulation, whereas they have a dental target in Spanish. Previous research on the acquisition of second language stops, particularly as a function of the acoustic correlates of voicing, have found that second language learners find acquiring stop contrasts particularly challenging; however, to date, no published data exist on the acquisition of L2 stops that have unique gestural targets. English and Spanish also differ typologically as a matter of their rhythm, with English being categorized as stress-timed and Spanish as syllable-timed. Previous research has shown that adults are capable of acquiring aspects of their L2 rhythm; however, the findings have been mixed. Furthermore, detailed developmental data on L2 rhythm is lacking. The present dissertation addresses both the acquisition of place of articulation and of rhythm in a cross-sectional design. The production data of 41 female, adult native speakers of English learning Spanish were collected and compared to those of 9 female adult native bilinguals of English and Spanish. The learners were assigned to four different study conditions based on their linguistic experience. The results suggest that the native bilinguals produce Spanish and English with language-specific gestural targets for their coronal stops and language-specific rhythm patterns in the direction expected for each language. The data from the language learners imply that, on the one hand, adults learning a second language are capable of developing increasingly target-like gestural targets in their L2 Spanish coronal stop production as they gain experience with the second language. On the other hand, the rhythm data reveal that speakers of a second language quickly learn to make adjustments to their rhythm toward target-like norms, but that evidence of transfer remains. The implications of the findings are discussed with respect to second language phonological theory.

This dissertation analyzes the interplay between culture and individual behavior using online communication data. Within the burgeoning lines of research produced on these topics by a growing roster of researchers, the distinctive contributions of this dissertation are the use of online communication data, at scale, as a strategic research site for the formulation, testing, and further theoretical modeling of hypotheses including community boundary spanning and diversity of tastes, the richness of public opinion, and the updating of individuals’ preferences as a result of their position within cultural, social, and economic fields. The cultural turn in American Sociology identified meaning making as central to understanding social phenomena which, in turn, has led to an expansion of the sphere of culture to include almost any form of social phenomenon, including but not limited to the musical tastes, words used in text or speech, performativity of market economics, and collective identity in social movements. While the works presented in this dissertation are concerned with analyzing the connections across cultural symbols such as genres and words shared by individuals to create a map of cultural symbols, and therefore can be considered as studies of the sociology of culture, this dissertation also analyzes the impact of the shared distribution of these symbols on other actions of the individuals, such as providing positive or negative feedback to others’ comments based on their cultural interests. The three articles presented in this paper complement each other in that regard. The first article explores how individuals’ diversity in music tastes impact the comments and evaluations they receive from other members of the online community they interact with. An online music-related discussion network of more than 750K community members is analyzed and used to illuminate two existing perspectives in new ways. Consistent with the theory of cultural omnivorousness, my analysis shows that people often appreciate others who participate across discussion of multiple taste-related topics. However, consistent with the boundary spanning literature, those with highly atypical tastes are penalized and face difficulties in fitting in with the community. Therefore, omnivorousness is not appreciated by the rest of the community unless omnivorous individuals are different but within community boundaries. These findings hold net of controls measuring weak culture and cultural embeddedness. The second article presents a comparison of methods of tracking online discussions to identify meanings generated by the online community in unfolding political events. Understanding the evolution of public opinion is central to analyzing the scope of political discontent, which significantly impacts the outcome of framing contests. Most studies analyzing the development of Twitter discussions related to a particular topic, such as a social movement or a political debate, focus on tracking tweets that contain one generic hashtag (for example, #BlackLivesMatter). However, exclusively tracking generic hashtags might not provide an accurate picture of the diversity of narrations coming from different opinion groups. This article develops and applies a snowball sampling method for tracking the evolution of new or replacement hashtags as events unfold. This article provides an exploratory analysis of the March 2019 Turkish local election discussions on Twitter to examine how tracking new hashtags significantly improves the power of the model to identify the diversity of narratives of an event, as compared to tracking the generic hashtag only. The third article sets forth and further develops a theoretical model of behavior. An endogenously updated preferences model is proposed, which can be empirically analyzed through non-experimental observation of changes in cultural decisions of individuals. A key assumption is that individuals’ preferences are determined by their disposition in a field and, therefore, by their access to knowledge, networks, and economic capital after each interaction, which leads preferences to be updated endogenously.

Gentrification is an emerging phenomenon that transforms the social, economic, and physical structure of urban neighborhoods across the nation. Using historically Black neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon as the setting, this project explores how neighborhood organizations employ diverse strategies to address the geographical dispersing of the cultural community that was once concentrated within their neighborhood. Though urban scholars have examined market-based gentrification, this dissertation assesses gentrification in a context that is predominantly state-led—that is, gentrification perpetuated by federal, state, and local urban redevelopment policies. Using in-depth interviews, content analyses, and GIS mapping, this dissertation identifies mechanisms employed by neighborhood organizations in “Black Portland” that complicate notions of community as spatial boundaries dissolve. This project explores neighborhood organizations along two dimensions: type (enterprises and institutions) and sector (for-profit, non-profit, and hybrid institutions). The data reveal that while neighborhood enterprises are predisposed to engage in the neutral, arms-length provision of goods and services, when faced with the displacement of longtime residents, neighborhood enterprises appropriate cultural symbols to access race-specific resources. On the other hand, neighborhood institutions are predisposed to reinforce community values, norms, and rules. Accordingly, when displaced residents fail to resettle in a concentrated area, neighborhood institutions invoke methods of physical expansion to remain engaged with displaced residents and to combat the ‘placelessness’ that former residents associate with gentrification. Similarly, the data show that neighborhood institutions that occupy different sectors adopt differing ‘post-gentrification’ strategies: nonprofit neighborhood institutions adopt a collaborative approach to survive gentrification, for-profit neighborhood institutions adopt an authenticity approach, and hybrid neighborhood institutions adopt a cross-subsidization approach. By expanding theoretical understandings of urban neighborhoods as socially organized, this dissertation contributes to existing literature by assessing the new and existing avenues utilized by Black neighborhood organizations to maintain community cohesion. The themes of “place” and “space” for cultural communities—or alternatively—the social, economic, and policy consequences of “placelessness” for cultural communities are prevalent throughout the narrative. Because neighborhood organizations form the core of urban neighborhoods, they are uniquely positioned to understand and respond to neighborhood change.

This project builds upon the foundation of previous ethnographic work on academic literacies in order to gain a clearer picture of current university students in the US. Foundational ethnographic work in academic writing and academic literacy development has shown that learning to navigate university discourses can be a complex process that is unique for each person (Beaufort, 2007; Casanave, 2002; Chiseri-Strater, 1991; Leki, 2007; Prior, 1998; Spack, 1997). These studies have revealed the dependence of academic writing expectations on context and the extension of “literacy” beyond the mere acts of reading and writing, but they have not sought to simultaneously examine the experiences of international and domestic students. In the decades since much of this work was carried out, the landscape of higher education, in the US and elsewhere, has shifted and academia has recently seen the emergence of a conversation about better understanding the experiences of our students, both domestic and international (Goldrick-Rab & Stommel, 2018). To better understand students’ perceptions of their writing and academic experiences, this project followed three international and two domestic undergraduates over the course of a year to two and a half years. Through monthly interviews and analysis of participants’ writing samples, I identified the range of academic literacies encountered by participants and explored one participant’s situated writing practices more specifically through analysis of individual assignments. Findings highlight the complex network of literacies, both within and beyond academia, that students learn to navigate. This project’s simultaneous exploration of domestic and international student experiences provides new perspectives on the diversity and development process of both groups and offers a counter to the deficit view of non-traditional populations.

Both physical and mental health concerns are becoming increasingly prominent among youth with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM). Nutrition has been identified as an element that influences these non-diabetes related outcomes, but the role of specific food groups and nutrients have not been elucidated in the T1DM population. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the relations between dietary intake, physical health, and teacher-reported socialemotional functioning in children with T1DM. Canonical correlation analysis demonstrated a statistically significant multivariate shared relationship between these variable sets, and suggested that youth in this sample who had lower glycemic load, consumed more sugar, dairy, meat/poultry/fish, but less legumes, fruit, and saturated fat, were associated with less Externalizing Problems and higher BMI. Additionally, multiple regression analysis implicated diet in uniquely accounting for a modest amount of variance in physical and emotional health while controlling for gender, race, age, socioeconomic status, duration of T1DM, and glycemic control. These findings call for the need to emphasize diet in T1DM management, not only for healthful eating in maintaining glycemic control, but also to reduce the physical and mental health morbidities for which individuals with T1DM are most at-risk. Moreover, physical and behavioral health services in the schools should be considered in supporting the social-emotional well-being of these students. Given the novelty of the present study, directions for future research are also discussed, which include more exhaustive assessment of physical health parameters, multi-rater psychosocial functioning, and comprehensive dietary intake patterns, as well as dietary RCTs that utilize whole, nutrient-rich foods to investigate physical and behavioral outcomes.

The transition from adolescence to young adulthood has been recognized as a significant time in an individual’s life. This period in development requires adjustment, highlighted for many by the transition from high school to college. Emotional intelligence (EI) has been identified as a potential protective factor for emerging adults during this period of transition. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of EI on social and academic adjustment among college students and to investigate the moderating role of EI on the relation between perceived discrimination and college adjustment. Regression analysis found statistically significant effects of Global EI and Self Control on academic adjustment and of Well Being on social adjustment. Further, a moderation analysis found that Global EI and the four factors of EI (Well Being, Self Control, Emotionality, and Sociability) were not significant moderators in the relation between perceived discrimination and social and academic adjustment. These findings demonstrate the importance of EI for academic and social adjustment among college students. These findings also highlight the need to explore other facets of EI beyond a global score and determine which facets of EI can serve as protective factors for students during this transitional period. Future directions for research are also discussed to highlight the importance of collecting data across university campus around the country to compare results from different environments (i.e., HSI vs. PWI vs. HBCU; public vs. private) as well as how university and college administrators can support the social-emotional wellness of students.

This project argues that college writing pedagogy can encourage and facilitate critical thinking by enabling students to pursue inquiries grounded in, and guided by, their own strongly held beliefs. Chapter 1 introduces my definition of critical thinking as the practice of examining received knowledge from a distance necessary to question and, if necessary, revise that knowledge. I proceed to show how beliefs, or ideas taken for granted, can serve as foundations for critical thinking. Extending Jeffrey M. Ringer’s notion that belief in the truth of an idea may prompt inquiry into the reality behind that idea, I show how inquiry rooted in belief can entail questioning and revising existing accounts of the realities to which belief lays claim. Chapter 2 shows how James Berlin’s writing pedagogy grounds critical thinking in students’ beliefs by positioning critique of ideology in the discourses of mass media as a necessary step in students’ production of those same discourses. Chapter 3 shows how an assignment called a “conversion narrative” grounds critical thinking in belief by requiring students to explain how their beliefs have changed over time. Working through multiple drafts of their writing, students identify the unstated assumptions on which the logical cohesion of their narratives rest and, based on their findings, revise their narratives to construct a believable and compelling account of conversion. Chapter 4 outlines an assignment called a community profile, in which students analyze a genre of communication used within a community who shares their beliefs, in preparation for creating their own, original document in that genre. Students explain how the rules, conventions, and rhetorical strategies that characterize their chosen genre reflect and reinforce the beliefs of the community who uses that genre. Here, belief is grounded in critical thinking insofar as genre analysis provided students with new insight into their beliefs—specifically, into the ways that fellow believers communicate to achieve shared goals. In Chapter 5, I acknowledge that writing pedagogy that grounds critical thinking in preexisting student beliefs may become complicit with those beliefs. At the same time, I argue that such complicity is likely an inevitable feature of pedagogies that prioritize the teaching of academic inquiry.

Focused on the role of a disability cultural center in higher education from the perspective of disabled students, this qualitative study used a social constructivism lens to examine how disability is conceptualized through a medical versus social model on a college campus. Framing disability as an identity and social justice issue, the intent of this study was to explore the disability experience as well as the role that a disability cultural center could play in addressing social inequities faced by disabled students. Importantly, this study was one of the first to focus on how a disability cultural center can create a more welcoming campus climate for disabled students within higher education. Based on the perspectives of six disabled students, the themes that emerged from the qualitative interviews highlighted a clear distinction between how participants believed the institution viewed the disability experience compared to the disability cultural center. Recognizing disability as a form of diversity, generative insights from the interviews revealed broad benefits of a disability cultural center beyond the accessibility role of a disability resource center. In particular, a disability cultural center is an avenue to: (a) increase disability leadership on campus, (b) promote more welcoming attitudes toward disability, (c) improved faculty training regarding the disability experience, (d) cultivate pride in disability culture, and (e) embrace disability as a valid human identity. Moving forward, the results of the present study may inform the development of new disability cultural centers across the United States to challenge ableism, including non-disability privilege and oppression. With this in mind, implications for institutions are presented to inform higher education and shift the narrative of disability from a medical diagnosis to a valid social identity on campus.

College and graduate school present a number of challenges for students, often while they are also juggling other major life transitions that impact social relationships, sleep, physical health, and overall well-being. In this study, students were randomized to one of two psychosocial stress-management interventions. One workshop, Your Enlightened Side (YESplus), taught a yogic breathing and acceptance-based approach to stress-management in a rich social environment. Wisdom On Wellness (WOW), in contrast, targeted cognitive approaches to stress-management while matching YESplus in terms of scheduling and duration (4 consecutive days, 18 hours total), group size, amount of material, general format, and involving some level of social interaction. Outcomes were evaluated across self-report domains of stress and wellness, as well as psychophysiological response to a laboratory stress induction at pre, post, and 3-month follow-up. Forty-five students completed all timepoints and were used for analysis. YESplus and WOW participants reported similarly high ratings of the workshops, along with similar retention rates from first to last day of workshop (92% vs. 91%), as well as from post to 3-month follow-up (79% vs. 70%). YESplus demonstrated significant decreases in perceived stress at post (-24.6% average change, p=.017, d=-0.58) as well as 3-month follow-up (-22.3%, p=.002, d=-0.84) relative to pre-workshop, in contrast to no significant changes for WOW (0.8% average change at post and -10.5% at follow-up). A number of other improvements in self-report measures of well-being including sleep, social connectedness, depression, self-esteem, and life satisfaction were observed for YESplus, but not WOW, after correcting for multiple comparisons. At laboratory visits, WOW demonstrated anticipatory stress-related increases in resting breathing rate and heart rate from pre to post-workshop, while YESplus demonstrated a protective effect and did not change. Decreases in heart rate during stress induction were evident for both groups at post-workshop as well as 3-month follow-up relative to pre-workshop (d’s=-0.52 to -0.92). However, improvements in heart rate variability were significant after correction for multiple comparisons only for WOW. These findings have implications for understanding changes in subjective well-being and acute stress physiology in response to brief psychosocial and breathing-based versus cognitively based interventions.