This study explores the impact of self-efficacy, with a specific focus on verbal persuasion, on the career trajectories of Latinx school administrators. Grounded in Bandura's (1986) theory of self-efficacy, the research investigates how verbal persuasion has influenced the paths of Latinx school administrators toward achieving top leadership…

One of the challenges faced by Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) has been frequent turnover in crucial executive leadership positions. As of 2022, there were 99 HBCUs; two-year and four-year private and public institutions (NCES, 2024). In the fall of 2023, at least 18% of the HBCUs in the country were without a permanent…

Individual speakers' speech patterns differ from one another, despite presumably similar language input. What are the sources of this individual variability? In this dissertation, I explore sources of individual differences in pronunciation of coronal obstruents (/s/, /t[superscript h]/, /c[superscript h]/, /c/) at the ends of nouns in Korean.…

The distinction between natural sign languages and sign-supported speech is a controversial topic and difficult to assess purely on structural terms because of language contact. Here, we consider British Sign Language (BSL) and Sign Supported English (SSE) with reference to Irvine and Gal's (2000. Language ideology and linguistic differentiation.…

Introduction: Digital social contact is increasingly being used, which accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to determine the consensus among stakeholders regarding recommendations for the use and facilitation of digital social contact for people with intellectual disabilities living in sheltered care facility homes. Methods:…

This study investigated the potential influences of administration context on the measurement of child skills. The Brief Observation of Social-Communication Change (BOSCC) was administered at two time points to preschool-aged children with autism in two contexts: (1) at school by trained research staff and (2) at home by the parent. Participants…

Children can only develop spoken language through consistent exposure to the acoustic cues that comprise speech and language. Until recently, hearing levels from the clinical audiogram were the primary measure used to define typical hearing and the presence or degree of a child's hearing loss. While the clinical audiogram remains an important…

During their early years, children with autism may not meet the same communication and language milestones as their peers (Wodka et al., 2013). Many children with autism experience language delays and may rely on one-word or phrase speech, rather than using grammatically fluent speech (Anderson et al., 2007; Wodka et al., 2013) that is often…

This study aims to identify the barriers parents face in communicating with their pre-adolescent children about sexual topics and consent using the Theory of Planned Behavior and Feminist Theory to inform this research project. A cross-sectional survey was administered to a convenience sample of parents with pre-adolescent children (ages 9-13) via…

College-age students are disproportionately impacted by sexually transmitted infections. Campus programs that reduce sexual violence have received recent investment, are increasingly common, and may offer a platform to increase condom use, but this has not yet been investigated. We explore this novel question through a secondary analysis of a…

Little is known about the relationship between working memory (WM) abilities and reading in children with cerebral palsy (CP) who have age-appropriate communication and language. The aim of this group case study is to analyze the WM abilities and their relationship to reading in children with CP and age-appropriate communication and language.…

Objective: This work sought to assess relationships between sexually aggressive behavior occurring through the use of technology and social media, perceived social norms of sexually aggressive behavior, and face-to-face sexual aggression and coercion. Participants: Participants were 663 undergraduate students (73.1% Female). Methods: Participants…

Teaching an infant manual signs is beneficial as it promotes early communication, improves socialization, and can functionally replace behaviors such as crying and whining. Improving early communication also may reduce the probability of an infant engaging in dangerous behavior, like unsafe climbing. The purpose of this study was to extend…

Young children's (n = 108) and adults' (n = 40) ability to compute ad-hoc quantity conversational implicatures was assessed using a new implicit task that relied on eye-tracking. The children were 2 and 5 years old. Looking times reveal that all participants interpreted simple references by relying on implicatures. However, 2-year-olds failed to…

Early childhood teachers play a critical role in the kindergarten readiness of preschool age children. Yet, they often receive little and insufficient training in the use of evidence-based practices that can increase academic success and prevent undesired behaviors. As a result, preschool teachers tend to use more exclusionary practices when…