Browsing by Author "Kathard, Harsha Mothilall."

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Central auditory processing perforance of male and female stutterers and nonstutterers.
(1992) Kathard, Harsha Mothilall.; Govender, Cyril Devadas.
Central auditory processing performance of male and female stutterers and nonstutterers was compared on a battery of central auditory tests. Thirty stutterers (15 male and 15 female) with a mean age of 23.10 years (17.2-31 years) comprised the experimental group, and 30 nonstutterers (15 male and 15 female) with a mean age of 22.2 years(17-32 years) comprised the control group. The test battery included dichotic (DCV test, ssw test, eST) and monotic (SSI-ICM test, ARLT) tests. Stutterers performed significantly poorer than nonstutterers on various parameters of individual tests. The stutterers' performance on the test battery was varied : 8(26.6%) stutterers passed all tests in the battery; 7(23.3%) failed dichotic tests only; 15(50%) failed dichotic and monotic tests of which 2(6.6%) failed monotic tests. Pass/fail rates indicated that although 15 (50%) nonstutterers failed the battery 22(73.2%) stutterers failed. This result confirmed that stutterers performed significantly differently from nonstutterers on the test battery( X?= 19.87 , df=l; p<0.05). Male/famale comparisons for nonstutterers indicated no significant differences (p>0.05) on individual tests except on the ARLT where males obtained longer latencies than females. Pass /fail rates on the test battery confirmed no statistically significant (X~= 0.133 , df=l; p> 0.05) performance differences between male and female nonstutterers. For stutterers, although male performance was poorer than female performance on various parameters of individual tests ,the performance differences were not significant (p>0.05). However, pass/fail performance on the test battery indicated that significantly more males (13) than females (9) failed the test battery ( X2 = 8.66 df=l, p<0.05). The results are discussed in terms of the literature and theoretical and clinical implications are presented and discussed.
The development of a Zulu speech reception threshold test for Zulu first language speakers in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
(2006) Panday, Seema.; Govender, Cyril Devadas.; Kathard, Harsha Mothilall.; Pillay, Mershen.
The measurement of speech reception threshold (SRT) is best evaluated in an individual's first language. Currently there is a paucity of linguistically matched materials to measure the SRT of Zulu First Language Speakers (ZFLS) in Kwa Zulu-Natal (KZN). Therefore, the present study focused on developing and assessing a Zulu SRT word list for Zulu First language Speakers (ZFLS) in KZN, according to adapted criteria for SRT in Zulu. In addition, the application of the developed list was evaluated. The study therefore followed a two phase methodological framework. Phase one focused on the development and assessment of the word list. Phase two focused on the application of the word list in a normal hearing population from KZN. Phase one of the study was realized within a descriptive survey design and Phase two was realized using a within- participant quasi experimental design. Phase one included aims one and two of the study. Phase two included aim three of the study. However, each aim had several objectives which were realized consecutively. For aim one of the study, three objectives were achieved i.e. for objective one, 131 common bisyllabic words were identified by two Zulu speaking language interpreters and two tertiary educators. Eighty two percent of these words were described as bisyllabic verbs. The outcome of objective two concluded that 58 bisyllabic verbs were rated as being familiar, phonetically dissimilar and low tone verbs by five linguistic experts, using a three point Likert scale. The agreement among the raters was generally good for each criterion, according to the Kendall's co-efficient of concordance at 95% level of confidence. Two objectives were generated to realize aim two of the study. These included, the measurement of homogeneity of audibility of the 58 words selected in aim one and the acoustic analysis of the words. The findings for the homogeneity of audibility were based on a logistic regression analysis. Thirty normal hearing adult ZFLS (18-25 years) participated in this aim of the study. The mean slope of 50% for 28 words was 5.98%/dB. Therefore, 28 words were measured as being most homogenous. The 28 words were also assessed acoustically. The acoustic analysis indicated that the pitch contours confirm the prosodic pattern of the words selected in terms of Zulu linguistic structure, as the majority of the verbs (89%) indicated a difference in the pitch pattern between the two syllables. Furthermore, trends were noted with regard to the energy contours. The acoustical analysis supports the findings of objective one of aim two. For aim three of the study, twenty six normal hearing adult ZFLS, with functional proficiency in English were assessed. The SRT was measured using the developed Zulu SRT word list. In addition, the SRT was measured using the original CIDW2 list. The Pearson product moment correlation co-efficient was utilized for the measurement of the relationship between the SRT (Zulu) and the Pure Tone Average (PTA). Similarly, the Pearson product moment correlation between the SRT (English) and PTA was obtained. A good relationship between the SRT scores and PTA was reported when both lists were used. However, a stronger correlation between the Zulu SRT and PTA (r=.76) than with the English SRT and PTA (r=0.62) were noted. The results in aim one and aim two of the study highlighted the importance of adapting the criteria for SRT to suit the structure of the language. Aim three confirmed this premise as the implication of a stronger correlation may be related to the familiarity of the stimuli to the Zulu First Language Speaker. The study therefore contributed to both research and clinical implications. Some of the important research implications for the study include: the application of the Zulu SRT word list to a varied clinical population with a hearing disorder or loss, the standardization of the developed Zulu SRT word list on a larger sample, the development of SRT materials in other African languages in South Africa. Important clinical implications of the study include that the findings in the study support the need for speech material to be appropriate to the language of the client and the developed SRT word list in Zulu is applicable to adult ZFLS in KZN.
Life histories of people who stutter : on becoming someone.
(2003) Kathard, Harsha Mothilall.; Samuel, Michael Anthony.; Reddy, Vijay.
This study explores participants' experiences of stuttering in their lifeworlds over time through the lens of self-identity formations. The critical questions raised are: How do participants form their self-identities in their lifeworlds over time in relation to stuttering? In the context of their self-identity formations, how do they negotiate stuttering? A narrative life history methodology was used with intention to access personal, temporal and social dimensions of experience. Seven adult participants, two female and five male participants, with histories of living with stuttering since childhood, were invited to share their stories. Their personal experiences are embedded in diverse lifeworlds in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, a context making a sociopolitical transition from apartheid to democracy. The data was produced through retrospective accounts of their experiences via a series of dialogical interviews. Issues of empathy, power, and positioning and quality in the research process are problematised. The data was analysed at three levels. The first level of analysis entailed a narrative analysis of interview data, represented as seven individual research stories. The second level of analysis is a cross-case analysis using the seven research stories for the purposes of theorising. The outcomes of the third level of analysis are abstractions and explanatory concepts which respond to the critical questions in a general way. The genesis of two self-identity trajectories, self-identity as DisOther and self-identity as Able/Potential are traced over time. The biographical, contextual and social forces shaping self-identity formations and participants' actions in negotiating stuttering are illuminated. The self-identity trajectories are unique in the context of each biography. However, the relative prominence of self-identity formation as DisOther across cases in school years was evident. In contrast, self-identity as Able/Potential became prominent, during adulthood, for some participants. The experience is rendered as complex and fluid through a set of abstractions and explanatory concepts. These concepts foreground the changing and multiple relationships between self-identity formations, the influence of social forces shaping self-identity, the impact critical catalysts shaping self-identity formations, and strategic manipulation of self-identity in negotiating stuttering. In particular, the strategies to negotiate stuttering successfully are examined. The limitations of the study and potential application of this theoretical offering in the research, educational and clinical domains of Speech-Language Pathology are discussed.
The physiotherapy undergraduate curriculum : a case for professional development.
(2006) Ramklass, Serela Samita.; Vithal, Renuka.; Kathard, Harsha Mothilall.
This study focuses on physiotherapy professional development and professional education and the multitude of theoretical, practical and political forces that shape and influence physiotherapy education. It does so by addressing the questions: how is an undergraduate physiotherapy curriculum within a historically disadvantaged university responding to post apartheid societal transformation in South Africa; and why is the curriculum responding in the way that it is within the current social, economic, political, cultural and historical context of South Africa. The study is theoretically and methodically located within critical, feminist and post-modern framings that disturb and disrupt the dominant medical model of health sciences practice. Employing narrative inquiry as the selected methodology, data was produced through multiple methods to obtain multiple perspectives and orientations. This multi-sectoral data production approach involving student physiotherapists, physiotherapy academics and practicing physiotherapists included in-depth focus group interviews, individual interviews, life-history biographies and open-ended questionnaires. The data is analysed firstly separately for each group of research participants - physiotherapy students, practitioners and academics, and then followed by a cross-sector analysis. The analysis illustrated current disciplinary trends and shortcomings of the physiotherapy undergraduate curriculum, whilst highlighting that which is considered valuable and progressive in physiotherapy and health care. The dominant themes that emerged included issues relating to physiotherapy theory and practice, and issues that influenced the construction of relationships in the curriculum. The main thesis presented is that for physiotherapy in the South African context, the notion of caring is identified as the link between transformation and professional development. The model proposed is: A Caring-Transformative Physiotherapy Practitioner Model for physiotherapy professional development advancing a view of what it could mean to be an agent of transformation in South Africa within the health care system. This model is located within multiple framings of caring that re-casts the physiotherapy professional previously located primarily within a medical model ideology, into a practitioner with a broadened view of practice and professional accountability within a critical-feminist framing.