<p>In South Africa, Deaf people communicate with one another and the broader community by means of South African Sign Language. The majority of Deaf people who have access to a mobile&nbsp / phone (cell phone) use Short Message Service (SMS) to communicate and share information with hearing people, but seldom use it among themselves. It is assumed that video messaging&nbsp / will be more accessible to Deaf people, since their&nbsp / level of literacy may prevent them from making effective use of information that is disseminated via texting/SMS. The principal objective of the&nbsp / esearch was to explore a cost-effective and efficient mass multimedia messaging system. The intention was to adapt a successful text-based mass notification system, developed by a&nbsp / local nongovernmental organization (NGO), to accommodate efficient and affordable video mass messaging for Deaf people. The questions that underpin this research are: How should video- streaming mass-messaging methods be compared and evaluated to find the most suitable method to deliver an affordable and acceptable service to Deaf people? What transport vehicles&nbsp / &nbsp / &nbsp / should be considered: Multimedia Message Service (MMS), the web, electronic mail, or a cell phone resident push/pullapplication? Which is the most cost effective? And, finally: How does the video quality of the various transport vehicles differ in terms of the clarity of the sign language as perceived by the Deaf? The soft-systems methodology and a mixed-methods methodology&nbsp / were used to address the research questions. The soft-systems methodology was followed to manage the research process and the mixed-methods research methodology was followed to&nbsp / collect data. Data was collected by means of experiments and semi-structured interviews. A prototype for mobile phone usage was developed and evaluated with Deaf members the NGO Deaf&nbsp / Community of Cape Town. The technology and internet&nbsp / usage of the Deaf participants provided background information. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyse&nbsp / the quantitative data, and content analysis was used to analyse the documents and interviews. All of the Deaf participants used their mobile phones for SMS and the majority (81.25%) used&nbsp / English to type messages / however, all indicated that they would have preferred to use South Africa sign language on their mobile phones if it were available. And they were quite willing to pay between 75c and 80c per message for using such a video-messaging&nbsp / service.Of the transport vehicles demonstrated, most Deaf people indic indicated that they preferred to use the SMS&nbsp / prototype (with a web link to the video) rather than the MMS prototype with the video attached. They were, however, very concerned about the cost of using the system, as well as the quality of the sign language videos.</p>

<p>In South Africa, Deaf people communicate with one another and the broader community by means of South African Sign Language. The majority of Deaf people who have access to a mobile&nbsp / phone (cell phone) use Short Message Service (SMS) to communicate and share information with hearing people, but seldom use it among themselves. It is assumed that video messaging&nbsp / will be more accessible to Deaf people, since their&nbsp / level of literacy may prevent them from making effective use of information that is disseminated via texting/SMS. The principal objective of the&nbsp / esearch was to explore a cost-effective and efficient mass multimedia messaging system. The intention was to adapt a successful text-based mass notification system, developed by a&nbsp / local nongovernmental organization (NGO), to accommodate efficient and affordable video mass messaging for Deaf people. The questions that underpin this research are: How should video- streaming mass-messaging methods be compared and evaluated to find the most suitable method to deliver an affordable and acceptable service to Deaf people? What transport vehicles&nbsp / &nbsp / &nbsp / should be considered: Multimedia Message Service (MMS), the web, electronic mail, or a cell phone resident push/pullapplication? Which is the most cost effective? And, finally: How does the video quality of the various transport vehicles differ in terms of the clarity of the sign language as perceived by the Deaf? The soft-systems methodology and a mixed-methods methodology&nbsp / were used to address the research questions. The soft-systems methodology was followed to manage the research process and the mixed-methods research methodology was followed to&nbsp / collect data. Data was collected by means of experiments and semi-structured interviews. A prototype for mobile phone usage was developed and evaluated with Deaf members the NGO Deaf&nbsp / Community of Cape Town. The technology and internet&nbsp / usage of the Deaf participants provided background information. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyse&nbsp / the quantitative data, and content analysis was used to analyse the documents and interviews. All of the Deaf participants used their mobile phones for SMS and the majority (81.25%) used&nbsp / English to type messages / however, all indicated that they would have preferred to use South Africa sign language on their mobile phones if it were available. And they were quite willing to pay between 75c and 80c per message for using such a video-messaging&nbsp / service.Of the transport vehicles demonstrated, most Deaf people indic indicated that they preferred to use the SMS&nbsp / prototype (with a web link to the video) rather than the MMS prototype with the video attached. They were, however, very concerned about the cost of using the system, as well as the quality of the sign language videos.</p>

This thesis is a critical account of a qualitative, evaluative study into the translation processes and practices in use within the BSL Bible Translation Project, undertaken as a collaborative doctoral studentship funded by the AHRC/ESRC1. It has proceeded collaboratively, valuing the stories, knowledge and experiences of the participants. The data‐set presented herein was generated by means of participant observation and interviews with Project Team members. It was analysed in its digital, visual form using an inductive, thematic approach, and is presented with minimal commentary (Chapters 4 and 5). Following this presentation, the data‐set is further reflected upon in order to shed light upon existing understandings of sign language text composition strategies, team translation praxis, intermediality and sacrament (Chapters 6, 7 and 8). The evidence presented in this thesis represents a new source of data and offers valuable insights into translation and exegetical practice in its own right and, I will argue, as a means of human flourishing. This thesis problematizes previous descriptions of Signed Languages as ‘picture‐languages’, identifying two ways in which such descriptions have been unhelpful, even inaccurate. Firstly, that this nomenclature, with its association with picture‐books and pre‐linguistic skills, has contributed to the persistence of perceptions of d/Deaf people as being linguistically less‐able than their non‐Deaf peers and secondly, that such descriptions are deficient because they fail to fully capture the complex nature of Signed Languages. This thesis argues for a re engagement with the inherently cinematographic nature of Signed Languages and explores ways in which this would yield benefits in the fields of Deaf education, the teaching of Signed Languages to second‐language learners, and the training of interpreters and translators. This thesis will also argue that the translation practices of the BSL Bible Translation Project constitute a clear example of Deaf people engaging in metalinguistic reflection on their own language‐use. That is, that the data provide clear evidence of literate thought, specifically of Signed Language literacy in action, and is further evidence in support of the growing confidence and agency within the Deaf Community with regards to the status and the rich linguistic and material properties of BSL, including its suitability as a mediator of the sacred. This thesis will go on to offer reflections on what the data have to tell us about the nature of Biblical texts; both through how they are produced, and the nature of those texts as artefacts and bearers of religious meanings. Engaging with existing understandings of sacrament and incarnation, including the possibility that the act of Bible reading and translation can be said to constitute a sacramental activity, it argues that this is particularly so when such reading and ‘speaking’ of the text occurs through Signed Language.

Master of Education - Deaf Studies / In accordance with Education policy post 1994 there is currently a move in South Africa toward implementing an inclusive approach to educating learners who experience barriers to learning into regular/mainstream schools. Such an inclusive philosophy is considered, at policy level, to be the most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building an inclusive society and achieving education for all (Department of Education, 2001). From an inclusive viewpoint, it is important that all learners are given the best education possible from an academic, emotional and social perspective and emphasis is placed on, educating the whole child by meeting individual needs through the identification and accommodation of any barriers to learning. Within such an education and training system, it is important that Deaf learners are not excluded and that the practice of inclusion takes into account the needs of all Deaf learners. The intention of this research project is to provide an accurate account of the current situations in schools for the Deaf throughout South Africa with regards to barriers to learning and development. It will examine whether these schools, currently, foster the ideals of inclusion as made explicit in White Paper Six (Department of Education, 2001). This thesis will also investigate whether Deaf learners in schools for the Deaf, have access to the most appropriate, least restrictive barrier free education. In order to achieve this, a questionnaire, based on the barriers to learning and development as identified by the above-mentioned document, was sent by post to every principal working in schools for the Deaf in South Africa. In addition, the research intends to determine whether barriers to learning and development are presently being experienced by Deaf learners in current schools for the Deaf and if so, what barriers are being experienced and how these barriers can be addressed and prevented so that Deaf learners be accommodated in a manner that promotes a school environment that is most appropriate and least restrictive for Deaf learners. From the findings it was revealed that schools for the Deaf do not foster inclusive principles as many Deaf learners experience barriers to learning and development as identified in White Paper 6 (Department of Education, 2001: 7 & 18) within schools for the Deaf. To address the barriers found in the findings of the study, this dissertation provides recommendations to assist principals with strategies and information necessary for transforming schools for the Deaf in order to become inclusive and thus provide Deaf learners with access to the most appropriate, least restrictive education possible.

This thesis examines the development of and interrelationships among organisations in the Australian Deaf community during the early part of the 20th Century, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s. It focuses on those organisations which Deaf people attempted to establish themselves, or with hearing supporters, in response to their rejection of the philosophy and practices of the existing charitable organisations such as Deaf Societies and Missions. It also analyses the responses of the Societies and Missions to these moves. The thesis adopts a social history perspective, describing events as much as possible from the perspective of the Deaf people of the time. These developments within the Deaf community were influenced by wider social movements in Australian society during these decades, such as the articulation of minority groups as 'citizens', and their search for 'advancement', autonomy and equal rights. Australia's first schools and post-school organisations for Deaf people were closely modelled on 19th Century British institutions. The thesis describes the development of these early Australian institutions and argues that Deaf people had active or contributing roles in many of them. During the early 20th Century most of these organisations came under closer control of hearing people, and Deaf people's roles became marginalised. During the late 1920s many Deaf adults began to resist the control of Societies and Missions, instead aspiring to 'manage their own affairs'. In two states, working with hearing supporters, they successfully established alternative organisations or 'breakaways', and in another state they engaged in protracted but unsuccessful struggles with the Deaf Society. Australian Deaf people established a national organisation in the 1930s, and this led to the creation of an opposing national organisation by the Societies. Most of these new organisations did not survive beyond the 1930s, but they significantly affected the power structures and relationships between Deaf and hearing people in Australia for several decades afterwards. These events have been largely ignored and even strategically suppressed by later generations, possibly for reasons which parallel other episodes of amnesia and silence in Australian history.

The Deaf Community has faced a great deal of historical oppression from hearing people that still resonates throughout the Community today. Recent literature has acknowledged the disconnect between the Deaf and hearing worlds, particularly in healthcare and education settings. Likewise, there have been many advocacy and service projects and programs to try to improve these situations. However, much of the existing literature and projects have failed to include input from Deaf Community members. As such, hearing perspectives dominate the lives of Deaf individuals. This study examines how the dominant biomedical perspective of deafness affects Deaf individuals’ ability to receive adequate healthcare. Using standard ethnographic methods, including in-depth, open-ended interviews, and immersion in the research population through ongoing participant observation at a Deaf agency and Deaf Community events, this study highlights the perspectives of Deaf Community members themselves. The findings confirm previous studies’ assertions that the dominant biomedical perspective toward deafness negatively affects Deaf people overall, particularly because of communication obstacles and a lack of understanding about Deaf Culture, specifically in the realm of access to biomedical care. This has never been more worrisome for Deaf people in America than in the current unstable political climate that now threatens access to subsidized healthcare, disability services, and legally protected accommodations.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / This thesis describes a multi-disciplinary collaboration towards iterative development of a mobile communication tool to support a Deaf person in understanding usage directions for medication dispensed at a pharmacy. We are improving usability and correctness of the user interface. The tool translates medicine instruction given in English text to South African Sign Language videos, which are relayed to a Deaf user on a mobile phone. Communication between pharmacists and Deaf patients were studied to extract relevant exchanges between the two users. We incorporated the common elements of these dialogues to represent content in a veri able manner to ensure that the mobile tool relays the correct information to the Deaf user. Instructions are made available for a Deaf patient in sign language videos on a mobile device. A pharmacy setup was created to conduct trials of the tool with groups of end users, in order to collect usability data with recorded participant observation, questionnaires and focus group discussions. Subsequently, pre-recorded sign language videos, stored on a phone's memory card, were tested for correctness. Lastly we discuss the results and implications of the study and provide a conclusion to our research.

No description available.

Submitted by Marlene Aparecida de Souza Cardozo (mcardozo@pucsp.br) on 2016-12-21T11:28:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Everton Pessôa de Oliveira.pdf: 2016252 bytes, checksum: 4760998d57a421fdb310f67ccbd941ab (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-21T11:28:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Everton Pessôa de Oliveira.pdf: 2016252 bytes, checksum: 4760998d57a421fdb310f67ccbd941ab (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-11-30 / This research aims at examining the existing multicultural contradictions in the relations among deaf and hearing people from Digit-M-Ed São Paulo Project. In the core of the investigation, it also aims at confronting the way the concepts of multiculturalism (MOREIRA; CANDAU, 2011; ROJO, 2012; SANTOS, 2010) and critical collaboration (MAGALHÃES, 2010) are inserted in the research environment and how researchers, coordinators, students and, specially, Portuguese - Sign Language translators and interpreters contribute in the deaf – listeners relation in order to foster transformations in the discursive practices of the research participants. The production of this essay is justified by the introduction of different ways of reflecting about deaf and listener’s teaching-learning process in shared spaces. This study’s theoretical framework is founded on the Socio-Historical-Cultural Activity Theory (VYGOTSKY, 1930/1999; 1934/2008); LEONTIEV, 1977; ENGESTRÖM, 1987; LIBERALI, 2009) and on the multiculturalism and argumentation concepts (LIBERALI, 2013). It also presents Vygotsky’s concepts on the human development and how they are connected with the deaf. In methodological terms, it is organized as a Critical Collaborative Research (MAGALHÃES, 2004, 2007, 2009), which focus is on the subject and on its own action in development, with the purpose to observe the contexts and interfere on them in an attempt to cause transformations. Data was produced in meetings of Digit-M-Ed São Paulo Project, organized by the research group Language in Activities in School Contexts (LACE) from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP). Deaf and listener participation mediated by Portuguese - Sign Language translators and interpreters, who are also participants of the research, had been observed. This survey analysis point out to multicultural aspects and indicate that communicational barriers can be transcended through critical collaboration among deaf participants, Portuguese - Sign Language translators and interpreters and listeners / Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo investigar as contradições multiculturais presentes nas relações entre surdos e ouvintes no Projeto Digit-M-ed São Paulo. No bojo da investigação, objetiva-se, também, confrontar as formas como os conceitos de multiculturalidade (MOREIRA; CANDAU, 2011; ROJO, 2012; SANTOS, 2010) e de colaboração crítica estão inseridos no ambiente de pesquisa e como pesquisadores, coordenadores, alunos e, em especial, tradutores-intérpretes de Língua de Sinais - Português contribuem na relação surdo-ouvinte a fim de promover transformações nas práticas discursivas dos participantes da pesquisa. Justifica-se a produção desta dissertação por introduzir formas diferentes de refletir o processo de ensino-aprendizagem de alunos surdos e ouvintes em espaços compartilhados. A base teórica está pautada na Teoria da Atividade Sócio-Histórico-Cultural, a partir das contribuições de Vygotsky (1930/1999; 1934/2008), Leontiev (1977), Engeström (1987) e Liberali (2009), nos conceitos de multiculturalidade e de argumentação. Apresenta, ainda, conceitos de Vygotsky sobre o desenvolvimento humano e como estes se relacionam ao indivíduo surdo. A metodologia está baseada na Pesquisa Crítica de Colaboração (MAGALHÃES, 2004, 2007, 2009), cujo foco está no sujeito e em sua ação em desenvolvimento, com a finalidade de observar os contextos e intervir neles, na tentativa de provocar transformações. O trabalho foi desenvolvido no ambiente de pesquisa do projeto Digit-M-Ed São Paulo, organizado pelo grupo de pesquisa Linguagem em Atividades no Contexto Escolar (LACE), sediado na Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP). Foi observada a participação de surdos e ouvintes mediados pela atuação dos tradutores-intérpretes de Língua de Sinais - Português, que também foram participantes da pesquisa. A análise e a discussão dos dados ressaltam o aspecto multicultural e indicam que barreiras comunicacionais podem ser superadas por meio da colaboração crítica entre surdos, tradutores-intérpretes de Língua de Sinais - Português e ouvintes

<p>The more geneticists discover about which genes cause what traits, the more medical practitioners as well as ethicists will have to deal with questions such as which of the myriad of identifiable conditions could or should be allowed for preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and subsequent implantation via in vitro fertilization. Not a lot of controversy seems to be raised when it comes to performing PGD for serious genetic conditions such as Tay-Sachs disease or Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, but what about other characteristics, for example, those which we normally would call disabilities? This thesis tackles this question, and in partifular the possibility of implanting embryos with that screen positive for deafness, as deaf parents, especially those coming from the Deaf community who see their condition as a positive part of their identity and cultural belongingness, have expressed interest in ensuring the birth of a deaf child. This thesis thus raises the questions: is deafness a disease, or just an unfortunate condition? Are the deaf justified in purposefully implanting a baby diagnosed to be deaf? The thesis tries to grapple with why deaf parents may want deaf children, and show how these wishes may be justified. Concluding that neither the medical model of disease nor the principle-based approach—which weighs beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy and justice—are sufficient in opposing the implantation of deaf babies, it is proposed that a different theory, model or philosophy of health should be espoused if we are still to find the implantation of deaf babies problematic. That is, while the mainstream may ask: “Why ensure the birth of a deaf child?”, we ask, “Why not?” Policymakers and ethicists must be able to tackle this question sufficiently if they would allow to screen for deafness, but only to ensure the birth of hearing children.</p>