Thesis (B.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2003. / "A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, April 30, 2003." Includes bibliographical references (p. 28-29) Also available in print.

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / "A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, May 10, 2002." Also available in print.

No description available.

L’objet de cet étude est de présenter l’utilisation du jeu comme thérapie musicale et théâtrale (dramathérapie) pour personnes sourdes afin de retrouver le caractère ludique et amusant de la thérapie et aussi pour  faciliter leur intégration à l’Université. Ceci est fondamental dans la thérapie et l’exploration du  plaisir partagé à travers le jeu, le déroulement expressif et créateur de chaque Sourd et sa participation physique et émotionnelle et ludique au sein du groupe. / The object of this study is to present the use of the game as therapy musical and theatrical (dramatherapy) for Deaf people to find the playful and funny character of the therapy and also to facilitate their integration to the University. This is fundamental in the therapy and the exploration of the pleasure shared through the game, the meaning and creative progress of every Deaf person and his physical and emotional and playful participation within the group.

Video communication of British Sign Language (BSL) is important for remote interpersonal communication and for the equal provision of services for deaf people. However, the use of video telephony and video conferencing applications for BSL communication is limited by inadequate video quality. BSL is a highly structured, linguistically complete, natural language system that expresses vocabulary and grammar visually and spatially using a complex combination of facial expressions (such as eyebrow movements, eye blinks and mouth/lip shapes), hand gestures, body movements and finger-spelling that change in space and time. Accurate natural BSL communication places specific demands on visual media applications which must compress video image data for efficient transmission. Current video compression schemes apply methods to reduce statistical redundancy and perceptual irrelevance in video image data based on a general model of Human Visual System (HVS) sensitivities. This thesis presents novel video image coding methods developed to achieve the conflicting requirements for high image quality and efficient coding. Novel methods of prioritising visually important video image content for optimised video coding are developed to exploit the HVS spatial and temporal response mechanisms of BSL users (determined by Eye Movement Tracking) and the characteristics of BSL video image content. The methods implement an accurate model of HVS foveation, applied in the spatial and temporal domains, at the pre-processing stage of a current standard-based system (H.264). Comparison of the performance of the developed and standard coding systems, using methods of video quality evaluation developed for this thesis, demonstrates improved perceived quality at low bit rates. BSL users, broadcasters and service providers benefit from the perception of high quality video over a range of available transmission bandwidths. The research community benefits from a new approach to video coding optimisation and better understanding of the communication needs of deaf people.

Thesis (M. Communication Pathology)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Summary in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references.

O objeto desta tese é um conjunto de diretrizes para projeto de recursos educacionais digitais, voltados para educação bilíngue de surdos. O público alvo primário deste trabalho, no entanto, não são os estudantes surdos, nem mesmo seus professores. O público alvo são designers: os profissionais que irão usar as diretrizes para projetar (e desenvolver) recursos educacionais para serem usados pelos estudantes surdos (e seus professores). A importância deste trabalho se deve ao fato que a maior parte dos designers não tem conhecimento científico ou empírico sobre o contexto e as necessidades dos estudantes surdos, tampouco reconhecem o bilinguismo como uma necessidade comunicacional e educacional. Utilizou-se um método chamado Mapas de Conceito, de Trochim (1989), que consistiu nas etapas: a) Preparação – coleta de fontes bibliográficas e entrevistas com professores; b) Compilação – onde o conjunto de diretrizes foi consolidado, gerando uma listagem com 185 diretrizes, sendo 75 oriundas de fontes bibliográficas e 110 de entrevistas com professores, as quais após análise, foram reduzidas para 50; c) Estruturação - etapa em que um grupo de 13 professores avaliou e agrupou as diretrizes, o que resultou num conjunto de 33; d) Representação – agrupamento das 33 diretrizes por meio das técnicas exploratórias Escala Multi Dimensional e Análise Hierárquica de Cluster; e)Elaboração do conjunto final. O conjunto de diretrizes sintetiza conhecimentos de diferentes áreas de difícil acesso ao designer. Acredita-se que a disponibilização das diretrizes compiladas nesta pesquisa possa auxiliá-los a produzir recursos educacionais bilíngues. / The purpose of this thesis is to propose a set of guidelines for the design of digital educational resources, aimed at bilingual education of the deaf. The primary target audience for this work, however, are not deaf students, not even their teachers. The target audience are designers: professionals who will use the guidelines to design (and develop) educational resources for use by deaf students (and their teachers). The importance of this work is due to the fact that most designers do not have scientific or empirical knowledge about the context and needs of deaf students, nor do they recognize bilingualism as a communicational and educational need. We used a method called Concept Maps (TROCHIM, 1989), which consisted of the following steps: a) Preparation - collection of bibliographic sources and interviews with teachers; b) Compilation - where the set of guidelines was consolidated, generating a listing with 185 guidelines, of which 75 were from bibliographic sources and 110 from interviews with teachers, which, after analysis, were reduced to 50; c) Structuring - stage in which a group of 13 teachers evaluated and grouped the guidelines, which resulted in a set of 33; d) Representation - grouping of the 33 guidelines through exploratory techniques Multi-Dimensional Scale and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis; e) Preparation of the final set. The set of guidelines synthesizes knowledge of different areas of difficult access to the designer. It is believed that the provision of the guidelines compiled in this research can help them to produce bilingual educational resources.

At least two studies have been found conducted in the area of audiological in-services and their impact on the people to whom they were presented. In 1981, Dancer and Keiser studied the effects of empathy training on geriatric-care nurses and in 1985, Dampier, Dancer, and Keiser studied changing attitudes of college students toward older persons with hearing loss. Both of the studies investigated the effect of in-service training on empathy, rather than using the traditional academicallyoriented in-service program approach. Both studies found statistical results indicating a significant positive change in the subjects' feelings toward hearing impaired geriatrics. Additionally, Dancer et al. (1981) found a positive significant change in the subjects' perceptions of hearing impaired elderly persons. This study investigated the effect of an in-service training program on nursing home personnel. The in-service that was developed included both empathy training and factual information. It was hypothesized that both elements are important and the inclusion of both could result in a greater change in people's attitude. The empathy portion of this in-service included a taped interview with a hearing impaired older person, a tape dramatizing interactions between hearing impaired and normal hearing individuals, simulated high frequency hearing loss, an "unfair listening test" and suggestions for interacting with hearing impaired people. The factual information included anatomy and physiology of the ear, types of hearing loss, common characteristics of hearing loss among older people, and the impact of hearing loss on speech understanding.

It‘s much more difficult for hearing impaired students to understand the world surrounding them. The problem is that hearing impairment and lack of sounds slows down or suspends normal development and thinking of the deaf, though it doesn’t have a significant influence on their intellect. Hearing impaired students receive support from teachers for the deaf as well as from the other professionals and they are able to study at regular schools or schools for the deaf or hard of hearing successfully. Deaf people receive information mainly in visual way, so visual expression has a very important role in deaf education. During the art classes deaf students may express their emotions, ideas and learn to understand the world. Object of the work is creative activities of deaf students at the art classes. The first part of the Master’s paper reveals problems concerning deafness and ways of communication of the deaf. The second part of the paper presents a history, methods and principles of deaf education. The third part ascertains art abilities of deaf students, compares their achievements in changing techniques of performance, genres, presenting interesting subjects for them. A research study reveals the ways how deaf students meet and learn new concepts. The research corroborated the hypothesis that more diverse means of performance and diversity of techniques stimulate creation of deaf students. The research has also shown poor results of how deaf students remember a rich... [to full text]

Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Teachers College, Columbia University, 1991. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Seymour Rigrodsky. Dissertation Committee: Eleanor B. Morrison. Includes bibliographical references: (leaves 82-87).