Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

In Australia, as in most English-speaking countries, increasing numbers of children with significant hearing loss are being educated in regular classes with the support of itinerant teachers of the deaf, rather than in segregated settings. These students primarily use their amplified residual hearing and communicate orally, and may be functionally defined as hard of hearing. This thesis reports on a study investigating the career development of hard of hearing high school students attending regular Year 10, 11, and 12 classes with itinerant teacher support in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales. The students had bilateral sensorineural hearing losses ranging from mild to profound. The study sought to identify and analyse the key factors that influence the career development of this population. The design of the study was informed by Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), with its emphasis on cognitive variables, personal agency, diversity, and contextual influences, and the developmental theory of Donald Super and its associated concept of career maturity (Super, 1980; Super, Savickas, & Super, 1996). The study also investigated the social participation of hard of hearing adolescents and the relationship among the students' perceptions of their social participation, their social self-concept, and their career decision-making. The research was conducted using a three-phase, mixed methods approach incorporating two major phases, one quantitative and one qualitative, preceded by a minor, preliminary phase. The preliminary, exploratory phase of the study was included in order to guide the design of the survey instrument, and in particular the section covering perceived career barriers, an area not discussed in the literature for this population. Interviews were conducted with four hard of hearing Year 12 school students and four hard of hearing first-year university students who were recent school-leavers. In phase two, sixty-five hard of hearing students were compared with a matched group of normally hearing peers on measures of career maturity, career indecision, perceived career barriers, social participation and three variables associated with Social Cognitive Career Theory: career decision-making self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and goals. In addition, predictors of career maturity were tested for both groups. Phase three comprised the collection and analysis of qualitative data from interviews with a proportion of the survey respondents to explore the quantitative results in greater depth. Twelve students with hearing losses ranging from moderate to profound participated in these interviews. Results of the quantitative analysis indicated that (a) the two groups did not differ on measures of career maturity or social participation, (b) the Social Cognitive Career Theory variables were less predictive of career behaviours for the hard of hearing students than for the normally hearing students, and (c) perceived career barriers related to hearing loss predicted lower scores on the measure of career development attitudes for the hard of hearing students. The quantitative data also showed that survey respondents reported high levels of anticipation of some hearing-related barriers to achieving their educational or career goals, particularly 'people not understanding my hearing loss.' The results of the qualitative analysis extended many of the quantitative findings, yielding information and insights inaccessible through traditional quantitative methods. The qualitative findings revealed ways in which students perceived potential barriers, how they felt about them, and ways in which their perceptions of barriers influenced their career choice and decision-making. In addition, the qualitative findings revealed a complex interaction among students' social participation with their peers, their experiences of other people's negative reactions, their self-consciousness about their hearing loss, their fears about mishearing people, and their career decision-making. In sum, the study identified potential career barriers as a key factor influencing the career development of this group of hard of hearing students, and clarified understanding of the way in which their social self-concept interacted with their career development. The study's findings contribute to current knowledge and understanding of the career development of adolescents with significant hearing loss who attend regular classes with itinerant teacher support in two states of Australia. The thesis discusses implications for theory and for practice that have arisen from the study, and sets out recommendations for ways in which the career development and transition of this population might be improved.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 73-79). Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 84-89).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-89). Also available in print.

The effects of intensive multisensory speech training, with and without the use of Visual Phonics techniques, on the speech production of a profoundly hearing-impaired child were studied over a period of 6 weeks. A nine-year-old profoundly hearing-impaired child received 30-40 minutes of intensive speech training daily. Three target phonemes were trained using only multisensory speech training techniques and three target phonemes were trained using multisensory and Visual Phonics training techniques. The subject's productions of target phonemes in trained words and syllables were audio-taped at the end of each training period. Audio-taped productions were rated as correct or incorrect. The number of correct productions in words and syllables were tallied daily. Results show a general trend of improved production for all phonemes trained. There was no differential effect for the training technique used. It was concluded that intensive training, regardless of the technique used, has a positive effect on the speech productions of a profoundly hearing-impaired child.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

Hypoglycaemia is a very common side-effect of insulin therapy for diabetes and directly affects cognitive function. It can be identified by the onset of symptoms and by blood glucose monitoring. Impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia is an acquired syndrome in people with insulin-treated diabetes. The definitions, frequency, causes, treatment and prevention of clinical hypoglycaemia and the effects on, and moderators of, cognitive function will be discussed. Two studies have examined the effects of hypoglycaemia on tests of particular cognitive domains in subjects with and without type 1 diabetes. Three further studies have examined the frequency of hypoglycaemia in people with and without impaired awareness, the prevalence of impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia (IAH) and have compared methods of assessing awareness of hypoglycaemia. In study 1 the effect of acute hypoglycaemia on psychomotor function was examined in healthy volunteers (n =20) and adults with type 1 diabetes (n=16). Although acute hypoglycaemia caused significant impairment of several psychomotor functions in nondiabetic adults, a lower magnitude of impairment was observed in those with type 1 diabetes. The potential mechanisms behind this are discussed. In study 2 the effect of acute hypoglycaemia on a simple two-choice reaction time test, which has a model with validated performance parameters, was examined in 14 nondiabetic volunteers. Application of the validated model to the results of this task revealed that hypoglycaemia affected central processing and was not related to the amount of evidence required to make a decision or to peripheral and motor processes. This study is the first to use this method to dissect the effects of hypoglycaemia on cognition and enhances understanding of the mechanism underlying neuroglycopenia in adults. In Study 3 the methods of evaluating awareness of hypoglycaemia were compared in people with type 1 diabetes. Good concordance in clinical characteristics and frequency of biochemical hypoglycaemia was observed between the methods described by Gold et al and Clarke et al but not with a Danish method. In study 4 continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and home blood glucose monitoring were performed prospectively for 12 months in people with and without IAH. Those with IAH had a 1.6-fold higher incidence of biochemical hypoglycaemia as demonstrated by blood glucose monitoring, but CGM did not identify patients with IAH. In study 5 the prevalence of IAH in a large clinic population with type 1 diabetes was estimated and compared with earlier assessments. The overall prevalence was 20%.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master in Audiology In the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand / The ability to handle a hearing aid may impact on satisfaction with and acceptance of hearing aids by individuals with hearing loss. Previous research has noted the correlation between hearing aid handling skills and effective hearing aid use. Although many studies have focused on the individuals’ satisfaction with their hearing aids there is a lack of information regarding the relationship between satisfaction with hearing aids and hearing aid handling skills. This is especially true for the South African context, where no studies have been conducted to explore this relationship. The main aim of the study was thus to determine the relationship between the ability to manipulate hearing aids and self-perceived satisfaction with hearing aids in individuals fitted with hearing aids in a public health care hospital. A non-experimental, cross-sectional, correlational research design was employed for the purpose of this study. The sample included 85 adults fitted with hearing aids in a public health care hospital. There was an equal distribution of gender and the mean age of participants was 66.27 years. Participants completed the Practical Hearing Aid Skills Test – Revised (PHAST-R) version and the Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life (SADL) questionnaire. The findings of the study indicate that the majority of participants were able to successfully manipulate their hearing aids (Mean score: 75.43%; Range: 10.71 - 100; SD: 21.58). The mean global score for satisfaction with amplification was 5.2 (Range: 3.1 - 6.8; SD: 0.84) indicating high levels of satisfaction with their hearing aids. Overall there was a significant correlation between hearing aid handling skills and satisfaction with amplification (rs= 0.22871; n = 85). Indicating participants who were better able to handle their hearing aids were more satisfied with them. The findings suggest that the majority of participants were satisfied with the hearing aids provided in a public health care hospital and that they were able to successfully handle their hearing aids. The use of the PHAST-R as part of the hearing aid orientation session is encouraged especially in light of the poor return rate for follow-up hearing aid orientation sessions at this public health care settings. The development of standard operating procedures for hearing aid fitting and orientation in the public health care sector is recommended to ensure that the best possible outcomes are ensured for all patients. / GR2017