Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1965. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Bibliography: l. [106]-108.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-142).

Thesis (M.A.)--Columbia Biblical Seminary and Graduate School of Missions, Columbia, S.C., 2000. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-154).

This dissertation reports an ethnographic investigation of the peer group talk of Hawaiian middle school students during an English language arts class. It is concerned with the academic and social agendas of the seventh grade participants. The purpose of the research was to investigate: (a) student labels and descriptions of their interactive accomplishments; (b) communicative features which characterized academic and social engagement; (c) relationships and identities invoked in the conversations. The study was conducted over one school year with primary focus on one group of four students. The analytic categories "doing English" and "socializing" were derived from field notes, video tapes, group and individual interviews, and copies of pertinent written documents. These student terms-for-talk foregrounded their perceptions of what was required to participate appropriately in the language arts classroom and recognition of "socializing" as an acceptable, prominent, and purposeful activity within the small peer group and larger classroom context. Instances-of-the-terms-for-talk were interrogated to identify topic patterns, features-of-the-talk, norms of interaction, and tone of engagement. Patterns of engagement related to peer group harmony included "getting busted," arguing and fighting, preserving the status of group members, using humor, and mediating tensions. Intrapersonal and interpersonal dynamics were examined as dimensions of individual autonomy and group affiliation. Enactments of personhood or identity invoked in the terms for talk "doing English" and "socializing" were rendered as those of 'student' and 'friend' respectively. Monitoring, assessing, directing, clarifying, and confirming were salient interactional strategies associated with academic endeavors, while using humor emerged as the prominent feature of social interactions. The significance of this investigation relates to the value of socializing. Off-task conversations served to promote collective group identity, mediate tensions that arose during academic engagement, and further develop the social and personal identities of the participants. These insights contribute to the literature on face-to-face interactions in classrooms by legitimizing "socializing" or off-task talk as an activity form that can serve to expedite on-task or academic interactions such as "doing English." The results of the study expand our understandings of how students categorize, describe, and construct classroom events.

The thesis deals with the communication of children with Tourette's syndrome. The first part of the thesis, the theoretical part, defines the basic terms concerning specifically the manifestations of Tourette's syndrome. An integral part of Touret-te's syndrome are psychiatric diseases, behavioral disorders and learning disor-ders that children suffer from. The theoretical part of the text is mainly from the study of literature. The second part, the analytical part, is composed of semi-structured interviews, with mothers who are willing to share their experiences with children having Tou-rette's syndrome. All mothers agreed with to beeing recorded and and anonymous proccesing of results for the purpose of the thesis. Keywords Tourette's syndrome, communication, vocal tics, children communication

Thesis (M.A.)--California State University Channel Islands, 2008. / Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Education. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed September 22, 2008).

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 (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 526-540).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 286-293).

Thesis (M.A.T.) -- School for International Training, 2007. / Advisor -- Bonnie Mennell Includes bibliographical references (leaf 49).