The common practice in sign language recognition is to first construct individual sign models, in terms of discrete state transitions, mostly represented using Hidden Markov Models, from manually isolated sign samples and then to use them to recognize signs in continuous sentences. In this thesis we use a continuous state space model, where the states are based on purely image-based features, without the use of special gloves. We also present an unsupervised approach to both extract and learn models for continuous basic units of signs, which we term as signemes, from continuous sentences. Given a set of sentences with a common sign, we can automatically learn the model for part of the sign,or signeme, that is least affected by coarticulation effects. We tested our idea using the publicly available Boston SignStreamDataset by building signeme models of 18 signs. We test the quality of the models by considering how well we can localize the sign in a new sentence. We also present the concept of smooth continuous curve based models formed using functional splines and curve registration. We illustrate this idea using 16 signs.

This dissertation research investigates the experience of deafness among deaf youth, adults, and their families in Mexico City, Mexico. Deaf children cannot fully access the spoken languages of their hearing families and mainstream society. Hence, participating families embarked upon extensive treatment-seeking pilgrimages, encountering myths about deaf lifeways and the promise of miracle cures that formed Mexico City's cultural system for coping with childhood deafness. This ethnography uncovers persistent misconceptions in medical and mainstream discourse, including strong recommendations against exposure to sign language, which directly impacted participants' access to relevant communities of practice, the social networks that proved most significant to these families. I used visual data collection methods, including photovoice and personal history timelines, to examine deaf identity. I contrast participants' lived experiences with the effects of the medicalization of deafness to empirically demonstrate the value of sign-based communities of practice for language socialization and the impact of restricted information and stigma. My research outlines the limitations of therapeutic approaches to language and challenges the notion that all children predictably acquire language. My contribution of "treatment-seeking pilgrimages" provides a new concept for examining therapy management as a social practice and I use "ad hoc communities of practice" to illustrate how participants formed social groupings in response to the unanticipated discovery of deafness in their families. Applied outcomes include recommendations suitable for educating medical personnel, public policy actors, educators, and families in early stages of treatment seeking.

One of the least explored areas of C.S. Peirce's wide range of work is his contributions to psychology and the philosophy of mind. This dissertation examines the corpus of this work, especially as it relates to the subjects of mind, habit, instinct, sentiment, emotion, perception, consciousness, cognition, and community. The argument is that Peirce's contributions to these areas of investigation were both highly original and heavily influenced by the main intellectual currents of his time. An effort has been made to present Peirce's philosophy without apology, within the conceptual framework and idiom of its time, and without appeal to a comprehensive view that Peirce never articulated. Nevertheless, as several noted interpreters have argued, much of this work can be viewed through the lens of Peirce's innovative theory of signs and the notion of the semiotic triad as its central unifying feature, despite the fact that the general theory was itself under continuous refinement and remained incomplete at the time of his death. Another hermeneutical device employed is William James' better known and more accessible work which, when juxtaposed with Peirce's ideas, serves to bring them into sharper relief. While general and historical in the presentation of material, this study seeks, at the same time, to engage the criticism of contemporary Peirce scholars in an attempt to account for several of the conundrums inherent in Peirce's work. Among the problems with implications for his philosophy of mind and theory of inquiry are the limitations of his theory of continuity, his negative view of the self, his somewhat ambiguous position on the relation of psychology to logic, and the metaethical puzzle arising from application of his theory of probable inference to truly fateful decisions. These problems provide an interesting perspective and lend balance to the truly insightful contributions Peirce made to the discovery of the mind.

In 1992, the Web was invented by Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) as an application over the Internet using TCP/IP protocol as stated in the World Wide Web Consortium (WC3). Accessing local IS to process data is no longer appropriate in the revolution of distributed processing. Web environments are heterogeneous and portable. First, the Web was developed for textual publishing purposes. However, in parallel the rapid advances of related technology and the incredible growth of ubiquitous data, the Web has evolved from a static medium for information sharing into an interactive multimedia platform that includes video, sound, animation, with dynamic links. In the light of these advancements, Web accessibility and associated problems (eg. People with deafness), represent a serious obstacle that prohibits people with special needs from accessing telecommunication systems. The Deaf Community’ is almost a closed community that has its own language (i.e. sign language), customs and traditions. There is little research around the world investigating direct machine translation of sign language. To avoid machine translation and associated problems, this thesis built on current Web technology to integrate Signage Information into the Web environment. As part of this integration, it made use of an ‘Intermediary Signage Object’ rather than intermediate transmission of video-based sign language. Finally, this thesis provides a Sign Language Annotation tool. It generates an XML document in order to process signage object content. The Graphical Usage Interface (GUI) contains a display window that plays customized sign language clips according to the sign viewers’ preferences. The Signage Tool extends IBM VideoAnnEx Tool to include sign language attributes and related data. In addition, it has been developed for different types of users involved with the deaf community (i.e. hearing impairment, hard of hearing, and sign language interpreters.) / Master of Science (Hons.)

This research study presents an investigation of interpreter trainees acquiring New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) as a second language (L2) outside their formal classroom learning. This study was motivated firstly by a concern that a considerable reduction in learner and lecturer contact hours within an NZSL interpreting programme would compromise graduate NZSL competency, necessitating a compensatory approach predominantly in the context of the Deaf community. Secondly, the study attempts to address a marked gap in research related to L2 sign language learning from a socio-cultural perspective. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in a bilingual context (NZSL and English) in order to gain the ‘inside’ perspectives of six NZSL learners who had just completed a two-year Diploma in Sign Language Interpreting. The interviews sought to uncover the informal NZSL language learning opportunities used by the participants, especially within the social context of the Deaf community, and the individual learner strategies utilised by ‘good learners’ of NZSL. Interview data were transcribed and were analysed by employing qualitative methods. Coding of the data revealed a number of categories which were subsequently examined for salient themes relating to the research questions. The main findings of the study revolved around the significance of L2 learner access to social and material resources, especially within the Deaf socio-cultural context. Of particular significance was the enhancement of learner motivation and confidence as was the frequency and depth of interaction with Deaf people and degree of mediated NZSL learning from NZSL mentors. Of key importance were the social relationships and networks developed with L1 users, which facilitated access to an array of NZSL learning opportunities. Material language learning resources, such as NZSL video samples and equipment were also useful, when interaction with Deaf people was not possible due to heavy study demands, especially in the second year of the programme. Learner involvement in the Deaf community, particularly within Deaf social networks, resulted in significantly improved linguistic, pragmatic and socio-cultural competency. The findings of the study raise two main implications. Firstly, the study highlights the need for NZSL interpreting curriculum enrichment and the resourcing of the programme to foster learner autonomy. Secondly, to date there has been little research on adult L2 sign language learning outside the classroom context and the study may stimulate further studies of the acquisition of sign language as a second language. The study may also be of benefit to autonomous L2 sign language learners and stakeholders in sign language interpreting education around the world.

<p>Döva personer i Sverige och världen lever nästan uteslutande i ett hörande majoritetssamhälle och har således på ett eller annat sätt en fortlöpande kontakt med hörande människor i såväl privat- som arbetsliv. De flesta döva i arbetslivet arbetar som enda eller som en av få döva på en hörande arbetsplats och ofta anlitas tolk för möten mellan hörande och döva kollegor. Föreliggande uppsats är en etnografisk studie av tolksituationen på en arbetsplats där en döv samt ett tjugotal hörande kollegor arbetar tillsammans. Med hjälp av fältanteckningar, intervjuer och videofilmning har en bild av tolksituationen genererats. I resultaten visas tecken på att den döva deltagaren till stor del lider av informationsbrist på olika plan. Därtill verkar det finnas en stor kunskapslucka hos de hörande kollegorna gällande teckenspråk och dövas villkor i ett hörande samhälle. Resultatet visar även tendenser till att den döva deltagaren genom det omgivande majoritetsspråkssamhället själv medverkar till sin egen underordning. I den komplexa tolksituationen verkar tolken fungera som en grindvakt. Tolken kan ha en svår och inte alltid definierad roll att översätta och samordna turer mellan hörande och döva och föra samtalet framåt i en gemensam riktning. Det verkar även som att den döva deltagaren och hennes hörande kollegor har olika uppfattning om tolkens roll. Tolkens arbete verkar härigenom kunna försvåras, något som i sin tur skulle kunna påverka relationen mellan den döva deltagaren och hennes hörande kollegor. Resultaten har diskuterats utifrån ett poststrukturalistiskt perspektiv för att visa på samband mellan mikro- och makronivå med kopplingar till språkideologi, språkpolitik, maktrelationer samt teorin om Deafhood.</p> / <p>Deaf people in Sweden and worldwide live with few exceptions in a hearing society, and thereby in one way or another they have connections with hearing people in their private and professional lives. Most Deaf people in working life have no or few Deaf co-workers at hearing workplaces and hence a Sign Language interpreter is often hired to facilitate the communication between deaf and hearing co-workers. This thesis is an ethnographic study of the interpreting situation at a workplace where one Deaf and about 20 hearing co-workers work together. With field notes, interviews and video recording an illustration of the situation has been generated. The results show a tendency that the Deaf participant to a great extent suffers from information loss in several areas. In addition, the hearing co-workers seem to have a gap in knowledge about Sign Language and the conditions of Deaf people. Also, the Deaf participant seems to participate in her own subordination through the surrounding majority society. In the complexity of the interpreting situation, the interpreter seems to serve as a gatekeeper. She also has a challenging and not always easily definable role in translating and coordinating turns between Deaf and hearing participants, thus moving the conversation forwards in a mutual direction. Nevertheless, the Deaf participant and her hearing co-workers often seem to have different views of the responsibilities of the interpreter, something that might make the interpreter’s job even more challenging. This, in turn, can influence the relationship between hearing and Deaf co-workers. The results of the thesis have been discussed from a poststructural perspective to show a connection between the intimate workplace situation and language ideology, language policy, power relations and the theory of Deafhood.</p><p> </p>

Durant le premier millénaire, entre le VIIe/VIe et le IIe siècle avant Jésus-Christ, les Carthaginois ont élevé des stèles votives dans un sanctuaire à ciel ouvert. Dédiées à la dyade Baal Hamon et Tinnit Pane Baal, ces sculptures montrent sur leur surface décorée une iconographie qui se compose, en grande partie, de signes et symboles géométriques: un losange, une image céleste composée d’un disque et d’un croissant, une « idole-bouteille », le signe dit « de Tinnit » et un étendard nommé « caducée » dans la littérature. À ce jour, les informations liées à l’interprétation de ces images sont restées largement disparates et fragmentaires et aucune synthèse approfondie n’a encore été publiée à leur sujet. Afin d’aboutir à des résultats tangibles, il s’avère indispensable de mettre à plat l’ensemble des connaissances acquises sur le sujet. À cette fin, une nouvelle approche méthodologique basée sur une typologie raisonnée, c’est-à-dire diachronique et limitée à la seule métropole carthaginoise, sera mise en place. En outre, cette démarche doit être définie en adéquation avec le contexte régional tyrien, berceau de l’idéologie religieuse carthaginoise. Au-delà du rapport de ces images avec les divinités invoquées, la typologie à promouvoir doit, en même temps, nous permettre de clarifier le contexte chronologique propre à chacun de ces éléments figurés. / During the first millennium, between the VIIth/VIth and IInd century bc, the Carthaginians have erected votive stelae in an open air precinct. Dedicated to the dyad Baal Hamon and Tinnit Pane Baal, those sculptures show on their decorated surface an iconography mostly composed of geometric signs and symbols: a lozenge, a celestial pattern made up of a disk and a crescent, a “bottle idol”, the “Tinnit sign” and a standard named “caduceus” in the literature. To date, the information tied up with the interpretation of those images are largely disparate and fragmentary and no thorough synthesis has been published on their subject. In order to reach tangible results, it is necessary to gather all known data’s on the subject. To that end, a new methodological approach, based on a diachronic typology limited to the sole Carthaginian metropolis, will be put in place. Moreover, this approach must be defined in adequacy with the Tyrian regional context, cradle of the Carthaginian religious ideology. Beyond the links of those images with of the invoked divinities, the typology to promote must allow us, in the same time, to clarify the chronological context peculiar to each of the studied items.

<p>The SASL project at the University of the Western Cape aims at developing a fully automated translation system between English and South African Sign Language (SASL). Three important aspects of this system require SASL documentation and knowledge. These are: recognition of SASL from a video sequence, linguistic translation between SASL and English and the rendering of SASL. Unfortunately, SASL documentation is a scarce resource and no official or complete documentation exists. This research focuses on creating an online collaborative video annotation knowledge management system for SASL where various members of the community can upload SASL videos to and annotate them in any of the sign language notation systems, SignWriting, HamNoSys and/or Stokoe. As such, knowledge about SASL structure is pooled into a central and freely accessible knowledge base that can be used as required. The usability and performance of the system were evaluated. The usability of the system was graded by users on a rating scale from one to five for a specific set of tasks. The system was found to have an overall usability of 3.1, slightly better than average. The performance evaluation included load and stress tests which measured the system response time for a number of users for a specific set of tasks. It was found that the system is stable and can scale up to cater for an increasing user base by improving the underlying hardware.</p>

<p>Recognising and estimating gestures is a fundamental aspect towards translating from a sign language to a spoken language. It is a challenging problem and at the same time, a growing phenomenon in Computer Vision. This thesis presents two approaches, an example-based and a learning-based approach, for performing integrated detection, segmentation and 3D estimation of the human upper body from a single camera view. It investigates whether an upper body pose can be estimated from a database of exemplars with labelled poses. It also investigates whether an upper body pose can be estimated using skin feature extraction, Support Vector Machines (SVM) and a 3D human body model. The example-based and learning-based approaches obtained success rates of 64% and 88%, respectively. An analysis of the two approaches have shown that, although the learning-based system generally performs better than the example-based system, both approaches are suitable to recognise and estimate upper body poses in a South African sign language recognition and translation system.</p>

Neural networks underpinning working memory demonstrate sign language specific components possibly related to differences in temporary storage mechanisms. A processing approach to memory systems suggests that the organisation of memory storage is related to type of memory processing as well. In the present study, we investigated for the first time semantic, phonological and orthographic processing in working memory for sign- and speech-based language. During fMRI we administered a picture-based 2-back working memory task with Semantic, Phonological, Orthographic and Baseline conditions to 11 deaf signers and 20 hearing non-signers. Behavioural data showed poorer and slower performance for both groups in Phonological and Orthographic conditions than in the Semantic condition, in line with depth-of-processing theory. An exclusive masking procedure revealed distinct sign-specific neural networks supporting working memory components at all three levels of processing. The overall pattern of sign-specific activations may reflect a relative intermodality difference in the relationship between phonology and semantics influencing working memory storage and processing.