The thesis focuses on possibilities of spoken and sign language interpreter training in the Czech Republic and Austria. The theoretical part describes the situation of the deaf in the Czech Republic and in Austria and explains the terms connected with communication of the deaf. Furthermore, it contains a brief overview of the history of spoken and sign language interpreter training and a description of the conditions for interpreters in both countries respectively. The most detailed chapters of the theoretical part deal with training institutions for spoken and sign language interpreters. The main focus is on the Institute of Translation studies at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague and the Department of Translation Studies at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of University of Graz. The empirical part presents the results of a questionnaire survey conducted among Master students of the two institutes who evaluated how well the university prepares them for their future career.

This thesis is concerned with investigation adapted texts from literature for children and youth specifically adapted for deaf children. The aim of the work is to compare the final quality edited version of particular book for children and youth based on critical analysis, to assess whether the adapted texts respect the settled publishing rules and do not harm original version together with they are really more accessible for deaf children's readers. Adapted texts for deaf children are generally criticized and deemed unsuccessfull. This thesis seeks for an objective reflection of these books and their effectiveness and to submit possible proposals for their improvement. The first chapters are focused on editorial practice and the types of treatements that are performed in books for children and youth followed by a description of the arrangements for deaf children. Critical analysis is subjected to literary work Honzíkova cesta by Bohumil Říha adapted by Jana Purová. The critical analysis is founded on comparision between readability index of original version and adapted version, and analysis of the first chapter which is devided up two parts. The first part is dedicated the reveal of all modifications in the first chapter which are subsequently categorized. The second part is analysis of...

Abstract Traditional design of user interfaces for mobile phones is limited to a small interaction that provides only the necessary means to place phone calls or to write short messages. Such narrow activities supported via current terminals suppress users from moving towards mobile and ubiquitous computing environments of the future. Unfortunately, the next generation of user interfaces for mobile terminals seems to apply the same design patterns as commonly used for desktop computers. Whereas the desktop environment has enough resources to implement such design, capabilities of the mobile terminals fall under constraints dictated by mobility, like the size and weight. Additionally, to make mobile terminals available for everyone, users should be able to operate them with minimal or no preparation, while users of desktop computers will require certain degree of training. This research looks into how to improve the user interface of future mobile devices by using a more human-centred design. One possible solution is to combine the Augmented Reality technique with image recognition in such a way that it will allow the user to access a "virtualized interface". Such an interface is feasible since the user of an Augmented Reality system is able to see synthetic objects overlaying the real world. Overlaying the user's sight and using the image recognition process, the user interacts with the system using a combination of virtual buttons and hand gestures. The major contribution of this work is the definition of the user's gestures that makes it possible for human-computer interaction with such Augmented Reality based User Interfaces. Another important contribution is the evaluation on how mobile applications and services work with this kind of user interface and whether the technology is available to support it.

Nowadays, thanks to the modern technologies, the human being has been able todevelop new techniques to solve problems present in the past. Regarding the medicalfield, it is common to use several apparatus in order to measure the vital signs. Themain drawback about the traditional methods employed for this purpose is that theyare invasive towards the patient. However, in this thesis it has been developed afurther design of a radar system so as to be able to measure these vital signs in awireless way. Based on a 60 GHz frequency modulated continuous wave radar chip, it has been ableto increase the performance of the measurements by adding a second radar chip.Because of this new feature, the radar system is now having a better precision byprocessing greater data matrix to analyse the targets positions and theirmeasurements. In addition, an enhanced MCU has been incorporated in order toavoid performance bottlenecks because it is necessary to handle the processing of thedata received by the two radar chips. Lastly, reducing the sweeping time (periodbetween the lowest frequency broadcast to linearly reach the highest frequencybroadcast) from 20 ms the previous design to 1 ms, which requires higher samplingrate to cover the fast sweep and provide higher flow of information that leads to fasterdetection process. A 3D design of the prototype has been designed to show the physical appearance itwould have once entering in production. The result is a compact and highlyintegrated radar system which will be able to monitor the heart beating andrespiration frequency of a human being in a range of ten meters.

Magister Educationis - MEd / In this research paper, guided by Prof Z Groener, I explore the learning barriers experienced by deaf learners in the structured workplace component of a learnership programme. I focus on the learning barriers of deaf learners at work on an Information Technology learnership where the learning environment shapes and are shaped by deaf learners. Twenty deaf learners have entered during 2005 into an Information Technology: Technical Support NQF4 learnership, funded by the Information Systems (IT), Electronics and Telecommunications Technologies Sector Education Training Authority (ISETT Seta). I have determined how deaf learners are faring with work and learning in a technological environment that has experienced rapid and extensive restructuring during the past ten years. The specific difficulties which they experience during their structured workplace component of the learnerships have also been defined. I argue that when deaf learners form part of a community of practice, consisting of both deaf learners and hearing colleagues and who operate in the same area of knowledge and activity, they fare better than those who did not form part of such a community. I conclude this research paper with a link to the situated learning theory where I explain why the learner’s situation contributed to their ability to learn. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The principle aim of this thesis is to investigate all the challenges and opportunities/possibilities involved in realising the implementation of the official Western Cape Language Policy (finalised in 2002). These challenges and opportunities/possibilities were investigated within various structures of the Western Cape Province of South Africa’s civil service environment in six major multilingual towns in the Western Cape. The historical and political context leading to the creation of this policy is provided in the following three paragraphs. Following the demise of Apartheid with South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, the New South Africa brought with it amongst other things the following changes: a new Constitution; new legislation; access and freedom within a system of inclusion; the creation of new provinces; the constitutional breakdown of social, geographical and linguistic barriers; the subsequent migration to different towns and cities of people speaking different languages and their integration there; the creation of district and regional municipalities; freedom of the press. All of these introduced a whole new platform of language interaction and association and therefore general communication (Constitution of the RSA, 1996). In addition, in contrast to the Apartheid policy of only two official languages – English and Afrikaans – eleven languages were declared official languages of the state. The declaration of 11 official languages in 1996 (English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana, Tshivenda, isiNdebele, siSwati and Xitsonga) was an integral part of highlighting multilingualism in the newly designated nine provinces of SA. Each of the nine provinces – the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Gauteng, the Northwest Province, Northern Province (now called Limpopo), Mpumalanga, the Free State and Kwazulu-Natal - had to, in consultation with different provincial stakeholders, draft language policies according to the National Language Framework. In the Western Cape Province, three languages were identified as dominant, namely Afrikaans, isiXhosa and English. The Western Cape Language Policy (WCLP) was consequently drafted by the Western Cape Language Committee (WCLC), a statutory body and a sub-committee of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), after the Westen Cape Provincial Languages Act, Act 31 of 1998, was accepted by Parliament in 1998. This WCLP was the first provincial language policy to be completed in the New SA. The policy was accepted and the draft was ready for implementation by 2002. This thesis presents a critical overview of previous and current strategies being used by all provincial government departments in the implementation of the WCLP. This includes a sample of general public knowledge of the existence of the terms and meaning of the WCLP, different outcomes of studies and language-related projects done by the WCLC, PanSALB, DCAS and the Central Language Unit (CLU) since 2000. It also focuses on the role that different private and public language implementation agencies are playing, or not, in their communication with the multilingual civil society of the Western Cape. Projections for and challenges facing the implementation of the WCLP since its acceptance in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) in 2004 were also researched carefully, together with an analysis of research already conducted on behalf of the provincial government. Document analysis therefore forms a core part of this methodology, together with fieldwork research conducted in six selected major multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was done in order to explore the challenges experienced by Afrikaans-, isiXhosa- and English-speaking people at grassroots level, since they needed to become more aware of their language rights as set out in the WCLP. Drawing on a theoretical and conceptual framework based on studies in Language and Power Relations, specifically studies on the role of Language Ideologies, Linguistic Citizenship, Agency and Voice and Language Ecology on effective Language Planning, Policy and Implementation, the thesis presents, through its document analysis, quantitative and qualitative data, an analysis of the limited or failed implementation of the WCLP in both government departments as well as the civilian populations in six selected multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was achieved by examining actual language practices at particular language policy implementation agencies such as the post office, the police station, the high school, households, the municipal office, the day hospital and the clinic in each of these towns. The thesis gathers together all this evidence to prove that the implementation of the WCLP has been hampered by a range of factors such as wide-spread ignorance of the policy, the dominance of particular languages in the province over others, power relations within government structures and relatively inflexible language ideologies held by those charged with policy implementation at different levels. It concludes by providing a number of practical recommendations on how more effective implementation can be achieved.

This diploma thesis, called Hyundai commercials from the semiotic point of view, deals with audiovisual commercials and their meanings, which can be hidden in them. The thesis is inspired by the book Mythologies which was written by Roland Barthes. The first part of the thesis is a chapter about the car manufacturer Hyundai, its background in the Czech Republic and also the reason for the choice of this brand is stated here. This part is followed by a chapter about advertising. Advertising is a type of persuasive communication, it is a part of mass media and is connected to other sciences such as psychology, social studies, linguistics and others. Relevant knowledge of these fields is used as well. The theoretical background of the thesis is extended in the next chapter which focuses on the science of semiotics. Key terms such as semiosis, sign, denotation, connotation, primary and secondary semiological systems and myth are defined. Also the method of semiotic analysis is explored. In connection with the terms mythology and ideology a subchapter on Roland Barthes follows. In the methodology chapter the research design is stated and research questions are formulated. The analytical chapter consists of the denotative parts of analyzed commercials (the plot together with the scene and sound is...

Cette thèse est le résultat d'une recherche doctorale inspirée par l'urgence de mettre en avant le rôle central de la langue des signes française (LSF) dans l'éducation des enfants sourds en France. La législation relative à l'utilisation de la LSF a certainement évolué depuis les années 1970 pourtant, les enfants sourds et leurs familles n'ont toujours pas d'accès à une éducation bilingue. Le statut linguistique et culturel de la communauté sourde française est toujours minoré dans le contexte scolaire et ceci constitue un obstacle au développement des politiques et des pratiques pédagogiques destinées à cette population. À partir de l'examen de ce contexte nous souhaitons élargir le débat à propos de la place occupée par la langue des signes (LS) dans la scolarisation de ces enfants, non seulement comme un moyen de communication mais en tant que source première de l'acquisition de compétences langagières, de la constitution des communautés sourdes et de la construction de l'identité sourde. L'objectif de cette recherche est de montrer comment le théâtre-éducation peut participer à ces processus. À partir d'une approche bio-psycho-social de la surdité, nous nous sommes centrée sur un exemple de pratique en théâtre-éducation pour enfants sourds, en tant que terrain pédagogique supplémentaire pour l'apprentissage de la langue des signes dans les institutions de scolarisation d'enfants sourds. Avec ces principes comme base, nous posons comme première hypothèse que le théâtre-éducation facilite l'acquisition de la LS par l'optimisation de la pratique des processus sémiogénétiques communs à la gestualité théâtrale et à la structure des langues des signes. La deuxième hypothèse porte sur l'application du théâtre-éducation en tant que terrain de socialisation en LS et de création des discours symboliques sur la surdité à partir de la perspective de l'enfant sourd. A fin de vérifier nos hypothèses, nous avons réalisé une étude de cas pour la collecte des données. Le corpus présenté dans la thèse a été composé d'abord grâce à l'observation d'un atelier de théâtre pour deux groupes d'enfants sourds, âgés entre 9 et 11 ans. Nous avons néanmoins utilisé également d'autres outils méthodologiques : participation, entretiens et expérimentation. Cette étude de cas montre alors que l'expérience d'apprentissage du théâtre constitue un terrain potentiel de mise en pratique des niveaux particuliers de l'usage de la LS, contribuant donc à l'acquisition de cette dernière. Plus précisément, nous centrons nos analyses sur les processus sémiogénétiques qui font émerger les structures de grande iconicité (les transferts) des langues des signes : l'iconicisation de l'expérience et la sémantisation du corps. Nous avançons également l'idée que l'apprentissage du théâtre permet aux enfants d'expérimenter l'inversion symbolique des normes concernant la surdité (physiologique et sociale), contribuant donc à la construction de leurs identités sourdes. Le corpus obtenu et l'analyse qualitative nous permettent de postuler donc de quelle façon l’apprentissage du théâtre peut contribuer à l'acquisition de la langue des signes et à la construction de l'identité sourde par la mise en pratique de la créativité artistique qui lui est propre. / This doctoral research is driven by the urgent need to discuss the role of french sign language in the education of deaf children in France today. Legislation on the use of french sign language has developed since the 1970's, however, deaf children and their families are still struggling to access bilingual education. The linguistic and cultural minority status of the french deaf community still battles to be accepted in the school context and this constitutes a clear barrier to the development of policies and learning practices for deaf children education. With this framework in mind we wish to extend the discussion on the essential role played by sign language, not only as a communication tool in deaf education, but as the primary source of language skills acquisition and of the constitution of deaf communities and the Deaf identity. The goal of the present research is to show how theater-education can participate in this construction. From a bio-psycho-social perspective on deafness, we turned to one example of theater-education practice destined to deaf children as a additional pedagogical space and practice for sign language in schools and institutions. With these ideas in focus we established the first hypothesis that theater-education facilitates sign language learning by encouraging the exercise of common semiogenetic processes to gesture in theater and to sign language structure. As a second hypothesis we established that theater-education can be used as an additional space of socialization in sign language for deaf children as well as an experience of discourse creation about deafness and Deafhood from the deaf child's perspective. To investigate this hypothesis we chose the case study as our data-collection protocol. The data presented in this research was obtained first through observation of one theater-education class for two groups of deaf children, ages 9 to 11. However we collected our data using different methodological phases and tools: observation, participation, interviews and experiment. This case study shows that this learning experience constitutes a potential exercise of peculiar levels of sign language learning, and more specifically the essential iconic structures of sign languages. We also advance the idea that learning theater-education enables dead children to explore the symbolic inversion of social rules regarding deafness and Deafhood, contributing to the construction of their Deaf identities. The collected data and qualitative analyses has enable us to determine in which ways theater-education can contribute to the exploration of artistic creative levels in sign language learning and deaf identity construction.

Die hoofdoelstelling van die navorsing was om die ontwikkelende sosialisering van adolessente met ernstige gehoorverlies met hul normaalhorende portuur te begryp en te beskryf. Die navorsingsvraag was, Hoe ontwikkel die adolessent met ernstige gehoorverlies sosiale verhoudings met sy/haar normaal horende portuurgroep? ‘n Ondersoek na vier adolessente met ernstige gehoorverlies is gedoen, om hul interaksiesituasie met hul horende portuurgroep beter te begryp. Die studie het ‘n meervoudige gevallestudie-ontwerp gevolg vanuit die postmoderne interpretiwistiese perspektief. Bronfenbrenner se bio-ekologiese sisteemteorie is benut as die teoretiese basis vir die studie, ten einde die totale konteks van die adolessent met gehoorverlies te begryp. Die deelnemers is volgens die maksimum variasiebeginsel gekies en die data is met behulp van kwalitatiewe metodes, naamlik observasies en onderhoude, ingesamel. Die analiseproses het uit gerigte tematiese analise en analitiese vergelyking bestaan. Die resultate het getoon dat interaksie tussen adolessente met gehoorverlies en hul normaal horende portuur suksesvol kan geskied, maar dat dit met bepaalde hindernisse (soos oningeligtheid en onsekerheid omtrent die gehoorverlies) gepaard gaan en van beide partye word aanpassings geverg. Individuele bates van die adolessent met gehoorverlies moet ook benut word en uitgebou word om die minder sterk punte te ondersteun. Die adolessent met gehoorverlies se spraak (artikulasie) en spraakleesvermoë is van kernbelang ten einde deur die horende gemeenskap verstaan te word, asook om hulle te verstaan. Gereelde deurlopende blootstelling aan die horende gemeenskap wat deur die ouers gefasiliteer word, blyk die sleutel te wees tot suksesvolle interaksie en integrasie in die breë gemeenskap. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The main purpose of the study was to understand and describe the developing socialization of adolescents with severe hearing loss with their normally hearing peers. The central research question was, How does the adolescent with severe hearing loss develop social relationships with his/her normally hearing peers? The research was conducted with four adolescents with severe hearing loss, better to understand their interactive situation with their normally hearing peers. The research took the form of a multiple case study design, conducted from the postmodern interpretive perspective. Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological systems theory formed the theoretical basis of the study, to understand the full context of the adolescent with hearing loss. Participants were selected in accordance with the maximum variation sampling principle. Data were collected by qualitative methods, namely observations and interviews. The data analysis consisted of focussed thematic analysis and analytical comparison. The results showed that interaction between adolescents with hearing loss and their normally hearing peers can be successful, but it is accompanied by certain challenges such as a lack of information and uncertainty about the hearing loss and adaptations are required from both parties. The individual assets of die adolescent with hearing loss should be utilised and developed to support the weaker characteristics. The speech- and speech reading skills of the adolescent with hearing loss are of the utmost importance to be understood by the hearing community as well as to understand them. Continual exposure to the hearing community, facilitated by the parents, appears to be key to the successful interaction and integration into the broader community. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Cette thèse permet d’apprécier le fonctionnement cognitif de collégiens sourds locuteurs de la Langue des Signes Française, dans leur rapport à la langue française écrite. Une approche psycholinguistique des apprentissages est adoptée et fait référence aux concepts de bilinguisme, de cognition, de production écrite et de Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication. Une première étude s’intéresse aux habiletés déployées dans des supports d’écriture variés (SMS, blogs, écrits scolaires, prises de notes) et révèle la capacité des adolescents sourds à décomposer les mots en unités sublexicales tout en s’adaptant aux contextes de production. Une seconde étude sur le traitement des unités morphologiques de mots, via un entraînement informatisé, donne un aperçu de leurs performances de réussite, de temps et de stratégies de réponses. La dernière étude, sur les prises de notes et les productions écrites en temps réel, fournit des informations sur le réinvestissement des connaissances issues de l’entraînement et sur le comportement de scripteur de ces adolescents sourds. Un effet de transfert, ou degré de signabilité, entre langue des signes et français est constaté. Lorsque la décomposition sublexicale est ambiguë, le recours aux unités orthographiques semble masquer les traitements morphologiques. La question des supports et des approches pédagogiques de l’écrit en situation de surdité est posée. L’écriture spontanée, les apports du multimédia et la considération des unités sémantiques sublexicales pour installer des automatismes dans le traitement de l’écrit, semblent être des pistes prometteuses. / This thesis allows us to appreciate the cognitive functioning of deaf college students, speakers of French Sign Language, in their relation to written French. It takes a psycholinguistic approach to learning, using the concepts of bilingualism, cognition, written production and Information and Communication Technologies. A primary study explores various types of written work (SMS, blogs, written school works, note-taking) and shows that deaf students decompose words into sublexical units and adapt to the writing context. A second study of the morphological decomposition of words during a computer training session provides an overview of their performance in the treatment of these units. A final study on note-taking and real-time written production provides information on how students reuse the learning from the training session and their behaviour in the act of writing. An effect of language transfer, or degree of signability, from sign language to French is noticeable. When sublexical decomposition is confusing, the use of orthographic units appears to mask morphological processing. This raises the question of educational training materials and the teaching of writing skills. Spontaneous writing, the contribution of multimedia, and sublexical semantic units for generating automatic gestures in the writing process, appear to be promising avenues.