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Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

The purpose of this dissertation was three-fold. The first intent was to investigate the historical role of English and American Sign Language (ASL) in the communication, education and culture of deaf/Deaf people in America. The second purpose was to investigate sociolinguistical and physiological properties of American Sign Language in light of language learning among the deaf. And the third objective was to research bilingual education methodologies in order to interface knowledge and practices from bilingual education, communication and ASL research to the field of post-secondary education of the deaf within the framework of bilingual education. Evidence demonstrates that the history of language policies and educational practices for the deaf are strongly influenced by the majority language of English. A primary goal of education of the deaf has been the assimilation of deaf people into the hearing society. An avenue for this integration has traditionally involved the exclusion of ASL from the classroom and the mandate of Signed English systems and/or aural/oral communication. The incorporation of a cross-disciplinary blend of communication, bilingual education and ASL sociolinguistic aspects form the foundation for further investigation. This dissertation should serve as an impetus and reference point for others wishing to advance the education of the deaf, utilizing a bilingual approach.

Published Article / This paper aims to describe the state of South African Sign Language (SASL) at the University of the Free State (UFS). It provides background to the development of SASL, the development of Deaf education, the teaching of sign language and sign language interpreting at the UFS, research and community development. SASL is one of the languages offered at the UFS. The University has been involved with ground-breaking research to implement a training course on all levels of tertiary education. Students can complete a degree in sign language and also do postgraduate studies in sign language and sign language interpreting. This article aims to indicate how teaching of SASLas an official language empowers marginalised culture.

The cochlear implant represents a radical intervention in the hearing-impaired child's life, which has a profound influence on the feelings and emotions of the child's family. In this study it is endeavoured to identify and to describe this influence. A literature study was done. Families of implanted children in Scotland and in South Africa filled in questionnaires and interviews were held. This study illuminates the fact that parents suffer stress and have various concerns before as well as after the implant. Different reasons why parents decide to give their child a cochlear implant are described. The researcher came to the conclusion that the implanted child functions in a more balanced way and that parents are very satisfied after the implantation. The effect of the implant is described under the following categories: communication, feelings of parents, effect on the deaf child, normality, effect on parents, effect on siblings. / Education / M.Ed.(Guidance and Counselling)

This thesis is a critical account of a qualitative, evaluative study into the translation processes and practices in use within the BSL Bible Translation Project, undertaken as a collaborative doctoral studentship funded by the AHRC/ESRC1. It has proceeded collaboratively, valuing the stories, knowledge and experiences of the participants. The data‐set presented herein was generated by means of participant observation and interviews with Project Team members. It was analysed in its digital, visual form using an inductive, thematic approach, and is presented with minimal commentary (Chapters 4 and 5). Following this presentation, the data‐set is further reflected upon in order to shed light upon existing understandings of sign language text composition strategies, team translation praxis, intermediality and sacrament (Chapters 6, 7 and 8). The evidence presented in this thesis represents a new source of data and offers valuable insights into translation and exegetical practice in its own right and, I will argue, as a means of human flourishing. This thesis problematizes previous descriptions of Signed Languages as ‘picture‐languages’, identifying two ways in which such descriptions have been unhelpful, even inaccurate. Firstly, that this nomenclature, with its association with picture‐books and pre‐linguistic skills, has contributed to the persistence of perceptions of d/Deaf people as being linguistically less‐able than their non‐Deaf peers and secondly, that such descriptions are deficient because they fail to fully capture the complex nature of Signed Languages. This thesis argues for a re engagement with the inherently cinematographic nature of Signed Languages and explores ways in which this would yield benefits in the fields of Deaf education, the teaching of Signed Languages to second‐language learners, and the training of interpreters and translators. This thesis will also argue that the translation practices of the BSL Bible Translation Project constitute a clear example of Deaf people engaging in metalinguistic reflection on their own language‐use. That is, that the data provide clear evidence of literate thought, specifically of Signed Language literacy in action, and is further evidence in support of the growing confidence and agency within the Deaf Community with regards to the status and the rich linguistic and material properties of BSL, including its suitability as a mediator of the sacred. This thesis will go on to offer reflections on what the data have to tell us about the nature of Biblical texts; both through how they are produced, and the nature of those texts as artefacts and bearers of religious meanings. Engaging with existing understandings of sacrament and incarnation, including the possibility that the act of Bible reading and translation can be said to constitute a sacramental activity, it argues that this is particularly so when such reading and ‘speaking’ of the text occurs through Signed Language.

This study investigated the effects of frontalis electromyographic biofeedback training on internality, externality, anxiety, and muscle tension of deaf college students. Student volunteers enrolled at a post-secondary institution providing support services for the deaf were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a no-treatment control group. The experimental group consisted of 36 subjects (21 males, 15 females) and the control group included 34 subjects (18 males, 16 females). Pretreatment and posttreatment baseline measures of the dependent variables of locus of control, anxiety, and electromyographic (EMG) levels were recorded using the Learning Styles Inventory (National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology, New York), A Test of Attitudes (F. J. Dowaliby, National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology, New York), and the Myosone 409 EMG Monitor/Data Processor (Bio-Logic Devices, Inc., Plainview, New York). The experimental group received six half-hour biofeedback sessions during a 3-week treatment phase. The control group was not seen during the treatment phase. Results of analyses of covariance indicated that frontalis electromyographic biofeedback training had no significant effects on internality (F = .009, p = .923), externality (F = .014, p = .905), and anxiety (F = .536, p = .467). Significant differences (F = 3.851, p = .054) were found between experimental and control groups on electromyographic levels. Findings suggest that frontalis electromyographic biofeedback training can be used to reduce muscle tension in a deaf population. This has implications for the prevention and reduction of stress-related disorders. Further research is needed to determine the effects of a longer biofeedback training period on locus of control and anxiety.

The purpose of this study was to determine if deaf adolescents who scored as Reactive on the Test of Engagement Style would score significantly lower on the Stanford Achievement subtests of Reading, Math Concepts, Math Computations, Math Applications, and Language than would deaf adolescents who scored as Active on the same test. The Test of Engagement Style is a locus of control construct which utilizes a non-verbal, open-ended format. Subject responses are recorded as either Active or Reactive. The subjects of this study were 111 deaf adolescents who attended the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind in Tucson. Cross-tabulation of data between sexes was utilized as was hypothesis testing procedures utilizing one-way analysis of variance with males and females combined in Active and Reactive dimensions for the following variables: IQ, onset of hearing loss, degree of hearing loss (in decibels), age, and the five Stanford Achievement subtests. Split-half procedures were utilized to test for significant correlation in item analysis of the Test of Engagement Style. The TES showed significant internal consistency with an alpha of .74 at the .05 level of significance. The following results were found: (1) There was no significant difference between males and females on TES scores. (2) There was significant difference on mean scores in the subtests of Reading, Math Computations, Math Applications, and Language between Active and Reactive students. (3) There was no significant difference between Active and Reactive subjects on onset of deafness, degree of hearing loss, age, and the Math Concepts subtest. (4) There was significant difference in IQ scores between Active and Reactive subjects. This study suggests that the Test of Engagement Style is useful for making comparisons between Stanford Achievement Test scores and locus of control perceptions.

One of the most debilitating impairments of autistic and other behaviorally disordered children is an inability to communicate. Increasing documentation of the successful acquisition of sign language by these children has intensified the need for experimental analyses of teaching procedures and their effects on behavior. This study investigated the relationship between sign language acquisition and speech acquisition as well as the role of language acquisition in reducing the stereotypic and inappropriate behaviors common to this population. Speech training was compared with two sign language training procedures in an alternating treatments time series design. A modeled sign treatment based on visual imitation was compared with a prompted sign treatment based on physical manipulation of children's hands to determine which of the two stimuli, the visual model or the physical manipulation, promoted most rapid sign acquisition. Four preschool autistic children with minimal linguistic skills were the subjects of this study. Data on speech and sign acquisition as well as the occurrence of interfering behavior under all treatment conditions were recorded and visually analyzed. Minimal changes in speech and sign behavior occurred under the speech and modeled sign treatments. The prompted sign treatment resulted in the most rapid sign acquisition. The procedures of the prompted sign treatment allowed the teacher to physically prompt sign responses and to follow these responses with reinforcement. The effectiveness of the prompted sign procedure was attributed to the frequent reinforcement schedule of this treatment. The lowest levels of interfering behavior were also recorded under the prompted sign treatment. It was hypothesized that differential reinforcement of an alternative behavior, signing, accounted for this observation. The impact of language competency on the rate of interfering behavior is also discussed. One child began to speak when a repetitive speech model was introduced after sign acquisition. Words that had been previously signed were uttered first and most intelligibly. The acquisition of imitative sign skills and subsequent environmental control through language are explored as factors which facilitate speech development.

This study was designed to determine whether or not auditory discrimination could be improved in a group of third-grade students by the use of a tape-recorded program of auditory exercises. Of additional interest was the effect that the program of auditory exercises would have upon the work recognition skills and the spelling skills of the third-grade students involved.