Presents a unit on clay that is centered around sign language in which students explore the slab method of working with clay. States that each student picks a letter of the sign language alphabet and fashions a clay hand to depict the letter. (CMK)

This study describes changes at an Australian school for the deaf toward a language policy favoring the increased use of Australian Sign Language and bilingual pedagogy. Teachers' dissatisfaction with educational outcomes and current practices propelled these changes. Beliefs about language policy and practices are explored, as are the…

Deaf People, especially those who are not well educated, are at risk for serious injustices when they enter the criminal justice system. The present study describes these risks at all stages of the legal process, including arrest, trial, probation, prison, and parole. These dangers are greatest for those who are poorly educated, read at a…

This article is based on field research that we conducted in a north Bali school (SLB Bagian B) for deaf students. The study involves documentation of the linguistic environments within which deaf people operate, focusing on the use of sign languages by deaf and hearing people. The following material on policies and practices oriented toward the…

This paper examines the use of the Disability Discrimination Act (Commonwealth of Australia, 1992) by parents seeking access for their deaf children to native sign language in the classroom. It reviews a number of cases in which Australian parents have claimed indirect discrimination by educational authorities over their children's lack of access…

Sign language in the Arab World has been recently recognized and documented. Many efforts have been made to establish the sign language used in individual countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Libya, and the Gulf States, by trying to standardize the language and spread it among members of the Deaf community and those concerned. Such efforts produced…

The Deaf Initiative in Information Technology (DIIT) was developed at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at the Rochester Institute of Technology through a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant with goals including the provision of continuing education for deaf and hard-of-hearing professionals. Instructors skilled in sign…

The assessment of sign language proficiency is essential for evaluating the outcomes of sign bilingual education. This paper reports an attempt to assess the sign language proficiency of children in a self-described sign bilingual program in Sydney by adapting a British Sign Language (BSL) test to Australian Sign Language (Auslan). The test…

We report the results of an experiment investigating the ramifications of using space to express coreference in American Sign Language (ASL). Nominals in ASL can be associated with locations in signing space, and pronouns are directed toward those locations to convey coreference. A probe recognition technique was used to investigate the case of…

These proceedings contain the papers of the International Conference e-Learning 2015, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information and Society and is part of the Multi Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, July 21-24, 2015). The e-Learning 2015…

The article discusses a study of 4-5 year old children's use of technology to assist and enhance the acquisition of a play lexicon within a formal educational setting. The new language system to be learned was Auslan, a signed/nonverbal language. A purpose specific software program was developed by the authors, "Auslan Kids," in order to…

Johnston argues that the impact of science and technology on the Australian Deaf community threatens the viability of the community; this entails that the scientists have a moral duty to record and preserve Auslan for posterity. This response analyzes Johnston's moral imperative through the application of intrinsic and extrinsic values, suggesting…

My response to Johnston's (2004) "W(h)ither the Deaf Community?" is theoretical in nature and sociological in perspective. I comment on how Johnston's particular concern for the possible demise of Australian Sign Language (Auslan) in Australia's currently transforming social and medical context surrounding childhood deafness is legitimate but…

American Sign Language uses the face to express vital components of grammar in addition to the more universal expressions of emotion. The study of ASL facial expressions has focused mostly on the perception and categorization of various expression types by signing and nonsigning subjects. Only a few studies of the production of ASL facial…

The Present Article describes the effectiveness of stress management classes in decreasing perceived stress among Deaf adults. Deaf adults may experience unique stressors, in addition to circumstances associated with increased stress in the general population. The Perceived Stress Scale (S. Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983) was used as a…