Sign language vocabulary development practices and internet use among educational interpreters

Sign language interpreters working in schools often face isolation in terms of their sign language vocabulary development opportunities. The purposes of this study were to determine the key demographic characteristics of educational interpreters in British Columbia, to identify the resources they use to learn new vocabulary, and to shed light on their Internet use and access levels, with a view to exploring the viability of this resource as a tool for vocabulary development for interpreters working in educational settings. Key demographics associated with interpreters' access to time and materials in advance of a lesson were job title and graduation from an interpreter training program. Interpreters with job titles that reflected their status as interpreters had more preparatory time each week than interpreters who had job titles focused on their roles as educational assistants. Interpreters overwhelmingly expressed the need for continuing professional development with respect to vocabulary development. In terms of the resources currently used, human resources (colleagues, deaf adults) were used significantly more often than nonhuman (books, videotapes, Internet). The resource use results showed that convenience was more important than quality. Books were used more often than videotapes, CD-ROMs, and the Internet, although the latter three had higher percentages of very satisfied users than did books. The design and content of online vocabulary resources and limited interpreter preparation time were identified as current issues keeping the Internet from reaching its potential as an easily accessible visual resource. Recommendations aimed at enhancing the viability of the Internet as a vocabulary development tool for educational interpreters are discussed.     

Teachers working with interpreters. The deaf student's educational experience

The purpose of this study was to explore the quality of the educational experience of deaf students when they communicate with hearing teachers through interpreters and to determine the implications of that experience for the students' classroom behavior. Qualitative methods were used to collect data from the academic staff and the 28 profoundly to severely deaf adolescents who participated in four-week experientially based workshops in marine science in the summers of 1988 and 1989. Three salient issues emerged: the teacher's knowledge of deafness, the role of the interpreter, and behavior management. Several of the issues that emerged support previous research, such as physical arrangement of students in the classroom, use of notetakers, student attention span, quality of interpreting, and a tendency toward lenient discipline standards. The implications of the study are discussed in terms of teachers and interpreters working together to improve the deaf adolescent's educational experience.     

Look who's being left behind: educational interpreters and access to education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students

For many deaf and hard-of-hearing students, access to the general education curriculum is provided, in part, by using the services of an educational interpreter. Even with a highly qualified interpreter, full access to the content and social life in a hearing classroom can be challenging, and there are many aspects of the educational placement that can affect success. The skills and knowledge of the educational interpreter are one critical aspect. This study reports results from a study of approximately 2,100 educational interpreters from across the United States. All the interpreters were evaluated using the Educational Interpreters Performance Assessment (EIPA), an evaluation instrument used to assess and certify classroom interpreters (see Schick, Williams, & Bolster, 1999). The results show that approximately 60% of the interpreters evaluated had inadequate skills to provide full access. In addition, educational interpreters who had completed an Interpreter Training Program had EIPA scores only .5 of an EIPA level above those who had not, on average. Demographic data and its relationship with EIPA ratings are explored. In general, the study suggests that many deaf and hard-of-hearing students receive interpreting services that will seriously hinder reasonable access to the classroom curriculum and social interaction.     

论口译中的文化因素和口译员的跨文化意识

口译是一种跨文化的语言交际活动,语言是文化的载体。本文拟从跨文化角度,论述口译和文化之间的关系,并对译员的跨文化意识和能力进行初步的研究。     

Cumulative trauma and symptom complexity in children: A path analysis

Multiple trauma exposures during childhood are associated with a range of psychological symptoms later in life. In this study, we examined whether the total number of different types of trauma experienced by children (cumulative trauma) is associated with the complexity of their subsequent symptomatology, where complexity is defined as the number of different symptom clusters simultaneously elevated into the clinical range. Children's symptoms in six different trauma-related areas (e.g., depression, anger, posttraumatic stress) were reported both by child clients and their caretakers in a clinical sample of 318 children. Path analysis revealed that accumulated exposure to multiple different trauma types predicts symptom complexity as reported by both children and their caretakers.     

初中生品德不良的成因及矫正

有不少初中学生存在着品德不良现象,这种现象轻则导致道德上的过错行为,重则构成违法犯罪。造成这种现象的成因是多方面的,既有外在的环境因素,又有内在的心理因素。对品德不良学生的矫正工作必须依靠社会、学校和家庭各方面积极配合,采取协同一致的教育措施,才能收到预期的效果。     

Project Comptown: educational intervention and action research

The introduction of computers into education raises questions such as: are computers in education effective? If they are, in what sense? What are the most effective strategies for using computers in education? How should teachers be encouraged to use them?
To answer these questions a large-scale experiment (Project Comptown) was carried out in Israel, to test ways and means under real rather than laboratory conditions. This project is a research-oriented educational intervention, applying massive computerisation of schools and their 'close environment' to two localities in Israel (Arad and Ashkelon). Our starting point was the premise that computerisation of education is an inevitable process. Consequently, turning the computer into a 'cultural tool' in schools becomes a major challenge, aiming to narrow the gap between 'school culture' and 'real-world culture'. The main objectives for Project Comptown are: [1] To create a computer culture in schools; [2] To use the computer's potential for innovative teaching and learning, both inside and outside schools. To achieve these, we identified a number of principles which we considered pre-conditions for an 'appropriate' computer strategy in schools.     

Crafting educational intervention research that's both credible and creditable

Pressley and Harris' concerns about the current quality of educational intervention research are applauded. They are also extended to distinguish between research credibility (scientific believability) and research creditability (educational commendability). A best possible design philosophy is introduced to enable intervention researchers to craft research that is both credible and creditable.     

A national survey of educational preparation programs for early intervention specialists.

To examine the status of preprofessional education in early intervention, we conducted a nationwide survey of college and university programs offering degrees in education of the deaf. Curriculum content and practicum experiences with infants and toddlers and their families were examined, as well as general comments and recommendations of program directors. Additional information was sought from programs offering specializations at the preschool level to determine whether they had CED affiliation, and if so, whether they were certified in the areas of parent-infant education or early childhood education. The findings are discussed in the context of Public Law 99-457 and the growing emphasis on family centered early intervention.     

大学生弱势群体的成因及其对策

大学生当中的弱势群体有着自身的特点及成因。从现状看来，大体可分为经济贫困、学习困难、心理脆弱或心理问题、执拗偏执以及就业困难等类型。其成因则在于家庭、社会、学校以及个人等方面。对此，应积极研究对策，促使他们健康地成长。     

Relations among educational research and neural and cognitive sciences

An overview is provided of educational applications of integrating cognitive and neuropsychological approaches, with attention given to the problems in bridging the cognitive and neuropsychological levels in doing so. Contemporary connectionism is discussed in reference to its historical context, which can be traced to the associationistic models of memory during antiquity. Evidence is reported that verbal-analytic and spatial-holistic processing are differentially affected by task instructions that activate different generative or constructive processes during reading comprehension.     

当代青年大学生试婚现象成因与应对措施

试婚现象在我国已呈蔓延趋势。试婚已经得到很多青年,尤其是青年大学生的认同。青年大学生对“试婚”具有较高认同感的原因,主要在于当代婚姻家庭观念的变化、城市化发展所形成的“温床”、社会控制功能减弱等。必须加强对大学生进行“八荣八耻”社会主义荣辱观教育、加强自律和他律教育,营造良好的婚姻道德舆论环境,城市化发展必须兼顾经济效益与社会效益。     

Organic vs. functional neurological disorders: The role of childhood psychological trauma

Although the relationship between psychological trauma and medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) is well established, this relationship is less well understood in people with medically unexplained neurological symptoms. In the present study, we set out to compare people with functional neurological disorders, and organic neurological disorders, in terms of childhood and adulthood traumatic events, traumatic stress, emotional dysregulation and symptoms of depression and anxiety. We have hypothesised that those with functional neurological disorders would be more likely to report childhood and adulthood traumatic life events, traumatic symptomatology, emotional dysregulation and symptoms of anxiety and depression, compared to those with organic neurological disorders. Sample consisted of a consecutive series of people with functional neurological disorders and with organic neurological disorders (n = 82) recruited from a hospital in Scotland. Participants completed measures of life events, traumatic stress, emotional regulation, anxiety and depression. The two groups were found to significantly differ in relation to all measures, with the MUS group being more likely to report childhood and adulthood life events, more severe emotional dysregulation, traumatic stress and symptoms of anxiety and stress. Logistic regression analysis revealed that exposure to childhood traumatic life events, specifically childhood sexual abuse, and childhood physical neglect, were the only factors which were significantly associated with membership of the medically unexplained neurological symptoms group. Although further research is required to confirm our findings, our results suggest that identifying and addressing the impact of childhood trauma, may alleviate distress and aid recovery from functional neurological disorders.     

Strategic factors and barriers for promoting educational organizational learning

This article uses a global model to analyse empirically how the personal and professional development of educators (personal mastery) facilitates the creation of a series of basic shared values (shared vision) and of team learning by the members of the educational centre, these inter-related strategic factors favouring, in turn, educational organizational learning and subsequent improvement in organizational performance. Likewise, verification is made of different learning barriers that hinder the acquisition, dissemination and sharing of knowledge by blocking shared vision and team learning. Using a national survey in educational centres in Spain, we found that these hypotheses are verified and that organizational learning plays a key role in the generation of organizational performance.     

教师培养模式创新的制约因素分析与个性化选择

教师培养模式创新是时代的呼唤.经济发展和社会进步是教师培养模式创新的根本原因,教师供求状况是教师培养模式改革发展的直接动力,学校自身的办学基础和办学优势则是教师培养模式创新的重要制约因素.高水平师范大学和有条件的综合大学可采取4+2模式,实行学科专业教育与教师专业教育相分离,为培养高学历、研究型教师积累经验;普通高师院校宜采取"宽口径、厚基础、强能力、高素质"的人才培养模式,发挥"主力军"作用;积极推进三级师范向二级师范过渡,具备条件的地方向一级过渡,实现小学教师本科化.     

Interpreter's wrist. Repetitive stress injury and carpal tunnel syndrome in sign language interpreters.

Forty interpreters attending a regional Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf conference completed a questionnaire regarding symptoms related to repetitive stress injury (RSI), a generic classification of problems that occur after extensive, repetitive motion. RSIs, including the most prevalent form, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), were surveyed. The vast majority (87.5%) of the interpreters in the sample reported that they had at sometime experienced at least two symptoms associated with RSI. Some (12.5%) who had CTS reported that they had been misdiagnosed. When asked how many other interpreters they knew with RSI problems, they reported, on average, that they knew more than four others. The data indicate that RSI is a severe problem among sign language interpreters and warrants immediate action. The term interpreter's wrist may best describe the malady.     

Assumptions underlying educational intervention research: A commentary on Harris and Pressley

This response analyzes Harris and Pressley's position on improving the quality of educational intervention research. It contrasts two different approaches to the interpretation of such research—technology transfer and heuristic interpretations—and their underlying assumptions. Harris and Pressley's positions are generally supported, but within the heuristic rather than the technology transfer perspective.     

司法介入高校教育纠纷的评断标准

高校教育纠纷的增多是公民权利意识的提升,也说明我国高等教育管理制度法治化的欠规范,司法介入是必然的.主体资格标准、法律关系标准、公权力标准并不能准确判断教育纠纷的性质.行政性行为标准与重要性标准的结合可以很好地协调司法介入与大学自治的矛盾,行政性行为是司法介入的前提,重要性标准是司法介入的评断.