Perception of sign language and its application to visual communications for deaf people

Video communication systems for deaf people are limited in terms of quality and performance. Analysis of visual attention mechanisms for sign language may enable optimization of video coding systems for deaf users. Eye-movement tracking experiments were conducted with profoundly deaf volunteers while watching sign language video clips. Deaf people are found to fixate mostly on the facial region of the signer to pick up small detailed movements associated with facial expression and mouth shapes. Lower resolution, peripheral vision is used to process information from larger, rapid movements of the signer in the video clips. A coding scheme that gives priority to the face of the signer may be applied to improve perception of video quality for sign language communication.     

Conflict, Social Competence, and Gender: Maternal and Peer Contexts

The current study was designed to address two major purposes. The first goal was to investigate the joint influence of children's sociometric status and sex on their conflict behavior, and the second goal was to explore the similarities and differences in children's conflict behavior across two contexts, specifically conflicts arising during interactions with mothers and with peers. Forty-two first-graders were videotaped playing with their mothers and then with an unfamiliar peer partner. Conflict behavior occurring in the mother-child context was quite different from that occurring between children, reflecting the contrast between the vertical and horizontal nature of these relationships. Most striking were the large number of sociometric status and sex differences in conflict behavior found across both contexts. Further, it appears that effective conflict behavior may differ for boys and girls. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Intellectual Disability and Developmental Risk: Promoting Intervention to Improve Child and Family Well‐Being

Initial intervention processes for children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) largely focused on direct efforts to impact core cognitive and academic deficits associated with the diagnosis. Recent research on risk processes in families of children with ID, however, has influenced new developmental system approaches to early intervention. Recent risk and resilience processes are reviewed that connect stress, family process, and the high rates of behavioral problems in children with ID that have substantial influence on child and family outcomes. These models are linked to emerging evidence‐based intervention processes that focus on strategic parent skill training and mindfulness interventions that reduce parental stress and create indirect benefits for children's behavioral competencies. A family‐focused developmental systems approach (M. J. Guralnick, 2011) is emphasized.     

Beyond Access: Psychosocial Barriers to Computer Literacy

Research consistently indicates that Latinos and African-Americans are less likely to own and use computers than either Caucasians or Asians. While conventional wisdom holds that high computer costs and lack of access are the primary reasons for this discrepancy, my ethnographic research with 100 low-income adults reveals three non-cost-related psychosocial obstacles that significantly undermine motivation for acquiring computer skills: “relevance,” “fear,” and “self-concept.” My research thus suggests that a more complex relationship exists between ethnicity, identity, and attitudes associated with computers than previously examined; this relationship may better explain why some people are choosing not to use computers at this time. My research also indicates that while community technology centers (CTCs) play an important role in helping adults overcome their resistances and achieve computer literacy, they are presently an underutilized resource—less than 5% of San Diegans use them to meet their computing needs. Hence, my research also questions why more residents do not avail themselves of these community resources. I conclude that efforts to increase computer literacy in underserved communities must go beyond physical access and connectivity and consider the role of cultural factors.     

Community outreach library services in the UK: a case study of Wirral Hospital NHS Trust (WHNT)

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The study evaluates the Community Outreach Library Service at Wirral Hospital National Health Service Trust (WHNT). It considers the information seeking behaviour and information needs of primary care staff, and service effectiveness in meeting those needs. METHODS: A literature review established the current context and areas of best practice. The investigative case study used postal questionnaires to 250 primary care staff and an interview with the Community Outreach Librarian. FINDINGS: Themes emerged from the literature regarding information seeking behaviour, information needs, and meeting user needs through effective service delivery. Outreach services have value in terms of improving information skills and providing services at point of need. Time is a major constraint for both users and service providers. CONCLUSIONS: Investment is needed from appropriate funding sources to support the provision and marketing of outreach library services. Librarians benefit from sharing best practice. The continued evaluation of outreach library services is recommended.     

Addressing sexuality and pregnancy in childbirth education classes

A positive, nonjudgmental, and informed approach to sexual health during pregnancy promotes acceptance of the normal functioning of women's bodies. It also encourages the development of close and supportive relationships that are so essential during pregnancy and birth. Common concerns do not need to become problems. Concerns include issues of libido, positioning, and preterm labor or fetal health, as well as myths and cultural attitudes. Childbirth educators can use tools such as the PLISSIT model to approach the topic of sexuality during pregnancy. In addition, opportunities are available in every childbirth class to acknowledge or ignore sexual issues. Perinatal educators who take responsibility for addressing this often-taboo topic can enhance women's feelings of safety and their confidence in normal birth.     

New Counselor Educators’ Scholarly Productivity: Supportive and Discouraging Environments

Eighteen new counselor educators shared in‐depth reports of their efforts to establish an early record of scholarly productivity, critical to their success in academe. Analyses of their experiences using consensual qualitative research methods revealed components of both highly positive and highly discouraging program environments and their impact on participants’ research goals.     

Teachers’ role and attitudes concerning ADHD medication: A qualitative analysis

The increased use of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medication by children has led to growing concerns. In a previous study, we found that many of the teachers that were interviewed about ADHD spontaneously associated ADHD with medication. The present study is a qualitative reanalysis of what precisely these 30 primary school teachers had spontaneously said about medication in our previous semi‐structured interviews on ADHD. Almost all respondents had experience with pupils taking ADHD medication. The majority of spontaneously mentions medication as the treatment of ADHD. Attitudes towards ADHD medication use by pupils are mainly ambivalent, but more positive than negative effects of medication are reported. However, what teachers say about ADHD medication is often not based on sound information; their attitudes tend to be formed by personal experiences rather than founded on professional and scientific sources. We conclude from our analysis that it will be in the interest of reducing the number of children on ADHD medication that teachers have good access to verified and up‐to‐date information on ADHD and medication so that they are better supported in making evidence‐based pedagogical judgments.     

Investigating populations via penguins and their poo!

We describe an activity that introduces students to population modelling, enables them to use estimates obtained from a sample to infer back to the population, and understands how the findings are translatable via penguins and their poo!     

The Role of Statistical Learning in Word Reading and Spelling Development: More Questions Than Answers

ABSTRACT

This special issue bundles a set of eight empirical studies and one review article that explore the role of statistical learning (SL) mechanisms (both domain-specific and domain-general) in supporting word reading and spelling development, and vice versa. In this introduction to the special issue, we worked to summarize the extent to which studies support our hypotheses relating SL to reading and spelling development while pointing out inconsistencies across studies that require us to refine and rethink our hypotheses.