Daniela Martin

Barriers to HIV/AIDS knowledge and prevention among deaf and hard of hearing people.

Abstract This study investigated knowledge about HIV/AIDS and barriers to HIV/AIDS education and prevention among deaf and hard of hearing people. Focus groups and individual interviews were used to elicit information from various groups of people with a hearing loss in different regions of New York State. Themes elicited in the interviews suggested that deaf sign language users are less knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS than oral deaf and hard of hearing participants, and that deaf adolescents have more knowledge than deaf adults. These findings likely reflect differences in levels of education and English proficiency. In addition, participants living in urban areas and in sizeable deaf communities are more exposed to information about HIV/AIDS than other participants. All participants reported difficulties in communication with medical providers, limiting their access to health information and proper medical care. Recommendations for the design and dissemination of educational materials and greater access to services for deaf and hard of hearing people are provided.

Peer Relationships of Deaf Children with Cochlear Implants: Predictors of Peer Entry and Peer Interaction Success

This study investigated factors that affect the development of positive peer relationships among deaf children with cochlear implants. Ten 5- to 6-year-old deaf children with implants were observed under conditions varying peer context difficulty in a Peer Entry task. Results revealed better outcomes for deaf children interacting in one-on-one situations compared to interactions including two other hearing children and better performance among girls than boys. In addition, longer duration of implant use and higher self-esteem were associated with better performance on the Peer Task, which was in turn related to parental reports of childrens social functioning outside the experimental situation. These findings contribute to the growing literature describing the benefits of cochlear implantation in the areas of communication and socialization, while pointing to interventions that may enhance deaf childrens social competence.

Long‐term improvements in oral communication skills and quality of peer relations in children with cochlear implants: parental testimony

BACKGROUND Few research studies have examined longitudinal improvements in oral communication skills and quality of peer relationships of children with implants. Moreover, although the emerging literature suggests that improvement in social functioning follows improvement in oral communication, it is still unknown what factors enhance or impede the relations between these constructs. METHODS Based on parent interviews, the current study examined the long-term improvements in speech and oral language skills and relationships with hearing peers in 19 implanted children. RESULTS Results demonstrate that on average, children continue to improve in oral communication skills and quality of peer relationships even years after implantation, especially those with initial poorer skills. While oral communication ability and quality of peer relationships are strongly associated at each time point, gains in these two variables are associated only for some of the children. Other factors, including self-confidence and peer acceptance, seem to moderate this relationship. Qualitative data are presented to illustrate these relations among variables and to assist in theory building. CONCLUSIONS The results highlight the need for more specific examination of various developmental periods in combination with the progress of oral communication and peer relationships among children with implants.

Voice, identity, and the organizing of student experience: managing pedagogical dilemmas in critical classroom discussions

The current paper explores the discursive complexities of teaching and learning in inclusive, critically oriented classrooms. It argues that to accomplish the ontological goals of higher learning, we need to focus on the construction of student voice, or the ability to be considered in and have influence on teaching and learning. The paper further explores the relationship between having voice and the interactional negotiation of identities and relationships among students and teachers. It is suggested that teaching and learning through inclusive, critically oriented classroom discussions is bound in the organizing of complex social experiences, and requires teachers to navigate at least three inherent pedagogical dilemmas lesson management, emotion labor, and structure.

English as a second language, a second chance, or second class membership: Exploring the costs and opportunities of Latina immigrants' narratives

Speaking a language is a socially and historically situated action through which speakers define themselves in relation to others. Using interviews collected from 15 Latina women attending an ESL program, this study examined how gender and ethnicity frame students’ practices related to the study of English as a second language. Positioning analysis was used to identify the multiple roles the speakers enact in their immigrant and host communities, and describe how they strategically manage and combine these positionings to achieve multiple goals. The results show that ESL study serves disparate and sometimes contradictory purposes in the lives of immigrant students, depending on processes through which agency and vulnerability is achieved. Linking Peirce’s conceptualization of student motivation as “investment” to socio-cultural theory, this study fosters a broader view of the dynamics shaping individual language use and language acquisition. By examining second language study as a cultural tool, students’ motivation can be understood with a view to immigrants’ social settings and power relations that define them.