Intentions and actions in molecular self-assembly: perspectives on students' language use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Höst, Gunnar E.; Anward, Jan

2017-04-01

Learning to talk science is an important aspect of learning to do science. Given that scientists' language frequently includes intentions and purposes in explanations of unobservable objects and events, teachers must interpret whether learners' use of such language reflects a scientific understanding or inaccurate anthropomorphism and teleology. In the present study, a framework consisting of three 'stances' (Dennett, 1987) - intentional, design and physical - is presented as a powerful tool for analysing students' language use. The aim was to investigate how the framework can be differentiated and used analytically for interpreting students' talk about a molecular process. Semi-structured group discussions and individual interviews about the molecular self-assembly process were conducted with engineering biology/chemistry (n = 15) and biology/chemistry teacher students (n = 6). Qualitative content analysis of transcripts showed that all three stances were employed by students. The analysis also identified subcategories for each stance, and revealed that intentional language with respect to molecular movement and assumptions about design requirements may be potentially problematic areas. Students' exclusion of physical stance explanations may indicate literal anthropomorphic interpretations. Implications for practice include providing teachers with a tool for scaffolding their use of metaphorical language and for supporting students' metacognitive development as scientific language users.

Legal and Ethical Imperatives for Using Certified Sign Language Interpreters in Health Care Settings: How to "Do No Harm" When "It's (All) Greek" (Sign Language) to You.

PubMed

Nonaka, Angela M

2016-09-01

Communication obstacles in health care settings adversely impact patient-practitioner interactions by impeding service efficiency, reducing mutual trust and satisfaction, or even endangering health outcomes. When interlocutors are separated by language, interpreters are required. The efficacy of interpreting, however, is constrained not just by interpreters' competence but also by health care providers' facility working with interpreters. Deaf individuals whose preferred form of communication is a signed language often encounter communicative barriers in health care settings. In those environments, signing Deaf people are entitled to equal communicative access via sign language interpreting services according to the Americans with Disabilities Act and Executive Order 13166, the Limited English Proficiency Initiative. Yet, litigation in states across the United States suggests that individual and institutional providers remain uncertain about their legal obligations to provide equal communicative access. This article discusses the legal and ethical imperatives for using professionally certified (vs. ad hoc) sign language interpreters in health care settings. First outlining the legal terrain governing provision of sign language interpreting services, the article then describes different types of "sign language" (e.g., American Sign Language vs. manually coded English) and different forms of "sign language interpreting" (e.g., interpretation vs. transliteration vs. translation; simultaneous vs. consecutive interpreting; individual vs. team interpreting). This is followed by reviews of the formal credentialing process and of specialized forms of sign language interpreting-that is, certified deaf interpreting, trilingual interpreting, and court interpreting. After discussing practical steps for contracting professional sign language interpreters and addressing ethical issues of confidentiality, this article concludes by offering suggestions for working more effectively with Deaf clients via professional sign language interpreters.

The Intersection of Self and School: How Friendship Circles Influence Heterosexual and Self-Identified Queer Teenage New Zealand Boys' Views on Acceptable Language and Behaviour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sexton, Steven S.

2017-01-01

This article discusses how the friendship circles of 38 schoolboys in New Zealand influence what they consider acceptable language and behaviour. Six focus group sessions were held with heterosexual and self-identified queer students aged between thirteen and eighteen to explore their interpretations, meanings and usage of homosexually themed…

The Design of Hand Gestures for Human-Computer Interaction: Lessons from Sign Language Interpreters

PubMed Central

Rempel, David; Camilleri, Matt J.; Lee, David L.

2015-01-01

The design and selection of 3D modeled hand gestures for human-computer interaction should follow principles of natural language combined with the need to optimize gesture contrast and recognition. The selection should also consider the discomfort and fatigue associated with distinct hand postures and motions, especially for common commands. Sign language interpreters have extensive and unique experience forming hand gestures and many suffer from hand pain while gesturing. Professional sign language interpreters (N=24) rated discomfort for hand gestures associated with 47 characters and words and 33 hand postures. Clear associations of discomfort with hand postures were identified. In a nominal logistic regression model, high discomfort was associated with gestures requiring a flexed wrist, discordant adjacent fingers, or extended fingers. These and other findings should be considered in the design of hand gestures to optimize the relationship between human cognitive and physical processes and computer gesture recognition systems for human-computer input. PMID:26028955

Directionality Effects in Simultaneous Language Interpreting: The Case of Sign Language Interpreters in the Netherlands

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Dijk, Rick; Boers, Eveline; Christoffels, Ingrid; Hermans, Daan

2011-01-01

The quality of interpretations produced by sign language interpreters was investigated. Twenty-five experienced interpreters were instructed to interpret narratives from (a) spoken Dutch to Sign Language of the Netherlands (SLN), (b) spoken Dutch to Sign Supported Dutch (SSD), and (c) SLN to spoken Dutch. The quality of the interpreted narratives…

English Nominal Compounds and the ESL/EFL Reader.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olshtain, Elite

The interpretation of nonlexicalized compound words in English by speakers of English as a second language (ESL) was investigated. Three types of competence used in interpreting noun compounds are identified: pragmatic, linguistic, and textual. The use of these three types of competence by Hebrew speaking college students enrolled in ESL reading…

Directionality effects in simultaneous language interpreting: the case of sign language interpreters in The Netherlands.

PubMed

Van Dijk, Rick; Boers, Eveline; Christoffels, Ingrid; Hermans, Daan

2011-01-01

The quality of interpretations produced by sign language interpreters was investigated. Twenty-five experienced interpreters were instructed to interpret narratives from (a) spoken Dutch to Sign Language of The Netherlands (SLN), (b) spoken Dutch to Sign Supported Dutch (SSD), and (c) SLN to spoken Dutch. The quality of the interpreted narratives was assessed by 5 certified sign language interpreters who did not participate in the study. Two measures were used to assess interpreting quality: the propositional accuracy of the interpreters' interpretations and a subjective quality measure. The results showed that the interpreted narratives in the SLN-to-Dutch interpreting direction were of lower quality (on both measures) than the interpreted narratives in the Dutch-to-SLN and Dutch-to-SSD directions. Furthermore, interpreters who had begun acquiring SLN when they entered the interpreter training program performed as well in all 3 interpreting directions as interpreters who had acquired SLN from birth.

Interpreting Hypernymic Propositions in an Online Medical Encyclopedia

PubMed Central

Fiszman, Marcelo; Rindflesch, Thomas C.; Kilicoglu, Halil

2003-01-01

Interpretation of semantic propositions from biomedical texts documents would provide valuable support to natural language processing (NLP) applications. We are developing a methodology to interpret a kind of semantic proposition, the hypernymic proposition, in MEDLINE abstracts. In this paper, we expanded the system to identify these structures in a different discourse domain: the Medical Encyclopedia from the National Library of Medicine’s MEDLINEplus® Website. PMID:14728345

Interpreting hypernymic propositions in an online medical encyclopedia.

PubMed

Fiszman, Marcelo; Rindflesch, Thomas C; Kilicoglu, Halil

2003-01-01

Interpretation of semantic propositions from bio-medical texts documents would provide valuable support to natural language processing (NLP) applications. We are developing a methodology to interpret a kind of semantic proposition, the hypernymic proposition, in MEDLINE abstracts. In this paper, we expanded the system to identify these structures in a different discourse domain: the Medical Encyclopedia from the National Library of Medi-cine's MEDLINEplus Website.

Language barriers and patient safety risks in hospital care. A mixed methods study.

PubMed

van Rosse, Floor; de Bruijne, Martine; Suurmond, Jeanine; Essink-Bot, Marie-Louise; Wagner, Cordula

2016-02-01

A language barrier has been shown to be a threat for quality of hospital care. International studies highlighted a lack of adequate noticing, reporting, and bridging of a language barrier. However, studies on the link between language proficiency and patient safety are scarce, especially in Europe. The present study investigates patient safety risks due to language barriers during hospitalization, and the way language barriers are detected, reported, and bridged in Dutch hospital care. We combined quantitative and qualitative methods in a sample of 576 ethnic minority patients who were hospitalized on 30 wards within four urban hospitals. The nursing and medical records of 17 hospital admissions of patients with language barriers were qualitatively analyzed, and complemented by 12 in-depth interviews with care providers and patients and/or their relatives to identify patient safety risks during hospitalization. The medical records of all 576 patients were screened for language barrier reports. The results were compared to patients' self-reported Dutch language proficiency. The policies of wards regarding bridging language barriers were compared with the reported use of interpreters in the medical records. Situations in hospital care where a language barrier threatened patient safety included daily nursing tasks (i.e. medication administration, pain management, fluid balance management) and patient-physician interaction concerning diagnosis, risk communication and acute situations. In 30% of the patients that reported a low Dutch proficiency, no language barrier was documented in the patient record. Relatives of patients often functioned as interpreter for them and professional interpreters were hardly used. The present study showed a wide variety of risky situations in hospital care for patients with language barriers. These risks can be reduced by adequately bridging the language barrier, which, in the first place, demands adequate detecting and reporting of a language barrier. This is currently not sufficiently done in most Dutch hospitals. Moreover, new solutions to bridge language barriers are needed for situations such as routine safety checks performed by nurses, in which a professional or even informal interpreter is not feasible. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment Practices of Multi-Disciplinary School Team Members in Determining Special Education Services for English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadowski, Garrett; O'Neill, Rob; Bermingham, Doug

2014-01-01

Multidisciplinary team members were surveyed to identify the frequency with which they use recommended assessment practices, how they interpret assessment information, and their confidence working with English Language Learners (ELLs) for the purpose of determining possible eligibility to receive special education services. Results of this study…

78 FR 33326 - Intermediary Relending Program; Roundtable Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-04

... enhancements to the Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) and fiscal year 2013 funding levels and application... sign language interpreter or other special accommodations should contact Mark Brodziski as identified...

Interpreting Quantum Logic as a Pragmatic Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garola, Claudio

2017-12-01

Many scholars maintain that the language of quantum mechanics introduces a quantum notion of truth which is formalized by (standard, sharp) quantum logic and is incompatible with the classical (Tarskian) notion of truth. We show that quantum logic can be identified (up to an equivalence relation) with a fragment of a pragmatic language LGP of assertive formulas, that are justified or unjustified rather than trueor false. Quantum logic can then be interpreted as an algebraic structure that formalizes properties of the notion of empirical justification according to quantum mechanics rather than properties of a quantum notion of truth. This conclusion agrees with a general integrationist perspective that interprets nonstandard logics as theories of metalinguistic notions different from truth, thus avoiding incompatibility with classical notions and preserving the globality of logic.

A Comparison of Comprehension Processes in Sign Language Interpreter Videos with or without Captions.

PubMed

Debevc, Matjaž; Milošević, Danijela; Kožuh, Ines

2015-01-01

One important theme in captioning is whether the implementation of captions in individual sign language interpreter videos can positively affect viewers' comprehension when compared with sign language interpreter videos without captions. In our study, an experiment was conducted using four video clips with information about everyday events. Fifty-one deaf and hard of hearing sign language users alternately watched the sign language interpreter videos with, and without, captions. Afterwards, they answered ten questions. The results showed that the presence of captions positively affected their rates of comprehension, which increased by 24% among deaf viewers and 42% among hard of hearing viewers. The most obvious differences in comprehension between watching sign language interpreter videos with and without captions were found for the subjects of hiking and culture, where comprehension was higher when captions were used. The results led to suggestions for the consistent use of captions in sign language interpreter videos in various media.

Nurse practitioner perceptions of barriers and facilitators in providing health care for deaf American Sign Language users: A qualitative socio-ecological approach.

PubMed

Pendergrass, Kathy M; Nemeth, Lynne; Newman, Susan D; Jenkins, Carolyn M; Jones, Elaine G

2017-06-01

Nurse practitioners (NPs), as well as all healthcare clinicians, have a legal and ethical responsibility to provide health care for deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users equal to that of other patients, including effective communication, autonomy, and confidentiality. However, very little is known about the feasibility to provide equitable health care. The purpose of this study was to examine NP perceptions of barriers and facilitators in providing health care for deaf ASL users. Semistructured interviews in a qualitative design using a socio-ecological model (SEM). Barriers were identified at all levels of the SEM. NPs preferred interpreters to facilitate the visit, but were unaware of their role in assuring effective communication is achieved. A professional sign language interpreter was considered a last resort when all other means of communication failed. Gesturing, note-writing, lip-reading, and use of a familial interpreter were all considered facilitators. Interventions are needed at all levels of the SEM. Resources are needed to provide awareness of deaf communication issues and legal requirements for caring for deaf signers for practicing and student NPs. Protocols need to be developed and present in all healthcare facilities for hiring interpreters as well as quick access to contact information for these interpreters. ©2017 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Cognate Facilitation in Sentence Context--Translation Production by Interpreting Trainees and Non-Interpreting Trilinguals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lijewska, Agnieszka; Chmiel, Agnieszka

2015-01-01

Conference interpreters form a special case of language users because the simultaneous interpretation practice requires very specific lexical processing. Word comprehension and production in respective languages is performed under strict time constraints and requires constant activation of the involved languages. The present experiment aimed at…

A Comparison of Comprehension Processes in Sign Language Interpreter Videos with or without Captions

PubMed Central

Debevc, Matjaž; Milošević, Danijela; Kožuh, Ines

2015-01-01

One important theme in captioning is whether the implementation of captions in individual sign language interpreter videos can positively affect viewers’ comprehension when compared with sign language interpreter videos without captions. In our study, an experiment was conducted using four video clips with information about everyday events. Fifty-one deaf and hard of hearing sign language users alternately watched the sign language interpreter videos with, and without, captions. Afterwards, they answered ten questions. The results showed that the presence of captions positively affected their rates of comprehension, which increased by 24% among deaf viewers and 42% among hard of hearing viewers. The most obvious differences in comprehension between watching sign language interpreter videos with and without captions were found for the subjects of hiking and culture, where comprehension was higher when captions were used. The results led to suggestions for the consistent use of captions in sign language interpreter videos in various media. PMID:26010899

The Use of Interpreters by Speech-Language Pathologists Conducting Bilingual Speech-Language Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palfrey, Carol Lynn

2013-01-01

The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative study was to explore the practices of speech-language pathologists in conducting bilingual assessments with interpreters. Data were obtained regarding the assessment tools and practices used by speech-language pathologists, the frequency with which they work with interpreters, and the procedures…

Quality in practice: integrating routine collection of patient language data into hospital practice.

PubMed

Hudelson, Patricia; Dominicé Dao, Melissa; Durieux-Paillard, Sophie

2013-09-01

Timely identification of patients' language needs can facilitate the provision of language-appropriate services and contribute to quality of care, clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. At the University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, timely organization of interpreter services was hindered by the lack of systematic patient language data collection. We explored the feasibility and acceptability of a procedure for collecting patient language data at the first point of contact, prior to its hospital-wide implementation. During a one-week period, receptionists and triage nurses in eight clinical services tested a new procedure for collecting patient language data. Patients were asked to identify their primary language and other languages they would be comfortable speaking with their doctor. Staff noted patients' answers on a paper form and provided informal feedback on their experience with the procedure. Registration staff encountered few difficulties collecting patient language data and thought that the two questions could easily be incorporated into existing administrative routines. Following the pilot test, two language fields with scroll-down language menus were added to the electronic patient file, and the subsequent filling-in of these fields has been rapid and hospital wide. Our experience suggests that routine collection of patient language data at first point of contact is both feasible and acceptable and that involving staff in a pilot project may facilitate hospital-wide implementation. Future efforts should focus on exploring the sensitivity and specificity of the proposed questions, as well as the impact of data collection on interpreter use.

Growth of language-related brain areas after foreign language learning.

PubMed

Mårtensson, Johan; Eriksson, Johan; Bodammer, Nils Christian; Lindgren, Magnus; Johansson, Mikael; Nyberg, Lars; Lövdén, Martin

2012-10-15

The influence of adult foreign-language acquisition on human brain organization is poorly understood. We studied cortical thickness and hippocampal volumes of conscript interpreters before and after three months of intense language studies. Results revealed increases in hippocampus volume and in cortical thickness of the left middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and superior temporal gyrus for interpreters relative to controls. The right hippocampus and the left superior temporal gyrus were structurally more malleable in interpreters acquiring higher proficiency in the foreign language. Interpreters struggling relatively more to master the language displayed larger gray matter increases in the middle frontal gyrus. These findings confirm structural changes in brain regions known to serve language functions during foreign-language acquisition. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parallel Processing of the Target Language during Source Language Comprehension in Interpreting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dong, Yanping; Lin, Jiexuan

2013-01-01

Two experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that the parallel processing of the target language (TL) during source language (SL) comprehension in interpreting may be influenced by two factors: (i) link strength from SL to TL, and (ii) the interpreter's cognitive resources supplement to TL processing during SL comprehension. The…

Interpreting as a Language Teaching Technique. Proceedings of a Conference (University of Salford, England, January 2-5, 1985).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Noel, Ed.; Towell, Richard, Ed.

Papers presented at a conference on the use of simultaneous, consecutive, and other forms of interpreting as features of foreign language teaching and learning in British higher education include the following: "Liaison Interpreting as a Communicative Language-Learning Exercise" (H. A. Keith); "Interpreting and Communicating:…

The psychotherapist and the sign language interpreter.

PubMed

de Bruin, Ed; Brugmans, Petra

2006-01-01

Specialized psychotherapy for deaf people in the Dutch and Western European mental health systems is still a rather young specialism. A key policy principle in Dutch mental health care for the deaf is that they should receive treatment in the language most accessible to them, which is usually Dutch Sign Language (Nederlandse Gebarentaal or NGT). Although psychotherapists for the deaf are trained to use sign language, situations will always arise in which a sign language interpreter is needed. Most psychotherapists have the opinion that working with a sign language interpreter in therapy sessions can be a valuable alternative option but also see it as a second-best solution because of its impact on the therapeutic process. This paper describes our years of collaborationship as a therapist and a sign language interpreter. If this collaborationship is optimal, it can generate a certain "therapeutic power" in the therapy sessions. Achieving this depends largely on the interplay between the therapist and the interpreter, which in our case is the result of literature research and our experiences during the last 17 years. We analyze this special collaborative relationship, which has several dimensions and recurrent themes like, the role conception of the interpreter, situational interpreting, organizing the interpretation setting, or managing therapeutic phenomena during therapy sessions.

Independent transmission of sign language interpreter in DVB: assessment of image compression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zatloukal, Petr; Bernas, Martin; Dvořák, LukáÅ.¡

2015-02-01

Sign language on television provides information to deaf that they cannot get from the audio content. If we consider the transmission of the sign language interpreter over an independent data stream, the aim is to ensure sufficient intelligibility and subjective image quality of the interpreter with minimum bit rate. The work deals with the ROI-based video compression of Czech sign language interpreter implemented to the x264 open source library. The results of this approach are verified in subjective tests with the deaf. They examine the intelligibility of sign language expressions containing minimal pairs for different levels of compression and various resolution of image with interpreter and evaluate the subjective quality of the final image for a good viewing experience.

A pattern-based analysis of clinical computer-interpretable guideline modeling languages.

PubMed

Mulyar, Nataliya; van der Aalst, Wil M P; Peleg, Mor

2007-01-01

Languages used to specify computer-interpretable guidelines (CIGs) differ in their approaches to addressing particular modeling challenges. The main goals of this article are: (1) to examine the expressive power of CIG modeling languages, and (2) to define the differences, from the control-flow perspective, between process languages in workflow management systems and modeling languages used to design clinical guidelines. The pattern-based analysis was applied to guideline modeling languages Asbru, EON, GLIF, and PROforma. We focused on control-flow and left other perspectives out of consideration. We evaluated the selected CIG modeling languages and identified their degree of support of 43 control-flow patterns. We used a set of explicitly defined evaluation criteria to determine whether each pattern is supported directly, indirectly, or not at all. PROforma offers direct support for 22 of 43 patterns, Asbru 20, GLIF 17, and EON 11. All four directly support basic control-flow patterns, cancellation patterns, and some advance branching and synchronization patterns. None support multiple instances patterns. They offer varying levels of support for synchronizing merge patterns and state-based patterns. Some support a few scenarios not covered by the 43 control-flow patterns. CIG modeling languages are remarkably close to traditional workflow languages from the control-flow perspective, but cover many fewer workflow patterns. CIG languages offer some flexibility that supports modeling of complex decisions and provide ways for modeling some decisions not covered by workflow management systems. Workflow management systems may be suitable for clinical guideline applications.

Improving the provision of language services at an academic medical center: ensuring high-quality health communication for limited-English-proficient patients.

PubMed

Standiford, Connie J; Nolan, Elizabeth; Harris, Michelle; Bernstein, Steven J

2009-12-01

To evaluate and improve the provision of language services at an academic medicine center caring for a diverse population including many limited-English-proficient (LEP) patients. The authors performed a prospective observational study between November 2006 and December 2008 evaluating the provision of language services at the University of Michigan Health System. The primary performance measures were (1) screening patients for their preferred language for health care, (2) assessing the proportion of LEP patients receiving language services from a qualified language services provider, and (3) assessing whether there were any disparities in diabetes care for LEP patients compared with English-speaking patients. The proportion of patients screened for preferred language increased from 59% to 96% with targeted inventions, such as training staff to capture preferred language for health care and correcting prior inaccurate primary language data entry. The proportion of LEP outpatients with a qualified language services provider increased from 19% to 83% through the use of staff and contract interpreters, over-the-phone interpreting and bilingual providers. There were no systematic differences in diabetes quality performance measures between LEP and English-proficient patients. Academic medical centers should measure their provision of language services and compare quality and safety data (e.g., performance measures and adverse events) between LEP and English-speaking patients to identify disparities in care. Leadership support and ongoing training are needed to ensure language-specific services are embedded into clinical care to meet the needs of our diverse patient populations.

A Preliminary Study on Interpreting for Emergent Signers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Caitlin; Dicus, Danica

2015-01-01

Sign language interpreters work with a variety of consumer populations throughout their careers. One such population, referred to as "emergent signers," consists of consumers who are in the process of learning American Sign Language, and who rely on interpreters during their language acquisition period. A gap in the research is revealed…

Preferences for Verb Interpretation in Children with Specific Language Impairment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Donna J.; Rice, Mabel L.

1994-01-01

This study examined initial preferences for verb interpretation by 15 5-year-old children with specific language impairment, 15 language-matched children, and 15 age-matched children. Children indicated preferred interpretations of novel verbs from videotapes of motion and change-of-state activity scenes. Findings suggested that children's verb…

Signed Language Working Memory Capacity of Signed Language Interpreters and Deaf Signers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Jihong; Napier, Jemina

2013-01-01

This study investigated the effects of hearing status and age of signed language acquisition on signed language working memory capacity. Professional Auslan (Australian sign language)/English interpreters (hearing native signers and hearing nonnative signers) and deaf Auslan signers (deaf native signers and deaf nonnative signers) completed an…

Language Use in Embodied Action and Interaction in Knowing Fractions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kieren, Thomas

This essay is based on observation and interpretation of the mathematical language of children while they engage in situations involving fractional numbers. This interpretation includes the consideration of various levels of language use, informal metamorphic and metonymic uses of fractional number language, and the interplay between language use…

Perceived language proficiency and pain assessment by registered and student nurses in native English-speaking and EAL children aged 4-7 years.

PubMed

Azize, Pary M; Cattani, Allegra; Endacott, Ruth

2018-03-01

To identify the factors that influence decisions made by health professionals when assessing the pain of native English speaking and children whose English is an additional language. Pain assessment in children is often poorly executed following acute injury. Whilst a range of pain assessment tools have been developed, little guidance is provided for assessing pain in children with English as an additional language. Factorial survey design. Twenty minor injuries unit nurses and 20 children's nursing students participated in an electronic survey to make judgements on 12 scenarios describing a child attending a minor injuries unit following an incident, accompanied by a parent. Respondents had to decide the most important form of pain assessment, and whether they would ask a parent or an interpreter to assess the pain of the child. An open-ended question asked about the difficulties found in making a judgement. Observation of the child's behaviour was the most common pain assessment reported. The visual analogue scale was significantly associated with children with proficient English. Respondents were significantly more likely to involve parents in the assessment if they could speak English well compared to parents with poor English skills. Moreover, nursing students were significantly more likely than registered nurses to call for support from an interpreter. Thematic analysis identified three themes related to difficulties with pain assessment: contrasting approaches, differing perceptions of pain and overcoming challenges. The reduced ability to communicate between child, parent and healthcare professional highlights the need to identify forms of assessment based on individual cases. The number of children with English as an additional language has seen a marked rise over the last decade. In situations where communication ability is reduced, assessment of pain should be tailored to meet the needs of the child. This may require timely access to interpreter services. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Choosing Accommodations: Signed Language Interpreting and the Absence of Choice.

PubMed

Burke, Teresa Blankmeyer

This paper carves out a topic space for discussion about the ethical question of whether input from signing Deaf consumers of interpreting services ought to be included in the provision of signed language interpreter accommodations. The first section provides background about disability accommodations and practices, including how signed language interpreting accommodations are similar and dissimilar to other kinds of disability accommodations. In the second section, I offer a personal narrative of my experience as a Deaf academic who has been excluded from the interpreter selection process, highlighting some of the harmful consequences of such exclusion. In the subsequent two sections, I describe and analyze the process of choosing interpreter accommodations, starting with the process of requesting signed language interpreters and the institutionalization of this process, followed by a brief overview of privacy and autonomy concerns from the standpoint of the signing Deaf consumer. The penultimate section considers some objections to the proposal of involving more consumer choice in signed language accommodations. I conclude the paper with some concrete suggestions for a more Deaf-centered, inclusive process for choosing interpreter accommodations.

The Effect of Learner Age on the Interpretation of the Nonverbal Behaviors of Teachers and Other Students in Identifying Questions in the L2 Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamiya, Nobuhiro

2018-01-01

This study investigated how learners' ages affect their interpretation of the nonverbal behaviors (NVBs) of teachers and other students in distinguishing between questions and statements in the second language (L2) classroom. After watching 48 short video clips without sound in which three L2 teachers asked a question or made a statement with or…

Functional programming interpreter. M. S. thesis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robison, A.D.

1987-03-01

Functional Programming (FP) sup BAC87 is an alternative to conventional imperative programming languages. This thesis describes an FP interpreter implementation. Superficially, FP appears to be a simple, but very inefficient language. Its simplicity, however, allows it to be interpreted quickly. Much of the inefficiency can be removed by simple interpreter techniques. This thesis describes the Illinois Functional Programming (IFP) interpreter, an interactive functional programming implementation which runs under both MS-DOS and UNIX. The IFP interpreter allows functions to be created, executed, and debugged in an environment very similar to UNIX. IFP's speed is competitive with other interpreted languages such asmore » BASIC.« less

The relationship between English language learning strategies and proficiency of pre-university students: A study case of UMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiram, Johannah Jamalul; Sulaiman, Jumat; Swanto, Suyansah; Din, Wardatul Akmam

2014-07-01

This paper seeks to investigate the relationship between language learning strategies and proficiency in English. Fifty-six pre-university students (22 males, 34 females) of University Malaysia Sabah participated in this study. Oxford's Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) self-report questionnaire was adopted to identify the students' language learning strategies, whereas their proficiencies were judged based on their Malaysian University English Test (MUET) Results. Pearson's correlation coefficient, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and the t-test were utilized to make statistical interpretation about the relationship. The knowledge obtained from this study will be helpful for future studies on how to improve the quality of learning and proficiency in English.

Sharing the true stories: improving communication between Aboriginal patients and healthcare workers.

PubMed

Cass, Alan; Lowell, Anne; Christie, Michael; Snelling, Paul L; Flack, Melinda; Marrnganyin, Betty; Brown, Isaac

2002-05-20

To identify factors limiting the effectiveness of communication between Aboriginal patients with end-stage renal disease and healthcare workers, and to identify strategies for improving communication. Qualitative study, gathering data through (a) videotaped interactions between patients and staff, and (b) in-depth interviews with all participants, in their first language, about their perceptions of the interaction, their interpretation of the video record and their broader experience with intercultural communication. A satellite dialysis unit in suburban Darwin, Northern Territory. The interactions occurred between March and July 2001. Aboriginal patients from the Yolngu language group of north-east Arnhem Land and their medical, nursing and allied professional carers. Factors influencing the quality of communication. A shared understanding of key concepts was rarely achieved. Miscommunication often went unrecognised. Sources of miscommunication included lack of patient control over the language, timing, content and circumstances of interactions; differing modes of discourse; dominance of biomedical knowledge and marginalisation of Yolngu knowledge; absence of opportunities and resources to construct a body of shared understanding; cultural and linguistic distance; lack of staff training in intercultural communication; and lack of involvement of trained interpreters. Miscommunication is pervasive. Trained interpreters provide only a partial solution. Fundamental change is required for Aboriginal patients to have significant input into the management of their illness. Educational resources are needed to facilitate a shared understanding, not only of renal physiology, disease and treatment, but also of the cultural, social and economic dimensions of the illness experience of Aboriginal people.

Global health language and culture competency.

PubMed

Beadling, Charles; Maza, John; Nakano, Gregg; Mahmood, Maysaa; Jawad, Shakir; Al-Ameri, Ali; Zuerlein, Scott; Anderson, Warner

2012-01-01

This article presents findings from a survey conducted to examine the availability of foreign language and culture training to Civil Affairs health personnel and the relevance of that training to the tasks they perform. Civil Affairs forces recognize the value of cross-cultural communication competence because their missions involve a significant level of interaction with foreign governments? officials, military, and civilians. Members of the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne) who had a health-related military occupational specialty code were invited to participate in the survey. More than 45% of those surveyed were foreign language qualified. Many also received predeployment language and culture training specific to the area of deployment. Significantly more respondents reported receiving cultural training and training on how to work effectively with interpreters than having received foreign language training. Respondents perceived interpreters as important assets and were generally satisfied with their performance. Findings from the survey highlight a need to identify standard requirements for predeployment language training that focuses on medical and health terminology and to determine the best delivery platform(s). Civil Affairs health personnel would benefit from additional cultural training that focuses on health and healthcare in the country or region of deployment. Investing in the development of distance learning capabilities as a platform for delivering health-specific language and culture training may help ease the time and resources constraints that limit the ability of Civil Affairs health personnel to access the training they need. 2012.

Getting By: Underuse of Interpreters by Resident Physicians

PubMed Central

Schenker, Yael; Curry, Leslie; Bradley, Elizabeth H.; Fernandez, Alicia

2008-01-01

Background Language barriers complicate physician–patient communication and adversely affect healthcare quality. Research suggests that physicians underuse interpreters despite evidence of benefits and even when services are readily available. The reasons underlying the underuse of interpreters are poorly understood. Objective To understand the decision-making process of resident physicians when communicating with patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). Design Qualitative study using in-depth interviews. Participants Internal medicine resident physicians ( = 20) from two urban teaching hospitals with excellent interpreter services. Approach An interview guide was used to explore decision making about interpreter use. Results Four recurrent themes emerged: 1) Resident physicians recognized that they underused professional interpreters, and described this phenomenon as “getting by;” 2) Resident physicians made decisions about interpreter use by weighing the perceived value of communication in clinical decision making against their own time constraints; 3) The decision to call an interpreter could be preempted by the convenience of using family members or the resident physician’s use of his/her own second language skills; 4) Resident physicians normalized the underuse of professional interpreters, despite recognition that patients with LEP are not receiving equal care. Conclusions Although previous research has identified time constraints and lack of availability of interpreters as reasons for their underuse, our data suggest that the reasons are far more complex. Residents at the study institutions with interpreters readily available found it easier to “get by” without an interpreter, despite misgivings about negative implications for quality of care. Findings suggest that increasing interpreter use will require interventions targeted at both individual physicians and the practice environment. PMID:19089503

Language barriers and qualitative nursing research: methodological considerations.

PubMed

Squires, A

2008-09-01

This review of the literature synthesizes methodological recommendations for the use of translators and interpreters in cross-language qualitative research. Cross-language qualitative research involves the use of interpreters and translators to mediate a language barrier between researchers and participants. Qualitative nurse researchers successfully address language barriers between themselves and their participants when they systematically plan for how they will use interpreters and translators throughout the research process. Experienced qualitative researchers recognize that translators can generate qualitative data through translation processes and by participating in data analysis. Failure to address language barriers and the methodological challenges they present threatens the credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability of cross-language qualitative nursing research. Through a synthesis of the cross-language qualitative methods literature, this article reviews the basics of language competence, translator and interpreter qualifications, and roles for each kind of qualitative research approach. Methodological and ethical considerations are also provided. By systematically addressing the methodological challenges cross-language research presents, nurse researchers can produce better evidence for nursing practice and policy making when working across different language groups. Findings from qualitative studies will also accurately represent the experiences of the participants without concern that the meaning was lost in translation.

Language barriers and qualitative nursing research: methodological considerations

PubMed Central

Squires, A.

2009-01-01

Aim This review of the literature synthesizes methodological recommendations for the use of translators and interpreters in cross-language qualitative research. Background Cross-language qualitative research involves the use of interpreters and translators to mediate a language barrier between researchers and participants. Qualitative nurse researchers successfully address language barriers between themselves and their participants when they systematically plan for how they will use interpreters and translators throughout the research process. Experienced qualitative researchers recognize that translators can generate qualitative data through translation processes and by participating in data analysis. Failure to address language barriers and the methodological challenges they present threatens the credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability of cross-language qualitative nursing research. Through a synthesis of the cross-language qualitative methods literature, this article reviews the basics of language competence, translator and interpreter qualifications, and roles for each kind of qualitative research approach. Methodological and ethical considerations are also provided. Conclusion By systematically addressing the methodological challenges cross-language research presents, nurse researchers can produce better evidence for nursing practice and policy making when working across different language groups. Findings from qualitative studies will also accurately represent the experiences of the participants without concern that the meaning was lost in translation. PMID:19522941

A comparative study of programming languages for next-generation astrodynamics systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichhorn, Helge; Cano, Juan Luis; McLean, Frazer; Anderl, Reiner

2018-03-01

Due to the computationally intensive nature of astrodynamics tasks, astrodynamicists have relied on compiled programming languages such as Fortran for the development of astrodynamics software. Interpreted languages such as Python, on the other hand, offer higher flexibility and development speed thereby increasing the productivity of the programmer. While interpreted languages are generally slower than compiled languages, recent developments such as just-in-time (JIT) compilers or transpilers have been able to close this speed gap significantly. Another important factor for the usefulness of a programming language is its wider ecosystem which consists of the available open-source packages and development tools such as integrated development environments or debuggers. This study compares three compiled languages and three interpreted languages, which were selected based on their popularity within the scientific programming community and technical merit. The three compiled candidate languages are Fortran, C++, and Java. Python, Matlab, and Julia were selected as the interpreted candidate languages. All six languages are assessed and compared to each other based on their features, performance, and ease-of-use through the implementation of idiomatic solutions to classical astrodynamics problems. We show that compiled languages still provide the best performance for astrodynamics applications, but JIT-compiled dynamic languages have reached a competitive level of speed and offer an attractive compromise between numerical performance and programmer productivity.

Understanding a technical language: A schema-based approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Falzon, P.

1984-01-01

Workers in many job categories tend to develop technical languages, which are restricted subjects of natural language. A better knowledge of these retrictions provides guidelines for the design of the restricted languages of interactive systems. Accordingly, a technical language used by air-traffic controllers in their communications with pilots was studied. A method of analysis is presented that allows the schemata underlying each category of messages to be identified. This schematic knowledge was implemented in programs, which assume that the goal-oriented aspect of technical languages (and particularly the restricted domain of discourse) limits the processes and the data necessary in order to understand the messages (monosemy, limited vocabulary, evocation of the schemata by some command words, absence of syntax). The programs can interpret, and translate into sequences of action, the messages emitted by the controllers.

The Kaiser Permanente Clinician Cultural and Linguistic Assessment Initiative: Research and Development in Patient–Provider Language Concordance

PubMed Central

MSN, Gayle Tang; Lanza, Oscar; Rodriguez, Fátima Marinely; Chang, Annie

2011-01-01

Patient–clinician language concordance is a critical component of the language access equation and is considered the gold standard for communication. As a result of lack of validated testing standards, measures, and tools, Kaiser Permanente developed the Clinician Cultural and Linguistic Assessment Initiative to ensure verifiable linguistic proficiency in clinical encounters and has established a standard level whereby the clinician is deemed to have a qualifying level of proficiency in communicating directly with patients independent of an interpreter. Our benchmarking efforts in language concordance have been rooted with the key aim to identify talented bilingual and bicultural clinician workforce and to establish the systems foundation to coordinate appropriate language services. We share accomplishments, lessons learned, and promising practices to inform future efforts in language concordance. PMID:21228282

Training Interpreter Paraprofessionals to Assist in the Language Assessment of English Language Learners in Utah.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoakum, Susie; Manuel-Dupont, Sonia

1997-01-01

Describes development of an interpreter paraprofessional (IP) program by Utah State University and Granite (Utah) school district in response to the unavailability of certified interpreters to assist in special education assessment of students who are English Language Learners. Stresses the importance of providing IPs with job-relevant training,…

Application of Demand-Control Theory to Sign Language Interpreting: Implications for Stress and Interpreter Training.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dean, Robyn K.; Pollard, Robert Q., Jr.

2001-01-01

This article uses the framework of demand-control theory to examine the occupation of sign language interpreting. It discusses the environmental, interpersonal, and intrapersonal demands that impinge on the interpreter's decision latitude and notes the prevalence of cumulative trauma disorders, turnover, and burnout in the interpreting profession.…

Language and Economics: Mutual Incompatibilities, or a Necessary Partnership?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozolins, Uldis

2003-01-01

Misunderstandings between economic approaches to language and the field of language policy/language planning arise from deficiencies in the literature of both camps. This paper examines four examples: (1) liaison interpreting, where traditional economic analysis points to surprising benefits of engaging interpreters, often not recognised by…

Native language governs interpretation of salient speech sound differences at 18 months

PubMed Central

Dietrich, Christiane; Swingley, Daniel; Werker, Janet F.

2007-01-01

One of the first steps infants take in learning their native language is to discover its set of speech-sound categories. This early development is shown when infants begin to lose the ability to differentiate some of the speech sounds their language does not use, while retaining or improving discrimination of language-relevant sounds. However, this aspect of early phonological tuning is not sufficient for language learning. Children must also discover which of the phonetic cues that are used in their language serve to signal lexical distinctions. Phonetic variation that is readily discriminable to all children may indicate two different words in one language but only one word in another. Here, we provide evidence that the language background of 1.5-year-olds affects their interpretation of phonetic variation in word learning, and we show that young children interpret salient phonetic variation in language-specific ways. Three experiments with a total of 104 children compared Dutch- and English-learning 18-month-olds' responses to novel words varying in vowel duration or vowel quality. Dutch learners interpreted vowel duration as lexically contrastive, but English learners did not, in keeping with properties of Dutch and English. Both groups performed equivalently when differentiating words varying in vowel quality. Thus, at one and a half years, children's phonological knowledge already guides their interpretation of salient phonetic variation. We argue that early phonological learning is not just a matter of maintaining the ability to distinguish language-relevant phonetic cues. Learning also requires phonological interpretation at appropriate levels of linguistic analysis. PMID:17911262

English Language Learning Strategies Reported by Advanced Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Juyeon; Heinz, Michael

2016-01-01

The purpose of the present study is to investigate effective English language learning strategies (LLSs) employed by successful language learners. The participants in this study were 20 student interpreters enrolled in the graduate school of interpretation and translation in Korea. Data on LLSs were collected through unstructured essay writing, a…

Audience Effects in American Sign Language Interpretation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weisenberg, Julia

2009-01-01

There is a system of English mouthing during interpretation that appears to be the result of language contact between spoken language and signed language. English mouthing is a voiceless visual representation of words on a signer's lips produced concurrently with manual signs. It is a type of borrowing prevalent among English-dominant…

Court Interpreting: The Anatomy of a Profession.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Jongh, Elena M.

For both translators and interpreters, language proficiency is only the starting point for professional work. The equivalence of both meaning and style are necessary for faithful translation. The legal interpreter or translator must understand the complex characteristics and style of legal language. Court interpreting is a relatively young…

Access to hospital interpreter services for limited English proficient patients in New Jersey: a statewide evaluation.

PubMed

Flores, Glenn; Torres, Sylvia; Holmes, Linda Janet; Salas-Lopez, Debbie; Youdelman, Mara K; Tomany-Korman, Sandra C

2008-05-01

We surveyed New Jersey (NJ) hospitals to assess current language services and identify policy recommendations on meeting limited English proficiency (LEP) patients' needs. Survey with 37 questions regarding hospital/patient features, interpreter services, and resources/policies needed to provide quality interpreter services. Sixty-seven hospitals responded (55% response rate). Most NJ hospitals have no interpreter services department, 80% provide no staff training on working with interpreters, 31% lack multilingual signs, and 19% offer no written translation services. Only 3% of hospitals have full-time interpreters, a ratio of 1 interpreter:240,748 LEP NJ residents. Most hospitals stated third-party reimbursement for interpreters would be beneficial, by reducing costs, adding interpreters, meeting population growth, and improving communication. Most NJ hospitals have no full-time interpreters, interpreter services department, or staff training on working with interpreters, and deficiencies exist in hospital signage and translation services. Most NJ hospitals stated third-party reimbursement for interpreter services would be beneficial.

Benefits of an Interpretation Course for Foreign Language Learning and Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Biasetti, Giada

2016-01-01

Based on the experience of developing and teaching an introductory course on Spanish-English interpretation, this study will situate and justify translation, more specifically interpreting, as an important component for language development. The goal is to analyze ways the development and implementation of an interpreting course (focusing on…

Students’ Mathematical Literacy in Solving PISA Problems Based on Keirsey Personality Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masriyah; Firmansyah, M. H.

2018-01-01

This research is descriptive-qualitative research. The purpose is to describe students’ mathematical literacy in solving PISA on space and shape content based on Keirsey personality theory. The subjects are four junior high school students grade eight with guardian, artisan, rational or idealist personality. Data collecting methods used test and interview. Data of Keirsey Personality test, PISA test, and interview were analysed. Profile of mathematical literacy of each subject are described as follows. In formulating, guardian subject identified mathematical aspects are formula of rectangle area and sides length; significant variables are terms/conditions in problem and formula of ever encountered question; translated into mathematical language those are measurement and arithmetic operations. In employing, he devised and implemented strategies using ease of calculation on area-subtraction principle; declared truth of result but the reason was less correct; didn’t use and switch between different representations. In interpreting, he declared result as area of house floor; declared reasonableness according measurement estimation. In formulating, artisan subject identified mathematical aspects are plane and sides length; significant variables are solution procedure on both of daily problem and ever encountered question; translated into mathematical language those are measurement, variables, and arithmetic operations as well as symbol representation. In employing, he devised and implemented strategies using two design comparison; declared truth of result without reason; used symbol representation only. In interpreting, he expressed result as floor area of house; declared reasonableness according measurement estimation. In formulating, rational subject identified mathematical aspects are scale and sides length; significant variables are solution strategy on ever encountered question; translated into mathematical language those are measurement, variable, arithmetic operation as well as symbol and graphic representation. In employing, he devised and implemented strategies using additional plane forming on area-subtraction principle; declared truth of result according calculation process; used and switched between symbol and graphic representation. In interpreting, he declared result as house area within terrace and wall; declared reasonableness according measurement estimation. In formulating, idealist subject identified mathematical aspects are sides length; significant variables are terms/condition in problem; translated into mathematical language those are measurement, variables, arithmetic operations as well as symbol and graphic representation. In employing, he devised and implemented strategies using trial and error and two design in process of finding solutions; declared truth of result according the use of two design of solution; used and switched between symbol and graphic representation. In interpreting, he declared result as floor area of house; declared reasonableness according measurement estimation.

Overcoming language barriers with foreign-language speaking patients: a survey to investigate intra-hospital variation in attitudes and practices

PubMed Central

Hudelson, Patricia; Vilpert, Sarah

2009-01-01

Background Use of available interpreter services by hospital clincial staff is often suboptimal, despite evidence that trained interpreters contribute to quality of care and patient safety. Examination of intra-hospital variations in attitudes and practices regarding interpreter use can contribute to identifying factors that facilitate good practice. The purpose of this study was to describe attitudes, practices and preferences regarding communication with limited French proficiency (LFP) patients, examine how these vary across professions and departments within the hospital, and identify factors associated with good practices. Methods A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to random samples of 700 doctors, 700 nurses and 93 social workers at the Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland. Results Seventy percent of respondents encounter LFP patients at least once a month, but this varied by department. 66% of respondents said they preferred working with ad hoc interpreters (patient's family and bilingual staff), mainly because these were easier to access. During the 6 months preceding the study, ad hoc interpreters were used at least once by 71% of respondents, and professional interpreters were used at least once by 51%. Overall, only nine percent of respondents had received any training in how and why to work with a trained interpreter. Only 23.2% of respondents said the clinical service in which they currently worked encouraged them to use professional interpreters. Respondents working in services where use of professional interpreters was encouraged were more likely to be of the opinion that the hospital should systematically provide a professional interpreter to LFP patients (40.3%) as compared with those working in a department that discouraged use of professional interpreters (15.5%) and they used professional interpreters more often during the previous 6 months. Conclusion Attitudes and practices regarding communication with LFP patients vary across professions and hospital departments. In order to foster an institution-wide culture conducive to ensuring adequate communication with LFP patients will require both the development of a hospital-wide policy and service-level activities aimed at reinforcing this policy and putting it into practice. PMID:19832982

The three official language versions of the Declaration of Helsinki: what's lost in translation?

PubMed Central

Carlson, Robert V; van Ginneken, Nadja H; Pettigrew, Luisa M; Davies, Alan; Boyd, Kenneth M; Webb, David J

2007-01-01

Background The Declaration of Helsinki, the World Medical Association's (WMA's) statement of ethical guidelines regarding medical research, is published in the three official languages of the WMA: English, French and Spanish. Methods A detailed comparison of the three official language versions was carried out to determine ways in which they differed and ways in which the wording of the three versions might illuminate the interpretation of the document. Results There were many minor linguistic differences between the three versions. However, in paragraphs 1, 6, 29, 30 and in the note of clarification to paragraph 29, there were differences that could be considered potentially significant in their ethical relevance. Interpretation Given the global status of the Declaration of Helsinki and the fact that it is translated from its official versions into many other languages for application to the ethical conduct of research, the differences identified are of concern. It would be best if such differences could be eliminated but, at the very least, a commentary to explain any differences that are unavoidable on the basis of language or culture should accompany the Declaration of Helsinki. This evidence further strengthens the case for international surveillance of medical research ethics as has been proposed by the WMA. PMID:17761826

Gaining insights from social media language: Methodologies and challenges.

PubMed

Kern, Margaret L; Park, Gregory; Eichstaedt, Johannes C; Schwartz, H Andrew; Sap, Maarten; Smith, Laura K; Ungar, Lyle H

2016-12-01

Language data available through social media provide opportunities to study people at an unprecedented scale. However, little guidance is available to psychologists who want to enter this area of research. Drawing on tools and techniques developed in natural language processing, we first introduce psychologists to social media language research, identifying descriptive and predictive analyses that language data allow. Second, we describe how raw language data can be accessed and quantified for inclusion in subsequent analyses, exploring personality as expressed on Facebook to illustrate. Third, we highlight challenges and issues to be considered, including accessing and processing the data, interpreting effects, and ethical issues. Social media has become a valuable part of social life, and there is much we can learn by bringing together the tools of computer science with the theories and insights of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Experiences of French Speaking Immigrants and Non-immigrants Accessing Health Care Services in a Large Canadian City

PubMed Central

Ngwakongnwi, Emmanuel; Hemmelgarn, Brenda R.; Musto, Richard; Quan, Hude; King-Shier, Kathryn M.

2012-01-01

French speakers residing in predominantly English-speaking communities have been linked to difficulties accessing health care. This study examined health care access experiences of immigrants and non-immigrants who self-identify as Francophone or French speakers in a mainly English speaking province of Canada. We used semi-structured interviews to gather opinions of recent users of physician and hospital services (N = 26). Language barriers and difficulties finding family doctors were experienced by both French speaking immigrants and non-immigrants alike. This was exacerbated by a general preference for health services in French and less interest in using language interpreters during a medical consultation. Some participants experienced emotional distress, were discontent with care received, often delayed seeking care due to language barriers. Recent immigrants identified lack of insurance coverage for drugs, transportation difficulties and limited knowledge of the healthcare system as major detractors to achieving health. This study provided the groundwork for future research on health issues of official language minorities in Canada. PMID:23202772

Methodological Challenges in Cross-Language Qualitative Research: A Research Review

PubMed Central

Squires, Allison

2009-01-01

Objectives Cross-language qualitative research occurs when a language barrier is present between researchers and participants. The language barrier is frequently mediated through the use of a translator or interpreter. The purpose of this critical review of cross-language qualitative research was three fold: 1) review the methods literature addressing cross language research; 2) synthesize the methodological recommendations from the literature into a list of criteria that could evaluate how researchers methodologically managed translators and interpreters in their qualitative studies; and 3) test these criteria on published cross-language qualitative studies. Data sources A group of 40 purposively selected cross-language qualitative studies found in nursing and health sciences journals. Review methods The synthesis of the cross-language methods literature produced 14 criteria to evaluate how qualitative researchers managed the language barrier between themselves and their study participants. To test the criteria, the researcher conducted a summative content analysis framed by discourse analysis techniques of the 40 cross-language studies. Results The evaluation showed that only 6 out of 40 studies met all the criteria recommended by the cross-language methods literature for the production of trustworthy results in cross-language qualitative studies. Multiple inconsistencies, reflecting disadvantageous methodological choices by cross-language researchers, appeared in the remaining 33 studies. To name a few, these included rendering the translator or interpreter as an invisible part of the research process, failure to pilot test interview questions in the participant’s language, no description of translator or interpreter credentials, failure to acknowledge translation as a limitation of the study, and inappropriate methodological frameworks for cross-language research. Conclusions The finding about researchers making the role of the translator or interpreter invisible during the research process supports studies completed by other authors examining this issue. The analysis demonstrated that the criteria produced by this study may provide useful guidelines for evaluating cross-language research and for novice cross-language researchers designing their first studies. Finally, the study also indicates that researchers attempting cross-language studies need to address the methodological issues surrounding language barriers between researchers and participants more systematically. PMID:18789799

Methodological challenges in cross-language qualitative research: a research review.

PubMed

Squires, Allison

2009-02-01

Cross-language qualitative research occurs when a language barrier is present between researchers and participants. The language barrier is frequently mediated through the use of a translator or interpreter. The purpose of this analysis of cross-language qualitative research was threefold: (1) review the methods literature addressing cross-language research; (2) synthesize the methodological recommendations from the literature into a list of criteria that could evaluate how researchers methodologically managed translators and interpreters in their qualitative studies; (3) test these criteria on published cross-language qualitative studies. A group of 40 purposively selected cross-language qualitative studies found in nursing and health sciences journals. The synthesis of the cross-language methods literature produced 14 criteria to evaluate how qualitative researchers managed the language barrier between themselves and their study participants. To test the criteria, the researcher conducted a summative content analysis framed by discourse analysis techniques of the 40 cross-language studies. The evaluation showed that only 6 out of 40 studies met all the criteria recommended by the cross-language methods literature for the production of trustworthy results in cross-language qualitative studies. Multiple inconsistencies, reflecting disadvantageous methodological choices by cross-language researchers, appeared in the remaining 33 studies. To name a few, these included rendering the translator or interpreter as an invisible part of the research process, failure to pilot test interview questions in the participant's language, no description of translator or interpreter credentials, failure to acknowledge translation as a limitation of the study, and inappropriate methodological frameworks for cross-language research. The finding about researchers making the role of the translator or interpreter invisible during the research process supports studies completed by other authors examining this issue. The analysis demonstrated that the criteria produced by this study may provide useful guidelines for evaluating cross-language research and for novice cross-language researchers designing their first studies. Finally, the study also indicates that researchers attempting cross-language studies need to address the methodological issues surrounding language barriers between researchers and participants more systematically.

A Model for Speech Processing in Second Language Listening Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zoghbor, Wafa Shahada

2016-01-01

Teachers' understanding of the process of speech perception could inform practice in listening classrooms. Catford (1950) developed a model for speech perception taking into account the influence of the acoustic features of the linguistic forms used by the speaker, whereby the listener "identifies" and "interprets" these…

The Relation between the Working Memory Skills of Sign Language Interpreters and the Quality of Their Interpretations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Dijk, Rick; Christoffels, Ingrid; Postma, Albert; Hermans, Daan

2012-01-01

In two experiments we investigated the relationship between the working memory skills of sign language interpreters and the quality of their interpretations. In Experiment 1, we found that scores on 3-back tasks with signs and words were not related to the quality of interpreted narratives. In Experiment 2, we found that memory span scores for…

The Temporal Structure of Spoken Language Understanding.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marslen-Wilson, William; Tyler, Lorraine Komisarjevsky

1980-01-01

An investigation of word-by-word time-course of spoken language understanding focused on word recognition and structural and interpretative processes. Results supported an online interactive language processing theory, in which lexical, structural, and interpretative knowledge sources communicate and interact during processing efficiently and…

The role of scientists in statutory interpretation of the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

PubMed

Wilhere, George F

2017-04-01

Like many federal statutes, the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) contains vague or ambiguous language. The meaning imparted to the ESA's unclear language can profoundly impact the fates of endangered and threatened species. Hence, conservation scientists should contribute to the interpretation of the ESA when vague or ambiguous language contains scientific words or refers to scientific concepts. Scientists need to know at least these 2 facts about statutory interpretation: statutory interpretation is subjective and the potential influence of normative values results in different expectations for the parties involved. With the possible exception of judges, all conventional participants in statutory interpretation are serving their own interests, advocating for their preferred policies, or biased. Hence, scientists can play a unique role by informing the interpretative process with objective, policy-neutral information. Conversely, scientists may act as advocates for their preferred interpretation of unclear statutory language. The different roles scientists might play in statutory interpretation raise the issues of advocacy and competency. Advocating for a preferred statutory interpretation is legitimate political behavior by scientists, but statutory interpretation can be strongly influenced by normative values. Therefore, scientists must be careful not to commit stealth policy advocacy. Most conservation scientists lack demonstrable competence in statutory interpretation and therefore should consult or collaborate with lawyers when interpreting statutes. Professional scientific societies are widely perceived by the public as unbiased sources of objective information. Therefore, professional scientific societies should remain policy neutral and present all interpretations of unclear statutory language; explain the semantics and science both supporting and contradicting each interpretation; and describe the potential consequences of implementing each interpretation. A review of scientists' interpretations of the phrase "significant portion of its range" in the ESA is used to critique the role of scientists and professional societies in statutory interpretation. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Beyond literacy and numeracy in patient provider communication: Focus groups suggest roles for empowerment, provider attitude and language

PubMed Central

Brugge, Doug; Edgar, Timothy; George, Kelly; Heung, Janette; Laws, M Barton

2009-01-01

Background Although the number of people living in the United States with limited English proficiency (LEP) is substantial, the impact of language on patients' experience of provider-patient communication has been little explored. Methods We conducted a series of 12 exploratory focus groups in English, Spanish and Cantonese to elicit discussion about patient-provider communication, particularly with respect to the concerns of the health literacy framework, i.e. ability to accurately understand, interpret and apply information given by providers. Within each language, 2 groups had high education and 2 had low education participants to partially account for literacy levels, which cannot be assessed consistently across three languages. Eighty-five (85) adults enrolled in the focus groups. The resulting video tapes were transcribed, translated and analyzed via content analysis. Results We identified 5 themes: 1) language discordant communication; 2) language concordant communication; 3) empowerment; 4) providers' attitudes; 5) issues with the health care system. Despite efforts by facilitators to elicit responses related to cognitive understanding, issues of interpersonal process were more salient, and respondents did not readily separate issues of accurate understanding from their overall narratives of experience with health care and illness. Thematic codes often appeared to be associated with education level, language and/or culture. Conclusion Our most salient finding was that for most of our participants there was no clear demarcation between literacy and numeracy, language interpretation, health communication, interpersonal relations with their provider and the rest of their experience with the health care system. PMID:19772555

The Impact of Consecutive Interpreting Training on the L2 Listening Competence Enhancement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Tongtong; Wu, Zhiwei

2017-01-01

In recent years, a growing number of people have taken up interpreting training, with the intention of not only developing interpreting skills, but improving language proficiency as well. The present study sets out to investigate the impact of English-Chinese consecutive interpreting (CI) training on the enhancement of the second language (L2,…

Once a Broker, Always a Broker: Non-Professional Interpreting as Identity Accomplishment in Multigenerational Italian-English Bilingual Family Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Del Torto, Lisa M.

2008-01-01

This paper explores interpreting in three-generational Italian-English bilingual families as a complex language brokering activity. Recent studies approach non-professional interpreting as language brokering in which bilinguals (often children) interpret for non-bilinguals (adults) in institutional settings (Hall 2004; Valdes 2003). These studies…

The use of Spanish language skills by physicians and nurses: policy implications for teaching and testing.

PubMed

Diamond, Lisa C; Tuot, Delphine S; Karliner, Leah S

2012-01-01

Language barriers present a substantial communication challenge in the hospital setting. To describe how clinicians with various levels of Spanish language proficiency work with interpreters or their own Spanish skills in common clinical scenarios. Survey of physicians and nurses who report ever speaking Spanish with patients on a general medicine hospital floor. Spanish proficiency rated on a 5-point scale, self-reported use of specific strategies (own Spanish skills, professional or ad-hoc interpreters) to overcome the language barrier. Sixty-eight physicians and 65 nurses participated. Physicians with low-level Spanish proficiency reported frequent use of ad-hoc interpreters for all information-based scenarios, except pre-rounding in the morning when most reported using their own Spanish skills. For difficult conversations and procedural consent, most used professional interpreters. Comparatively, physicians with medium proficiency reported higher rates of using their own Spanish skills for information-based scenarios, lower rates of professional interpreter use, and little use of ad-hoc interpreters. They rarely used their own Spanish skills or ad-hoc interpreters for difficult conversations. Physicians with high-level Spanish proficiency almost uniformly reported using their own Spanish skills. The majority (82%) of nurses had low-level Spanish proficiency, and frequently worked with professional interpreters for educating patients, but more often used ad hoc interpreters and their own Spanish skills for information-based scenarios, including medication administration. Physicians and nurses with limited Spanish proficiency use these skills, even in important clinical circumstances in the hospital. Health-care organizations should evaluate clinicians' non-English language proficiency and set policies about use of language skills in clinical care.

The Relationship between Language Anxiety, Interpretation of Anxiety, Intrinsic Motivation and the Use of Learning Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nishitani, Mari; Matsuda, Toshiki

2011-01-01

Researches in language anxiety have focused on the level of language anxiety so far. This study instead, hypothesizes that the interpretation of anxiety and the recognition of failure have an impact on learning and investigates how language anxiety and intrinsic motivation affect the use of learning strategies through the recognition of failure.…

Deriving Meaning through Context: Interpreting Bare Nominals in Second Language Japanese

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gabriele, Alison

2010-01-01

Previous studies on the second language acquisition of telicity have suggested that learners can use morphosyntactic cues to interpret sentences as telic or atelic even in cases where the cues differ in the first language (L1) and second language (L2) (Slabakova, 2001, 2005; Gabriele, 2008; Kaku et al., 2008a, 2008b). The present study extends…

Linguistic and pragmatic constraints on utterance interpretation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hinkelman, Elizabeth A.

1990-05-01

In order to model how people understand language, it is necessary to understand not only grammar and logic but also how people use language to affect their environment. This area of study is known as natural language pragmatics. Speech acts, for instance, are the offers, promises, announcements, etc., that people make by talking. The same expression may be different acts in different contexts, and yet not every expression performs every act. We want to understand how people are able to recognize other's intentions and implications in saying something. Previous plan-based theories of speech act interpretation do not account for the conventional aspect of speech acts. They can, however, be made sensitive to both linguistic and propositional information. This dissertation presents a method of speech act interpretation which uses patterns of linguistic features (e.g., mood, verb form, sentence adverbials, thematic roles) to identify a range of speech act interpretations for the utterance. These are then filtered and elaborated by inferences about agents' goals and plans. In many cases the plan reasoning consists of short, local inference chains (that are in fact conversational implicatures) and, extended reasoning is necessary only for the most difficult cases. The method is able to accommodate a wide range of cases, from those which seem very idiomatic to those which must be analyzed using knowledge about the world and human behavior. It explains how, Can you pass the salt, can be a request while, Are you able to pass the salt, is not.

DI: An interactive debugging interpreter for applicative languages

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Skedzielewski, S.K.; Yates, R.K.; Oldehoeft, R.R.

1987-03-12

The DI interpreter is both a debugger and interpreter of SISLAL programs. Its use as a program interpreter is only a small part of its role; it is designed to be a tool for studying compilation techniques for applicative languages. DI interprets dataflow graphs expressed in the IF1 and IF2 languages, and is heavily instrumented to report the activity of dynamic storage activity, reference counting, copying and updating of structured data values. It also aids the SISAL language evaluation by providing an interim execution vehicle for SISAL programs. DI provides determinate, sequential interpretation of graph nodes for sequential and parallelmore » operations in a canonical order. As a debugging aid, DI allows tracing, breakpointing, and interactive display of program data values. DI handles creation of SISAL and IF1 error values for each data type and propagates them according to a well-defined algebra. We have begun to implement IF1 optimizers and have measured the improvements with DI.« less

The neurophysiology of language processing shapes the evolution of grammar: evidence from case marking.

PubMed

Bickel, Balthasar; Witzlack-Makarevich, Alena; Choudhary, Kamal K; Schlesewsky, Matthias; Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Ina

2015-01-01

Do principles of language processing in the brain affect the way grammar evolves over time or is language change just a matter of socio-historical contingency? While the balance of evidence has been ambiguous and controversial, we identify here a neurophysiological constraint on the processing of language that has a systematic effect on the evolution of how noun phrases are marked by case (i.e. by such contrasts as between the English base form she and the object form her). In neurophysiological experiments across diverse languages we found that during processing, participants initially interpret the first base-form noun phrase they hear (e.g. she…) as an agent (which would fit a continuation like … greeted him), even when the sentence later requires the interpretation of a patient role (as in … was greeted). We show that this processing principle is also operative in Hindi, a language where initial base-form noun phrases most commonly denote patients because many agents receive a special case marker ("ergative") and are often left out in discourse. This finding suggests that the principle is species-wide and independent of the structural affordances of specific languages. As such, the principle favors the development and maintenance of case-marking systems that equate base-form cases with agents rather than with patients. We confirm this evolutionary bias by statistical analyses of phylogenetic signals in over 600 languages worldwide, controlling for confounding effects from language contact. Our findings suggest that at least one core property of grammar systematically adapts in its evolution to the neurophysiological conditions of the brain, independently of socio-historical factors. This opens up new avenues for understanding how specific properties of grammar have developed in tight interaction with the biological evolution of our species.

Guidelines for conducting rigorous health care psychosocial cross-cultural/language qualitative research.

PubMed

Arriaza, Pablo; Nedjat-Haiem, Frances; Lee, Hee Yun; Martin, Shadi S

2015-01-01

The purpose of this article is to synthesize and chronicle the authors' experiences as four bilingual and bicultural researchers, each experienced in conducting cross-cultural/cross-language qualitative research. Through narrative descriptions of experiences with Latinos, Iranians, and Hmong refugees, the authors discuss their rewards, challenges, and methods of enhancing rigor, trustworthiness, and transparency when conducting cross-cultural/cross-language research. The authors discuss and explore how to effectively manage cross-cultural qualitative data, how to effectively use interpreters and translators, how to identify best methods of transcribing data, and the role of creating strong community relationships. The authors provide guidelines for health care professionals to consider when engaging in cross-cultural qualitative research.

Oral language disorders and enuresis in children.

PubMed

Birenbaum, Thelma Kilinsky; Cunha, Maria Claudia

2010-01-01

Co-occurrence of oral language disorders and enuresis in children. To identify and analyze the relationship between instances of oral language disorders and enuresis in children. Clinical, quantitative and qualitative study, with a descriptive/interpretative outline, presented through two distinct situations. "Situation 1" refers to a group of 120 children between 3:0 and 10:0 years old, independently of gender and age, from a philanthropic Institution in Greater São Paulo. "Situation 2" refers specifically to the evaluation of children who have oral language disorders and enuresis. Results indicated that enuretic children present a higher percentage of oral language disorders when compared to non-enuretic children, especially phonological disorders and talking very little. These results support the studies on co-occurrence of enuresis and oral language disorders, presented in papers that attribute a bio-psychic etiology to this co-morbidity. Results indicated a relationship between enuresis and oral language disorders. Considering the interactions among language, body and psyche, it is suggested that speech therapists, when dealing with oral language disorders in children, also investigate the acquisition of their bladder sphincter control, in a bio-psychical approach.

Access to Sign Language Interpreters in the Criminal Justice System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Katrina R.

2001-01-01

This study surveyed 46 professional sign language interpreters working in criminal justice settings and evaluated 22 cases to evaluate access issues for individuals with hearing impairments. Recommendations to increase the accessibility of interpreting services included providing ongoing awareness training to criminal justice personnel and…

Re-Codified Standards from the Perspective of Language Experts: Credentials, Practice and Attitudes Amongst Translators and Interpreters of the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hlavac, Jim

2015-01-01

This article examines aspects of linguistic behaviour, attitudes and professional practices amongst a group of 47 "expert users" who are translators or interpreters for one, two or three of the following languages: Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian. The official terms for these languages in the respective successor states of Socialist…

What Have We Learned from Communication Design Failure?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poggenpohl, Sharon; Winkler, Dietmar R.

2010-01-01

In closing, the guest editors of this "Visible Language" special series reflect on the failures identified in the various papers and interpret what this suggests for design education and research in the context of changing practice. The failures cited in this series point out the fractures in our understanding and practices from user-centered,…

Psychological Testing of Sign Language Interpreters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seal, Brenda C.

2004-01-01

Twenty-eight sign language interpreters participated in a battery of tests to determine if a profile of cognitive, motor, attention, and personality attributes might distinguish them as a group and at different credential levels. Eight interpreters held Level II and nine held Level III Virginia Quality Assurance Screenings (VQAS); the other 11…

Two Interpretive Systems for Natural Language?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frazier, Lyn

2015-01-01

It is proposed that humans have available to them two systems for interpreting natural language. One system is familiar from formal semantics. It is a type based system that pairs a syntactic form with its interpretation using grammatical rules of composition. This system delivers both plausible and implausible meanings. The other proposed system…

38 CFR 21.152 - Interpreter service for the hearing impaired.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... development and pursuit of a rehabilitation program. This service will be provided if: (1) A VA physician... determines that the veteran: (i) Can benefit from language and speech training; and (ii) Agrees to undertake language and speech training. (b) Periods during which interpreter service may be provided. Interpreter...

Assessing the Level of Performance of Sign Language Interpreters from Impaired Hearing Students' Perspectives at Public and Private Jordanian Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shanikat, Feryal Abdel-Hadi

2014-01-01

This study aimed at assessing the level of performance of sign language interpreters in both public and private Jordanian universities, as well as to recognize the effect of the study variables specifically gender and qualifications for acoustically disabled and interpreter, and the experience of the interpreter on the level of the performance…

Extending Situated Language Comprehension (Accounts) with Speaker and Comprehender Characteristics: Toward Socially Situated Interpretation.

PubMed

Münster, Katja; Knoeferle, Pia

2017-01-01

More and more findings suggest a tight temporal coupling between (non-linguistic) socially interpreted context and language processing. Still, real-time language processing accounts remain largely elusive with respect to the influence of biological (e.g., age) and experiential (e.g., world and moral knowledge) comprehender characteristics and the influence of the 'socially interpreted' context, as for instance provided by the speaker. This context could include actions, facial expressions, a speaker's voice or gaze, and gestures among others. We review findings from social psychology, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics to highlight the relevance of (the interplay between) the socially interpreted context and comprehender characteristics for language processing. The review informs the extension of an extant real-time processing account (already featuring a coordinated interplay between language comprehension and the non-linguistic visual context) with a variable ('ProCom') that captures characteristics of the language user and with a first approximation of the comprehender's speaker representation. Extending the CIA to the sCIA (social Coordinated Interplay Account) is the first step toward a real-time language comprehension account which might eventually accommodate the socially situated communicative interplay between comprehenders and speakers.

Where "Sign Language Studies" Has Led Us in Forty Years: Opening High School and University Education for Deaf People in Viet Nam through Sign Language Analysis, Teaching, and Interpretation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodward, James; Hoa, Nguyen Thi

2012-01-01

This paper discusses how the Nippon Foundation-funded project "Opening University Education to Deaf People in Viet Nam through Sign Language Analysis, Teaching, and Interpretation," also known as the Dong Nai Deaf Education Project, has been implemented through sign language studies from 2000 through 2012. This project has provided deaf…

A Non-Intuitionist's Approach To The Interpretation Problem Of Quantum Mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grelland, Hans Herlof

2005-02-01

A philosophy of physics called "linguistic empiricism" is presented and applied to the interpretation problem of quantum mechanics. This philosophical position is based on the works of Jacques Derrida. The main propositions are (i) that meaning, included the meaning attached to observations, are language-dependent and (ii) that mathematics in physics should be considered as a proper language, not necessary translatable to a more basic language of intuition and immediate experience. This has fundamental implications for quantum mechanics, which is a mathematically coherent and consistent theory; its interpretation problem is associated with its lack of physical images expressible in ordinary language.

An Interpreted Language and System for the Visualization of Unstructured Meshes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moran, Patrick J.; Gerald-Yamasaki, Michael (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

We present an interpreted language and system supporting the visualization of unstructured meshes and the manipulation of shapes defined in terms of mesh subsets. The language features primitives inspired by geometric modeling, mathematical morphology and algebraic topology. The adaptation of the topology ideas to an interpreted environment, along with support for programming constructs such, as user function definition, provide a flexible system for analyzing a mesh and for calculating with shapes defined in terms of the mesh. We present results demonstrating some of the capabilities of the language, based on an implementation called the Shape Calculator, for tetrahedral meshes in R^3.

Verbal and nonverbal indicators of quality of communication between care staff and residents in ethnoculturally and linguistically diverse long-term care settings.

PubMed

Small, Jeff; Chan, Sing Mei; Drance, Elisabeth; Globerman, Judith; Hulko, Wendy; O'Connor, Deborah; Perry, JoAnn; Stern, Louise; Ho, Lorraine

2015-09-01

Linguistic and ethnocultural diversity in long-term residential care is a growing trend in many urban settings. When long-term care staff and residents do not share the same language or ethnocultural background, the quality of their communication and care are jeopardized. There is very little research addressing how staff and residents communicate when they experience a mismatch in their language and ethnocultural backgrounds. Thus, the goals of the present study were to 1) document the verbal and nonverbal behaviours used by staff and residents in diverse interactions, and 2) identify and account for behaviours that either promoted or detracted from positive communication by drawing on principles from 'Communication Accommodation Theory'. Two long-term care facilities in British Columbia Canada were selected due to the diverse linguistic and ethnocultural backgrounds of their staff and residents. Twenty-seven staff and 27 residents consented to being video-recorded during routine activities (e.g., mealtimes, recreational activities). The recorded observations were transcribed, translated, and coded using qualitative descriptive and interpretive analyses. A number of verbal and nonverbal behaviours were identified and interpreted in relation to whether they promoted or detracted from positive communication. The findings point to considering a variety of proactive strategies that staff and administrators could employ to effectively accommodate to language and ethnocultural diversity in long-term care practice.

Biotechnology: the language of multiple views in Māori communities.

PubMed

Te Momo, O H Fiona

2007-09-01

In Aotearoa (New Zealand), the government funded studies on communicating biotechnology to different sectors in the community from 2003 to 2006. Subsequently, a researcher covering the Māori sector performed a content analysis of data gathered in the community. Qualitative analysis methods included examining text from participant interviews, focus groups, government documents, newspapers, Internet sites, and current literature. Content was coded by identifying common themes in the English and the Māori language. Words like genetic modification (GM), genetic engineering (GE), and biotechnology were explained to provide a basic understanding between the communities and researcher. The terminology applied in the research was essential to achieve communication between the researcher and the community. The resultant themes represented seven views to interpret the communities association with biotechnology: purist Māori, religious Māori, anti Māori, pro Māori, no Māori, uncertain Māori, and middle Māori views. The themes are taken from the analysis of data compiled after 3 years of completing different stages of a research project. The views indicate that a common understanding can be achieved in the diverse range of Māori tribal communities providing those communicating biotechnology can identify the view and interpretations communities associate with biotechnology. This knowledge is essential for government agencies, researchers, community practitioners, scientist, and businesses that desire to dialogue with Māori communities in the language of biotechnology.

The relationship between English language learning strategies and gender among pre-university students: An overview of UMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiram, Johannah Jamalul; Sulaiman, Jumat; Swanto, Suyansah; Din, Wardatul Akmam

2014-06-01

This study aims to analyze the effects psychological gender differences on the relationship between language learning strategies and their proficiency in English language for pre-university students. Previous researchers found that the more employment of language learning strategies, the more successful the learners are and those with higher level of strategy use are female rather than male. In this study, fifty-six pre-university students (22 males, 34 females) of University Malaysia Sabah participated in this study. Oxford's Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) self-report questionnaire was adopted to identify the students' language learning strategies, whereas their proficiencies were based on their Malaysian University English Test (MUET) results. Pearson's correlation coefficient, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the t-test were utilized to make statistical interpretation about the relationship. The knowledge obtained from this study will be helpful for future studies on how to improve the quality of learning and proficiency in English.

Language Interpretation for Diverse Families: Considerations for Special Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

More, Cori M.; Hart, Juliet E.; Cheatham, Gregory A.

2013-01-01

The special education field is challenged by a lack of attention to and recruitment of well-trained language interpreters in schools. As such, special education teachers need to take a leadership role in working with interpreters to ensure diverse families are collaborative members of individualized education program (IEP) teams. Using the…

American Sign Language-English Interpreting Program Faculty: Characteristics, Tenure Perceptions, and Productivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hale, Kimberly J.

2012-01-01

American Sign Language (ASL)-English interpreting education, which began as a community apprenticeship and vetting process, has within the last several decades moved into higher education. Most recently, the number of baccalaureate-granting ASL-English interpreting programs have continued to increase while the number of associate's degree…

Oral Interpretation Performance as A Self-Referencing Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plax, Pamela M.

Oral interpretation utilizes the self-referencing qualities of language and literature which involves the interpreter as both actor and reader. By "self-referencing" is meant the capacity language has to express not only literal meaning but also, at the same time, the process of realization and of attitudinizing toward this meaning.…

OpenSeesPy: Python library for the OpenSees finite element framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Minjie; McKenna, Frank; Scott, Michael H.

2018-01-01

OpenSees, an open source finite element software framework, has been used broadly in the earthquake engineering community for simulating the seismic response of structural and geotechnical systems. The framework allows users to perform finite element analysis with a scripting language and for developers to create both serial and parallel finite element computer applications as interpreters. For the last 15 years, Tcl has been the primary scripting language to which the model building and analysis modules of OpenSees are linked. To provide users with different scripting language options, particularly Python, the OpenSees interpreter interface was refactored to provide multi-interpreter capabilities. This refactoring, resulting in the creation of OpenSeesPy as a Python module, is accomplished through an abstract interface for interpreter calls with concrete implementations for different scripting languages. Through this approach, users are able to develop applications that utilize the unique features of several scripting languages while taking advantage of advanced finite element analysis models and algorithms.

78 FR 13715 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Options Clearing Corporation; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-28

... Change To Provide Clarifying Language To Conform Interpretive Guidance Concerning Options Overlying Fund... providing clarifying language to conform interpretive guidance concerning options on fund shares with...

Access to healthcare interpreter services: where are we and where do we need to go?

PubMed

Bischoff, Alexander; Hudelson, Patricia

2010-07-01

Due to international migration, health care professionals in Switzerland increasingly encounter language barriers in communication with their patients. In order to examine health professionals' attitudes and practices related to healthcare interpreting, we sent a self-administered questionnaire to heads of medical and nursing departments in public healthcare services in the canton of Basel-Stadt (N = 205, response rate 56%). Strategies used to communicate with foreign-language speaking patients differed, depending on the patient's language. While nearly half of respondents relied on patients' relatives to translate for Albanian, Tamil, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Portuguese and Turkish, a third did so for Spanish, and a fourth did so for Arabic. Eleven percent relied on professional interpreters for Spanish and 31% did so for Tamil and Arabic. Variations in strategies used appear to mainly reflect the availability of bilingual staff members for the different languages. Future efforts should focus on sensitizing health professionals to the problems associated with use of ad hoc interpreters, as well as facilitating access to professional interpreters.

Inhibition Efficiency in Highly Proficient Bilinguals and Simultaneous Interpreters: Evidence from Language Switching and Stroop Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aparicio, Xavier; Heidlmayr, Karin; Isel, Frédéric

2017-01-01

The present behavioral study aimed to examine the impact of language control expertise on two domain-general control processes, i.e. active inhibition of competing representations and overcoming of inhibition. We compared how Simultaneous Interpreters (SI) and Highly Proficient Bilinguals--two groups assumed to differ in language control…

Transfer Effects in the Interpretation of Definite Articles by Spanish Heritage Speakers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montrul, Silvina; Ionin, Tania

2010-01-01

This study investigates the role of transfer from the stronger language by focusing on the interpretation of definite articles in Spanish and English by Spanish heritage speakers (i.e., minority language-speaking bilinguals) residing in the U.S., where English is the majority language. Spanish plural NPs with definite articles can express generic…

Increased prevalence of sex chromosome aneuploidies in specific language impairment and dyslexia

PubMed Central

Simpson, Nuala H; Addis, Laura; Brandler, William M; Slonims, Vicky; Clark, Ann; Watson, Jocelynne; Scerri, Thomas S; Hennessy, Elizabeth R; Bolton, Patrick F; Conti-Ramsden, Gina; Fairfax, Benjamin P; Knight, Julian C; Stein, John; Talcott, Joel B; O'Hare, Anne; Baird, Gillian; Paracchini, Silvia; Fisher, Simon E; Newbury, Dianne F; Consortium, SLI

2014-01-01

Aim Sex chromosome aneuploidies increase the risk of spoken or written language disorders but individuals with specific language impairment (SLI) or dyslexia do not routinely undergo cytogenetic analysis. We assess the frequency of sex chromosome aneuploidies in individuals with language impairment or dyslexia. Method Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping was performed in three sample sets: a clinical cohort of individuals with speech and language deficits (87 probands: 61 males, 26 females; age range 4 to 23 years), a replication cohort of individuals with SLI, from both clinical and epidemiological samples (209 probands: 139 males, 70 females; age range 4 to 17 years), and a set of individuals with dyslexia (314 probands: 224 males, 90 females; age range 7 to 18 years). Results In the clinical language-impaired cohort, three abnormal karyotypic results were identified in probands (proband yield 3.4%). In the SLI replication cohort, six abnormalities were identified providing a consistent proband yield (2.9%). In the sample of individuals with dyslexia, two sex chromosome aneuploidies were found giving a lower proband yield of 0.6%. In total, two XYY, four XXY (Klinefelter syndrome), three XXX, one XO (Turner syndrome), and one unresolved karyotype were identified. Interpretation The frequency of sex chromosome aneuploidies within each of the three cohorts was increased over the expected population frequency (approximately 0.25%) suggesting that genetic testing may prove worthwhile for individuals with language and literacy problems and normal non-verbal IQ. Early detection of these aneuploidies can provide information and direct the appropriate management for individuals. PMID:24117048

Signed language working memory capacity of signed language interpreters and deaf signers.

PubMed

Wang, Jihong; Napier, Jemina

2013-04-01

This study investigated the effects of hearing status and age of signed language acquisition on signed language working memory capacity. Professional Auslan (Australian sign language)/English interpreters (hearing native signers and hearing nonnative signers) and deaf Auslan signers (deaf native signers and deaf nonnative signers) completed an Auslan working memory (WM) span task. The results revealed that the hearing signers (i.e., the professional interpreters) significantly outperformed the deaf signers on the Auslan WM span task. However, the results showed no significant differences between the native signers and the nonnative signers in their Auslan working memory capacity. Furthermore, there was no significant interaction between hearing status and age of signed language acquisition. Additionally, the study found no significant differences between the deaf native signers (adults) and the deaf nonnative signers (adults) in their Auslan working memory capacity. The findings are discussed in relation to the participants' memory strategies and their early language experience. The findings present challenges for WM theories.

Lexicogrammar in the International Construction Industry: A Corpus-Based Case Study of Japanese-Hong-Kongese On-Site Interactions in English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Handford, Michael; Matous, Petr

2011-01-01

The purpose of this research is to identify and interpret statistically significant lexicogrammatical items that are used in on-site spoken communication in the international construction industry, initially through comparisons with reference corpora of everyday spoken and business language. Several data sources, including audio and video…

What EFL Student Teachers Think about Their Professional Preparation: Evaluation of an English Language Teacher Education Programme in Spain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez Agudo, Juan de Dios

2017-01-01

Given the importance of programme evaluation in the EFL teacher education, this research paper of exploratory-interpretive nature mainly focuses on both strengths and weaknesses identified through the analysis and/or critical evaluation of an EFL teacher education programme carried out in Spain. Both quantitative and qualitative research…

Atypical language laterality is associated with large-scale disruption of network integration in children with intractable focal epilepsy.

PubMed

Ibrahim, George M; Morgan, Benjamin R; Doesburg, Sam M; Taylor, Margot J; Pang, Elizabeth W; Donner, Elizabeth; Go, Cristina Y; Rutka, James T; Snead, O Carter

2015-04-01

Epilepsy is associated with disruption of integration in distributed networks, together with altered localization for functions such as expressive language. The relation between atypical network connectivity and altered localization is unknown. In the current study we tested whether atypical expressive language laterality was associated with the alteration of large-scale network integration in children with medically-intractable localization-related epilepsy (LRE). Twenty-three right-handed children (age range 8-17) with medically-intractable LRE performed a verb generation task in fMRI. Language network activation was identified and the Laterality index (LI) was calculated within the pars triangularis and pars opercularis. Resting-state data from the same cohort were subjected to independent component analysis. Dual regression was used to identify associations between resting-state integration and LI values. Higher positive values of the LI, indicating typical language localization were associated with stronger functional integration of various networks including the default mode network (DMN). The normally symmetric resting-state networks showed a pattern of lateralized connectivity mirroring that of language function. The association between atypical language localization and network integration implies a widespread disruption of neural network development. These findings may inform the interpretation of localization studies by providing novel insights into reorganization of neural networks in epilepsy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluating Interpreter's Skill by Measurement of Prosody Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Saori; Nakazono, Kaoru; Nishida, Masafumi; Horiuchi, Yasuo; Ichikawa, Akira

Sign language is a visual language in which main articulators are hands, torso, head, and face. For simultaneous interpreters of Japanese sign language (JSL) and spoken Japanese, it is very important to recognize not only the hands movement but also prosody such like head, eye, posture and facial expression. This is because prosody has grammatical rules for representing the case and modification relations in JSL. The goal of this study is to introduce an examination called MPR (Measurement of Prosody Recognition) and to demonstrate that it can be an indicator for the other general skills of interpreters. For this purpose, we conducted two experiments: the first studies the relationship between the interpreter's experience and the performance score on MPR (Experiment-1), and the second investigates the specific skill that can be estimated by MPR (Experiment-2). The data in Experiment-1 came from four interpreters who had more than 1-year experience as interpreters, and more four interpreters who had less than 1-year experience. The mean accuracy of MPR in the more experienced group was higher than that in the less experienced group. The data in Experiment-2 came from three high MPR interpreters and three low MPR interpreters. Two hearing subjects and three deaf subjects evaluated their skill in terms of the speech or sign interpretation skill, the reliability of interpretation, the expeditiousness, and the subjective sense of accomplishment for the ordering pizza task. The two experiments indicated a possibility that MPR could be useful for estimating if the interpreter is sufficiently experienced to interpret from sign language to spoken Japanese, and if they can work on the interpretation expeditiously without making the deaf or the hearing clients anxious. Finally we end this paper with suggestions for conclusions and future work.

Storytelling with Sign Language Interpretation as a Multimodal Literacy Event: Implications for Deaf and Hearing Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poveda, David; Pulido, Laura; Morgade, Marta; Messina, Claudia; Hedlova, Zuzana

2008-01-01

This article examines storytelling events for children in a library and a children's bookstore in which storytellers are accompanied by sign language interpreters. The result is that both hearing and Deaf children participate in a literacy event in which storyteller and interpreter produce a multilingual, multimodal and multimedial narrative.…

Articulatory Suppression in Language Interpretation: Working Memory Capacity, Dual Tasking and Word Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Padilla, Francisca; Bajo, Maria Teresa; Macizo, Pedro

2005-01-01

How do interpreters manage to cope with the adverse effects of concurrent articulation while trying to comprehend the message in the source language? In Experiments 1-3, we explored three possible working memory (WM) functions that may underlie the ability to simultaneously comprehend and produce in the interpreters: WM storage capacity,…

China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters (CATTI): Test Review Based on the Language Pairing of English and Chinese

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhao, Hulin; Gu, Xiangdong

2016-01-01

Test Purpose: The CATTI aims to measure competence in translation and interpreting (including simultaneous and consecutive interpreting) between Chinese and seven foreign languages: English, Japanese, French, Arabic, Russian, German, or Spanish. The test is intended to cover a wide range of domains including business, government, academia, and…

Patient satisfaction with different interpreting methods: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Gany, Francesca; Leng, Jennifer; Shapiro, Ephraim; Abramson, David; Motola, Ivette; Shield, David C; Changrani, Jyotsna

2007-11-01

Growth of the foreign-born population in the U.S. has led to increasing numbers of limited-English-proficient (LEP) patients. Innovative medical interpreting strategies, including remote simultaneous medical interpreting (RSMI), have arisen to address the language barrier. This study evaluates the impact of interpreting method on patient satisfaction. 1,276 English-, Spanish-, Mandarin-, and Cantonese-speaking patients attending the primary care clinic and emergency department of a large New York City municipal hospital were screened for enrollment in a randomized controlled trial. Language-discordant patients were randomized to RSMI or usual and customary (U&C) interpreting. Patients with language-concordant providers received usual care. Demographic and patient satisfaction questionnaires were administered to all participants. 541 patients were language-concordant with their providers and not randomized; 371 were randomized to RSMI, 167 of whom were exposed to RSMI; and 364 were randomized to U&C, 198 of whom were exposed to U&C. Patients randomized to RSMI were more likely than those with U&C to think doctors treated them with respect (RSMI 71%, U&C 64%, p < 0.05), but they did not differ in other measures of physician communication/care. In a linear regression analysis, exposure to RSMI was significantly associated with an increase in overall satisfaction with physician communication/care (beta 0.10, 95% CI 0.02-0.18, scale 0-1.0). Patients randomized to RSMI were more likely to think the interpreting method protected their privacy (RSMI 51%, U&C 38%, p < 0.05). Patients randomized to either arm of interpretation reported less comprehension and satisfaction than patients in language-concordant encounters. While not a substitute for language-concordant providers, RSMI can improve patient satisfaction and privacy among LEP patients. Implementing RSMI should be considered an important component of a multipronged approach to addressing language barriers in health care.

Patient Satisfaction with Different Interpreting Methods: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Leng, Jennifer; Shapiro, Ephraim; Abramson, David; Motola, Ivette; Shield, David C.; Changrani, Jyotsna

2007-01-01

Background Growth of the foreign-born population in the U.S. has led to increasing numbers of limited-English-proficient (LEP) patients. Innovative medical interpreting strategies, including remote simultaneous medical interpreting (RSMI), have arisen to address the language barrier. This study evaluates the impact of interpreting method on patient satisfaction. Methods 1,276 English-, Spanish-, Mandarin-, and Cantonese-speaking patients attending the primary care clinic and emergency department of a large New York City municipal hospital were screened for enrollment in a randomized controlled trial. Language-discordant patients were randomized to RSMI or usual and customary (U&C) interpreting. Patients with language-concordant providers received usual care. Demographic and patient satisfaction questionnaires were administered to all participants. Results 541 patients were language-concordant with their providers and not randomized; 371 were randomized to RSMI, 167 of whom were exposed to RSMI; and 364 were randomized to U&C, 198 of whom were exposed to U&C. Patients randomized to RSMI were more likely than those with U&C to think doctors treated them with respect (RSMI 71%, U&C 64%, p < 0.05), but they did not differ in other measures of physician communication/care. In a linear regression analysis, exposure to RSMI was significantly associated with an increase in overall satisfaction with physician communication/care (β 0.10, 95% CI 0.02–0.18, scale 0–1.0). Patients randomized to RSMI were more likely to think the interpreting method protected their privacy (RSMI 51%, U&C 38%, p < 0.05). Patients randomized to either arm of interpretation reported less comprehension and satisfaction than patients in language-concordant encounters. Conclusions While not a substitute for language-concordant providers, RSMI can improve patient satisfaction and privacy among LEP patients. Implementing RSMI should be considered an important component of a multipronged approach to addressing language barriers in health care. PMID:17957417

Family therapy with deaf persons: the systemic utilization of an interpreter.

PubMed

Harvey, M A

1984-06-01

This paper discusses the theory and practice of providing family therapy to families in which there are hearing parents and at least one Deaf child, particularly regarding the optimal utilization of an interpreter. The therapist must be knowledgeable about the psychosocial effects of deafness, the cultural aspects of deafness, and preferably be able to use American Sign Language and Signed English. The therapeutic benefit of utilizing an interpreter extends far beyond simply facilitating communication between each family member whose primary-language is either spoken English or Sign Language. The presence of an interpreter helps the therapist to modify family rules that deny the implications of deafness and prohibit the use of Sign Language, to modify the balance of power in the family, and to encourage participants to exhibit the ego defense mechanisms of projection and transference. The family therapist can utilize those subtle yet profound influences to therapeutic advantage.

The Methodology of Foreign Language Integrative Teaching at the Initial Stage of Interpreter Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vedishenkova, Marina V.; Mironina, Anna Y.

2016-01-01

The topicality of the research is connected with the modern requirements to the education of future interpreters who are to speak a foreign language within the professional context. For this purpose, it is necessary to focus their language training at the initial stage of learning on forming their professional thinking. This raises the need for…

"Good Teaching for All Students?": Sheltered Instruction Programming in Washington State Language Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephens, Crissa; Johnson, David Cassels

2015-01-01

Many in the field of language policy have called for studies that connect policy texts at the macro level with their interpretations in districts, schools, and classrooms at the micro level. The purpose of this study is to trace Washington's educational language policy through the layers of interpretation to educational practice to see how the…

Access to New Zealand Sign Language interpreters and quality of life for the deaf: a pilot study.

PubMed

Henning, Marcus A; Krägeloh, Christian U; Sameshima, Shizue; Shepherd, Daniel; Shepherd, Gregory; Billington, Rex

2011-01-01

This paper aims to: (1) explore usage and accessibility of sign language interpreters, (2) appraise the levels of quality of life (QOL) of deaf adults residing in New Zealand, and (3) consider the impact of access to and usage of sign language interpreters on QOL. Sixty-eight deaf adults living in New Zealand participated in this study. Two questionnaires were employed: a 12-item instrument about access and use of New Zealand sign language interpreters and the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF). The results showed that 39% of this sample felt that they were unable to adequately access interpreting services. Moreover, this group scored significantly lower than a comparable hearing sample on all four WHOQOL-BREF domains. Finally, the findings revealed that access to good quality interpreters were associated with access to health services, transport issues, engagement in leisure activities, gaining more information, mobility and living in a healthy environment. These findings have consequences for policy makers and agencies interested in ensuring that there is an equitable distribution of essential services for all groups within New Zealand which inevitably has an impact on the health of the individual.

A critical exploration of how English language learners experience nursing education.

PubMed

Mulready-Shick, N

2013-01-01

With nursing education reform calling for greater numbers of graduates from diverse backgrounds, this study explored the experiences of students who identified as English language learners (ELs). Educators may view students from underrepresented groups at the margins of nursing education. Minimal research on the experiences of students identifying as ELs exists. Interpretive phenomenological and critical methodologies were used to explore students' lived experiences in the nursing classroom. Academic progress involved additional time and effort dedicated to learning English and the languages of health care and nursing. Traditional and monocultural pedagogical practices, representing acts of power and dominance, thwarted learning. Yet students made progress despite less effective pedagogical practices and socioeconomic realities. This inquiry began with one notion of identity, "English-learners," but evolved to students' perceptions of "being-in-the-world," wholeness, and future endeavors. This study counters the dominant view that students without a greater command of English are not ready for the rigors of nursing education.

Language of Uncertainty: the Expression of Decisional Conflict Related to Skin Cancer Prevention Recommendations.

PubMed

Strekalova, Yulia A; James, Vaughan S

2017-09-01

User-generated information on the Internet provides opportunities for the monitoring of health information consumer attitudes. For example, information about cancer prevention may cause decisional conflict. Yet posts and conversations shared by health information consumers online are often not readily actionable for interpretation and decision-making due to their unstandardized format. This study extends prior research on the use of natural language as a predictor of consumer attitudes and provides a link to decision-making by evaluating the predictive role of uncertainty indicators expressed in natural language. Analyzed data included free-text comments and structured scale responses related to information about skin cancer prevention options. The study identified natural language indicators of uncertainty and showed that it can serve as a predictor of decisional conflict. The natural indicators of uncertainty reported here can facilitate the monitoring of health consumer perceptions about cancer prevention recommendations and inform education and communication campaign planning and evaluation.

Computer enhancement through interpretive techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foster, G.; Spaanenburg, H. A. E.; Stumpf, W. E.

1972-01-01

The improvement in the usage of the digital computer through the use of the technique of interpretation rather than the compilation of higher ordered languages was investigated by studying the efficiency of coding and execution of programs written in FORTRAN, ALGOL, PL/I and COBOL. FORTRAN was selected as the high level language for examining programs which were compiled, and A Programming Language (APL) was chosen for the interpretive language. It is concluded that APL is competitive, not because it and the algorithms being executed are well written, but rather because the batch processing is less efficient than has been admitted. There is not a broad base of experience founded on trying different implementation strategies which have been targeted at open competition with traditional processing methods.

A Grammatico-Semantic Exploration of the Problems of Sentence Formation and Interpretation in the Classroom, Volume 1. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bateman, Donald R.; Zidonis, Frank J.

In the introduction to this volume of a two volume document (See also TE 002 131.) written for curriculum developers, Donald Bateman identifies the recent periods in the development of linguistic thought and methodology, and presents language curriculum development as the continuing exploration of the processes of evolving linguistic structures.…

Validity of the KABC-II Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix: A Comparison of Native English Speakers and Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Deth, Leah M.

2013-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the validity of the Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM; Flanagan, Ortiz, & Alfonso, 2013) when applied to scores from the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd Edition (KABC-II; Kaufman & Kaufman, 2004). Data were analyzed from the KABC-II standardization sample as well as…

Interpreter services, language concordance, and health care quality. Experiences of Asian Americans with limited English proficiency.

PubMed

Green, Alexander R; Ngo-Metzger, Quyen; Legedza, Anna T R; Massagli, Michael P; Phillips, Russell S; Iezzoni, Lisa I

2005-11-01

Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) have more difficulty communicating with health care providers and are less satisfied with their care than others. Both interpreter- and language-concordant clinicians may help overcome these problems but few studies have compared these approaches. To compare self-reported communication and visit ratings for LEP Asian immigrants whose visits involve either a clinic interpreter or a clinician speaking their native language. Cross-sectional survey-response rate 74%. Two thousand seven hundred and fifteen LEP Chinese and Vietnamese immigrant adults who received care at 11 community-based health centers across the U.S. Five self-reported communication measures and overall rating of care. Patients who used interpreters were more likely than language-concordant patients to report having questions about their care (30.1% vs 20.9%, P<.001) or about mental health (25.3% vs 18.2%, P=.005) they wanted to ask but did not. They did not differ significantly in their response to 3 other communication measures or their likelihood of rating the health care received as "excellent" or "very good" (51.7% vs 50.9%, P=.8). Patients who rated their interpreters highly ("excellent" or "very good") were more likely to rate the health care they received highly (adjusted odds ratio 4.8, 95% confidence interval, 2.3 to 10.1). Assessments of communication and health care quality for outpatient visits are similar for LEP Asian immigrants who use interpreters and those whose clinicians speak their language. However, interpreter use may compromise certain aspects of communication. The perceived quality of the interpreter is strongly associated with patients' assessments of quality of care overall.

What Is a Programming Language?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wold, Allen

1983-01-01

Explains what a computer programing language is in general, the differences between machine language, assembler languages, and high-level languages, and the functions of compilers and interpreters. High-level languages mentioned in the article are: BASIC, FORTRAN, COBOL, PILOT, LOGO, LISP, and SMALLTALK. (EAO)

Access to Healthcare Interpreter Services: Where Are We and Where Do We Need to Go?

PubMed Central

Bischoff, Alexander; Hudelson, Patricia

2010-01-01

Due to international migration, health care professionals in Switzerland increasingly encounter language barriers in communication with their patients. In order to examine health professionals’ attitudes and practices related to healthcare interpreting, we sent a self-administered questionnaire to heads of medical and nursing departments in public healthcare services in the canton of Basel-Stadt (N = 205, response rate 56%). Strategies used to communicate with foreign-language speaking patients differed, depending on the patient’s language. While nearly half of respondents relied on patients’ relatives to translate for Albanian, Tamil, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Portuguese and Turkish, a third did so for Spanish, and a fourth did so for Arabic. Eleven percent relied on professional interpreters for Spanish and 31% did so for Tamil and Arabic. Variations in strategies used appear to mainly reflect the availability of bilingual staff members for the different languages. Future efforts should focus on sensitizing health professionals to the problems associated with use of ad hoc interpreters, as well as facilitating access to professional interpreters. PMID:20717543

Rewriting Logic Semantics of a Plan Execution Language

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dowek, Gilles; Munoz, Cesar A.; Rocha, Camilo

2009-01-01

The Plan Execution Interchange Language (PLEXIL) is a synchronous language developed by NASA to support autonomous spacecraft operations. In this paper, we propose a rewriting logic semantics of PLEXIL in Maude, a high-performance logical engine. The rewriting logic semantics is by itself a formal interpreter of the language and can be used as a semantic benchmark for the implementation of PLEXIL executives. The implementation in Maude has the additional benefit of making available to PLEXIL designers and developers all the formal analysis and verification tools provided by Maude. The formalization of the PLEXIL semantics in rewriting logic poses an interesting challenge due to the synchronous nature of the language and the prioritized rules defining its semantics. To overcome this difficulty, we propose a general procedure for simulating synchronous set relations in rewriting logic that is sound and, for deterministic relations, complete. We also report on the finding of two issues at the design level of the original PLEXIL semantics that were identified with the help of the executable specification in Maude.

Black Interpretation, Black American Literature, and Grey Audiences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington, Earl M.

1981-01-01

Defines and illustrates language techniques used by Black authors writing to and for Blacks in the 1960s and 1970s. Suggests how language and theme barriers of such literature might be overcome in a contemporary integrated oral interpretation classroom. (PD)

Sign language comprehension: the case of Spanish sign language.

PubMed

Rodríguez Ortiz, I R

2008-01-01

This study aims to answer the question, how much of Spanish Sign Language interpreting deaf individuals really understand. Study sampling included 36 deaf people (deafness ranging from severe to profound; variety depending on the age at which they learned sign language) and 36 hearing people who had good knowledge of sign language (most were interpreters). Sign language comprehension was assessed using passages of secondary level. After being exposed to the passages, the participants had to tell what they had understood about them, answer a set of related questions, and offer a title for the passage. Sign language comprehension by deaf participants was quite acceptable but not as good as that by hearing signers who, unlike deaf participants, were not only late learners of sign language as a second language but had also learned it through formal training.

[The interpreter in an intercultural clinical milieu].

PubMed

Vissandjée, B; Ntetu, A L; Courville, F; Breton, E R; Bourdeau, M

1998-05-01

The public's diversified language profile means that nursing practice must adjust to provide the same quality of care to all clients, no matter what language they speak. To improve quality and quantity of information exchanged in the nurse-client-interpreter triangle, the authors have investigated the type of information likely to be filtered and studied the various factors underlying the interpreter's choice to filter information. The authors also analyzed the values interpreters assign to information and the factors that form the background for filtering, including mistrust. The authors suggest adequately preparing interpreters; using interpreters' expertise; and developing an appropriate training program for intercultural interpreters to enable them to better function within health care institutions.

Endogenous sources of variation in language acquisition.

PubMed

Han, Chung-Hye; Musolino, Julien; Lidz, Jeffrey

2016-01-26

A fundamental question in the study of human language acquisition centers around apportioning explanatory force between the experience of the learner and the core knowledge that allows learners to represent that experience. We provide a previously unidentified kind of data identifying children's contribution to language acquisition. We identify one aspect of grammar that varies unpredictably across a population of speakers of what is ostensibly a single language. We further demonstrate that the grammatical knowledge of parents and their children is independent. The combination of unpredictable variation and parent-child independence suggests that the relevant structural feature is supplied by each learner independent of experience with the language. This structural feature is abstract because it controls variation in more than one construction. The particular case we examine is the position of the verb in the clause structure of Korean. Because Korean is a head-final language, evidence for the syntactic position of the verb is both rare and indirect. We show that (i) Korean speakers exhibit substantial variability regarding this aspect of the grammar, (ii) this variability is attested between speakers but not within a speaker, (iii) this variability controls interpretation in two surface constructions, and (iv) it is independent in parents and children. According to our findings, when the exposure language is compatible with multiple grammars, learners acquire a single systematic grammar. Our observation that children and their parents vary independently suggests that the choice of grammar is driven in part by a process operating internal to individual learners.

Morphological learning in a novel language: A cross-language comparison.

PubMed

Havas, Viktória; Waris, Otto; Vaquero, Lucía; Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni; Laine, Matti

2015-01-01

Being able to extract and interpret the internal structure of complex word forms such as the English word dance+r+s is crucial for successful language learning. We examined whether the ability to extract morphological information during word learning is affected by the morphological features of one's native tongue. Spanish and Finnish adult participants performed a word-picture associative learning task in an artificial language where the target words included a suffix marking the gender of the corresponding animate object. The short exposure phase was followed by a word recognition task and a generalization task for the suffix. The participants' native tongues vary greatly in terms of morphological structure, leading to two opposing hypotheses. On the one hand, Spanish speakers may be more effective in identifying gender in a novel language because this feature is present in Spanish but not in Finnish. On the other hand, Finnish speakers may have an advantage as the abundance of bound morphemes in their language calls for continuous morphological decomposition. The results support the latter alternative, suggesting that lifelong experience on morphological decomposition provides an advantage in novel morphological learning.

Better dual-task processing in simultaneous interpreters

PubMed Central

Strobach, Tilo; Becker, Maxi; Schubert, Torsten; Kühn, Simone

2015-01-01

Simultaneous interpreting (SI) is a highly complex activity and requires the performance and coordination of multiple, simultaneous tasks: analysis and understanding of the discourse in a first language, reformulating linguistic material, storing of intermediate processing steps, and language production in a second language among others. It is, however, an open issue whether persons with experience in SI possess superior skills in coordination of multiple tasks and whether they are able to transfer these skills to lab-based dual-task situations. Within the present study, we set out to explore whether interpreting experience is associated with related higher-order executive functioning in the context of dual-task situations of the Psychological Refractory Period (PRP) type. In this PRP situation, we found faster reactions times in participants with experience in simultaneous interpretation in contrast to control participants without such experience. Thus, simultaneous interpreters possess superior skills in coordination of multiple tasks in lab-based dual-task situations. PMID:26528232

Listening to middle-school Spanish-speaking English language learners: A qualitative study of their perspectives of science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez-Ferrao, Julio E.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding and explanation of the science achievement gap between Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) and their mainstream peers. The sample of purposefully selected participants (N = 23) included students representing eight Spanish-speaking countries who attended three middle schools (grades 6th-8th), 11 boys and 12 girls, with different years of schooling in the United States, English proficiency levels, and science achievement levels. Data gathering strategies included individual interviews with participants, classroom observations, and analysis of secondary data sources on students' English language proficiency and science achievement. Data interpretation strategies using a critical-interpretive perspective consisted of coding and narrative analysis, including analyses of excerpts and case studies. Two major findings emerge from the study: (1) An inverse relation between participants' number of years of exposure to science learning in an English-only learning environment and their science achievement levels; and (2) specific participant-identified problems, such as learning the science vocabulary, writing in science, the use of mathematics in science, and the lack of sense making in the science classroom. Key recommendations comprise: (1) Acknowledging the value of dual language education; (2) supporting the science-literacy connection; (3) ensuring high-quality science through research-informed instructional strategies; and (4) assessing ELLs' science achievement.

[Feasibility and relevance of an operating room safety checklist for developing countries: Study in a French hospital in Djibouti].

PubMed

Becret, A; Clapson, P; Andro, C; Chapelier, X; Gauthier, J; Kaiser, E

2013-01-01

The use of the World Health Organization surgical safety checklist, mandatory in operating rooms (OR) in France, significantly reduces morbidity and mortality. Our objective was to evaluate the use of this checklist in the OR of a French military hospital in Djibouti (Horn of Africa). The study was performed in three stages: a retrospective evaluation of the checklist use over the previous two months, to assess the utilization and completeness rates; provision of information to the OR staff; and thereafter, prospective evaluation for a one-month period of checklist use, the reasons for non-compliance, and the cases in which the checklist identified errors and thus prevented serious adverse events. The initial utilization rate was 49%, with only 24% complete. After staff training and during the study these rates reached 100% and 99%. The staff encountered language difficulties in 53% of cases, and an interpreter was available for 81% of them. The capacity of the surgical safety checklist to detect serious adverse events was highlighted. The utilization and completeness rates were initially worse than those observed in metropolitan French ORs, but a simple staff information program was rapidly effective. Language difficulties are frequent but an interpreter is often available, unlike in developed countries where language problems are uncommon and the availability of interpreters difficult. Moreover, this study illustrates the ability of the checklist to detect and therefore prevent potentially serious adverse events.

Interpreter use in an inner city accident and emergency department.

PubMed Central

Leman, P

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent of communication problems that arose from patients whose primary language was non-English presenting to an inner city accident and emergency (A&E) department. METHODS: A prospective survey over seven consecutive days during September 1995. All adult patients other than those directly referred by their general practitioner to an inpatient team had a questionnaire completed by the A&E doctor first seeing the patient. The doctor recorded language ability and form of interpreter used, and estimated any prolongation of the consultation and ability to improve communication by the use of additional services. RESULTS: 103 patients (17%) did not speak English as their primary language; 55 patients (9.1% of the study population) had an English language ability rated as other than good, and 16 (29%) of these consultations could have been improved by the use of additional interpreter services; 28 patients overall (4.6% of the study population) required the use of an interpreter, who was usually a relative. CONCLUSIONS: A significant number of patients presenting to A&E have difficulty in communicating in English. These consultations could often have been improved by the use of additional interpreter services. Telephone interpreter services may provide the answer for use in A&E departments because of their instant and 24 hour availability. Images p99-a PMID:9132201

Does cultural and linguistic diversity affect health-related outcomes for people with stroke at discharge from hospital?

PubMed

Davies, Sarah E; Dodd, Karen J; Hill, Keith D

2017-04-01

Primary purpose to determine if cultural and linguistic diversity affects health-related outcomes in people with stroke at discharge from hospital and secondary purpose to explore whether interpreter use alters these outcomes. Systematic search of: Cochrane, PEDro, CINAHL, Medline, Pubmed, Embase, PsycINFO and Ageline databases. Publications were classified into whether they examined the impact of diversity in culture, or language or culture and language combined. Quality of evidence available was summarized using Best Evidence Synthesis. Eleven studies met inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Best Evidence Synthesis indicated conflicting evidence about the impact of culture alone and language barriers alone on health-related outcomes. There was strong evidence that hospital length of stay does not differ between groups when the combined impact of culture and language was investigated. Conflicting evidence was found for other outcomes including admission, discharge and change in FIM scores, and post-hospital discharge living arrangements. It is unknown if interpreter use alters health-related outcomes, because this was infrequently reported. The current limited research suggests that cultural and linguistic diversity does not appear to impact on health-related outcomes at discharge from hospital for people who have had a stroke, however further research is needed to address identified gaps. Implications for Rehabilitation The different language, culture and beliefs about health demonstrated by patients with stroke from minority groups in North America do not appear to significantly impact on their health-related outcomes during their admission to hospital. It is not known whether interpreter use influences outcomes in stroke rehabilitation because there is insufficient high quality research in this area. Clinicians in countries with different health systems and different cultural and linguistic groups within their communities need to view the results with caution as further investigation is required outside North America to ensure optimal and equitable care for these groups. In the absence of clear outcomes from high quality research, clinicians should ensure patients and their families have an optimal understanding of the health condition, the rehabilitation process and the service system, irrespective of language or cultural differences.

What about Sam--The Kid in the Corner Whose Voice Doesn't Come Out?--Tensions between Open Discussions and Inclusive Educational Opportunities for English Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gourd, Karen Miller

2016-01-01

This article identifies a tension between a teacher's intention and an English learner's interpretation of his experiences in a US high school English class for native users of English and English learners. The tension highlights two issues. First, democratic classroom practices, frequently advocated by second language acquisition theorists, may…

Help seeking in older Asian people with dementia in Melbourne: using the Cultural Exchange Model to explore barriers and enablers.

PubMed

Haralambous, Betty; Dow, Briony; Tinney, Jean; Lin, Xiaoping; Blackberry, Irene; Rayner, Victoria; Lee, Sook-Meng; Vrantsidis, Freda; Lautenschlager, Nicola; Logiudice, Dina

2014-03-01

The prevalence of dementia is increasing in Australia. Limited research is available on access to Cognitive Dementia and Memory Services (CDAMS) for people with dementia from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities. This study aimed to determine the barriers and enablers to accessing CDAMS for people with dementia and their families of Chinese and Vietnamese backgrounds. Consultations with community members, community workers and health professionals were conducted using the "Cultural Exchange Model" framework. For carers, barriers to accessing services included the complexity of the health system, lack of time, travel required to get to services, language barriers, interpreters and lack of knowledge of services. Similarly, community workers and health professionals identified language, interpreters, and community perceptions as key barriers to service access. Strategies to increase knowledge included providing information via radio, printed material and education in community group settings. The "Cultural Exchange Model" enabled engagement with and modification of the approaches to meet the needs of the targeted CALD communities.

Ground Operations Aerospace Language (GOAL). Volume 4: Interpretive code translator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

This specification identifies and describes the principal functions and elements of the Interpretive Code Translator which has been developed for use with the GOAL Compiler. This translator enables the user to convert a compliled GOAL program to a highly general binary format which is designed to enable interpretive execution. The translator program provides user controls which are designed to enable the selection of various output types and formats. These controls provide a means for accommodating many of the implementation options which are discussed in the Interpretive Code Guideline document. The technical design approach is given. The relationship between the translator and the GOAL compiler is explained and the principal functions performed by the Translator are described. Specific constraints regarding the use of the Translator are discussed. The control options are described. These options enable the user to select outputs to be generated by the translator and to control vrious aspects of the translation processing.

Nonliteral language in Alzheimer dementia: a review.

PubMed

Rapp, Alexander M; Wild, Barbara

2011-03-01

The use of nonliteral language in clinical assessment, especially testing the patients' ability to interpret proverbs, has a long tradition in psychiatry. However, its diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in dementias is not yet clear. The aim of this review article is to examine the current evidence on nonliteral/figurative language (proverb, metaphor, metonymy, idiom, irony, sarcasm) comprehension in Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. A comprehensive literature search identified 25 studies (16 proverb, 3 metaphor, 0 metonymy, 5 idiom, 3 sarcasm) on nonliteral language comprehension in dementia. Studies predominantly indicate a deficit. Most studies investigated Alzheimer's dementia. Applied correctly, nonliteral language is a worthwhile diagnostic tool to evaluate language and abstract thinking in dementias. During assessment, familiarity testing (e.g., by asking "are you familiar with the proverb XY") is obligatory. Still, future research is needed in several areas: evidence on decline of nonliteral language over the course of the illness is limited. So far, almost no studies delineated proverb comprehension in high risk populations such as patients with mild cognitive impairment. Currently, there is a lack of studies addressing performance in direct comparison to relevant differential diagnosis like older-age depression, delirium, brain lesion, or other psychiatric conditions.

Extending Situated Language Comprehension (Accounts) with Speaker and Comprehender Characteristics: Toward Socially Situated Interpretation

PubMed Central

Münster, Katja; Knoeferle, Pia

2018-01-01

More and more findings suggest a tight temporal coupling between (non-linguistic) socially interpreted context and language processing. Still, real-time language processing accounts remain largely elusive with respect to the influence of biological (e.g., age) and experiential (e.g., world and moral knowledge) comprehender characteristics and the influence of the ‘socially interpreted’ context, as for instance provided by the speaker. This context could include actions, facial expressions, a speaker’s voice or gaze, and gestures among others. We review findings from social psychology, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics to highlight the relevance of (the interplay between) the socially interpreted context and comprehender characteristics for language processing. The review informs the extension of an extant real-time processing account (already featuring a coordinated interplay between language comprehension and the non-linguistic visual context) with a variable (‘ProCom’) that captures characteristics of the language user and with a first approximation of the comprehender’s speaker representation. Extending the CIA to the sCIA (social Coordinated Interplay Account) is the first step toward a real-time language comprehension account which might eventually accommodate the socially situated communicative interplay between comprehenders and speakers. PMID:29416517

A Meta-Analysis of Reliability Coefficients in Second Language Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plonsky, Luke; Derrick, Deirdre J.

2016-01-01

Ensuring internal validity in quantitative research requires, among other conditions, reliable instrumentation. Unfortunately, however, second language (L2) researchers often fail to report and even more often fail to interpret reliability estimates beyond generic benchmarks for acceptability. As a means to guide interpretations of such estimates,…

Language Learning Strategies and English Proficiency: Interpretations from Information-Processing Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rao, Zhenhui

2016-01-01

The research reported here investigated the relationship between students' use of language learning strategies and their English proficiency, and then interpreted the data from two models in information-processing theory. Results showed that the students' English proficiency significantly affected their use of learning strategies, with high-level…

STAR (Simple Tool for Automated Reasoning): Tutorial guide and reference manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borchardt, G. C.

1985-01-01

STAR is an interactive, interpreted programming language for the development and operation of Artificial Intelligence application systems. The language is intended for use primarily in the development of software application systems which rely on a combination of symbolic processing, central to the vast majority of AI algorithms, with routines and data structures defined in compiled languages such as C, FORTRAN and PASCAL. References to routines and data structures defined in compiled languages are intermixed with symbolic structures in STAR, resulting in a hybrid operating environment in which symbolic and non-symbolic processing and organization of data may interact to a high degree within the execution of particular application systems. The STAR language was developed in the course of a project involving AI techniques in the interpretation of imaging spectrometer data and is derived in part from a previous language called CLIP. The interpreter for STAR is implemented as a program defined in the language C and has been made available for distribution in source code form through NASA's Computer Software Management and Information Center (COSMIC). Contained within this report are the STAR Tutorial Guide, which introduces the language in a step-by-step manner, and the STAR Reference Manual, which provides a detailed summary of the features of STAR.

Implementing the UCSD PASCAL system on the MODCOMP computer. [deep space network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolfe, T.

1980-01-01

The implementation of an interactive software development system (UCSD PASCAL) on the MODCOMP computer is discussed. The development of an interpreter for the MODCOMP II and the MODCOMP IV computers, written in MODCOMP II assembly language, is described. The complete Pascal programming system was run successfully on a MODCOMP II and MODCOMP IV under both the MAX II/III and MAX IV operating systems. The source code for an 8080 microcomputer version of the interpreter was used as the design for the MODCOMP interpreter. A mapping of the functions within the 8080 interpreter into MODCOMP II assembly language was the method used to code the interpreter.

Meaning and object in Freud's theory of language.

PubMed

Simanke, Richard Theisen

2017-12-01

This article sets out to challenge the interpretation of Freud's views on the origins of the meaning of language according to which meaning always originates from an act of naming. In Freud's terms, word-presentations would originally denote object- or thing-presentations and gain meaning through this reference. This interpretation claims that this view was already expressed in Freud's On Aphasia (1891) and influenced all his later theory of language. To oppose this claim, three conceptions proposed by Freud are discussed that strongly suggest the participation of language in the construction of the field of objects: a metapsychological hypothesis (the concepts of word-, thing-, and object-presentation), the explanation of a psychopathological phenomenon (the genesis of a fetishistic object-choice), and a concept concerning the foundations of the psychoanalytic method of dream interpretation (secondary elaboration). As a conclusion, it is argued that Freud's early views in On Aphasia (1891) can be alternatively understood such as to allow for a different view of language and its relationship with objects. Copyright © 2017 Institute of Psychoanalysis.

Using genre pedagogy to promote student proficiency in the language required for interpreting line graphs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smit, Jantien; Bakker, Arthur; van Eerde, Dolly; Kuijpers, Maggie

2016-09-01

The importance of language in mathematics learning has been widely acknowledged. However, little is known about how to make this insight productive in the design and enactment of language-oriented mathematics education. In a design-based research project, we explored how language-oriented mathematics education can be designed and enacted. We drew on genre pedagogy to promote student proficiency in the language required for interpreting line graphs. In the intervention, the teacher used scaffolding strategies to focus students' attention on the structure and linguistic features of the language involved in this particular domain. The research question addressed in this paper is how student proficiency in this language may be promoted. The study comprised nine lessons involving 22 students in grades 5 and 6 (aged 10-12); of these students, 19 had a migrant background. In light of the research aim, we first describe the rationale behind our design. Next, we illustrate how the design was enacted by means of a case study focusing on one student in the classroom practice of developing proficiency in the language required for interpreting line graphs. On the basis of pre- and posttest scores, we conclude that overall their proficiency has increased. Together, the results indicate that and how genre pedagogy may be used to help students become more proficient in the language required in a mathematical domain.

Do Professional Interpreters Improve Clinical Care for Patients with Limited English Proficiency? A Systematic Review of the Literature

PubMed Central

Karliner, Leah S; Jacobs, Elizabeth A; Chen, Alice Hm; Mutha, Sunita

2007-01-01

Objective To determine if professional medical interpreters have a positive impact on clinical care for limited English proficiency (LEP) patients. Data Sources A systematic literature search, limited to the English language, in PubMed and PsycINFO for publications between 1966 and September 2005, and a search of the Cochrane Library. Study Design Any peer-reviewed article which compared at least two language groups, and contained data about professional medical interpreters and addressed communication (errors and comprehension), utilization, clinical outcomes, or satisfaction were included. Of 3,698 references, 28 were found by multiple reviewers to meet inclusion criteria and, of these, 21 assessed professional interpreters separately from ad hoc interpreters. Data were abstracted from each article by two reviewers. Data were collected on the study design, size, comparison groups, analytic technique, interpreter training, and method of determining the participants' need for an interpreter. Each study was evaluated for the effect of interpreter use on four clinical topics that were most likely to either impact or reflect disparities in health and health care. Principal Findings In all four areas examined, use of professional interpreters is associated with improved clinical care more than is use of ad hoc interpreters, and professional interpreters appear to raise the quality of clinical care for LEP patients to approach or equal that for patients without language barriers. Conclusions Published studies report positive benefits of professional interpreters on communication (errors and comprehension), utilization, clinical outcomes and satisfaction with care. PMID:17362215

Foreign Language Day--A Living Language Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Paul W.

St. Bonaventure University holds a Language Day each spring, hosting some 3,900 area junior high and high school students. The buildings and facilities of the university campus are used, and activities include language competitions (exhibits, interpretative readings, language productions, audio-visual presentations and essays); a fiesta; foreign…

Does the Consecutive Interpreting Approach enhance medical English communication skills of Japanese-speaking students?

PubMed

Iizuka, Hideki; Lefor, Alan K

2018-04-19

To determine if the Consecutive Interpreting Approach enhances medical English communication skills of students in a Japanese medical university and to assess this method based on performance and student evaluations.  This is a three-phase study using a mixed-methods design, which starts with four language reproduction activities for 30 medical and 95 nursing students, followed by a quantitative analysis of perfect-match reproduction rates to assess changes over the duration of the study and qualitative error analysis of participants' language reproduction. The final stage included a scored course evaluation and free-form comments to evaluate this approach and to identify effective educational strategies to enhance medical English communication skills. Mean perfect-match reproduction rates of all participants over four reproduction activities differed statistically significantly (repeated measures ANOVA, p<0.0005). The overall perfect-match reproduction rates improved from 75.3 % to 90.1 % for nursing and 89.5 % to 91.6% for medical students. The final achievement levels of nursing and medical students were equivalent (test of equivalence, p<0.05). Details of lexical- and syntactic-level errors were identified. The course evaluation scores were 3.74 (n=30, SD = 0.59) and 3.77 (n=90, SD=0.54) for medical and nursing students respectively. Participants' medical English communication skills are enhanced using this approach. Participants expressed positive feedback regarding this instruction method. This approach may be effective to enhance the language skills of non-native English-speaking students seeking to practice medicine in English speaking countries.

Does the Consecutive Interpreting Approach enhance medical English communication skills of Japanese-speaking students?

PubMed Central

Lefor, Alan K.

2018-01-01

Objectives To determine if the Consecutive Interpreting Approach enhances medical English communication skills of students in a Japanese medical university and to assess this method based on performance and student evaluations.   Methods  This is a three-phase study using a mixed-methods design, which starts with four language reproduction activities for 30 medical and 95 nursing students, followed by a quantitative analysis of perfect-match reproduction rates to assess changes over the duration of the study and qualitative error analysis of participants' language reproduction. The final stage included a scored course evaluation and free-form comments to evaluate this approach and to identify effective educational strategies to enhance medical English communication skills. Results Mean perfect-match reproduction rates of all participants over four reproduction activities differed statistically significantly (repeated measures ANOVA, p<0.0005). The overall perfect-match reproduction rates improved from 75.3 % to 90.1 % for nursing and 89.5 % to 91.6% for medical students. The final achievement levels of nursing and medical students were equivalent (test of equivalence, p<0.05). Details of lexical- and syntactic-level errors were identified. The course evaluation scores were 3.74 (n=30, SD = 0.59) and 3.77 (n=90, SD=0.54) for medical and nursing students respectively. Conclusions Participants’ medical English communication skills are enhanced using this approach. Participants expressed positive feedback regarding this instruction method. This approach may be effective to enhance the language skills of non-native English-speaking students seeking to practice medicine in English speaking countries. PMID:29677693

The Unmet Need for Interpreting Provision in UK Primary Care

PubMed Central

Gill, Paramjit S.; Beavan, Jacqueline; Calvert, Melanie; Freemantle, Nick

2011-01-01

Background With increasing globalisation, the challenges of providing accessible and safe healthcare to all are great. Studies show that there are substantial numbers of people who are not fluent in English to a level where they can make best use of health services. We examined how health professionals manage language barriers in a consultation. Methods and Findings This was a cross-sectional study in 41 UK general practices . Health professionals completed a proforma for a randomly allocated consultation session. Seventy-seven (63%) practitioners responded, from 41(59%) practices. From 1008 consultations, 555 involved patients who did not have English as a first language; 710 took place in English; 222 were in other languages, the practitioner either communicating with the patient in their own language/using an alternative language. Seven consultations were in a mixture of English/patient's own language. Patients' first languages numbered 37 (apart from English), in contrast to health practitioners, who declared at least a basic level of proficiency in 22 languages other than English. The practitioner's reported proficiency in the language used was at a basic level in 24 consultations, whereas in 21, they reported having no proficiency at all. In 57 consultations, a relative/friend interpreted and in 6, a bilingual member of staff/community worker was used. Only in 6 cases was a professional interpreter booked. The main limitation was that only one random session was selected and assessment of patient/professional fluency in English was subjective. Conclusions It would appear that professional interpreters are under-used in relation to the need for them, with bilingual staff/family and friends being used commonly. In many cases where the patient spoke little/no English, the practitioner consulted in the patient's language but this approach was also used where reported practitioner proficiency was low. Further research in different setting is needed to substantiate these findings. PMID:21695146

A Hands-On Experience of English Language Teachers as Researchers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yayli, Demet

2012-01-01

This study presents the results of a teacher research project. The analysis aimed to explore both the four teacher researchers' interpretations of conducting research in English language teaching and the nature of their collaboration with their supervisor in the procedure. The results showed that qualitative data analysis and interpreting the…

Discriminant Validity of the WISC-IV Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Styck, Kara M.; Watkins, Marley W.

2014-01-01

The Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM) was developed to help practitioners determine the validity of test scores obtained from students who are culturally and linguistically different from the normative group of a test. The present study used an idiographic approach to investigate the diagnostic utility of the C-LIM for the Wechsler…

Limited English proficient Hmong- and Spanish-speaking patients' perceptions of the quality of interpreter services.

PubMed

Lor, Maichou; Xiong, Phia; Schwei, Rebecca J; Bowers, Barbara J; Jacobs, Elizabeth A

2016-02-01

Language barriers are a large and growing problem for patients in the US and around the world. Interpreter services are a standard solution for addressing language barriers and most research has focused on utilization of interpreter services and their effect on health outcomes for patients who do not speak the same language as their healthcare providers including nurses. However, there is limited research on patients' perceptions of these interpreter services. To examine Hmong- and Spanish-speaking patients' perceptions of interpreter service quality in the context of receiving cancer preventive services. Twenty limited English proficient Hmong (n=10) and Spanish-speaking participants (n=10) ranging in age from 33 to 75 years were interviewed by two bilingual researchers in a Midwestern state. Interviews were audio taped, transcribed verbatim, and translated into English. Analysis was done using conventional content analysis. The two groups shared perceptions about the quality of interpreter services as variable along three dimensions. Specifically, both groups evaluated quality of interpreters based on the interpreters' ability to provide: (a) literal interpretation, (b) cultural interpretation, and (c) emotional interpretation during the health care encounter. The groups differed, however, on how they described the consequences of poor interpretation quality. Hmong participants described how poor quality interpretation could lead to: (a) poor interpersonal relationships among patients, providers, and interpreters, (b) inability of patients to follow through with treatment plans, and (c) emotional distress for patients. Our study highlights the fact that patients are discerning consumers of interpreter services; and could be effective partners in efforts to reform and enhance interpreter services. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Second Language Ability and Emotional Prosody Perception

PubMed Central

Bhatara, Anjali; Laukka, Petri; Boll-Avetisyan, Natalie; Granjon, Lionel; Anger Elfenbein, Hillary; Bänziger, Tanja

2016-01-01

The present study examines the effect of language experience on vocal emotion perception in a second language. Native speakers of French with varying levels of self-reported English ability were asked to identify emotions from vocal expressions produced by American actors in a forced-choice task, and to rate their pleasantness, power, alertness and intensity on continuous scales. Stimuli included emotionally expressive English speech (emotional prosody) and non-linguistic vocalizations (affect bursts), and a baseline condition with Swiss-French pseudo-speech. Results revealed effects of English ability on the recognition of emotions in English speech but not in non-linguistic vocalizations. Specifically, higher English ability was associated with less accurate identification of positive emotions, but not with the interpretation of negative emotions. Moreover, higher English ability was associated with lower ratings of pleasantness and power, again only for emotional prosody. This suggests that second language skills may sometimes interfere with emotion recognition from speech prosody, particularly for positive emotions. PMID:27253326

Social construction of American sign language--English interpreters.

PubMed

McDermid, Campbell

2009-01-01

Instructors in 5 American Sign Language--English Interpreter Programs and 4 Deaf Studies Programs in Canada were interviewed and asked to discuss their experiences as educators. Within a qualitative research paradigm, their comments were grouped into a number of categories tied to the social construction of American Sign Language--English interpreters, such as learners' age and education and the characteristics of good citizens within the Deaf community. According to the participants, younger students were adept at language acquisition, whereas older learners more readily understood the purpose of lessons. Children of deaf adults were seen as more culturally aware. The participants' beliefs echoed the theories of P. Freire (1970/1970) that educators consider the reality of each student and their praxis and were responsible for facilitating student self-awareness. Important characteristics in the social construction of students included independence, an appropriate attitude, an understanding of Deaf culture, ethical behavior, community involvement, and a willingness to pursue lifelong learning.

The use of interpreters in medical settings and forensic medical examinations in Australia: the relationship between medicine and linguistics.

PubMed

Schreiber, Jason R; Odell, Morris S

2014-07-01

Medical examinations are dependent on combining communication with professional competence. In the development of a global multicultural community with the use of multiple languages, doctors have become increasingly dependent on language facilitation such as interpreting and translation. Despite professional studies, the use of language facilitation with its associated problems has not been fully explored in graduate and post-graduate medical and forensic medical training. There may still be some lack of reciprocal understanding between the medical and linguistic fields, their ethics, obligations and limits although both fields and their ethical frameworks are closer related than might be expected. This article is a discussion that aims at providing a basic understanding of guidelines as to the origin and appropriate use of language interpretation in medical and forensic medical examinations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

A Qualitative study of language barriers between South African health care providers and cross-border migrants.

PubMed

Hunter-Adams, Jo; Rother, Hanna-Andrea

2017-01-31

Communication with health care providers represents an essential part of access to health care for the over 230 million cross-border migrants around the world. In this article, we explore the complexity of health communication from the perspective of cross-border migrants seeking antenatal care in Cape Town, South Africa in order to highlight the importance of high quality medical interpretation. As part of a broader study of migrant maternal and infant nutrition, we conducted a secondary data analysis of semi-structured in-depth interviews (N = 23) with Congolese (n = 7), Somali (n = 8) and Zimbabwean (n = 8) women living in Cape Town, as well as nine focus group discussions (including men: n = 3 and women: n = 6) were conducted with migrant Somalis, Congolese, and Zimbabweans (N = 48). We first used content analysis to gather all data related to language and communication. We then analysed this data thematically. Zimbabwean participants described how the inability to speak the local South African language (IsiXhosa) gave rise to labelling and stereotyping by healthcare staff. Congolese and Somali participants described medical procedures, including tubal ligation, which were performed without consent. Partners often tried to play the role of interpreter, which resulted in loss of income and non-professional medical interpretation. Participants' highlighted fears over unwanted procedures or being unable to access care. Challenges of communication without a common language (and without professional medical interpretation), rather than outright denial of care by healthcare professionals, mediated these encounters. Although there are several factors impeding cross-border migrants' access to health care, effective communication is a prerequisite for quality care. Free-to-patient professional medical interpretation would not only benefit migrant populations but would benefit the broader community where language and health literacy are barriers to accessing health care. Novel approaches to language access may include technology-enabled professional interpretation.

Investigating Reciprocal Meaning-Making as an Element of Intercultural Language Learning in the Languages Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skene, Catherine

2013-01-01

The "Australian Curriculum: Languages" is based on an intercultural orientation to the teaching and learning of languages. Reciprocal meaning-making, or interpreting self in relation to others as language users, is a key element in an intercultural orientation. The concept of reciprocating is embedded in the language-specific curricula…

Limited English proficient Hmong- and Spanish-speaking patients’ perceptions of the quality of interpreter services

PubMed Central

Lor, Maichou; Xiong, Phia; Schweia, Rebecca J.; Bowers, Barbara; Jacobs, Elizabeth A.

2015-01-01

Background Language barriers are a large and growing problem for patients in the U.S. and around the world. Interpreter services are a standard solution for addressing language barriers and most research has focused on utilization of interpreter services and their effect on health outcomes for patients who do not speak the same language as their healthcare providers including nurses. However, there is limited research on patients’ perceptions of these interpreter services. Objective To examine Hmong- and Spanish-speaking patients’ perceptions of interpreter service quality in the context of receiving cancer preventive services. Methods Twenty limited English proficient Hmong (n=10) and Spanish-speaking participants (N=10) ranging in age from 33 to 75 years were interviewed by two bilingual researchers in a Midwestern state. Interviews were audio taped, transcribed verbatim, and translated into English. Analysis was done using conventional content analysis. Results The two groups shared perceptions about the quality of interpreter services as variable along three dimensions. Specifically, both groups evaluated quality of interpreters based on the interpreters’ ability to provide: (a) literal interpretation, (b) cultural interpretation, and (c) emotional interpretation during the health care encounter. The groups differed, however, on how they described the consequences of poor interpretation quality. Hmong participants described how poor quality interpretation could lead to: (a) poor interpersonal relationships among patients, providers, and interpreters, (b) inability of patients to follow through with treatment plans, and (c) emotional distress for patients. Conclusions Our study highlights the fact that patients are discerning consumers of interpreter services; and could be effective partners in efforts to reform and enhance interpreter services. PMID:25865517

Don't Underestimate the Benefits of Being Misunderstood.

PubMed

Gibson, Edward; Tan, Caitlin; Futrell, Richard; Mahowald, Kyle; Konieczny, Lars; Hemforth, Barbara; Fedorenko, Evelina

2017-06-01

Being a nonnative speaker of a language poses challenges. Individuals often feel embarrassed by the errors they make when talking in their second language. However, here we report an advantage of being a nonnative speaker: Native speakers give foreign-accented speakers the benefit of the doubt when interpreting their utterances; as a result, apparently implausible utterances are more likely to be interpreted in a plausible way when delivered in a foreign than in a native accent. Across three replicated experiments, we demonstrated that native English speakers are more likely to interpret implausible utterances, such as "the mother gave the candle the daughter," as similar plausible utterances ("the mother gave the candle to the daughter") when the speaker has a foreign accent. This result follows from the general model of language interpretation in a noisy channel, under the hypothesis that listeners assume a higher error rate in foreign-accented than in nonaccented speech.

La Interpretacion Consecutiva y la Ensenanza Avanzada de Idiomas (Delayed Interpretation and Advanced Language Teaching)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradley, D.

1977-01-01

Discusses the teaching of interpretation. The importance of delayed interpretation, as opposed to simultaneous interpretation, is stressed, because of the emphasis on semantic meaning. (Text is in Spanish.) (NCR)

The Rosetta phone: a hand-held device for automatic translation of signs in natural images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jafri, Syed Ali Raza; Mikkilineni, Aravind K.; Boutin, Mireille; Delp, Edward J.

2008-02-01

When traveling in a region where the local language is not written using the Roman alphabet, translating written text (e.g., documents, road signs, or placards) is a particularly difficult problem since the text cannot be easily entered into a translation device or searched using a dictionary. To address this problem, we are developing the "Rosetta Phone," a handheld device (e.g., PDA or mobile telephone) capable of acquiring a picture of the text, identifying the text within the image, and producing both an audible and a visual English interpretation of the text. We started with English, as a developement language, for which we achieved close to 100% accuracy in identifying and reading text. We then modified the system to be able to read and translate words written using the Arabic character set. We currently achieve approximately 95% accuracy in reading words from a small directory of town names.

Barriers beyond words: cancer, culture, and translation in a community of Russian speakers.

PubMed

Dohan, Daniel; Levintova, Marya

2007-11-01

Language and culture relate in complex ways. Addressing this complexity in the context of language translation is a challenge when caring for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). To examine processes of care related to language, culture and translation in an LEP population is the objective of this study. We used community based participatory research to examine the experiences of Russian-speaking cancer patients in San Francisco, California. A Russian Cancer Information Taskforce (RCIT), including community-based organizations, local government, and clinics, participated in all phases of the study. A purposeful sample of 74 individuals were the participants of the study. The RCIT shaped research themes and facilitated access to participants. Methods were focus groups, individual interviews, and participant observation. RCIT reviewed data and provided guidance in interpreting results. Four themes emerged. (1) Local Russian-language resources were seen as inadequate and relatively unavailable compared to other non-English languages; (2) a taboo about the word "cancer" led to language "games" surrounding disclosure; (3) this taboo, and other dynamics of care, reflected expectations that Russian speakers derived from experiences in their countries of origin; (4) using interpreters as cultural brokers or establishing support groups for Russian speakers could help address barriers. The language barriers experienced by this LEP population reflect cultural and linguistic issues. Providers should consider partnering with trained interpreters to address the intertwining of language and culture.

The Private Language Argument.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Gordon

1998-01-01

Discusses the private language argument (PLA)--the argument against the possibility of a private language. Raises questions about the PLA, suggesting there are a number of problems that PLA interpretation generates and fails to resolve. (Author/JL)

Creating a Professional Ladder for Interpreters for Improvement of Care.

PubMed

Marshall, Lori; Fischer, Anna; Noyes Soeller, Allison; Cordova, Richard; Gutierrez, Yvonne R; Alford, Luis

2016-01-01

Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), a metropolitan academic medical center, recognized limitations in how the professional interpreters from the Diversity Services Department were used to support effective patient-provider communication across the organization. Given the importance of mitigating language and communication barriers, CHLA sought to minimize clinical and structural barriers to health care for limited English proficiency populations through a comprehensive restructuring of the Diversity Services Department. This approach entailed a new delivery model for hospital language assistance and cultural consultancy resources. The intervention focused on restructuring the Diversity Services Department, redefining priorities, reallocating resources, and redefining the roles of the language staff positions in the department. The language staff role was redesigned to fit a four-level professional career ladder modeled after the professional career ladders commonly used in hospitals for the RN role and other professional disciplines. The approach involved creating new levels of language specialist, each with progressive requirements for performance, leadership, and accountability for patient care outcomes. Language staff in the inpatient, clinic, and emergency department settings worked alongside nurses, physicians, and other disciplines to care for a specific set of patients. The result of this work was a positive culture change resulting in service efficiencies, care improvements, and improved access to language services. A professional career ladder for language staff contributed to improving the quality and access of language services and advancing the interpreting profession by incorporating care coordination support, vital document translation, and cultural consultancy.

Benefits of Sign Language Interpreting and Text Alternatives for Deaf Students' Classroom Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marschark, Marc; Leigh, Greg; Sapere, Patricia; Burnham, Denis; Convertino, Carol; Stinson, Michael; Knoors, Harry; Vervloed, Mathijs P. J.; Noble, William

2006-01-01

Four experiments examined the utility of real-time text in supporting deaf students' learning from lectures in postsecondary (Experiments 1 and 2) and secondary classrooms (Experiments 3 and 4). Experiment 1 compared the effects on learning of sign language interpreting, real-time text (C-Print), and both. Real-time text alone led to significantly…

Young Children Attribute Normativity to Novel Actions without Pedagogy or Normative Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidt, Marco F. H.; Rakoczy, Hannes; Tomasello, Michael

2011-01-01

Young children interpret some acts performed by adults as normatively governed, that is, as capable of being performed either rightly or wrongly. In previous experiments, children have made this interpretation when adults introduced them to novel acts with normative language (e.g. "this is the way it goes"), along with pedagogical cues signaling…

Island Puerto Rican and Continental American Responses to Critical Incidents: An Intercultural Study of Language, Norms, and Values.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebsworth, Timothy; Ebsworth, Miriam Eisenstein

1997-01-01

Examines the processes and interpretations underlying communication in English between Island Puerto Ricans and continental Americans. The article views cross-cultural communication through a lens incorporating the way members of each group interpret their own language and behavior as well as those of the other group. (50 references) (CK)

Your Case Will Now Be Heard: Sign Language Interpreters as Problematic Accommodations in Legal Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brunson, Jeremy L.

2008-01-01

This paper uses data from open-ended, videotaped interviews with 12 deaf people to examine their experiences negotiating access during interactions with legal authorities. In every case, these deaf persons preferred an accommodation that involved the use of an American Sign Language interpreter, and in every case, these accommodations were…

Preservice Teacher and Interpreter American Sign Language Abilities: Self-Evaluations and Evaluations of Deaf Students' Narrative Renditions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beal-Alvarez, Jennifer S.; Scheetz, Nanci A.

2015-01-01

In deaf education, the sign language skills of teacher and interpreter candidates are infrequently assessed; when they are, formal measures are commonly used upon preparation program completion, as opposed to informal measures related to instructional tasks. Using an informal picture storybook task, the authors investigated the receptive and…

Listening for Competence through Documentation: Assessing Children with Language Delays Using Digital Video

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suarez, Stephanie Cox; Daniels, Karen J.

2009-01-01

This case study uses documentation as a tool for formative assessment to interpret the learning of twin boys with significantly delayed language skills. Reggio-inspired documentation (the act of collecting, interpreting, and reflecting on traces of learning from video, images, and observation notes) focused on the unfolding of the boys' nonverbal…

Language Policy and Language Ideology: Ecological Perspectives on Language and Education in the Himalayan Foothills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groff, Cynthia

2018-01-01

Ethnographic research in the Kumaun region of North India highlights different perspectives on this multilingual context and on national-level policies. Language policies that explicitly or implicitly minoritize certain linguistic varieties influence local discourses about language and education but are also interpreted through the lens of local…

Minority Language Rights.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O Riagain, Padraig; Shuibhne, Niamh Nic

1997-01-01

A survey of literature since 1990 on minority languages and language rights focuses on five issues: definition of minorities; individual vs. collective rights; legal bases for minority linguistic rights; applications and interpretations of minority language rights; and assessments of the impact of minority rights legislation. A nine-item annotated…

Medical language proficiency: A discussion of interprofessional language competencies and potential for patient risk.

PubMed

Hull, Melodie

2016-02-01

In increasingly multilingual healthcare environments worldwide, ensuring accurate, effective communication is requisite. Language proficiency is essential, particularly medical language proficiency. Medical language is a universal construct in healthcare, the shared language of health and allied health professions. It is highly evolved, career-specific, technical and cultural-bound-a language for specific purposes. Its function differs significantly from that of a standard language. Proficiency requires at minimum, a common understanding of discipline-specific jargon, abstracts, euphemisms, abbreviations; acronyms. An optimal medical language situation demands a level of competency beyond the superficial wherein one can convey or interpret deeper meanings, distinguish themes, voice opinion, and follow directions precisely. It necessitates the use of clarity, and the ability to understand both lay and formal language-characteristics not essential to standard language. Proficiency influences professional discourse and can have the potential to positively or negatively affect patient outcomes. While risks have been identified when there is language discordance between care provider and patient, almost nothing has been said about this within care teams themselves. This article will do so in anticipation that care providers, regulators, employers, and researchers will acknowledge potential language-based communication barriers and work towards resolutions. This is predicated on the fact that the growing interest in language and communication in healthcare today appears to be rested in globalization and increasingly linguistically diverse patient populations. Consideration of the linguistically diverse healthcare workforce is absent. An argument will be posited that if potential risks to patient safety exist and there are potentials for disengagement from care by patients when health providers do not speak their languages then logically these language-based issues can also be true for a care team of mixed linguistic backgrounds. Members may disengage from each other or adverse events may occur as a result of misunderstanding or other language-based confounds. While the greater goal of the article is to address the issues of medical language across languages, English and medical English are used to illustrate points. Questions will be posed to stimulate thought and identify a need for research. Recommendations include collaboration between the health and language disciplines. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinicians' Obligations to Use Qualified Medical Interpreters When Caring for Patients with Limited English Proficiency.

PubMed

Basu, Gaurab; Costa, Vonessa Phillips; Jain, Priyank

2017-03-01

Access to language services is a required and foundational component of care for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). National standards for medical interpreting set by the US Department of Health and Human Services and by the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care establish the role of qualified medical interpreters in the provision of care in the United States. In the vignette, the attending physician infringes upon the patient's right to appropriate language services and renders unethical care. Clinicians are obliged to create systems and a culture that ensure quality care for patients with LEP. © 2017 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

User's guide to the LLL BASIC interpreter. [For 8080-based MCS-80 microcomputer system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Allison, T.; Eckard, R.; Barber, J.

1977-06-09

Scientists are finding increased applications for microcomputers as process controllers in their experiments. However, while microcomputers are small and inexpensive, they are difficult to program in machine or assembly language. A high-level language is needed to enable scientists to develop their own microcomputer programs for their experiments on location. Recognizing this need, LLL contracted to have such a language developed. This report describes the result--the LLL BASIC interpreter, which operates with LLL's 8080-based MCS-80 microcomputer system. 4 tables.

The use of Spanish by medical students and residents at one university hospital.

PubMed

Yawman, Daniel; McIntosh, Scott; Fernandez, Diana; Auinger, Peggy; Allan, Marjorie; Weitzman, Michael

2006-05-01

To describe how medical trainees report communication with Spanish-speaking patients, and to assess trainees' desire to improve their language skills and have those skills formally evaluated. A questionnaire was mailed to all fourth-year medical students and non-first-year residents in family practice, pediatrics, medicine, medicine-pediatrics, emergency medicine, and obstetrics-gynecology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 2004 (N = 263). The response rate was 92% (241/263). Each respondent had at least one year of clinical experience at the hospital. Of the 83% (199/241) who reported less than conversational Spanish language skills, 53% had taken a history and/or provided medical advice directly to Spanish-speaking patients without any form of interpretation. When an interpreter was used, professional interpretation services were used less frequently than other forms of interpretation (42% versus 58%, p < .05). Analyses were performed on the 68% (164/241) who reported having at least rudimentary Spanish skills: 85% reported that they would probably or definitely participate in further individual language training, 70% expressed at least possible willingness to have their Spanish formally evaluated, and 80% predicted that it is at least possible that they will use their Spanish as attending physicians. At the time of this study, this hospital's medical students and residents from multiple specialties used inadequate Spanish language skills to provide direct medical care despite the availability of professional interpretation services. Most of these trainees were motivated to improve their Spanish and would welcome evaluation of their language skills.

The Naivasha Language Policy: The Language of Politics and the Politics of Language in the Sudan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdelhay, Ashraf Kamal; Makoni, Busi; Makoni, Sinfree Bullock

2011-01-01

This article provides a textual analysis of the Naivasha language provisions in Sudan in an attempt to explore how political discourse is manifested in each policy statement. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as an analytic and interpretive framework, the article argues that the Naivasha language provisions as political discourse are shaped…

The Impact of Language Experience on Language and Reading: A Statistical Learning Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seidenberg, Mark S.; MacDonald, Maryellen C.

2018-01-01

This article reviews the important role of statistical learning for language and reading development. Although statistical learning--the unconscious encoding of patterns in language input--has become widely known as a force in infants' early interpretation of speech, the role of this kind of learning for language and reading comprehension in…

Video Chat vs. Face-to-Face Recasts, Learners' Interpretations and L2 Development: A Case of Persian EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rassaei, Ehsan

2017-01-01

This study investigated the effects of two modes of corrective feedback, namely, face-to-face recasts and computer-mediated recasts during video-conferencing on Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' second language (L2) development. Moreover, the accuracy of the learners' interpretations of recasts in the two modalities was…

The Dilemma of Being English Language Teachers: Interpreting Teachers' Motivation to Teach, and Professional Commitment in China's Hinterland Regions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gao, Xuesong; Xu, Hao

2014-01-01

This article reports on an inquiry into a group of English language teachers' professional experiences that interpreted their motivation to teach and their shifting professional commitment with reference to representations and visions that they had and did not have about themselves in rural secondary schools in China's hinterland regions. It…

Representing Thoughts, Words, and Things in the UMLS

PubMed Central

Campbell, Keith E.; Oliver, Diane E.; Spackman, Kent A.; Shortliffe, Edward H.

1998-01-01

The authors describe a framework, based on the Ogden-Richards semiotic triangle, for understanding the relationship between the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) and the source terminologies from which the UMLS derives its content. They pay particular attention to UMLS's Concept Unique Identifier (CUI) and the sense of “meaning” it represents as contrasted with the sense of “meaning” represented by the source terminologies. The CUI takes on emergent meaning through linkage to terms in different terminology systems. In some cases, a CUI's emergent meaning can differ significantly from the original sources' intended meanings of terms linked by that CUI. Identification of these different senses of meaning within the UMLS is consistent with historical themes of semantic interpretation of language. Examination of the UMLS within such a historical framework makes it possible to better understand the strengths and limitations of the UMLS approach for integrating disparate terminologic systems and to provide a model, or theoretic foundation, for evaluating the UMLS as a Possible World—that is, as a mathematical formalism that represents propositions about some perspective or interpretation of the physical world. PMID:9760390

Measuring Adult Learners' Foreign Language Anxiety, Motivational Factors, and Achievement Expectations: A Comparative Study between Chinese as a Second-Language Students and English as a Second-Language Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Li-Ching

2013-01-01

This dissertation focuses on interpreting the impacts of foreign language anxiety and individual characteristics on the achievement expectations of Chinese second-language learners and English second-language students at the university level. Four research questions are examined through quantitative design. In relation to methodology, this study…

BEYSIK: Language description and handbook for programmers (system for the collective use of the Institute of Space Research, Academy of Sciences USSR)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Orlov, I. G.

1979-01-01

The BASIC algorithmic language is described, and a guide is presented for the programmer using the language interpreter. The high-level algorithm BASIC is a problem-oriented programming language intended for solution of computational and engineering problems.

Critically Engaging with Cultural Representations in Foreign Language Textbooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McConachy, Troy

2018-01-01

There is currently strong recognition within the field of intercultural language teaching of the need for language learners to develop the ability to actively interpret and critically reflect on cultural meanings and representations from a variety of perspectives. This article argues that cultural representations contained in language textbooks,…

Metaphorical Competence in ESL Student Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kathpalia, Sujata S.; Carmel, Heah Lee Hah

2011-01-01

In language teaching, emphasis is usually placed on grammatical competence rather than metaphorical competence to improve a learner's proficiency in the target language. Research has shown that figurative language poses a problem for second language learners whether it is in their ability to interpret, process, or produce metaphors. This affects…

SDL: A Surface Description Language

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maple, Raymond C.

1992-01-01

A new interpreted language specifically designed for surface grid generation is introduced. Many unique aspects of the language are discussed, including the farray, vector, curve, and surface data types and the operators used to manipulate them. Custom subroutine libraries written in the language are used to easily build surface grids for generic missile shapes.

Problems for a Sign Language Planning Agency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Covington, Virginia

1977-01-01

American Sign Language is chiefly untaught and nonstandardized. The Communicative Skills Program of the National Association of the Deaf aims to provide sign language classes for hearing personnel and to increase interpreting services. Programs, funding and aims of the Program are outlined. A government sign language planning agency is proposed.…

Washington English Language Proficiency Assessment (WELPA). Form C 2015. Interpretation Guide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2015

2015-01-01

The "Washington English Language Proficiency Assessment" (WELPA) is a No Child Left Behind (NCLB)-compliant instrument that is used in Grades K-12 as a formal and standardized method of measuring language proficiency. The test results provide important information for classifying English Language Learners (ELLs) and subsequently for…

Volunteer Community Language Bank.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Novak, Sigfrid S.; And Others

Lake Charles, Louisiana established a language bank capable of providing interpreters for 20 foreign languages. All participants are volunteers who offer to help free of charge in case of emergencies arising because of the considerable numbers of foreign visitors in the area. Smooth operation of the language bank depends on the following: (1) an…

Growth of Internet Use by Language Professionals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fidelman, Carolyn G.

1998-01-01

Presents results of a survey showing increased use of the Internet by language professionals (e.g., language teachers, translators, interpreters). Results of the survey show a qualitative improvement in the Internet for information retrieval, teaching, and idea exchange. If K-12 foreign-language teachers receive appropriate equipment and training,…

Language Control in Bilinguals: Monolingual Tasks and Simultaneous Interpreting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Groot, Annette M. B.; Christoffels, Ingrid K.

2006-01-01

The typical speech of (fluent) bilinguals in monolingual settings contains few switches into the non-target language. Apparently, bilinguals can control what language they output. This article discusses views on how bilinguals exert control over their two languages in monolingual tasks, where participants only have to implicate one of their…

A Field Guide for Sign Language Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stokoe, William; Kuschel, Rolf

Field researchers of sign language are the target of this methodological guide. The prospective researcher is briefed on the rationale of sign language study as language study and as distinct from the study of kinesics. Subjects covered include problems of translating, use of interpreters, and ethics. Instruments for obtaining social and language…

Barriers Beyond Words: Cancer, Culture, and Translation in a Community of Russian Speakers

PubMed Central

Levintova, Marya

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND Language and culture relate in complex ways. Addressing this complexity in the context of language translation is a challenge when caring for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). OBJECTIVE To examine processes of care related to language, culture and translation in an LEP population is the objective of this study. DESIGN We used community based participatory research to examine the experiences of Russian-speaking cancer patients in San Francisco, California. A Russian Cancer Information Taskforce (RCIT), including community-based organizations, local government, and clinics, participated in all phases of the study. PARTICIPANTS A purposeful sample of 74 individuals were the participants of the study. APPROACH The RCIT shaped research themes and facilitated access to participants. Methods were focus groups, individual interviews, and participant observation. RCIT reviewed data and provided guidance in interpreting results. RESULTS Four themes emerged. (1) Local Russian-language resources were seen as inadequate and relatively unavailable compared to other non-English languages; (2) a taboo about the word “cancer” led to language “games” surrounding disclosure; (3) this taboo, and other dynamics of care, reflected expectations that Russian speakers derived from experiences in their countries of origin; (4) using interpreters as cultural brokers or establishing support groups for Russian speakers could help address barriers. CONCLUSIONS The language barriers experienced by this LEP population reflect cultural and linguistic issues. Providers should consider partnering with trained interpreters to address the intertwining of language and culture. PMID:17957415

Cancer Counseling of Low-Income Limited English Proficient Latina Women Using Medical Interpreters: Implications for Shared Decision-Making.

PubMed

Kamara, Daniella; Weil, Jon; Youngblom, Janey; Guerra, Claudia; Joseph, Galen

2018-02-01

In cancer genetic counseling (CGC), communication across language and culture challenges the model of practice based on shared decision-making. To date, little research has examined the decision-making process of low-income, limited English proficiency (LEP) patients in CGC. This study identified communication patterns in CGC sessions with this population and assessed how these patterns facilitate or inhibit the decision-making process during the sessions. We analyzed 24 audio recordings of CGC sessions conducted in Spanish via telephone interpreters at two public hospitals. Patients were referred for risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer; all were offered genetic testing. Audio files were coded by two bilingual English-Spanish researchers and analyzed using conventional content analysis through an iterative process. The 24 sessions included 13 patients, 6 counselors, and 18 interpreters. Qualitative data analyses identified three key domains - Challenges Posed by Hypothetical Explanations, Misinterpretation by the Medical Interpreter, and Communication Facilitators - that reflect communication patterns and their impact on the counselor's ability to facilitate shared decision-making. Overall, we found an absence of patient participation in the decision-making process. Our data suggest that when counseling LEP Latina patients via medical interpreter, prioritizing information with direct utility for the patient and organizing information into short- and long-term goals may reduce information overload and improve comprehension for patient and interpreter. Further research is needed to test the proposed counseling strategies with this population and to assess how applicable our findings are to other populations.

Reduced sensitivity to context in language comprehension: A characteristic of Autism Spectrum Disorders or of poor structural language ability?

PubMed

Eberhardt, Melanie; Nadig, Aparna

2018-01-01

We present two experiments examining the universality and uniqueness of reduced context sensitivity in language processing in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), as proposed by the Weak Central Coherence account (Happé & Frith, 2006, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1), 25). That is, do all children with ASD exhibit decreased context sensitivity, and is this characteristic specific to ASD versus other neurodevelopmental conditions? Experiment 1, conducted in English, was a comparison of children with ASD with normal language and their typically-developing peers on a picture selection task where interpretation of sentential context was required to identify homonyms. Contrary to the predictions of Weak Central Coherence, the ASD-normal language group exhibited no difficulty on this task. Experiment 2, conducted in German, compared children with ASD with variable language abilities, typically-developing children, and a second control group of children with Language Impairment (LI) on a sentence completion task where a context sentence had to be considered to produce the continuation of an ambiguous sentence fragment. Both ASD-variable language and LI groups exhibited reduced context sensitivity and did not differ from each other. Finally, to directly test which factors contribute to reduced context sensitivity, we conducted a regression analysis for each experiment, entering nonverbal IQ, structural language ability, and autism diagnosis as predictors. For both experiments structural language ability emerged as the only significant predictor. These convergent findings demonstrate that reduced sensitivity to context in language processing is linked to low structural language rather than ASD diagnosis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Philological and Exegetical Approach to Language and Culture in the History of Language Study in Japan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eto, Hiroyuki

2008-01-01

In the history of language study in Japan, there are two main streams: foreign language study and an inquiry into the mother tongue. For both types of language study, the philological and exegetical interpretation of texts had generally been the central approach for many centuries, particularly in the "koku-gaku" movement--a fierce…

Accessing medication information by ethnic minorities: barriers and possible solutions.

PubMed

Schaafsma, Evelyn S; Raynor, Theo D; de Jong-van den Berg, Lolkje T

2003-10-01

This review discusses two main questions: how suitable is current consumer medication information for minority ethnic groups, and what are effective strategies to overcome existing barriers. The focus is on minority groups whose first language is not the language of the healthcare system. We searched electronic databases and printed scientific journals focusing on (ethnic) minorities, health and/or (intercultural) communication. We also asked a discussion group for references. We found only a few articles on intercultural communication on medication or pharmacy information and one article on the improvement of intercultural communication in the pharmacy. Barriers to the access of medication information by ethnic minorities include second language issues and cultural differences due to different health beliefs, together with the low socio-economic status often seen among ethnic minorities. Cultural differences also exist among different socio-economic classes rather than only among ethnic groups. Most often, informal interpreters are used to improve intercultural communication. However, this may result in miscommunication due to a lack of medical knowledge or training on the part of the interpreter. To minimise miscommunication, bilingual health professionals or health interpreters/advocates can be used, although communication problems may still occur. The effectiveness of written information depends on the literacy skills of the target population. Cultural, medical and dialect biases should be avoided by testing the material. Multimedia systems may be alternatives to conventional written information. Barriers that ethnic minorities face in accessing medication information and possible solutions involving counselling and additional tools were identified for pharmacy practice. However, more research is needed to develop effective strategies for patient counselling in pharmacy to meet the needs of ethnic minorities.

A new paradigm for individual subject language mapping: Movie-watching fMRI

PubMed Central

Tie, Yanmei; Rigolo, Laura; Ovalioglu, Aysegul Ozdemir; Olubiyi, Olutayo; Doolin, Kelly L.; Mukundan, Srinivasan; Golby, Alexandra J.

2015-01-01

Background Functional MRI (fMRI) based on language tasks has been used in pre-surgical language mapping in patients with lesions in or near putative language areas. However, if the patients have difficulty performing the tasks due to neurological deficits, it leads to unreliable or non-interpretable results. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of using a movie-watching fMRI for language mapping. Methods A 7-min movie clip with contrasting speech and non-speech segments was shown to 22 right-handed healthy subjects. Based on all subjects' language functional regions-of-interest, six language response areas were defined, within which a language response model (LRM) was derived by extracting the main temporal activation profile. Using a leave-one-out procedure, individuals' language areas were identified as the areas that expressed highly correlated temporal responses with the LRM derived from an independent group of subjects. Results Compared with an antonym generation task-based fMRI, the movie-watching fMRI generated language maps with more localized activations in the left frontal language area, larger activations in the left temporoparietal language area, and significant activations in their right-hemisphere homologues. Results of two brain tumor patients' movie-watching fMRI using the LRM derived from the healthy subjects indicated its ability to map putative language areas; while their task-based fMRI maps were less robust and noisier. Conclusions These results suggest that it is feasible to use this novel “task-free” paradigm as a complementary tool for fMRI language mapping when patients cannot perform the tasks. Its deployment in more neurosurgical patients and validation against gold-standard techniques need further investigation. PMID:25962953

The three official language versions of the Declaration of Helsinki: what's lost in translation?

PubMed

Carlson, Robert V; van Ginneken, Nadja H; Pettigrew, Luisa M; Davies, Alan; Boyd, Kenneth M; Webb, David J

2007-09-01

The Declaration of Helsinki, the World Medical Association's (WMA's) statement of ethical guidelines regarding medical research, is published in the three official languages of the WMA: English, French and Spanish. A detailed comparison of the three official language versions was carried out to determine ways in which they differed and ways in which the wording of the three versions might illuminate the interpretation of the document. There were many minor linguistic differences between the three versions. However, in paragraphs 1, 6, 29, 30 and in the note of clarification to paragraph 29, there were differences that could be considered potentially significant in their ethical relevance. Given the global status of the Declaration of Helsinki and the fact that it is translated from its official versions into many other languages for application to the ethical conduct of research, the differences identified are of concern. It would be best if such differences could be eliminated but, at the very least, a commentary to explain any differences that are unavoidable on the basis of language or culture should accompany the Declaration of Helsinki. This evidence further strengthens the case for international surveillance of medical research ethics as has been proposed by the WMA.

A Preliminary Survey of the Preferred Learning Methods for Interpretation Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heinz, Michael

2013-01-01

There are many different methods that individuals use to learn languages like reading books or writing essays. Not all methods are equally successful for second language learners but nor do all successful learners of a second language show identical preferences for learning methods. Additionally, at the highest level of language learning various…

Dilemmatic Aspects of Language Policies in a Trilingual Preschool Group

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puskás, Tünde; Björk-Willén, Polly

2017-01-01

This article explores dilemmatic aspects of language policies in a preschool group in which three languages (Swedish, Romani and Arabic) are spoken on an everyday basis. The article highlights the interplay between policy decisions on the societal level, the teachers' interpretations of these policies, as well as language practices on the micro…

Acts of Negotiation: Governmentality and Medium of Instruction in an Eastern Ukrainian University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodman, Bridget

2018-01-01

This study investigates language policy and language choices at a university in Ukraine, a country of evolving national governance and shifting language policy. Ethnographic data interpreted through the lenses of governmentality, language planning and policy, and conversation analysis show that (1) the institution rather than the national…

High School EFL Teachers' Identity and Their Emotions towards Language Requirements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torres-Rocha, Julio César

2017-01-01

This is a study on high school English as a foreign language Colombian teacher identity. Using an interpretive research approach, I explored the influence of the National Bilingual Programme on the reconstruction of teacher identity. This study focuses on how teachers feel about language requirements associated with a language policy. Three…

Supporting Clear and Concise Mathematics Language: Say This, Not That

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Elizabeth M.; Powell, Sarah R.; Stevens, Elizabeth A.

2016-01-01

One influence contributing to this trend may be the imprecise use of mathematics language. Educators may not interpret mathematics as a second (or third) language for children, when, in fact, all children are mathematical-language learners (Barrow, 2014). The numerals, symbols, and terms that explain mathematics concepts and procedures are…

Memory Functioning and Mental Verbs Acquisition in Children with Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spanoudis, George C.; Natsopoulos, Demetrios

2011-01-01

Memory and language operate in synergy. Recent literature stresses the importance of memory functioning in interpreting language deficits. Two groups of 50 children each, ages 8-12 were studied. The first group included children with specific language impairment, while the participants in the second group were typically developing children. The…

The Pursuit of Language Appropriate Care: Remote Simultaneous Medical Interpretation Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Logan, Debra M.

2010-01-01

Background: The U.S. government mandates nurses to deliver linguistically appropriate care to hospital patients. It is difficult for nurses to implement the language mandates because there are 6,912 active living languages spoken in the world. Language barriers appear to place limited English proficient (LEP) patients at increased risk for harm…

Computational Natural Language Inference: Robust and Interpretable Question Answering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharp, Rebecca Reynolds

2017-01-01

We address the challenging task of "computational natural language inference," by which we mean bridging two or more natural language texts while also providing an explanation of how they are connected. In the context of question answering (i.e., finding short answers to natural language questions), this inference connects the question…

Language and Literacy Development in Prelingually-Deaf Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salmani Nodoushan, Mohammad Ali

2008-01-01

This paper attempts to address the issue of language development in hearing impaired children. It argues that interpreters, teachers or peers can provide deaf children with language exposure so that they can acquire their native languages more easily. It also argues that the provision of a developmentally appropriate print-rich environments is the…

Alaska Division Of Elections

Science.gov Websites

Absentee Voting Voter Language Assistance Disabled Voter Assistance Military And Overseas Voters Election informational videos with ASL interpretation. icon graphic of translation services Language Assistance Information about the language assistance program and election information in Tagalog, Spanish, Yup'ik

Body language in the brain: constructing meaning from expressive movement.

PubMed

Tipper, Christine M; Signorini, Giulia; Grafton, Scott T

2015-01-01

This fMRI study investigated neural systems that interpret body language-the meaningful emotive expressions conveyed by body movement. Participants watched videos of performers engaged in modern dance or pantomime that conveyed specific themes such as hope, agony, lust, or exhaustion. We tested whether the meaning of an affectively laden performance was decoded in localized brain substrates as a distinct property of action separable from other superficial features, such as choreography, kinematics, performer, and low-level visual stimuli. A repetition suppression (RS) procedure was used to identify brain regions that decoded the meaningful affective state of a performer, as evidenced by decreased activity when emotive themes were repeated in successive performances. Because the theme was the only feature repeated across video clips that were otherwise entirely different, the occurrence of RS identified brain substrates that differentially coded the specific meaning of expressive performances. RS was observed bilaterally, extending anteriorly along middle and superior temporal gyri into temporal pole, medially into insula, rostrally into inferior orbitofrontal cortex, and caudally into hippocampus and amygdala. Behavioral data on a separate task indicated that interpreting themes from modern dance was more difficult than interpreting pantomime; a result that was also reflected in the fMRI data. There was greater RS in left hemisphere, suggesting that the more abstract metaphors used to express themes in dance compared to pantomime posed a greater challenge to brain substrates directly involved in decoding those themes. We propose that the meaning-sensitive temporal-orbitofrontal regions observed here comprise a superordinate functional module of a known hierarchical action observation network (AON), which is critical to the construction of meaning from expressive movement. The findings are discussed with respect to a predictive coding model of action understanding.

Functional activity and white matter microstructure reveal the independent effects of age of acquisition and proficiency on second-language learning.

PubMed

Nichols, Emily S; Joanisse, Marc F

2016-12-01

Two key factors govern how bilingual speakers neurally maintain two languages: the speakers' second language age of acquisition (AoA) and their subsequent proficiency. However, the relative roles of these two factors have been difficult to disentangle given that the two can be closely correlated, and most prior studies have examined the two factors in isolation. Here, we combine functional magnetic resonance imaging with diffusion tensor imaging to identify specific brain areas that are independently modulated by AoA and proficiency in second language speakers. First-language Mandarin Chinese speakers who are second language speakers of English were scanned as they performed a picture-word matching task in either language. In the same session we also acquired diffusion-weighted scans to assess white matter microstructure, along with behavioural measures of language proficiency prior to entering the scanner. Results reveal gray- and white-matter networks involving both the left and right hemisphere that independently vary as a function of a second-language speaker's AoA and proficiency, focused on the superior temporal gyrus, middle and inferior frontal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, and the basal ganglia. These results indicate that proficiency and AoA explain separate functional and structural networks in the bilingual brain, which we interpret as suggesting distinct types of plasticity for age-dependent effects (i.e., AoA) versus experience and/or predisposition (i.e., proficiency). Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Arabic-speaking migrants' attitudes, opinions, preferences and past experiences concerning the use of interpreters in healthcare: a postal cross-sectional survey.

PubMed

Hadziabdic, Emina; Albin, Björn; Hjelm, Katarina

2014-02-03

Good communication is an important prerequisite for equal treatment in a healthcare encounter. One way to overcome language barriers when patients and healthcare staff do not share the same language is to use a professional interpreter. Few previous studies have been found investigating the use of interpreters, and just one previous study from the perspective of European migrants, which showed that they perceived interpreters as a communication aid and a guide in the healthcare system as regards information and practical matters. No previous study has gathered quantitative information to focus on non-European migrants' attitudes to the use of interpreters in healthcare encounters. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate Arabic-speaking individuals' attitudes, opinions, preferences and past experiences concerning the use of interpreters in healthcare in order to: (i) understand how persons' expectations and concerns regarding interpreters may vary, both within and across cultural/linguistic populations; (ii) understand the consequences of diverse opinions/expectations for planning responsive services; and (iii) confirm findings from previous qualitative studies. A postal cross-sectional study using a structured self-administered 51-item questionnaire was used to describe and document aspects of Arabic-speaking individuals' attitudes to the use of interpreters in healthcare. The sample of 53 Arabic-speaking migrants was recruited from three different places. Participants were mostly born in Iraq and had a high level of education and were almost equally divided between genders. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics. The main findings were that most of the participants perceived the interpreter's role as being a communication aid and a practical aid, interpreting literally and objectively. Trust in the professional interpreter was related to qualification as an interpreter and personal contact with face-to-face interaction. The qualities of the desired professional interpreter were: a good knowledge of languages and medical terminology, translation ability, and sharing the same origin, dialect and gender as the patient. This study confirmed previous qualitative findings from European migrant groups with a different cultural and linguistic background. The study supports the importance of planning a good interpretation situation in accordance with individuals' desire, irrespective of the migrant's linguistic and cultural background, and using interpreters who interpret literally and objectively, who are highly trained with language skills in medical terminology, and with a professional attitude to promote communication, thus increasing cost-effective, high-quality individualized healthcare.

Top–Down Modulation on the Perception and Categorization of Identical Pitch Contours in Speech and Music

PubMed Central

Weidema, Joey L.; Roncaglia-Denissen, M. P.; Honing, Henkjan

2016-01-01

Whether pitch in language and music is governed by domain-specific or domain-general cognitive mechanisms is contentiously debated. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether mechanisms governing pitch contour perception operate differently when pitch information is interpreted as either speech or music. By modulating listening mode, this study aspired to demonstrate that pitch contour perception relies on domain-specific cognitive mechanisms, which are regulated by top–down influences from language and music. Three groups of participants (Mandarin speakers, Dutch speaking non-musicians, and Dutch musicians) were exposed to identical pitch contours, and tested on their ability to identify these contours in a language and musical context. Stimuli consisted of disyllabic words spoken in Mandarin, and melodic tonal analogs, embedded in a linguistic and melodic carrier phrase, respectively. Participants classified identical pitch contours as significantly different depending on listening mode. Top–down influences from language appeared to alter the perception of pitch contour in speakers of Mandarin. This was not the case for non-musician speakers of Dutch. Moreover, this effect was lacking in Dutch speaking musicians. The classification patterns of pitch contours in language and music seem to suggest that domain-specific categorization is modulated by top–down influences from language and music. PMID:27313552

Arabic-speaking migrants' experiences of the use of interpreters in healthcare: a qualitative explorative study.

PubMed

Hadziabdic, Emina; Hjelm, Katarina

2014-06-16

Arabic-speaking migrants have constituted a growing population in recent years. This entails major challenges to ensure good communication in the healthcare encounter in order to provide individual and holistic healthcare. One of the solutions to ensure good communication between patient and healthcare staff who do not share the same language is to use a professional interpreter. To our knowledge, no previous qualitative studies have been found concerning Arabic-speaking migrants and the use of interpreters. This study aims to ascertain their individual experiences which can help extend our understanding of the studied area. A purposive sample of 13 Arabic-speaking persons with experience of using interpreters in healthcare encounters. Data were collected between November 2012 and March 2013 by four focus-group interviews and analysed with qualitative analysis according to a method described for focus groups. Four categories appeared from the analysis: 1) The professional interpreter as spokesperson; 2) Different types of interpreters and modes of interpretation adapting to the healthcare encounter; 3) The professional interpreter's task and personal properties affected the use of professional interpreters in a healthcare encounter; 4) Future planning of the use of professional interpreters in a healthcare encounter. The main findings were that the use of interpreters was experienced both as a possibility and as a problem. The preferred type of interpreters depended on the interpreter's dialect and ability to interpret correctly. Besides the professional interpreter's qualities of good skill in language and medical terminology, translation ability, neutrality and objectivity, Arabic-speaking participants stated that professional interpreters need to share the same origin, religion, dialect, gender and political views as the patient in order to facilitate the interpreter use and avoid inappropriate treatment. The study showed that the personal qualities of a good interpreter not only cover language ability but also origin, religion, dialect, gender and political views. Thus, there is need to develop strategies for personalized healthcare in order to avoid inappropriate communication, to satisfy the preferences of the person in need of interpreters and improve the impact of interpretation on the quality of healthcare.

Information flow on social networks: from empirical data to situation understanding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Heather; Abdelzaher, Tarek; Bowman, Elizabeth K.; Al Amin, Md. Tanvir

2017-05-01

This paper describes characteristics of information flow on social channels, as a function of content type and relations among individual sources, distilled from analysis of Twitter data as well as human subject survey results. The working hypothesis is that individuals who propagate content on social media act (e.g., decide whether to relay information or not) in accordance with their understanding of the content, as well as their own beliefs and trust relations. Hence, the resulting aggregate content propagation pattern encodes the collective content interpretation of the underlying group, as well as their relations. Analysis algorithms are described to recover such relations from the observed propagation patterns as well as improve our understanding of the content itself in a language agnostic manner simply from its propagation characteristics. An example is to measure the degree of community polarization around contentious topics, identify the factions involved, and recognize their individual views on issues. The analysis is independent of the language of discourse itself, making it valuable for multilingual media, where the number of languages used may render language-specific analysis less scalable.

Sign language processing and the mirror neuron system.

PubMed

Corina, David P; Knapp, Heather

2006-05-01

In this paper we review evidence for frontal and parietal lobe involvement in sign language comprehension and production, and evaluate the extent to which these data can be interpreted within the context of a mirror neuron system for human action observation and execution. We present data from three literatures--aphasia, cortical stimulation, and functional neuroimaging. Generally, we find support for the idea that sign language comprehension and production can be viewed in the context of a broadly-construed frontal-parietal human action observation/execution system. However, sign language data cannot be fully accounted for under a strict interpretation of the mirror neuron system. Additionally, we raise a number of issues concerning the lack of specificity in current accounts of the human action observation/execution system.

Patient Perspectives on Language Discordance During Healthcare Visits: Findings From the Extremely High-Density Multicultural State of Qatar.

PubMed

Abdelrahim, Huda; Elnashar, Maha; Khidir, Amal; Killawi, Amal; Hammoud, Maya; Al-Khal, Abdul Latif; Fetters, Michael D

2017-04-01

Reducing language and cultural barriers in healthcare are significant factors in resolving health disparities. Qatar's rapidly growing multicultural population presents new challenges to the healthcare system. The purpose of this research was to explore patients' perspectives about language discordance, and the strategies used to overcome language barriers during patients' visits. Participants were recruited and interviewed from four language groups (Arabic = 24, English = 20, Hindi = 20, and Urdu = 20), all of whom were living in Qatar and utilizing Hamad General Hospital-Outpatient Clinics as a source of their healthcare services. Using qualitative analysis procedures, relevant themes and codes were generated and data analyzed using Atlas-ti. As for results, most participants had experienced or witnessed language barriers during their outpatient clinics visits. Participants essentially were unfamiliar with professional medical interpreters and described their adaptive solutions, for example utilizing incidental interpreters, stringing together fragments of multiple languages, and using body language. Those not speaking mainstream languages of Hamad General Hospital (English and Arabic) were more vulnerable to health disparities due to language barriers. Despite the patient impetus to do something, patient-reported adaptive strategies could compromise patients' safety and access to quality healthcare. Polices tackling the language barrier need to be reviewed in Qatar's multicultural healthcare system and similar settings.

Arabic-speaking migrants’ attitudes, opinions, preferences and past experiences concerning the use of interpreters in healthcare: a postal cross-sectional survey

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Good communication is an important prerequisite for equal treatment in a healthcare encounter. One way to overcome language barriers when patients and healthcare staff do not share the same language is to use a professional interpreter. Few previous studies have been found investigating the use of interpreters, and just one previous study from the perspective of European migrants, which showed that they perceived interpreters as a communication aid and a guide in the healthcare system as regards information and practical matters. No previous study has gathered quantitative information to focus on non-European migrants’ attitudes to the use of interpreters in healthcare encounters. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate Arabic-speaking individuals’ attitudes, opinions, preferences and past experiences concerning the use of interpreters in healthcare in order to: (i) understand how persons’ expectations and concerns regarding interpreters may vary, both within and across cultural/linguistic populations; (ii) understand the consequences of diverse opinions/expectations for planning responsive services; and (iii) confirm findings from previous qualitative studies. Method A postal cross-sectional study using a structured self-administered 51-item questionnaire was used to describe and document aspects of Arabic-speaking individuals’ attitudes to the use of interpreters in healthcare. The sample of 53 Arabic-speaking migrants was recruited from three different places. Participants were mostly born in Iraq and had a high level of education and were almost equally divided between genders. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics. Results The main findings were that most of the participants perceived the interpreter’s role as being a communication aid and a practical aid, interpreting literally and objectively. Trust in the professional interpreter was related to qualification as an interpreter and personal contact with face-to-face interaction. The qualities of the desired professional interpreter were: a good knowledge of languages and medical terminology, translation ability, and sharing the same origin, dialect and gender as the patient. Conclusion This study confirmed previous qualitative findings from European migrant groups with a different cultural and linguistic background. The study supports the importance of planning a good interpretation situation in accordance with individuals’ desire, irrespective of the migrant’s linguistic and cultural background, and using interpreters who interpret literally and objectively, who are highly trained with language skills in medical terminology, and with a professional attitude to promote communication, thus increasing cost-effective, high-quality individualized healthcare. PMID:24484628

Development of a Zulu speech reception threshold test for Zulu first language speakers in Kwa Zulu-Natal.

PubMed

Panday, Seema; Kathard, Harsha; Pillay, Mershen; Govender, Cyril

2007-01-01

The measurement of speech reception threshold (SRT) is best evaluated in an individual's first language. The present study focused on the development of a Zulu SRT word list, according to adapted criteria for SRT in Zulu. The aim of this paper is to present the process involved in the development of the Zulu word list. In acquiring the data to realize this aim, 131 common bisyllabic Zulu words were identified by two Zulu speaking language interpreters and two tertiary level educators. Eighty two percent of these words were described as bisyllabic verbs. Thereafter using a three point Likert scale, 58 bisyllabic verbs were rated by 5 linguistic experts as being familiar, phonetically dissimilar and being low tone verbs. According to the Kendall's co-efficient of concordance at 95% level of confidence the agreement among the raters was good for each criterion. The results highlighted the importance of adapting the criteria for SRT to suit the structure of the language. An important research implication emerging from the study is the theoretical guidelines proposed for the development of SRT material in other African Languages. Furthermore, the importance of using speech material appropriate to the language has also being highlighted. The developed SRT word list in Zulu is applicable to the adult Zulu First Language Speaker in KZN.

Effects of Real-Time Captioning and Sign Language Interpreting on the Learning of College Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith-Pethybridge, Valorie

2009-01-01

College personnel are required to provide accommodations for students who are deaf and hard of hearing (D/HoH), but few empirical studies have been conducted on D/HoH students as they learn under the various accommodation conditions (sign language interpreting, SLI, real-time captioning, RTC, and both). Guided by the experiences of students who…

Designing an American Sign Language Avatar for Learning Computer Science Concepts for Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Students and Deaf Interpreters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrei, Stefan; Osborne, Lawrence; Smith, Zanthia

2013-01-01

The current learning process of Deaf or Hard of Hearing (D/HH) students taking Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses needs, in general, a sign interpreter for the translation of English text into American Sign Language (ASL) signs. This method is at best impractical due to the lack of availability of a specialized sign…

The Design and Implementation of an Object-Oriented, Production-Rule Interpreter.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

S. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBER(s) .Heinz M. McArthur 9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT. TASK AREA & WORK UNIT...implementation of two prototype interpreters for Omega, an object-oriented, production- rule programming language. The first implementation is a throw- away...production-rule programming language. The first implementa- tion is a throw-away prototype written in LISP; the second implementation is a more complete

Exploring Learner Language through Corpora: Comparing and Interpreting Corpus Frequency Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gablasova, Dana; Brezina, Vaclav; McEnery, Tony

2017-01-01

This article contributes to the debate about the appropriate use of corpus data in language learning research. It focuses on frequencies of linguistic features in language use and their comparison across corpora. The majority of corpus-based second language acquisition studies employ a comparative design in which either one or more second language…

Dominant Language Transfer in Spanish Heritage Speakers and Second Language Learners in the Interpretation of Definite Articles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montrul, Silvina; Ionin, Tania

2012-01-01

This study investigates dominant language transfer (from English) in adult Spanish second language (L2) learners and Spanish heritage speakers. We focus on contrasting properties of English and Spanish definite articles with respect to generic reference ("Elephants have ivory tusks" vs. "Los elefantes tienen colmillos de marfil") and inalienable…

Language Equality in International Cooperation. Esperanto Documents, New Series, No. 21.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harry, Ralph; Mandel, Mark

The policies of the United Nations with regard to the six official languages have left holes in the fabric of international cooperation. Maintaining language services in all six languages has proved to be an impossibility because of the scarcity of trained interpreters and translators between, for instance, Chinese and Arabic. English, French, and…

Approaches to Language Testing. Advances in Language Testing Series: 2. Papers in Applied Linguistics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spolsky, Bernard, Ed.

This volume, one in a series on modern language testing, collects four essays dealing with current approaches to lanquage testing. The introduction traces the development of language testing theory and examines the role of linguistics in this area. "The Psycholinguistic Basis," by E. Ingram, discusses some interpretations of the term…

Motives and Outcomes of New Zealand Sign Language Legislation: A Comparative Study between New Zealand and Finland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reffell, Hayley; McKee, Rachel Locker

2009-01-01

The medicalized interpretation of deafness has until recently seen the rights and protections of sign language users embedded in disability law. Yet the rights and protections crucial to sign language users centre predominantly on matters of language access, maintenance and identity. Legislators, motivated by pressure from sign language…

Development of Competence and Performance in Cartographic Language by Children at the Concrete Level of Map-Reasoning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerber, Rodney Victor

This dissertation examines development of children's skills at map using and free-recall map sketching, with particular emphasis on map reasoning, competence in cartographic language, and performance in cartographic language. Cartographic language (the broad range of line, point, and area signs and map elements) is interpreted as the means by…

Examining the Effects of Language Brokering on Student Identities and Learning Opportunities in Dual Immersion Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Jin Sook; Hill-Bonnet, Laura; Raley, Jason

2011-01-01

In settings where speakers of two or more different languages coexist, language brokering, the act of interpreting and translating between culturally and linguistically different speakers, is commonly practiced. Yet the examination of language brokering and its implications in classroom settings have not received much attention in the literature.…

Foreign Language Instruction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sawyer, Jesse O.

1964-01-01

This brief review of research in foreign language instruction during 1961-63 summarizes, compares, and interprets related studies dealing withsuch topics as (1) the effects and value of foreign language instruction at different educational levels, (2) methods and materials, (3) testing, and (4) electromechanical aids, such as the language…

Interfacing the Experimenter to the Computer: Languages for Psychologists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Ronald W.; And Others

1975-01-01

An examination and comparison of the computer languages which behavioral scientists are most likely to use: SCAT, INTERACT, SKED, OS/8 Fortran IV, RT11/Fortran, RSX-11M, Data General's Real-Time; Disk Operating System and its Fortran, and interpretative Languages. (EH)

Hybrid Applications Of Artificial Intelligence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borchardt, Gary C.

1988-01-01

STAR, Simple Tool for Automated Reasoning, is interactive, interpreted programming language for development and operation of artificial-intelligence application systems. Couples symbolic processing with compiled-language functions and data structures. Written in C language and currently available in UNIX version (NPO-16832), and VMS version (NPO-16965).

Community health center provider and staff's Spanish language ability and cultural awareness.

PubMed

Baig, Arshiya A; Benitez, Amanda; Locklin, Cara A; Campbell, Amanda; Schaefer, Cynthia T; Heuer, Loretta J; Lee, Sang Mee; Solomon, Marla C; Quinn, Michael T; Burnet, Deborah L; Chin, Marshall H

2014-05-01

Many community health center providers and staff care for Latinos with diabetes, but their Spanish language ability and awareness of Latino culture are unknown. We surveyed 512 Midwestern health center providers and staff who managed Latino patients with diabetes. Few respondents had high Spanish language (13%) or cultural awareness scores (22%). Of respondents who self-reported 76-100% of their patients were Latino, 48% had moderate/low Spanish language and 49% had moderate/low cultural competency scores. Among these respondents, 3% lacked access to interpreters and 27% had neither received cultural competency training nor had access to training. Among all respondents, Spanish skills and Latino cultural awareness were low. Respondents who saw a significant number of Latinos had good access to interpretation services but not cultural competency training. Improved Spanish-language skills and increased access to cultural competency training and Latino cultural knowledge are needed to provide linguistically and culturally tailored care to Latino patients.

Rational integration of noisy evidence and prior semantic expectations in sentence interpretation.

PubMed

Gibson, Edward; Bergen, Leon; Piantadosi, Steven T

2013-05-14

Sentence processing theories typically assume that the input to our language processing mechanisms is an error-free sequence of words. However, this assumption is an oversimplification because noise is present in typical language use (for instance, due to a noisy environment, producer errors, or perceiver errors). A complete theory of human sentence comprehension therefore needs to explain how humans understand language given imperfect input. Indeed, like many cognitive systems, language processing mechanisms may even be "well designed"--in this case for the task of recovering intended meaning from noisy utterances. In particular, comprehension mechanisms may be sensitive to the types of information that an idealized statistical comprehender would be sensitive to. Here, we evaluate four predictions about such a rational (Bayesian) noisy-channel language comprehender in a sentence comprehension task: (i) semantic cues should pull sentence interpretation towards plausible meanings, especially if the wording of the more plausible meaning is close to the observed utterance in terms of the number of edits; (ii) this process should asymmetrically treat insertions and deletions due to the Bayesian "size principle"; such nonliteral interpretation of sentences should (iii) increase with the perceived noise rate of the communicative situation and (iv) decrease if semantically anomalous meanings are more likely to be communicated. These predictions are borne out, strongly suggesting that human language relies on rational statistical inference over a noisy channel.

Rational integration of noisy evidence and prior semantic expectations in sentence interpretation

PubMed Central

Gibson, Edward; Bergen, Leon; Piantadosi, Steven T.

2013-01-01

Sentence processing theories typically assume that the input to our language processing mechanisms is an error-free sequence of words. However, this assumption is an oversimplification because noise is present in typical language use (for instance, due to a noisy environment, producer errors, or perceiver errors). A complete theory of human sentence comprehension therefore needs to explain how humans understand language given imperfect input. Indeed, like many cognitive systems, language processing mechanisms may even be “well designed”–in this case for the task of recovering intended meaning from noisy utterances. In particular, comprehension mechanisms may be sensitive to the types of information that an idealized statistical comprehender would be sensitive to. Here, we evaluate four predictions about such a rational (Bayesian) noisy-channel language comprehender in a sentence comprehension task: (i) semantic cues should pull sentence interpretation towards plausible meanings, especially if the wording of the more plausible meaning is close to the observed utterance in terms of the number of edits; (ii) this process should asymmetrically treat insertions and deletions due to the Bayesian “size principle”; such nonliteral interpretation of sentences should (iii) increase with the perceived noise rate of the communicative situation and (iv) decrease if semantically anomalous meanings are more likely to be communicated. These predictions are borne out, strongly suggesting that human language relies on rational statistical inference over a noisy channel. PMID:23637344

Exploring the Impact of Language Services on Utilization and Clinical Outcomes for Diabetics

PubMed Central

Hacker, Karen; Choi, Yoon Susan; Trebino, Lisa; Hicks, LeRoi; Friedman, Elisa; Blanchfield, Bonnie; Gazelle, G. Scott

2012-01-01

Background Significant health disparities exist between limited English proficient and English-proficient patients. Little is known about the impact of language services on chronic disease outcomes such as for diabetes. Methods/Principal Findings To determine whether the amount and type of language services received during primary care visits had an impact on diabetes-related outcomes (hospitalization, emergency room utilization, glycemic control) in limited English proficient patients, a retrospective cohort design was utilized. Hospital and medical record data was examined for 1425 limited English proficient patients in the Cambridge Health Alliance diabetes registry. We categorized patients receiving usual care into 7 groups based on the amount and combination of language services (language concordant providers, formal interpretation and nothing) received at primary care visits during a 9 month period. Bivariate analyses and multiple logistic regression were used to determine relationships between language service categories and outcomes in the subsequent 6 months. Thirty-one percent of patients (445) had no documentation of interpreter use or seeing a language concordant provider in any visits. Patients who received 100% of their primary care visits with language concordant providers were least likely to have diabetes-related emergency department visits compared to other groups (p<0001) in the following 6 months. Patients with higher numbers of co-morbidities were more likely to receive formal interpretation. Conclusions/Significance Language concordant providers may help reduce health care utilization for limited English proficient patients with diabetes. However, given the lack of such providers in sufficient numbers to meet patients' communication needs, strategies are needed to both increase their numbers and ensure that the highest risk patients receive the most appropriate language services. In addition, systems serving diverse populations must clarify why some limited English proficient patients do not receive language services at some or all of their visits and whether this has an impact on quality of care. PMID:22675571

Twelve tips on writing a discussion case that facilitates teaching and engages learners.

PubMed

Cohen, David A; Newman, Lori R; Fishman, Laurie N

2017-02-01

The authors share twelve practical tips on writing a case that engages learners in active learning and discussion. They first advise that, during the initial preparation of the case, authors should (1) identify the case goals and objectives, and (2) identify the level of the learners. When writing the case, authors should (3) use active and colorful language; (4) use patients' own descriptions rather than medical language; (5) allow the learners to interpret data themselves; (6) allow for natural discovery rather than presenting information chronologically; and (7) be realistic about interruptions in patient care. In addition, case authors should pay attention to methods that enhance discussion by (8) creating barriers to diagnostic or treatment options; (9) promoting questions and discussion over answers; (10) using cues to assure discussion flow and knowledge exploration; and (11) omitting details or inserting informational distractors. Finally, well-crafted questions are essential during the case presentation to engage learners in higher-order thinking; and to (12) stimulate curiosity and reflection.

Word learning mechanisms.

PubMed

He, Angela Xiaoxue; Arunachalam, Sudha

2017-07-01

How do children acquire the meanings of words? Many word learning mechanisms have been proposed to guide learners through this challenging task. Despite the availability of rich information in the learner's linguistic and extralinguistic input, the word-learning task is insurmountable without such mechanisms for filtering through and utilizing that information. Different kinds of words, such as nouns denoting object concepts and verbs denoting event concepts, require to some extent different kinds of information and, therefore, access to different kinds of mechanisms. We review some of these mechanisms to examine the relationship between the input that is available to learners and learners' intake of that input-that is, the organized, interpreted, and stored representations they form. We discuss how learners segment individual words from the speech stream and identify their grammatical categories, how they identify the concepts denoted by these words, and how they refine their initial representations of word meanings. WIREs Cogn Sci 2017, 8:e1435. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1435 This article is categorized under: Linguistics > Language Acquisition Psychology > Language. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

What's so different about Lacan's approach to psychoanalysis?

PubMed

Fink, Bruce

2011-12-01

Clinical work based on Lacanian principles is rarely compared in the psychoanalytic literature with that based on other principles. The author attempts to highlight a few important theoretical differences regarding language, desire, affect, and time between a Lacanian approach and certain others that lead to differences in focus and technique, related, for example, to interpretation, scansion, and countertransference. Lacanian techniques are illustrated with brief clinical vignettes. In the interest of confidentiality, identifying information and certain circumstances have been changed or omitted in the material presented.

Arabic-speaking migrants’ experiences of the use of interpreters in healthcare: a qualitative explorative study

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Introduction Arabic-speaking migrants have constituted a growing population in recent years. This entails major challenges to ensure good communication in the healthcare encounter in order to provide individual and holistic healthcare. One of the solutions to ensure good communication between patient and healthcare staff who do not share the same language is to use a professional interpreter. To our knowledge, no previous qualitative studies have been found concerning Arabic-speaking migrants and the use of interpreters. This study aims to ascertain their individual experiences which can help extend our understanding of the studied area. Method A purposive sample of 13 Arabic-speaking persons with experience of using interpreters in healthcare encounters. Data were collected between November 2012 and March 2013 by four focus-group interviews and analysed with qualitative analysis according to a method described for focus groups. Results Four categories appeared from the analysis: 1) The professional interpreter as spokesperson; 2) Different types of interpreters and modes of interpretation adapting to the healthcare encounter; 3) The professional interpreter’s task and personal properties affected the use of professional interpreters in a healthcare encounter; 4) Future planning of the use of professional interpreters in a healthcare encounter. The main findings were that the use of interpreters was experienced both as a possibility and as a problem. The preferred type of interpreters depended on the interpreter’s dialect and ability to interpret correctly. Besides the professional interpreter’s qualities of good skill in language and medical terminology, translation ability, neutrality and objectivity, Arabic-speaking participants stated that professional interpreters need to share the same origin, religion, dialect, gender and political views as the patient in order to facilitate the interpreter use and avoid inappropriate treatment. Conclusion The study showed that the personal qualities of a good interpreter not only cover language ability but also origin, religion, dialect, gender and political views. Thus, there is need to develop strategies for personalized healthcare in order to avoid inappropriate communication, to satisfy the preferences of the person in need of interpreters and improve the impact of interpretation on the quality of healthcare. PMID:24934755

Scope Interpretation in First and Second Language Acquisition: Numeral Quantifiers and Negation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kwak, Hye-Young

2010-01-01

The present study investigates the interpretation of scopally ambiguous sentences containing a numeral quantifier and negation, such as (1) and (2), with a view to examining the interpretive preferences for Korean manifested by Korean-speaking children and adults, and the interpretive preferences for English manifested by Korean-speaking second…

La interpretacion consecutiva: metodologia y tecnicas (Consecutive Interpretation: Methodology and Techniques).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drallny, Ines

1987-01-01

Describes the purpose and appropriate methodology for various levels of interpreter training, for both consecutive and simultaneous interpretation. The importance of relating the intent of the text to the explicit language forms through which that intent is realized is discussed, and appropriate criteria for evaluation of student interpreters are…

Adaptation of the contraceptive self-efficacy scale for heterosexual Mexican men and women of reproductive age.

PubMed

Arias, María Luisa Flores; Champion, Jane Dimmitt; Soto, Norma Elva Sáenz

2017-08-01

Development of a Spanish Version Contraceptive Self-efficacy Scale for use among heterosexual Mexican populations of reproductive age inclusive of 18-35years. Methods of family planning have decreased in Mexico which may lead to an increase in unintended pregnancies. Contraceptive self-efficacy is considered a predictor and precursor for use of family planning methods. Cross-sectional, descriptive study design was used to assess contraceptive self-efficacy among a heterosexual Mexican population (N=160) of reproductive age (18-35years). Adaptation of a Spanish Version Contraceptive Self-efficacy scale was conducted prior to instrument administration. Exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses identified seven factors with a variance of 72.812%. The adapted scale had a Cronbach alpha of 0.771. A significant correlation between the Spanish Version Contraceptive Self-efficacy Scale and the use of family planning methods was identified. The Spanish Version Contraceptive Self-efficacy scale has an acceptable Cronbach alpha. Exploratory factor analysis identified 7 components. A positive correlation between self-reported contraceptive self-efficacy and family planning method use was identified. This scale may be used among heterosexual Mexican men and women of reproductive age. The factor analysis (7 factors versus 4 factors for the original scale) identified a discrepancy for interpretation of the Spanish versus English language versions. Interpretation of findings obtained via the Spanish versión among heterosexual Mexican men and women of reproductive age require interpretation based upon these differences identified in these analyses. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Fifth Skill: Hearing the Unspoken Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vilarrubla, Montserrat

Aspects of nonverbal communication are examined as they relate to business communication and to the instruction of business language. Relevant literature on nonverbal communication is reviewed, focusing on gestures and body language and the problems inherent in interpretation of their meaning. Suggestions for educators include: training students…

Ethnography of Language Planning and Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hornberger, Nancy H.; Tapia, Aldo Anzures; Hanks, David H.; Dueñas, Frances Kvietok

2018-01-01

A decade ago, Hornberger & Johnson proposed that the ethnography of language planning and policy (ELPP) offers a useful way to understand how people create, interpret, and at times resist language policy and planning (LPP). They envisioned ethnographic investigation of layered LPP ideological and implementational spaces, taking up Hornberger's…

The invisibility of informal interpreting in mental health care in South Africa: notes towards a contextual understanding.

PubMed

Swartz, Leslie; Kilian, Sanja

2014-12-01

Despite South Africa's constitutional commitment to equality, represented by 11 official languages and the promotion of South African Sign Language, many users of the public health system receive treatment from people who cannot speak their language, and there are no formal interpreting services. This is a legacy of service provision from the apartheid era, and interpreting is currently undertaken by nurses, cleaners, security guards, and family members of patients, amongst others. We provide a preliminary outline of proximal and distal issues which may bear upon this situation. Changing understandings of the nature of careers in the health field, international trends in mental health theory and practice toward crude biologism, and ongoing patterns of social exclusion and stigma all contribute not only to a continuing state of compromised linguistic access to mental health care, but also to processes of rendering invisible the actual work of care in the mental health field.

LLL 8080 BASIC-II interpreter user's manual

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McGoldrick, P.R.; Dickinson, J.; Allison, T.G.

1978-04-03

Scientists are finding increased applications for microprocessors as process controllers in their experiments. However, while microprocessors are small and inexpensive, they are difficult to program in machine or assembly language. A high-level language is needed to enable scientists to develop their own microcomputer programs for their experiments on location. Recognizing this need, LLL contracted to have such a language developed. This report describes the resulting LLL BASIC interpreter, which opeates with LLL's 8080-based MCS-8 microcomputer system. All numerical operations are done using Advanced Micro Device's Am9511 arithmetic processor chip or optionally by using a software simulation of that chip. 1more » figure.« less

The Language of Social Support in Social Media and its Effect on Suicidal Ideation Risk

PubMed Central

De Choudhury, Munmun; Kıcıman, Emre

2017-01-01

Online social support is known to play a significant role in mental well-being. However, current research is limited in its ability to quantify this link. Challenges exist due to the paucity of longitudinal, pre- and post mental illness risk data, and reliable methods that can examine causality between past availability of support and future risk. In this paper, we propose a method to measure how the language of comments in Reddit mental health communities influences risk to suicidal ideation in the future. Incorporating human assessments in a stratified propensity score analysis based framework, we identify comparable subpopulations of individuals and measure the effect of online social support language. We interpret these linguistic cues with an established theoretical model of social support, and find that esteem and network support play a more prominent role in reducing forthcoming risk. We discuss the implications of our work for designing tools that can improve support provisions in online communities. PMID:28840079

The Language of Social Support in Social Media and its Effect on Suicidal Ideation Risk.

PubMed

De Choudhury, Munmun; Kıcıman, Emre

2017-05-01

Online social support is known to play a significant role in mental well-being. However, current research is limited in its ability to quantify this link. Challenges exist due to the paucity of longitudinal, pre- and post mental illness risk data, and reliable methods that can examine causality between past availability of support and future risk. In this paper, we propose a method to measure how the language of comments in Reddit mental health communities influences risk to suicidal ideation in the future. Incorporating human assessments in a stratified propensity score analysis based framework, we identify comparable subpopulations of individuals and measure the effect of online social support language. We interpret these linguistic cues with an established theoretical model of social support, and find that esteem and network support play a more prominent role in reducing forthcoming risk. We discuss the implications of our work for designing tools that can improve support provisions in online communities.

Text-interpreter language for flexible generation of patient notes and instructions.

PubMed

Forker, T S

1992-01-01

An interpreted computer language has been developed along with a windowed user interface and multi-printer-support formatter to allow preparation of documentation of patient visits, including progress notes, prescriptions, excuses for work/school, outpatient laboratory requisitions, and patient instructions. Input is by trackball or mouse with little or no keyboard skill required. For clinical problems with specific protocols, the clinician can be prompted with problem-specific items of history, exam, and lab data to be gathered and documented. The language implements a number of text-related commands as well as branching logic and arithmetic commands. In addition to generating text, it is simple to implement arithmetic calculations such as weight-specific drug dosages; multiple branching decision-support protocols for paramedical personnel (or physicians); and calculation of clinical scores (e.g., coma or trauma scores) while simultaneously documenting the status of each component of the score. ASCII text files produced by the interpreter are available for computerized quality audit. Interpreter instructions are contained in text files users can customize with any text editor.

Medical Signbank as a Model for Sign Language Planning? A Review of Community Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Napier, Jemina; Major, George; Ferrara, Lindsay; Johnston, Trevor

2015-01-01

This paper reviews a sign language planning project conducted in Australia with deaf Auslan users. The Medical Signbank project utilised a cooperative language planning process to engage with the Deaf community and sign language interpreters to develop an online interactive resource of health-related signs, in order to address a gap in the health…

Neural Correlates of Language Comprehension in Autism Spectrum Disorders: When Language Conflicts with World Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tesink, Cathelijne M. J. Y.; Buitelaar, Jan K.; Petersson, Karl Magnus; van der Gaag, Rutger Jan; Teunisse, Jan-Pieter; Hagoort, Peter

2011-01-01

In individuals with ASD, difficulties with language comprehension are most evident when higher-level semantic-pragmatic language processing is required, for instance when context has to be used to interpret the meaning of an utterance. Until now, it is unclear at what level of processing and for what type of context these difficulties in language…

Task Effects on Linguistic Complexity and Accuracy: A Large-Scale Learner Corpus Analysis Employing Natural Language Processing Techniques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexopoulou, Theodora; Michel, Marije; Murakami, Akira; Meurers, Detmar

2017-01-01

Large-scale learner corpora collected from online language learning platforms, such as the EF-Cambridge Open Language Database (EFCAMDAT), provide opportunities to analyze learner data at an unprecedented scale. However, interpreting the learner language in such corpora requires a precise understanding of tasks: How does the prompt and input of a…

Patient empowerment by increasing the understanding of medical language for lay users.

PubMed

Topac, V; Stoicu-Tivadar, V

2013-01-01

Patient empowerment is important in order to increase the quality of medical care and the life quality of the patients. An important obstacle for empowering patients is the language barrier the lay patient encounter when accessing medical information. To design and develop a service that will help increase the understanding of medical language for lay persons. The service identifies and explains medical terminology from a given text by annotating the terms in the original text with the definition. It is based on an original terminology interpretation engine that uses a fuzzy matching dictionary. The service was implemented in two projects: a) into the server of a tele-care system (TELEASIS) with the purpose of adapting medical text assigned by medical personnel for the assisted patients. b) Into a dedicated web site that can adapt the medical language from raw text or from existing web pages. The output of the service was evaluated by a group of persons, and the results indicate that such a system can increase the understanding of medical texts. Several design decisions were driven from the evaluation, and are being considered for future development. Other tests measuring accuracy and time performance for the fuzzy terminology recognition have been performed. Test results revealed good performance for accuracy and excellent results regarding time performance. The current version of the service increases the accessibility of medical language by explaining terminology with a good accuracy, while allowing the user to easily identify errors, in order to reduce the risk of incorrect terminology recognition.

A systematic review of context bias in invasion biology.

PubMed

Warren, Robert J; King, Joshua R; Tarsa, Charlene; Haas, Brian; Henderson, Jeremy

2017-01-01

The language that scientists use to frame biological invasions may reveal inherent bias-including how data are interpreted. A frequent critique of invasion biology is the use of value-laden language that may indicate context bias. Here we use a systematic study of language and interpretation in papers drawn from invasion biology to evaluate whether there is a link between the framing of papers and the interpretation of results. We also examine any trends in context bias in biological invasion research. We examined 651 peer-reviewed invasive species competition studies and implemented a rigorous systematic review to examine bias in the presentation and interpretation of native and invasive competition in invasion biology. We predicted that bias in the presentation of invasive species is increasing, as suggested by several authors, and that bias against invasive species would result in misinterpreting their competitive dominance in correlational observational studies compared to causative experimental studies. We indeed found evidence of bias in the presentation and interpretation of invasive species research; authors often introduced research with invasive species in a negative context and study results were interpreted against invasive species more in correlational studies. However, we also found a distinct decrease in those biases since the mid-2000s. Given that there have been several waves of criticism from scientists both inside and outside invasion biology, our evidence suggests that the subdiscipline has somewhat self-corrected apparent biases.

Sociolinguistics and Language Acquisition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolfson, Nessa, Ed.; Judd, Elliot, Ed.

The following are included in this collection of essays on patterns of rules of speaking, and sociolinguistics and second language learning and teaching: "How to Tell When Someone Is Saying 'No' Revisited" (Joan Rubin); "Apology: A Speech-Act Set" (Elite Olshtain and Andrew Cohen); "Interpreting and Performing Speech Acts in a Second Language: A…

Language Policies, Identities, and Education in Refugee Resettlement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feuerherm, Emily

2013-01-01

This dissertation explores the creation and development of a community based language and health program for Iraqi refugees. The need for the program is contextualized by international, national and local policies of refugee resettlement, policies for language and education, and the interpretation of these policies on the ground. Ideologies…

Language Learners' and Teachers' Perceptions of Task Repetition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahmadian, Mohammad Javad; Mansouri, Seyyed Abbas; Ghominejad, Shiva

2017-01-01

This study examined how English language learners and teachers perceive and interpret task repetition (TR), and whether teachers' and learners' views about this pedagogic practice correspond. In addition, the study explored learners' cognitive and affective engagement with TR. We asked eight experienced language teachers to use a structured…

Every Classroom's a Stage: Theatrical Contributions to Language and Literature Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waterson, Karolyn

A discussion of use of theater in second language instruction describes one teacher's experience using French masterpieces in the language class. Illustrations are drawn from Racine's seventeenth-century classical tragedy "Andromaque." Five individual and group activities are described that are referred to as the Circle, the Interpreter, the…

Some Learning Problems Concerning the Use of Symbolic Language in Physics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Lozano, Silvia Ragout; Cardenas, Marta

2002-01-01

Draws the attention of teachers of basic university physics courses to student problems concerning the interpretation of the symbolic language used in physics. Reports specific difficulties found in the first physics course related to different kinds of statements expressed in the mathematical language. (Contains 15 references.) (Author/YDS)

Cultural and Social Processes of Language Brokering among Arab, Asian, and Latin Immigrants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guan, Shu-Sha Angie; Nash, Afaf; Orellana, Marjorie Faulstich

2016-01-01

This study examines how language and culture brokering (translating and interpreting language and culture for others) influences the acculturative experiences and self-perceptions of young adults from immigrant Arab, Asian, and Latino American backgrounds. Semi-structured interviews with 10 participants suggest that mediating information for…

Reader, Text, Translation, and Interpretive Potentials.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dollerup, Cay; And Others

No matter what pains translators take to produce a target-language text "identical" to the source-language text, criticism and/or translation of an original literary work cannot be the same in different language communities. That translation may change potentialities in the textual experience is particularly obvious in literature with a…

Our Perception of Woman as Determined by Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayim, Maryann

Recognition of gender as a significant factor in the social parameters of language is a very recent phenomonon. The external aspects of language as they relate to sexism have social and political ramifications. Using Peirce's definition of sign, which encompasses the representation, the object, and its interpretation, sexually stereotypic language…

Communicating Finnish Quietude: A Pedagogical Process for Discovering Implicit Cultural Meanings in Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berry, Michael; Carbaugh, Donal; Nurmikari-Berry, Marjatta

2004-01-01

This paper introduces a pedagogical approach to integrating intercultural communication into language learning. The focus is on the development of competence in discovering and interpreting cultural meanings when communicating in English as an international language. The analyses of data which students produced illustrates how discovering implicit…

The Comparative Method of Language Acquisition Research: A Mayan Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pye, Clifton; Pfeiler, Barbara

2014-01-01

This article demonstrates how the Comparative Method can be applied to cross-linguistic research on language acquisition. The Comparative Method provides a systematic procedure for organizing and interpreting acquisition data from different languages. The Comparative Method controls for cross-linguistic differences at all levels of the grammar and…

Multiple Languages in One Society: Categorisations of Language and Social Cohesion in Policy and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dooly, Melinda; Unamuno, Virginia

2009-01-01

This article examines the way in which socially constructed notions of "language", "social cohesion" and "diversity" create tensions within different educational arenas, particularly concerning educational policies developed at administrative levels and the subsequent interpretation of these policies in the classroom.…

Languaging about Intercultural Communication: The Occurrence and Conceptual Focus of Intracultural Peer Collaborative Dialogues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNeil, Levi

2017-01-01

This study examined intracultural peers using language as a cognitive tool (i.e. "languaging") to recognise, understand, and explain intercultural communication concepts. In pairs, 42 Korean public school teachers enrolled in an in-service program completed a describe-interpret-evaluate task through synchronous computer-mediated…

STRUCTURE PLUS MEANING EQUALS LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BELASCO, SIMON

TRUE FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY CAN BE ACHIEVED ONLY BY THE INTERNALIZATION OF THE ENTIRE GRAMMAR OF THE TARGET LANGUAGE PLUS THE DEVELOPMENT OF SKILL IN SEMANTIC INTERPRETATION. ADHERENCE TO EITHER OF THE METHODOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS THAT UNDERLIE TODAY'S AUDIOLINGUALLY-ORIENTED PROGRAMS WILL LEAD STUDENTS TO NOTHING MORE THAN A LEARNING PLATEAU.…

English in China's Language Policies for Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Hongmei

2012-01-01

Taking ecological language planning and policy as its conceptual orientation and interpretive policy analysis as its methodological framework, and following an embedded single-case study design, this study explores the role of English, as compared with the role of Chinese, in China's educational language planning and policy for higher education.…

A Strategy for Language Assessment of Young Children: A Combination of Two Approaches.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Donna J.; Rice, Mabel L.

1986-01-01

A proposed strategy for language assessment advocates a combination of descriptive and formal assessment measures. This approach involves a parent-clinician interview, parent-child observations, clinician-directed formal and nonformal assessment procedures, and a parent-clinician interpretation. An elaborated sample of language assessment is…

A Priority Fuzzy Logic Extension of the XQuery Language

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Škrbić, Srdjan; Wettayaprasit, Wiphada; Saeueng, Pannipa

2011-09-01

In recent years there have been significant research findings in flexible XML querying techniques using fuzzy set theory. Many types of fuzzy extensions to XML data model and XML query languages have been proposed. In this paper, we introduce priority fuzzy logic extensions to XQuery language. Describing these extensions we introduce a new query language. Moreover, we describe a way to implement an interpreter for this language using an existing XML native database.

Empirical correlates for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form in a German inpatient sample.

PubMed

Moultrie, Josefine K; Engel, Rolf R

2017-10-01

We identified empirical correlates for the 42 substantive scales of the German language version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF): Higher Order, Restructured Clinical, Specific Problem, Interest, and revised Personality Psychopathology Five scales. We collected external validity data by means of a 177-item chart review form in a sample of 488 psychiatric inpatients of a German university hospital. We structured our findings along the interpretational guidelines for the MMPI-2-RF and compared them with the validity data published in the tables of the MMPI-2-RF Technical Manual. Our results show significant correlations between MMPI-2-RF scales and conceptually relevant criteria. Most of the results were in line with U.S. validation studies. Some of the differences could be attributed to sample compositions. For most of the scales, construct validity coefficients were acceptable. Taken together, this study amplifies the enlarging body of research on empirical correlates of the MMPI-2-RF scales in a new sample. The study suggests that the interpretations given in the MMPI-2-RF manual may be generalizable to the German language MMPI-2-RF. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

A natural language interface plug-in for cooperative query answering in biological databases.

PubMed

Jamil, Hasan M

2012-06-11

One of the many unique features of biological databases is that the mere existence of a ground data item is not always a precondition for a query response. It may be argued that from a biologist's standpoint, queries are not always best posed using a structured language. By this we mean that approximate and flexible responses to natural language like queries are well suited for this domain. This is partly due to biologists' tendency to seek simpler interfaces and partly due to the fact that questions in biology involve high level concepts that are open to interpretations computed using sophisticated tools. In such highly interpretive environments, rigidly structured databases do not always perform well. In this paper, our goal is to propose a semantic correspondence plug-in to aid natural language query processing over arbitrary biological database schema with an aim to providing cooperative responses to queries tailored to users' interpretations. Natural language interfaces for databases are generally effective when they are tuned to the underlying database schema and its semantics. Therefore, changes in database schema become impossible to support, or a substantial reorganization cost must be absorbed to reflect any change. We leverage developments in natural language parsing, rule languages and ontologies, and data integration technologies to assemble a prototype query processor that is able to transform a natural language query into a semantically equivalent structured query over the database. We allow knowledge rules and their frequent modifications as part of the underlying database schema. The approach we adopt in our plug-in overcomes some of the serious limitations of many contemporary natural language interfaces, including support for schema modifications and independence from underlying database schema. The plug-in introduced in this paper is generic and facilitates connecting user selected natural language interfaces to arbitrary databases using a semantic description of the intended application. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach with a practical example.

Nursing Unit Environment Associated with Provision of Language Services in Pediatric Hospices.

PubMed

Lindley, Lisa C; Held, Mary L; Henley, Kristen M; Miller, Kathryn A; Pedziwol, Katherine E; Rumley, Laurie E

2017-04-01

Provision of language services in pediatric hospice enables nurses to communicate effectively with patients who have limited English proficiency. Language barriers contribute to ethnic disparities in health care. While language service use corresponds with improved patient comprehension of illness and care options, we lack an understanding of how the nurse work environment affects the provision of these services. Data were obtained from the 2007 National Home and Hospice Care Survey and included a study sample of 1251 pediatric hospice agencies. Variable selection was guided by structural contingency theory, which posits that organizational effectiveness is dependent upon how well an organization's structure relates to its context. Using multivariate logistic regression, we analyzed the extent to which nursing unit environment predicted provision of translation services and interpreter services. The majority of hospices provided translation services (74.9 %) and interpreter services (87.1 %). Four variables predicted translation services: registered nurse (RN) unit size, RN leadership, RN medical expertise, and for-profit status. RN medical expertise and having a safety climate within the hospice corresponded with provision of interpreter services. Findings indicate that nursing unit environment predicts provision of language services. Hospices with more specialized RNs and a stronger safety climate might include staffs who are dedicated to best care provision, including language services. This study provides valuable data on the nurse work environment as a predictor of language services provision, which can better serve patients with limited English proficiency and ultimately reduce ethnic disparities in end-of-life care for children and their families.

Nursing unit environment associated with provision of language services in pediatric hospices

PubMed Central

Lindley, Lisa C.; Held, Mary L.; Henley, Kristen M.; Miller, Kathryn A.; Pedziwol, Katherine E.; Rumley, Laurie E.

2016-01-01

Background Provision of language services in pediatric hospice enables nurses to communicate effectively with patients who have limited English proficiency. Language barriers contribute to ethnic disparities in health care. While language service use corresponds with improved patient comprehension of illness and care options, we lack an understanding of how the nurse work environment affects the provision of these services. Methods Data were obtained from the 2007 National Home and Hospice Care Survey and included a study sample of 1,251 pediatric hospice agencies. Variable selection was guided by Structural Contingency Theory, which posits that organizational effectiveness is dependent upon how well an organization’s structure relates to its context. Using multivariate logistic regression, we analyzed the extent to which nursing unit environment predicted provision of translation services and interpreter services. Results The majority of hospices provided translation services (74.9%) and interpreter services (87.1%). Four variables predicted translation services: registered nurse (RN) unit size, RN leadership, RN medical expertise, and for-profit status. RN medical expertise and having a safety climate within the hospice corresponded with provision of interpreter services. Conclusions Findings indicate that nursing unit environment predict provision of language services. Hospices with more specialized RNs and a stronger safety climate might include staff who are dedicated to best care provision, including language services. This study provides valuable data on the nurse work environment as a predictor of language services provision, which can better serve patients with limited English proficiency, and ultimately reduce ethnic disparities in end-of-life care for children and their families. PMID:27059050

Rhetorical and Lexico-Grammatical Features of Argumentative Writing in Spanish as a Heritage Language and as a Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paredes, Sofia M.

2011-01-01

Student academic writing in higher education is a central component of language programs whose purpose is to promote advanced literacy in the target language. At this level, students are required to produce texts that are analytical-argumentative in nature. This type of genre requires writers to formulate an interpretative statement or thesis and…

The cost and utilisation patterns of a pilot sign language interpreter service for primary health care services in South Africa

PubMed Central

Heap, Marion; Sinanovic, Edina

2017-01-01

Background The World Health Organisation estimates disabling hearing loss to be around 5.3%, while a study of hearing impairment and auditory pathology in Limpopo, South Africa found a prevalence of nearly 9%. Although Sign Language Interpreters (SLIs) improve the communication challenges in health care, they are unaffordable for many signing Deaf people and people with disabling hearing loss. On the other hand, there are no legal provisions in place to ensure the provision of SLIs in the health sector in most countries including South Africa. To advocate for funding of such initiatives, reliable cost estimates are essential and such data is scarce. To bridge this gap, this study estimated the costs of providing such a service within a South African District health service based on estimates obtained from a pilot-project that initiated the first South African Sign Language Interpreter (SASLI) service in health-care. Methods The ingredients method was used to calculate the unit cost per SASLI-assisted visit from a provider perspective. The unit costs per SASLI-assisted visit were then used in estimating the costs of scaling up this service to the District Health Services. The average annual SASLI utilisation rate per person was calculated on Stata v.12 using the projects’ registry from 2008–2013. Sensitivity analyses were carried out to determine the effect of changing the discount rate and personnel costs. Results Average Sign Language Interpreter services’ utilisation rates increased from 1.66 to 3.58 per person per year, with a median of 2 visits, from 2008–2013. The cost per visit was US$189.38 in 2013 whilst the estimated costs of scaling up this service ranged from US$14.2million to US$76.5million in the Cape Metropole District. These cost estimates represented 2.3%-12.2% of the budget for the Western Cape District Health Services for 2013. Conclusions In the presence of Sign Language Interpreters, Deaf Sign language users utilise health care service to a similar extent as the hearing population. However, this service requires significant capital investment by government to enable access to healthcare for the Deaf. PMID:29272272

The cost and utilisation patterns of a pilot sign language interpreter service for primary health care services in South Africa.

PubMed

Zulu, Tryphine; Heap, Marion; Sinanovic, Edina

2017-01-01

The World Health Organisation estimates disabling hearing loss to be around 5.3%, while a study of hearing impairment and auditory pathology in Limpopo, South Africa found a prevalence of nearly 9%. Although Sign Language Interpreters (SLIs) improve the communication challenges in health care, they are unaffordable for many signing Deaf people and people with disabling hearing loss. On the other hand, there are no legal provisions in place to ensure the provision of SLIs in the health sector in most countries including South Africa. To advocate for funding of such initiatives, reliable cost estimates are essential and such data is scarce. To bridge this gap, this study estimated the costs of providing such a service within a South African District health service based on estimates obtained from a pilot-project that initiated the first South African Sign Language Interpreter (SASLI) service in health-care. The ingredients method was used to calculate the unit cost per SASLI-assisted visit from a provider perspective. The unit costs per SASLI-assisted visit were then used in estimating the costs of scaling up this service to the District Health Services. The average annual SASLI utilisation rate per person was calculated on Stata v.12 using the projects' registry from 2008-2013. Sensitivity analyses were carried out to determine the effect of changing the discount rate and personnel costs. Average Sign Language Interpreter services' utilisation rates increased from 1.66 to 3.58 per person per year, with a median of 2 visits, from 2008-2013. The cost per visit was US$189.38 in 2013 whilst the estimated costs of scaling up this service ranged from US$14.2million to US$76.5million in the Cape Metropole District. These cost estimates represented 2.3%-12.2% of the budget for the Western Cape District Health Services for 2013. In the presence of Sign Language Interpreters, Deaf Sign language users utilise health care service to a similar extent as the hearing population. However, this service requires significant capital investment by government to enable access to healthcare for the Deaf.

Validation of the translation of an instrument to measure reliability of written information on treatment choices: a study on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

PubMed

Montoya, A; Llopis, N; Gilaberte, I

2011-12-01

DISCERN is an instrument designed to help patients assess the reliability of written information on treatment choices. Originally created in English, there is no validated Spanish version of this instrument. This study seeks to validate the Spanish translation of the DISCERN instrument used as a primary measure on a multicenter study aimed to assess the reliability of web-based information on treatment choices for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We used a modified version of a method for validating translated instruments in which the original source-language version is formally compared with the back-translated source-language version. Each item was ranked in terms of comparability of language, similarity of interpretability, and degree of understandability. Responses used Likert scales ranging from 1 to 7, where 1 indicates the best interpretability, language and understandability, and 7 indicates the worst. Assessments were performed by 20 raters fluent in the source language. The Spanish translation of DISCERN, based on ratings of comparability, interpretability and degree of understandability (mean score (SD): 1.8 (1.1), 1.4 (0.9) and 1.6 (1.1), respectively), was considered extremely comparable. All items received a score of less than three, therefore no further revision of the translation was needed. The validation process showed that the quality of DISCERN translation was high, validating the comparable language of the tool translated on assessing written information on treatment choices for ADHD.

Subtyping stuttering II: contributions from language and temperament.

PubMed

Seery, Carol Hubbard; Watkins, Ruth V; Mangelsdorf, Sarah C; Shigeto, Aya

2007-01-01

This paper is the second in a series of two articles exploring subtypes of stuttering, and it addresses the question of whether and how language ability and temperament variables may be relevant to the study of subtypes within the larger population of children who stutter. Despite observations of varied profiles among young children who stutter, efforts to identify and characterize subtypes of stuttering have had limited influence on theoretical or clinical understanding of the disorder. This manuscript briefly highlights research on language and temperament in young children who stutter, and considers whether the results can provide guidance for efforts to more effectively investigate and elucidate subtypes in childhood stuttering. Issues from the literature that appear relevant to research on stuttering subtypes include: (a) the question of whether stuttering is best characterized as categorical or continuous; (b) interpretation of individual differences in skills and profiles; and (c) the fact that, during the preschool years, the interaction among domains such as language and temperament are changing very rapidly, resulting in large differences in developmental profiles within relatively brief chronological age periods. The reader will be able to: (1) discuss possible associations of language ability and temperament to the development of stuttering in young children; (2) summarize the subtyping research from the literature on language ability and temperament in young children; (3) generate directions for future research of stuttering subtypes drawn from the literature related to language ability and temperament in young children.

Overcoming language barriers in community-based research with refugee and migrant populations: options for using bilingual workers.

PubMed

Lee, Susan K; Sulaiman-Hill, Cheryl R; Thompson, Sandra C

2014-04-12

Although the challenges of working with culturally and linguistically diverse groups can lead to the exclusion of some communities from research studies, cost effective strategies to encourage access and promote cross-cultural linkages between researchers and ethnic minority participants are essential to ensure their views are heard and their health needs identified. Using bilingual research assistants is one means to achieve this. In a study exploring alcohol and other drug service use by migrant women in Western Australia, bilingual workers were used to assist with participant recruitment and administration of a survey to 268 women who spoke more than 40 different languages. Professional interpreters, bilingual students, bilingual overseas-trained health professionals and community sector bilingual workers were used throughout the research project. For the initial qualitative phase, professional interpreters were used to conduct interviews and focus group sessions, however scheduling conflicts, inflexibility, their inability to help with recruitment and the expense prompted exploration of alternative options for interview interpreting in the quantitative component of the study. Bilingual mature-age students on work placement and overseas-trained health professionals provided good entry into their different community networks and successfully recruited and interviewed participants, often in languages with limited interpreter access. Although both groups required training and supervision, overseas-trained health professionals often had existing research skills, as well as understanding of key issues such as confidentiality and referral processes. Strategies to minimise social desirability bias and the need to set boundaries were discussed during regular debriefing sessions. Having a number of workers recruiting participants also helped minimise the potential for selection bias. The practical and educational experience gained by the bilingual workers was regarded as capacity building and a potentially valuable community resource for future health research projects. The use of bilingual workers was key to the feasibility and success of the project. The most successful outcomes occurred with students and overseas-trained health professionals who had good community networks for recruitment and the required linguistic skills. By describing the advantages and disadvantages encountered when working with bilingual workers, we offer practical insights to assist other researchers working with linguistically diverse groups.

Overcoming language barriers in community-based research with refugee and migrant populations: options for using bilingual workers

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Although the challenges of working with culturally and linguistically diverse groups can lead to the exclusion of some communities from research studies, cost effective strategies to encourage access and promote cross-cultural linkages between researchers and ethnic minority participants are essential to ensure their views are heard and their health needs identified. Using bilingual research assistants is one means to achieve this. In a study exploring alcohol and other drug service use by migrant women in Western Australia, bilingual workers were used to assist with participant recruitment and administration of a survey to 268 women who spoke more than 40 different languages. Discussion Professional interpreters, bilingual students, bilingual overseas-trained health professionals and community sector bilingual workers were used throughout the research project. For the initial qualitative phase, professional interpreters were used to conduct interviews and focus group sessions, however scheduling conflicts, inflexibility, their inability to help with recruitment and the expense prompted exploration of alternative options for interview interpreting in the quantitative component of the study. Bilingual mature-age students on work placement and overseas-trained health professionals provided good entry into their different community networks and successfully recruited and interviewed participants, often in languages with limited interpreter access. Although both groups required training and supervision, overseas-trained health professionals often had existing research skills, as well as understanding of key issues such as confidentiality and referral processes. Strategies to minimise social desirability bias and the need to set boundaries were discussed during regular debriefing sessions. Having a number of workers recruiting participants also helped minimise the potential for selection bias. The practical and educational experience gained by the bilingual workers was regarded as capacity building and a potentially valuable community resource for future health research projects. Summary The use of bilingual workers was key to the feasibility and success of the project. The most successful outcomes occurred with students and overseas-trained health professionals who had good community networks for recruitment and the required linguistic skills. By describing the advantages and disadvantages encountered when working with bilingual workers, we offer practical insights to assist other researchers working with linguistically diverse groups. PMID:24725431

Data flow language and interpreter for a reconfigurable distributed data processor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hurt, A.D.; Heath, J.R.

1982-01-01

An analytic language and an interpreter whereby an applications data flow graph may serve as an input to a reconfigurable distributed data processor is proposed. The architecture considered consists of a number of loosely coupled computing elements (CES) which may be linked to data and file memories through fully nonblocking interconnect networks. The real-time performance of such an architecture depends upon its ability to alter its topology in response to changes in application, asynchronous data rates and faults. Such a data flow language enhances the versatility of a reconfigurable architecture by allowing the user to specify the machine's topology atmore » a very high level. 11 references.« less

Albanian Parents and the Greek Educational Context: Who Is Willing to Fight for the Home Language?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gkaintartzi, Anastasia; Chatzidaki, Aspasia; Tsokalidou, Roula

2014-01-01

This article examines views of Albanian immigrant parents regarding home-language maintenance in Greece. It aims to reveal language ideologies in relation to broader ideologies about schooling and education. Following a qualitative interpretative approach, we conducted semi-structured individual and group interviews with 19 parents of bilingual…

The Psychotherapist and the Sign Language Interpreter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Bruin, Ed; Brugmans, Petra

2006-01-01

Specialized psychotherapy for deaf people in the Dutch and Western European mental health systems is still a rather young specialism. A key policy principle in Dutch mental health care for the deaf is that they should receive treatment in the language most accessible to them, which is usually Dutch Sign Language (Nederlandse Gebarentaal or NGT).…

Technology-Mediated Second Language Vocabulary Development: A Review of Trends in Research Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elgort, Irina

2018-01-01

Technology-mediated vocabulary development (TMVD) in a second language (L2) covers a wide range of instructional and learning treatments, contexts, and technologies and is situated in a broader field of second language vocabulary learning. Vocabulary knowledge is a complex, multidimensional construct that has been interpreted and categorized in…

Nonverbal and Language-Reduced Measures of Cognitive Ability: A Review and Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drevon, Daniel D.; Knight, Rachel M.; Bradley-Johnson, Sharon

2017-01-01

With the number of new and revised nonverbal and language-reduced tests of cognitive ability, selection and interpretation of appropriate measures can be complicated. Seven nonverbal or language-reduced tests with normative data collected within the last 15 years were evaluated. Besides evaluating technical adequacy, other variables affecting test…

Interpreting Definiteness in a Second Language without Articles: The Case of L2 Russian

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cho, Jacee; Slabakova, Roumyana

2014-01-01

This article investigates the second language (L2) acquisition of two expressions of the semantic feature [definite] in Russian, a language without articles, by English and Korean native speakers. Within the Feature Reassembly approach (Lardiere, 2009), Slabakova (2009) has argued that reassembling features that are represented overtly in the…

Grappling with Language Barriers: Implications for the Professional Development of Immigrant Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abramova, Inna

2013-01-01

In this narrative inquiry, I explored the role of language in the lives of six Russian-speaking immigrant teachers. Theoretical perspectives emphasized experience, context, and culture in understanding their beliefs, and language served as an interpretive lens through which the experiences were explored. The inquiry revealed the following…

Interactional Competence: Challenges for Validity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Richard F.

One of the ways in which language testing interfaces with applied linguistics is in the definition and validation of the constructs that underlie language tests. When language testers and score users interpret scores on a test, they do so by implicit and explicit reference to the construct on which the test is based. Equally, when applied to new…

Voices from Test-Takers: Further Evidence for Language Assessment Validation and Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Liying; DeLuca, Christopher

2011-01-01

Test-takers' interpretations of validity as related to test constructs and test use have been widely debated in large-scale language assessment. This study contributes further evidence to this debate by examining 59 test-takers' perspectives in writing large-scale English language tests. Participants wrote about their test-taking experiences in…

Later Language Development: The School-Age and Adolescent Years. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nippold, Marilyn A.

This book focuses on the more advanced language abilities of upper grade youth and adolescents. It discusses how language develops from childhood to adulthood. The book compiles, integrates, and interprets the extensive research on this population for numerous topics. It is useful to anyone seeking an increased understanding of the relationships…

Evidence and Interpretation in Language Learning Research: Opportunities for Collaboration with Computational Linguistics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meurers, Detmar; Dickinson, Markus

2017-01-01

This article discusses two types of opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration between computational linguistics (CL) and language learning research. We target the connection between data and theory in second language (L2) research and highlight opportunities to (a) enrich the options for obtaining data and (b) support the identification…

Intentions and Actions in Molecular Self-Assembly: Perspectives on Students' Language Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Höst, Gunnar E.; Anward, Jan

2017-01-01

Learning to talk science is an important aspect of learning to do science. Given that scientists' language frequently includes intentions and purposes in explanations of unobservable objects and events, teachers must interpret whether learners' use of such language reflects a scientific understanding or inaccurate anthropomorphism and teleology.…

Que bonito es leer! (How Nice It Is to Read!).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villarreal, Abelardo; And Others

This Spanish-language supplementary language arts program focuses on the development of decoding, encoding, comprehension, and interpretation skills, and is oriented toward the Mexican-American child's experience. It is designed for first-grade bilingual programs and as a resource for instruction in Spanish as a second language up to the third…

Moving Wor(l)ds: Practicing Evocative Language Use through Fairy Tales

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herakova, Liliana

2017-01-01

Courses: Public Speaking, Storytelling, Performance Ethnography, Oral Interpretation, Language and Communication. Objectives: The aims of this class exercise are: (1) To engage in a collaborative creative process of developing a story/topic from a simple idea to deepening the relationship with the audience through vivid and evocative language; (2)…

Medical Signbank: Bringing Deaf People and Linguists Together in the Process of Language Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnston, Trevor; Napier, Jemina

2010-01-01

In this article we describe an Australian project in which linguists, signed language interpreters, medical and health care professionals, and members of the Deaf community use the technology of the Internet to facilitate cooperative language development. A web-based, interactive multimedia lexicon, an encyclopedic dictionary, and a database of…

Symbolic Play of Children with Language Impairment: A Critical Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casby, Michael W.

1997-01-01

This paper reviews research on symbolic play gaps between children with and without language impairment (LI), arguing that these gaps should not be interpreted as demonstrative of marked deficits in general representational or specific symbolic play competence of children with LI. Frequent encroachment of language into testing procedures is cited…

The Interpretability Hypothesis: Evidence from Wh-Interrogatives in Second Language Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsimpli, Ianthi Maria; Dimitrakopoulou, Maria

2007-01-01

The second language acquisition (SLA) literature reports numerous studies of proficient second language (L2) speakers who diverge significantly from native speakers despite the evidence offered by the L2 input. Recent SLA theories have attempted to account for native speaker/non-native speaker (NS/NNS) divergence by arguing for the dissociation…

Special Operations Forces Language and Culture Needs Assessment: General Use of Interpreters

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-11-04

strategic use of interpreters. This information can be used to examine and revise policies and everyday practice related to interpreter use, so that SOF...operators’ mission effectiveness can be improved. Examining the current state of interpreter use in the SOF community can highlight important...the other hand, those who received pre-deployment use of interpreter training found it effective. This training can teach SOF operators how to

Experiences of Kurdish war-wounded refugees in communication with Swedish authorities through interpreter.

PubMed

Fatahi, Nabi; Nordholm, Lena; Mattsson, Bengt; Hellström, Mikael

2010-02-01

To study experiences of war-wounded Kurdish refugees with respect to cross-cultural communication through interpreters. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten men, aged 31-42. Content analysis was used for analysis and interpretation of data. War-wounded Kurdish refugees experienced a number of difficulties regarding communication through interpreters, mainly related to the insufficient language link to the Swedish authorities, particularly health care personnel. In many instances, interpreters were selected based on the immigrant's citizenship rather than mother tongue, leading to a more complex, tri-lingual interpretation situation. Differences in cultural background, fear, suspicion and lack of confidence in interpreters were addressed as other problems by the participants. Interpreter competence and patient confidence in the interpreter are essential for an adequate cross-cultural health communication. Assignment of interpreters should be based on knowledge of the patient's/client's mother tongue, rather than citizenship, and the outcome is improved by a common ethnic and cultural background of interpreter and patient/client. Our study should be considered as a pilot study, and the results should be validated in larger cohorts as well as in other ethnic and language groups. In order to minimize communication misunderstandings, complicated tri-lingual interpretation situations should be avoided. Interpreters should ideally be assigned according to patient's/client's mother tongue rather than citizenship. Interpreters' competence and patient's/client's confidence in interpreter may have significant impact on communication outcome. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML): Language Specification for Level 3 Version 2 Core.

PubMed

Hucka, Michael; Bergmann, Frank T; Dräger, Andreas; Hoops, Stefan; Keating, Sarah M; Le Novère, Nicolas; Myers, Chris J; Olivier, Brett G; Sahle, Sven; Schaff, James C; Smith, Lucian P; Waltemath, Dagmar; Wilkinson, Darren J

2018-03-09

Computational models can help researchers to interpret data, understand biological functions, and make quantitative predictions. The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) is a file format for representing computational models in a declarative form that different software systems can exchange. SBML is oriented towards describing biological processes of the sort common in research on a number of topics, including metabolic pathways, cell signaling pathways, and many others. By supporting SBML as an input/output format, different tools can all operate on an identical representation of a model, removing opportunities for translation errors and assuring a common starting point for analyses and simulations. This document provides the specification for Version 2 of SBML Level 3 Core. The specification defines the data structures prescribed by SBML, their encoding in XML (the eXtensible Markup Language), validation rules that determine the validity of an SBML document, and examples of models in SBML form. The design of Version 2 differs from Version 1 principally in allowing new MathML constructs, making more child elements optional, and adding identifiers to all SBML elements instead of only selected elements. Other materials and software are available from the SBML project website at http://sbml.org/.

'I have only little English': language anxiety of Filipino migrants with chronic disease.

PubMed

Maneze, Della; Everett, Bronwyn; Kirby, Sue; DiGiacomo, Michelle; Davidson, Patricia M; Salamonson, Yenna

2016-12-01

This study investigates communication challenges faced by Filipino patients with chronic diseases when engaging with healthcare professionals (HCPs). Nine focus groups were conducted between November 2010 and June 2011. Two main categories of themes were identified: patient-related and HCP-related factors. Patient-related factors included three subthemes: (1) lack of confidence in their English language abilities in clinical situations; (2) cultural attitudes; and (3) strategies used to improve communication. Older Filipinos with chronic disease were anxious about their lack of ability to explain their symptoms in English and were concerned that asking questions was conveying distrust in the HCPs. Most of the elderly simply nodded their head to indicate they understood even if they did not, for fear of being thought 'stupid'. Many participants preferred Filipino GPs or have a relative interpret for them. Two subthemes were related to HCPs including (1) not being listened to and (2) assumptions of understanding. HCPs were thought to assume English language skills in Filipino patients and therefore were not careful about ensuring understanding. These findings highlighted the need for HCPs to be more aware of 'grey areas' in English-language proficiency and the cultural lens through which migrants understand health.

Community Health Center Provider and Staff’s Spanish Language Ability and Cultural Awareness

PubMed Central

Baig, Arshiya A.; Benitez, Amanda; Locklin, Cara A.; Campbell, Amanda; Schaefer, Cynthia T.; Heuer, Loretta J.; Mee Lee, Sang; Solomon, Marla C.; Quinn, Michael T.; Burnet, Deborah L.; Chin, Marshall H.

2014-01-01

Many community health center providers and staff care for Latinos with diabetes, but their Spanish language ability and awareness of Latino culture are unknown. We surveyed 512 Midwestern health center providers and staff who managed Latino patients with diabetes. Few respondents had high Spanish language (13%) or cultural awareness scores (22%). Of respondents who self-reported 76–100% of their patients were Latino, 48% had moderate/low Spanish language and 49% had moderate/low cultural competency scores. Among these respondents, 3% lacked access to interpreters and 27% had neither received cultural competency training nor had access to training. Among all respondents, Spanish skills and Latino cultural awareness were low. Respondents who saw a significant number of Latinos had good access to interpretation services but not cultural competency training. Improved Spanish-language skills and increased access to cultural competency training and Latino cultural knowledge are needed to provide linguistically and culturally tailored care to Latino patients. PMID:24858866

Evidence for bilateral involvement in idiom comprehension: An fMRI study.

PubMed

Zempleni, Monika-Zita; Haverkort, Marco; Renken, Remco; A Stowe, Laurie

2007-02-01

The goal of the current study was to identify the neural substrate of idiom comprehension using fMRI. Idioms are familiar, fixed expressions whose meaning is not dependent on the literal interpretation of the component words. We presented literally plausible idioms in a sentence forcing a figurative or a literal interpretation and contrasted them with sentences containing idioms for which no literal interpretation was available and with unambiguously literal sentences. The major finding of the current study is that figurative comprehension in the case of both ambiguous and unambiguous idioms is supported by bilateral inferior frontal gyri and left middle temporal gyrus. The right middle temporal gyrus is also involved, but seems to exclusively process the ambiguous idioms. Therefore, our data suggest a bilateral neural network underlying figurative comprehension, as opposed to the exclusive participation of the right hemisphere. The data also provide evidence against proposed models of idiom comprehension in which literal processing is by-passed, since figurative processing demanded more resources than literal processing in the language network.

An Interpreter’s Interpretation: Sign Language Interpreters’ View of Musculoskeletal Disorders

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-01-01

utilization (11%) and massage therapy (11.1%) in 1997 as the current study. However, in sharp contrast to the current study, Eisenberg and colleagues...should be examined include the use of complementary alternative medicine such as chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage therapy , and relaxation

The Deep Double Game: Oral Interpretation To Enhance Reading Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Athanases, Steven Z.; Barton, Jim

Supported by a rationale for activities in the language arts/English curriculum, this paper demonstrates methods of introducing students to current approaches to oral interpretation of literature. The paper argues that through planning, rehearsing, and reflecting on oral interpretations of literature, readers become increasingly aware of…

Interpretacion: The Lived Experience of Interpretation in the Bilingual Psychotherapist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melchor, Rosemary Laura

2008-01-01

To enhance the effectiveness of therapy for Spanish-speaking individuals and families requires an understanding of the subtleties of language use and interpretive processing. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the interpretive process in bilingual psychotherapists as they reflected upon their lived experiences of providing…

A Look at Simultaneous Interpretation. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barik, Henri C.

This paper summarizes the findings of an exploratory study concerned with certain temporal and qualitative aspects of simultaneous interpretation. Six French-English interpreters (2 professionals, 2 students and 2 amateurs) translated tape-recorded passages representing different types of materials from their weaker into their dominant language or…

Standardizing Interpretive Training to Create a More Meaningful Visitor Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carr, Rob

2016-01-01

Implementing a standardized interpretive training and mentoring program across multiple departments has helped created a shared language that staff and volunteers use to collaborate and evaluate interpretive programs and products. This has led to more efficient and effective training and measurable improvements in the quality of the visitor's…

Interpreting in Mental Health Settings: Issues and Concerns.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vernon, McCay; Miller, Katrina

2001-01-01

This paper examines expectations and stresses placed on sign language interpreters in mental health settings within a framework of demand and control theory. Translations of some specific psychological screening instruments and issues related to the Code of Ethics of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf are considered relative to…

THE LANGUAGE OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN--ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE LANGUAGE OF READING TEXTBOOKS AND THE QUALITY OF READING OF SELECTED CHILDREN.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

STRICKLAND, RUTH G.

THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO (1) ANALYZE THE ORAL LANGUAGE STRUCTURE OF FIRST- THROUGH SIXTH-GRADE CHILDREN, (2) COMPARE THAT STRUCTURE WITH THE LANGUAGE STRUCTURE IN BOOKS BY WHICH CHILDREN ARE TAUGHT TO READ, AND (3) ASCERTAIN, AT THE SECOND-GRADE LEVEL, THE INFLUENCE OF ANY DETERMINED DIFFERENCES ON THE QUALITY OF READING, READING INTERPRETATION,…

Event representations constrain the structure of language: Sign language as a window into universally accessible linguistic biases.

PubMed

Strickland, Brent; Geraci, Carlo; Chemla, Emmanuel; Schlenker, Philippe; Kelepir, Meltem; Pfau, Roland

2015-05-12

According to a theoretical tradition dating back to Aristotle, verbs can be classified into two broad categories. Telic verbs (e.g., "decide," "sell," "die") encode a logical endpoint, whereas atelic verbs (e.g., "think," "negotiate," "run") do not, and the denoted event could therefore logically continue indefinitely. Here we show that sign languages encode telicity in a seemingly universal way and moreover that even nonsigners lacking any prior experience with sign language understand these encodings. In experiments 1-5, nonsigning English speakers accurately distinguished between telic (e.g., "decide") and atelic (e.g., "think") signs from (the historically unrelated) Italian Sign Language, Sign Language of the Netherlands, and Turkish Sign Language. These results were not due to participants' inferring that the sign merely imitated the action in question. In experiment 6, we used pseudosigns to show that the presence of a salient visual boundary at the end of a gesture was sufficient to elicit telic interpretations, whereas repeated movement without salient boundaries elicited atelic interpretations. Experiments 7-10 confirmed that these visual cues were used by all of the sign languages studied here. Together, these results suggest that signers and nonsigners share universally accessible notions of telicity as well as universally accessible "mapping biases" between telicity and visual form.

Disparities in Rates of Inpatient Mortality and Adverse Events: Race/Ethnicity and Language as Independent Contributors

PubMed Central

Hines, Anika L.; Andrews, Roxanne M.; Moy, Ernest; Barrett, Marguerite L.; Coffey, Rosanna M.

2014-01-01

Patients with limited English proficiency have known limitations accessing health care, but differences in hospital outcomes once access is obtained are unknown. We investigate inpatient mortality rates and obstetric trauma for self-reported speakers of English, Spanish, and languages of Asia and the Pacific Islands (API) and compare quality of care by language with patterns by race/ethnicity. Data were from the United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, 2009 State Inpatient Databases for California. There were 3,757,218 records. Speaking a non-English principal language and having a non-White race/ethnicity did not place patients at higher risk for inpatient mortality; the exception was significantly higher stroke mortality for Japanese-speaking patients. Patients who spoke API languages or had API race/ethnicity had higher risk for obstetric trauma than English-speaking White patients. Spanish-speaking Hispanic patients had more obstetric trauma than English-speaking Hispanic patients. The influence of language on obstetric trauma and the potential effects of interpretation services on inpatient care are discussed. The broader context of policy implications for collection and reporting of language data is also presented. Results from other countries with and without English as a primary language are needed for the broadest interpretation and generalization of outcomes. PMID:25514153

New insights in cross-cultural communication.

PubMed

Schapira, Lidia

2012-01-01

Improving clinician-patient communication, improving clinical decision making, and eliminating mistrust have been identified as three key areas for reducing disparities in care. An important step is the training of cancer professionals to deliver culturally competent care in clinical settings as well as increasing the proportion of underrepresented minorities in the health care workforce. Providing care that is attuned to the patient's cultural preferences begins by talking to the patient about his or her cultural history and identifying the locus of decision making, preferences for disclosure of vital health information, and goals of care. Patients with low literacy and those with poor fluency of the dominant language require additional services. Language interpretation by trained professionals is fundamental to ensure that patients are able to provide informed consent for treatment. A working definition of culture involves multiple dimensions and levels and must be viewed as both dynamic and adaptive, rather than simply as a collection of beliefs and values. Effective cross-cultural education avoids stereotyping and promotes communication and negotiation to solve problems and minimize tension and conflict. Recent research has identified that unconscious biases held by clinicians affect their behavior and recommendations for treatment.

[Understanding questions: a specific difficulty in children with pragmatic communication and language disorders].

PubMed

Monfort, I; Monfort, M

2010-03-03

The question-answer schema is the basis for communicative interaction and is therefore a fundamental aim of the work carried out with children with severe communication and language impairment. Answering questions requires basic skills that enable the listener to identify intonation and facial expression, as well as skills in interpreting intentions and in understanding linguistic content. Some questions can rest on contextual-social keys and others may be based on lexical or structural keys. Some questions, however, call for a more complex understanding, such as 'what' and 'who' questions. Here, we propose an analysis of the skills involved in understanding questions and the consequences on intervention strategies. Intervention in understanding questions should combine different approaches (cognitive, social, linguistic) depending on the type of question, the specific difficulties the child has and the context.

Benefits of Sign Language Interpreting and Text Alternatives for Deaf Students' Classroom Learning

PubMed Central

Marschark, Marc; Leigh, Greg; Sapere, Patricia; Burnham, Denis; Convertino, Carol; Stinson, Michael; Knoors, Harry; Vervloed, Mathijs P. J.; Noble, William

2006-01-01

Four experiments examined the utility of real-time text in supporting deaf students' learning from lectures in postsecondary (Experiments 1 and 2) and secondary classrooms (Experiments 3 and 4). Experiment 1 compared the effects on learning of sign language interpreting, real-time text (C-Print), and both. Real-time text alone led to significantly higher performance by deaf students than the other two conditions, but performance by deaf students in all conditions was significantly below that of hearing peers who saw lectures without any support services. Experiment 2 compared interpreting and two forms of real-time text, C-Print and Communication Access Real-Time Translation, at immediate testing and after a 1-week delay (with study notes). No significant differences among support services were obtained at either testing. Experiment 3 also failed to reveal significant effects at immediate or delayed testing in a comparison of real-time text, direct (signed) instruction, and both. Experiment 4 found no significant differences between interpreting and interpreting plus real-time text on the learning of either new words or the content of television programs. Alternative accounts of the observed pattern of results are considered, but it is concluded that neither sign language interpreting nor real-time text have any inherent, generalized advantage over the other in supporting deaf students in secondary or postsecondary settings. Providing deaf students with both services simultaneously does not appear to provide any generalized benefit, at least for the kinds of materials utilized here. PMID:16928778

Benefits of sign language interpreting and text alternatives for deaf students' classroom learning.

PubMed

Marschark, Marc; Leigh, Greg; Sapere, Patricia; Burnham, Denis; Convertino, Carol; Stinson, Michael; Knoors, Harry; Vervloed, Mathijs P J; Noble, William

2006-01-01

Four experiments examined the utility of real-time text in supporting deaf students' learning from lectures in postsecondary (Experiments 1 and 2) and secondary classrooms (Experiments 3 and 4). Experiment 1 compared the effects on learning of sign language interpreting, real-time text (C-Print), and both. Real-time text alone led to significantly higher performance by deaf students than the other two conditions, but performance by deaf students in all conditions was significantly below that of hearing peers who saw lectures without any support services. Experiment 2 compared interpreting and two forms of real-time text, C-Print and Communication Access Real-Time Translation, at immediate testing and after a 1-week delay (with study notes). No significant differences among support services were obtained at either testing. Experiment 3 also failed to reveal significant effects at immediate or delayed testing in a comparison of real-time text, direct (signed) instruction, and both. Experiment 4 found no significant differences between interpreting and interpreting plus real-time text on the learning of either new words or the content of television programs. Alternative accounts of the observed pattern of results are considered, but it is concluded that neither sign language interpreting nor real-time text have any inherent, generalized advantage over the other in supporting deaf students in secondary or postsecondary settings. Providing deaf students with both services simultaneously does not appear to provide any generalized benefit, at least for the kinds of materials utilized here.

Dentist-patient communication in the multilingual dental setting.

PubMed

Goldsmith, C; Slack-Smith, L; Davies, G

2005-12-01

Communication between dentists and patients can be exceptionally challenging when the patient and the dentist do not speak the same language, as is frequently the case in multicultural Australia. The aim of this study was to describe the issues involved in dealing with limited-English speaking patients in order to formulate recommendations on how to improve dental communication. A cross sectional study was performed using a postal survey to Australian Dental Association member dental practitioners in Western Australia. Responses were collated and data analysis was performed using SPSS 11.5 for Windows. Most respondents encounter language-related communication barriers weekly or monthly, and the most satisfactory method of communication is informal interpreters. Despite reporting satisfaction working with professional chairside interpreters or dental staff interpreters, most respondents did not use them. The most common alternative communication methods were diagrams and models. Endodontics and periodontics provided the greatest challenge in communication. Informed consent was reportedly compromised due to language barriers by 29 per cent of respondents. Recommendations to improve communication included access to interpretation services, dentist technique/attitude to communication and patient preparedness for English-speaking encounters. Many respondents do not utilize the preferential communication methods, creating a potential compromise to both informed consent and the patients' best interests. The use of professional interpreters is recommended, and discussion should be supplemented with means of non-verbal communication. Dentists require access to lists of multilingual dentists and greater awareness of interpretation services to improve multilingual dentist-patient communication.

Neurocognitive outcomes of individuals with a sex chromosome trisomy: XXX, XYY, or XXY: a systematic review*

PubMed Central

LEGGETT, VICTORIA; JACOBS, PATRICIA; NATION, KATE; SCERIF, GAIA; BISHOP, DOROTHY V M

2010-01-01

Aim To review systematically the neurodevelopmental characteristics of individuals with sex chromosome trisomies (SCTs). Method A bibliographic search identified English-language articles on SCTs. The focus was on studies unbiased by clinical referral, with power of at least 0.69 to detect an effect size of 1.0. Results We identified 35 articles on five neonatally identified samples that had adequate power for our review. An additional 11 studies were included where cases had been identified for reasons other than neurodevelopmental concerns. Individuals with an additional X chromosome had mean IQs that were within broadly normal limits but lower than the respective comparison groups, with verbal IQ most affected. Cognitive outcomes were poorest for females with XXX. Males with XYY had normal-range IQs, but all three SCT groups (XXX, XXY, and XYY) had marked difficulties in speech and language, motor skills, and educational achievement. Nevertheless, most adults with SCTs lived independently. Less evidence was available for brain structure and for attention, social, and psychiatric outcomes. Within each group there was much variation. Interpretation Individuals with SCTs are at risk of cognitive and behavioural difficulties. However, the evidence base is slender, and further research is needed to ascertain the nature, severity, and causes of these difficulties in unselected samples. PMID:20059514

Language and Speech in Autism.

PubMed

Gernsbacher, Morton Ann; Morson, Emily M; Grace, Elizabeth J

2016-01-01

Autism is a developmental disability characterized by atypical social interaction, interests or body movements, and communication. Our review examines the empirical status of three communication phenomena believed to be unique to autism: pronoun reversal (using the pronoun you when the pronoun I is intended, and vice versa), echolalia (repeating what someone has said), and a reduced or even reversed production-comprehension lag (a reduction or reversal of the well-established finding that speakers produce less sophisticated language than they can comprehend). Each of these three phenomena has been claimed to be unique to autism; therefore, each has been proposed to be diagnostic of autism, and each has been interpreted in autism-centric ways (psychoanalytic interpretations of pronoun reversal, behaviorist interpretations of echolalia, and clinical lore about the production-comprehension lag). However, as our review demonstrates, none of these three phenomena is in fact unique to autism; none can or should serve as diagnostic of autism, and all call into question unwarranted assumptions about autistic persons and their language development and use.

Language and Speech in Autism

PubMed Central

Gernsbacher, Morton Ann; Morson, Emily M.; Grace, Elizabeth J.

2017-01-01

Autism is a developmental disability characterized by atypical social interaction, interests or body movements, and communication. Our review examines the empirical status of three communication phenomena believed to be unique to autism: pronoun reversal (using the pronoun you when the pronoun I is intended, and vice versa), echolalia (repeating what someone has said), and a reduced or even reversed production-comprehension lag (a reduction or reversal of the well-established finding that speakers produce less sophisticated language than they can comprehend). Each of these three phenomena has been claimed to be unique to autism; therefore, each has been proposed to be diagnostic of autism, and each has been interpreted in autism-centric ways (psychoanalytic interpretations of pronoun reversal, behaviorist interpretations of echolalia, and clinical lore about the production-comprehension lag). However, as our review demonstrates, none of these three phenomena is in fact unique to autism; none can or should serve as diagnostic of autism, and all call into question unwarranted assumptions about autistic persons and their language development and use. PMID:28127576

Highs and Lows in English Attachment.

PubMed

Grillo, Nino; Costa, João; Fernandes, Bruno; Santi, Andrea

2015-11-01

Grillo and Costa (2014) claim that Relative-Clause attachment ambiguity resolution is largely dependent on whether or not a Pseudo-Relative interpretation is available. Data from Italian, and other languages allowing Pseudo-Relatives, support this hypothesis. Pseudo-Relative availability, however, covaries with the semantics of the main predicate (e.g., perceptual vs. stative). Experiment 1 assesses whether this predicate distinction alone can account for prior attachment results by testing it with a language that disallows Pseudo-Relatives (i.e. English). Low Attachment was found independent of Predicate-Type. Predicate-Type did however have a minor modulatory role. Experiment 2 shows that English, traditionally classified as a Low Attachment language, can demonstrate High Attachment with sentences globally ambiguous between a Small-Clause and a reduced Relative-Clause interpretation. These results support a grammatical account of previous effects and provide novel evidence for the parser's preference of a Small-Clause over a Restrictive interpretation, crosslinguistically. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Typological and Developmental Considerations on Specific Language Impairment in Monolingual and Bilingual Children: A Processability Theory Account

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Håkansson, Gisela

2017-01-01

This article suggests a method to deal with cross-linguistic differences in children with Specific Language Impairment. The differences in vulnerable structures reflect typological properties of the surrounding language (e.g., Leonard 2014a, 2014b). This article adds a developmental perspective to the discussion by interpreting the vulnerable…

Facilitation of Language Acquisition Viewed through an Interpretative Lens: The Role of Authenticity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harper, Melanie Ann

2013-01-01

A paradigm is the conceptual framework or lens one uses to view reality. The field of speech-language pathology is traditionally rooted in the empirical paradigm, which believes that language can be fragmented into isolated skills and taught in a hierarchal fashion. This belief has resulted in service delivery models that remove students from…

Oral History as an Innovative Language Teaching Technique for Spanish Heritage Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burgo, Clara

2016-01-01

Oral history is presented in this article as an interpretative exercise for historical events in a Spanish course for heritage language learners at the university level. Through the interview of a Latino immigrant family, students re-examined the history of their own families and increased their linguistic self-esteem. They were guided to become…

Why Some Imperfectives Are Interpreted Imperfectly: A Study of Chinese Learners of Japanese

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gabriele, Alison; McClure, William

2011-01-01

The study investigates whether advanced second language (L2) learners can extend beyond the grammatical properties of the first language (L1) to successfully acquire tense and aspect. We examine the acquisition of the semantics of the imperfective marker "te-iru" in Japanese by native speakers of Mandarin Chinese, a language that…

The Future of Foreign Language Teaching on the North American Continent.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bouton, Charles P.

Following a brief review of the history of interest in foreign languages in America, facts to be considered when interpreting falling enrollment statistics, such as a drop in the birth rate, are discussed. It is stressed that foreign language teaching cannot be neglected in a world having improved and extensive communication between people…

Investigating Sentence Processing and Language Segmentation in Explaining Children's Performance on a Sentence-Span Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mainela-Arnold, Elina; Misra, Maya; Miller, Carol; Poll, Gerard H.; Park, Ji Sook

2012-01-01

Background: Children with poor language abilities tend to perform poorly on verbal working memory tasks. This result has been interpreted as evidence that limitations in working memory capacity may interfere with the development of a mature linguistic system. However, it is possible that language abilities, such as the efficiency of sentence…

UNIX as an environment for producing numerical software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schryer, N. L.

1978-01-01

The UNIX operating system supports a number of software tools; a mathematical equation-setting language, a phototypesetting language, a FORTRAN preprocessor language, a text editor, and a command interpreter. The design, implementation, documentation, and maintenance of a portable FORTRAN test of the floating-point arithmetic unit of a computer is used to illustrate these tools at work.

Bidirectional Transfer: Consequences of Translation Ambiguity for Bilingual Word Meaning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Degani, Tamar

2011-01-01

Could a second language (L2) influence how bilinguals process their native language (L1)? The work described in this dissertation examined this issue focusing on the way bilinguals interpret the meanings of words. Capitalizing on the prevalence of words that can be translated in more than one way across languages (i.e., "translation ambiguity,"…

The Role of Working Memory and Divided Attention in Metaphor Interpretation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iskandar, Sam; Baird, Anne D.

2014-01-01

Although several types of figurative language exist, neuropsychological tests of non-literal language have focused on proverbs. Metaphors in the form X is (a) Y (e.g., "The body's immunological response is a battle against disease.") place a lower demand on language skills and are more easily manipulated for novelty than proverbs.…

Chamorro Reference Grammar. Pali Language Texts: Micronesia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Topping, Donald M.; Dungca, Bernadita C.

This detailed reference grammar of Chamorro, the native Malayo-Polynesian language spoken in Guam and the other Mariana Islands (Saipan, Rota, Tinian), differs from earlier grammars of the language in that: (1) it includes new data; (2) it offers a different interpretation of some of the data based on more recent linguistic concepts; and (3) it is…

Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language: Extrapolating from Experimental Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erdener, Dogu

2017-01-01

Speech perception is beyond the auditory domain and a multimodal process, specifically, an auditory-visual one--we process lip and face movements during speech. In this paper, the findings in cross-language studies of auditory-visual speech perception in the past two decades are interpreted to the applied domain of second language (L2)…

Discursive Enactments of the World Health Organization's Policies: Competing Cultural Models in Tanzanian HIV/AIDS Prevention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higgins, Christina

2010-01-01

In the healthcare arena, language policy-related research has thus far been limited to questions about "language access," i.e., whether individuals are supplied with health information in their languages, and whether interpreters for doctor-patient consultations are provided (Martinez 2008; Ngo-Metzger et al. 2003; Partida 2007; Vahabi…

The Role of Socioeconomic Status in the Narrative Story Retells of School-Aged English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alt, Mary; Arizmendi, Genesis D.; DiLallo, Jennifer N.

2016-01-01

Purpose: We examined the relationship between maternal level of education as an index of socioeconomic status (SES) on the narrative story retells of school-aged children who are English language learners (ELLs) to guide interpretation of results. Method: Using data available from the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts database (Miller…

A Framework for Representing and Jointly Reasoning over Linguistic and Non-Linguistic Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murugesan, Arthi

2009-01-01

Natural language poses several challenges to developing computational systems for modeling it. Natural language is not a precise problem but is rather ridden with a number of uncertainties in the form of either alternate words or interpretations. Furthermore, natural language is a generative system where the problem size is potentially infinite.…

Bilingual Encounters: Spanish-English Medical and Legal Dialogues. A Practical Resource for Educators and Students of Interpreting. Interpreting and Translation Publications Series, No. 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hale, Sandra

Thirty-eight dialogues are presented, each illustrating a common, real-life interpreting situation involving medical and/or legal issues and terminology. Each involves both Spanish and English languages, and the situations are specific to New South Wales, Australia. They are designed to be used as a resource in teaching interpreting. The…

Language lateralization of a bilingual person with epilepsy using a combination of fMRI and neuropsychological assessment findings.

PubMed

O'Grady, Christopher; Omisade, Antonina; Sadler, R Mark

2016-10-01

This report describes the findings of language functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a left-handed Urdu and English speaker with right hemisphere-originating epilepsy and unclear language dominance. fMRI is a reliable method for determining hemispheric language dominance in presurgical planning. However, the effects of bilingualism on language activation depend on many factors including age of acquisition and proficiency in the tested language, and morphological properties of the language itself. This case demonstrates that completing fMRI in both spoken languages and interpreting the results within the context of a neuropsychological assessment are essential in arriving at accurate conclusions about language distribution in bilingual patients.

Distance Learning as an Effective Tool for Medical Interpreting Training in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Güven, Mine

2014-01-01

This study addresses the need for trained medical interpreters in various local/ethnic languages especially at public health institutions in Turkey, and argues that distance learning would be an effective tool for medical interpreting training, given the particular constraints of the situation. Designed to meet the respective needs of different…

A Proposed Programming System for Knuth's Mix Computer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akers, Max Neil

A programing system using a hypothetical computer is proposed for use in teaching machine and assembly language programing courses. Major components such as monitor, assembler, interpreter, grader, and diagnostics are described. The interpreter is programed and documented for use on an IBM 360/67 computer. The interpreter can be used for teaching…

Court Interpreters and Translators: Developing Ethical and Professional Standards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Funston, Richard

Changing needs in the courtroom have raised questions about the need for standards in court interpreter qualifications. In California, no formal training or familiarity with the legal system is required for certification, which is done entirely by language testing. The fact that often court interpreters are officers of the court may be…

Training Translators and Conference Interpreters. Language in Education: Theory and Practice, No. 58.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Wilhelm K.

An examination of translation and conference interpretation as well-established academic professions focuses on how they should be taught in order to maintain the integrity of the two professions and the highest standards in their exercise. An introductory section answers the question, "Can translation and interpretation be taught?,"…

Language Mapping Using fMRI and Direct Cortical Stimulation for Brain Tumor Surgery

PubMed Central

Brennan, Nicole Petrovich; Peck, Kyung K.; Holodny, Andrei

2016-01-01

Language functional magnetic resonance imaging for neurosurgical planning is a useful but nuanced technique. Consideration of primary and secondary language anatomy, task selection, and data analysis choices all impact interpretation. In the following chapter, we consider practical considerations and nuances alike for language functional magnetic resonance imaging in the support of and comparison with the neurosurgical gold standard, direct cortical stimulation. Pitfalls and limitations are discussed. PMID:26848555

Using professional interpreters in undergraduate medical consultation skills teaching

PubMed Central

Bansal, Aarti; Swann, Jennifer; Smithson, William Henry

2014-01-01

The ability to work with interpreters is a core skill for UK medical graduates. At the University of Sheffield Medical School, this teaching was identified as a gap in the curriculum. Teaching was developed to use professional interpreters in role-play, based on evidence that professional interpreters improve health outcomes for patients with limited English proficiency. Other principles guiding the development of the teaching were an experiential learning format, integration to the core consultation skills curriculum, and sustainable delivery. The session was aligned with existing consultation skills teaching to retain the small-group experiential format and general practitioner (GP) tutor. Core curricular time was found through conversion of an existing consultation skills session. Language pairs of professional interpreters worked with each small group, with one playing patient and the other playing interpreter. These professional interpreters attended training in the scenarios so that they could learn to act as patient and family interpreter. GP tutors attended training sessions to help them facilitate the session. This enhanced the sustainability of the session by providing a cohort of tutors able to pass on their expertise to new staff through the existing shadowing process. Tutors felt that the involvement of professional interpreters improved student engagement. Student evaluation of the teaching suggests that the learning objectives were achieved. Faculty evaluation by GP tutors suggests that they perceived the teaching to be worthwhile and that the training they received had helped improve their own clinical practice in consulting through interpreters. We offer the following recommendations to others who may be interested in developing teaching on interpreted consultations within their core curriculum: 1) consider recruiting professional interpreters as a teaching resource; 2) align the teaching to existing consultation skills sessions to aid integration; and 3) invest in faculty development for successful and sustainable delivery. PMID:25473325

Use of interpreters in individual psychotherapy.

PubMed

Baxter, H; Cheng, L Y

1996-02-01

This paper was written after one of the authors treated a case by individual therapy using an interpreter, as patient and therapist spoke different languages. There is little literature on this subject, and this paper describes our findings and recommendations for using this approach. A 15-year-old Chinese, Cantonese-speaking in-patient in Hong Kong was treated with individual psychodynamic psychotherapy by an English-speaking Caucasian psychotherapist. The Chinese interpreter attended each session, and therapy was supervised by a bilingual Chinese supervisor. The alternative was to not carry out any therapy, as there was no other therapist available. The patient was treated for a total of 32 sessions. Issues involving language and culture differences between therapist and patient, issues of therapy in a triadic situation involving group dynamics, and specific therapy difficulties raised by the presence of the interpreter are discussed. Therapy was not as effective as hoped, but the patient made some improvements. Finding a suitable interpreter is difficult and their role must be well defined. A bilingual supervisor is also needed to monitor the translation as well as supervising the therapist. Psychotherapy through an interpreter is feasible but not ideal.

Social Salience Discriminates Learnability of Contextual Cues in an Artificial Language.

PubMed

Rácz, Péter; Hay, Jennifer B; Pierrehumbert, Janet B

2017-01-01

We investigate the learning of contextual meaning by adults in an artificial language. Contextual meaning here refers to the non-denotative contextual information that speakers attach to a linguistic construction. Through a series of short games, played online, we test how well adults can learn different contextual meanings for a word-formation pattern in an artificial language. We look at whether learning contextual meanings depends on the social salience of the context, whether our players interpret these contexts generally, and whether the learned meaning is generalized to new words. Our results show that adults are capable of learning contextual meaning if the context is socially salient, coherent, and interpretable. Once a contextual meaning is recognized, it is readily generalized to related forms and contexts.

Text Savvy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guilford, Jacquelyn; Bustamante, Annette; Mackura, Kelly; Hirsch, Susan; Lyon, Edward; Estrada, Kelly

2017-01-01

Learning science is language intensive. Students might have to interpret the meaning of models, support claims with evidence, communicate arguments, and discuss phenomena and scientific principles. For English Language Learners (ELLs), engaging in scientific and engineering practices includes additional challenges. This article describes a series…

Barriers to effective perioperative communication in indigenous Australians: an audit of progress since 1996.

PubMed

Cheng, W Y C; Blum, P; Spain, B

2004-08-01

This prospective study was designed to elucidate barriers limiting effective perioperative communication between indigenous Australians and anaesthetists, and to identify strategies for improving communication. A questionnaire was used to collect data on 1040 consecutive patients undergoing anaesthesia at Royal Darwin Hospital between February and March 2003. 27.1% of these patients described themselves as Aboriginal. Aboriginal patients were more likely to undergo emergency surgery and were more likely to be classified as ASA 3, 4 or 5 than non-indigenous patients. Communication difficulties were identified in 28.7% of all Aboriginal patients, which was 31 times higher than those in non-Aboriginal patients. The most common reason identified for this was difficulty in speaking English. Only 17.7% of Aboriginal patients presenting to the operating theatre spoke English as their first language. Unfortunately, the anaesthetic team utilized the Aboriginal interpreter service in only a minority of cases. Communication difficulty in indigenous Australians is pervasive and often goes unrecognized. The results suggest that heath care providers may need staff training in cross-cultural communication and that protocols need to be developed within the health care system so that interpreters are called upon automatically early in the admission process.

Semantic interpretation of search engine resultant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasution, M. K. M.

2018-01-01

In semantic, logical language can be interpreted in various forms, but the certainty of meaning is included in the uncertainty, which directly always influences the role of technology. One results of this uncertainty applies to search engines as user interfaces with information spaces such as the Web. Therefore, the behaviour of search engine results should be interpreted with certainty through semantic formulation as interpretation. Behaviour formulation shows there are various interpretations that can be done semantically either temporary, inclusion, or repeat.

A review of conduction aphasia.

PubMed

Ardila, Alfredo

2010-11-01

In this paper, a historical overview of the interpretation of conduction aphasia is initially presented. It is emphasized that the name conduction aphasia was proposed by Wernicke and was interpreted as a disconnection between the temporal and frontal brain language areas; this interpretation was re-taken by Geschwind, attributing the arcuate fasciculus the main role in speech repetition disturbances and resulting in the so-called Wernicke-Geschwind model of language. With the introduction of contemporary neuroimaging techniques, this interpretation of conduction aphasia as a disconnection syndrome due to an impairment of the arcuate fasciculus has been challenged. It has been disclosed that the arcuate fasciculus does not really connect Wernicke's and Broca's areas, but Wernicke's and motor/premotor frontal areas. Furthermore, conduction aphasia can be found in cases of cortical damage without subcortical extension. It is concluded that conduction aphasia remains a controversial topic not only from the theoretic point of view, but also from the understanding of its neurologic foundations.

The Mediating Function of Language in the Formation of Musical Knowledge, Musical Concepts and Musical Problem-Solving in Instructional Settings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Joan

This paper argues that verbal language plays a mediating role in the development of musical thinking. Two excerpts from the transcripts of conducting students' practica are interpreted. The verbal language that student conductors use during their rehearsals is a path to their musical thinking. Lev Vygotsky's social psychological theory of language…

Self-Concept and Native Language Background: A Study of Measurement Invariance and Cross-Group Comparisons in Third Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niehaus, Kate; Adelson, Jill L.

2013-01-01

This study examined the measurement and interpretation of self-concept among the growing population of children who are English Language Learners (ELLs). More specifically, a 3-group analysis was conducted comparing native English-speaking children, Spanish-speaking ELLs, and ELLs from Asian language backgrounds. Data were drawn from the Early…

Language Assessment Literacy as Self-Awareness: "Understanding" the Role of Interpretation in Assessment and in Teacher Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scarino, Angela

2013-01-01

The increasing influence of sociocultural theories of learning on assessment practices in second language education necessitates an expansion of the knowledge base that teacher-assessors need to develop (what teachers need to know) and related changes in the processes of language teacher education (how they learn and develop it). Teacher assessors…

The Interpretation of Plural Morphology and (Non-)Obligatory Number Marking: An Argument from Artificial Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liter, Adam; Heffner, Christopher C.; Schmitt, Cristina

2017-01-01

We present an artificial language experiment investigating (i) how speakers of languages such as English with two-way obligatory distinctions between singular and plural learn a system where singular and plural are only optionally marked, and (ii) how learners extend their knowledge of the plural morpheme when under the scope of negation without…

A Qualitative Analysis of What Latino Parents and Adolescents Think and Feel about Language Brokering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corona, Rosalie; Stevens, Lillian F.; Halfond, Raquel W.; Shaffer, Carla M.; Reid-Quinones, Kathryn; Gonzalez, Tanya

2012-01-01

As the population of children living in immigrant and non-English speaking households continues to increase, children may be placed in the position to serve as an interpreter for their parents (i.e., a language broker). Relatively few studies, however, have obtained fathers' reactions to their children serving as language brokers or explored the…

How Does an Interactive Approach to Literary Texts Work in an English as a Foreign Language Context? Learners' Perspectives in Close-Up

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Ha Thi Thu

2016-01-01

Interactive approaches to literary texts in second/foreign language education have enjoyed wide theoretical and empirical support. However, the teaching of literary texts in traditional English as a foreign language contexts still remains information-oriented, with a focus on the transmission and replication of an objectified interpretation of a…

Combat Literacy: Creating a Command Climate With Greater Appreciation for the Operational Role of Foreign Language

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-23

language and culture of the battle space is critical to effective operational design. Analysis of steps taken by the U.S. military to provide the...advocacy. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Foreign Language, Culture , Linguists, Interpreters, Translators, Training, Situational Awareness 16. SECURITY...DIRECTION 10 CHANGING THE CULTURE 12 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 16 NOTES 18 BIBLIOGRAPHY

On Enactivism and Language: Towards a Methodology for Studying Talk in Mathematics Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coles, Alf

2015-01-01

This article is an early step in the development of a methodological approach to the study of language deriving from an enactivist theoretical stance. Language is seen as a co-ordination of co-ordinations of action. Meaning and intention cannot easily be interpreted from the actions and words of others; instead, careful attention can be placed in…

An Analysis of How Restrictive Language Policies Are Interpreted by Arizona's Department of Education and Three Individual School Districts' Websites

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jimenez-Silva, Margarita; Bernstein, Katie A.; Baca, Evelyn C.

2016-01-01

Restrictive language policies for education have been passed in several states in the United States. In 1998, 2000, and 2002, California, Arizona, and Massachusetts passed the most restrictive of these policies, impacting 4.4 million students classified as English language learners (ELLs). This study examines how these policies are currently…

Subtyping Stuttering II

PubMed Central

Seery, Carol Hubbard; Watkins, Ruth V.; Mangelsdorf, Sarah C.; Shigeto, Aya

2007-01-01

This paper is the second in a series of two articles exploring subtypes of stuttering, and it addresses the question of whether and how language ability and temperament variables may be relevant to the study of subtypes within the larger population of children who stutter. Despite observations of varied profiles among young children who stutter, efforts to identify and characterize subtypes of stuttering have had limited influence on theoretical or clinical understanding of the disorder. This manuscript briefly highlights research on language and temperament in young children who stutter, and considers whether the results can provide guidance for efforts to more effectively investigate and elucidate subtypes in childhood stuttering. Issues from the literature that appear relevant to research on stuttering subtypes include: (a) the question of whether stuttering is best characterized as categorical or continuous; (b) interpretation of individual differences in skills and profiles; and (c) the fact that, during the preschool years, the interaction among domains such as language and temperament are changing very rapidly, resulting in large differences in developmental profiles within relatively brief chronological age periods. PMID:17825669

The Oscillopathic Nature of Language Deficits in Autism: From Genes to Language Evolution

PubMed Central

Benítez-Burraco, Antonio; Murphy, Elliot

2016-01-01

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are pervasive neurodevelopmental disorders involving a number of deficits to linguistic cognition. The gap between genetics and the pathophysiology of ASD remains open, in particular regarding its distinctive linguistic profile. The goal of this article is to attempt to bridge this gap, focusing on how the autistic brain processes language, particularly through the perspective of brain rhythms. Due to the phenomenon of pleiotropy, which may take some decades to overcome, we believe that studies of brain rhythms, which are not faced with problems of this scale, may constitute a more tractable route to interpreting language deficits in ASD and eventually other neurocognitive disorders. Building on recent attempts to link neural oscillations to certain computational primitives of language, we show that interpreting language deficits in ASD as oscillopathic traits is a potentially fruitful way to construct successful endophenotypes of this condition. Additionally, we will show that candidate genes for ASD are overrepresented among the genes that played a role in the evolution of language. These genes include (and are related to) genes involved in brain rhythmicity. We hope that the type of steps taken here will additionally lead to a better understanding of the comorbidity, heterogeneity, and variability of ASD, and may help achieve a better treatment of the affected populations. PMID:27047363

GPAW - massively parallel electronic structure calculations with Python-based software.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Enkovaara, J.; Romero, N.; Shende, S.

2011-01-01

Electronic structure calculations are a widely used tool in materials science and large consumer of supercomputing resources. Traditionally, the software packages for these kind of simulations have been implemented in compiled languages, where Fortran in its different versions has been the most popular choice. While dynamic, interpreted languages, such as Python, can increase the effciency of programmer, they cannot compete directly with the raw performance of compiled languages. However, by using an interpreted language together with a compiled language, it is possible to have most of the productivity enhancing features together with a good numerical performance. We have used thismore » approach in implementing an electronic structure simulation software GPAW using the combination of Python and C programming languages. While the chosen approach works well in standard workstations and Unix environments, massively parallel supercomputing systems can present some challenges in porting, debugging and profiling the software. In this paper we describe some details of the implementation and discuss the advantages and challenges of the combined Python/C approach. We show that despite the challenges it is possible to obtain good numerical performance and good parallel scalability with Python based software.« less

Translation technology fills important niche.

PubMed

2007-06-01

Software systems that can interpret and translate foreign languages can augment existing services and be available immediately, when live interpreters or even phone services may not be. Knowledge of their capabilities and cost can help you narrow your decision. Systems will take you from registration process through triage to diagnosis. All systems will provide text and audio translation. The more sophisticated systems also offer video services and sign language for deaf patients. The cost can be more than $100,000, but local foundations may offer grants that will cover your expenses.

The Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Programme: evaluation of Edinburgh's reception arrangements.

PubMed

Weir, Katherine E A; Wilson, Sheila J; Gorman, Dermot R

2017-11-07

During 2015 and 2016 a group of Syrian refugees were resettled in Edinburgh, Scotland under the United Kingdom Government Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Programme. We evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the settling in arrangements for these refugees. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five Arabic interpreters who had worked extensively with these refugees. Interviews sought their impressions about what went well or was not successful. Interviews were transcribed and key themes extracted and analysed. Six themes emerged: 'first impressions', language skills, different healthcare systems, health of the refugees, relationships between the interpreters and refugees and support for the interpreters. The welcoming arrangements went well and exceeded refugees' and interpreters' expectations. There was perhaps too much information given immediately and reinforcing details about various public services and facilities after a first few months would be worthwhile. The Syrians were unfamiliar with NHS structures and found lack of direct specialist access surprising. Problems were amplified by low English levels. A need for Arabic literacy classes was also identified. Interpreters were often used informally out-of-hours and a better system with first contact in Arabic should be established. Interpreters find this work particularly stressful and the provision of psychological support for them should be prioritized. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

STAR- A SIMPLE TOOL FOR AUTOMATED REASONING SUPPORTING HYBRID APPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (DEC VAX VERSION)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borchardt, G. C.

1994-01-01

The Simple Tool for Automated Reasoning program (STAR) is an interactive, interpreted programming language for the development and operation of artificial intelligence (AI) application systems. STAR provides an environment for integrating traditional AI symbolic processing with functions and data structures defined in compiled languages such as C, FORTRAN and PASCAL. This type of integration occurs in a number of AI applications including interpretation of numerical sensor data, construction of intelligent user interfaces to existing compiled software packages, and coupling AI techniques with numerical simulation techniques and control systems software. The STAR language was created as part of an AI project for the evaluation of imaging spectrometer data at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Programming in STAR is similar to other symbolic processing languages such as LISP and CLIP. STAR includes seven primitive data types and associated operations for the manipulation of these structures. A semantic network is used to organize data in STAR, with capabilities for inheritance of values and generation of side effects. The AI knowledge base of STAR can be a simple repository of records or it can be a highly interdependent association of implicit and explicit components. The symbolic processing environment of STAR may be extended by linking the interpreter with functions defined in conventional compiled languages. These external routines interact with STAR through function calls in either direction, and through the exchange of references to data structures. The hybrid knowledge base may thus be accessed and processed in general by either side of the application. STAR is initially used to link externally compiled routines and data structures. It is then invoked to interpret the STAR rules and symbolic structures. In a typical interactive session, the user enters an expression to be evaluated, STAR parses the input, evaluates the expression, performs any file input/output required, and displays the results. The STAR interpreter is written in the C language for interactive execution. It has been implemented on a VAX 11/780 computer operating under VMS, and the UNIX version has been implemented on a Sun Microsystems 2/170 workstation. STAR has a memory requirement of approximately 200K of 8 bit bytes, excluding externally compiled functions and application-dependent symbolic definitions. This program was developed in 1985.

STAR- A SIMPLE TOOL FOR AUTOMATED REASONING SUPPORTING HYBRID APPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (UNIX VERSION)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borchardt, G. C.

1994-01-01

The Simple Tool for Automated Reasoning program (STAR) is an interactive, interpreted programming language for the development and operation of artificial intelligence (AI) application systems. STAR provides an environment for integrating traditional AI symbolic processing with functions and data structures defined in compiled languages such as C, FORTRAN and PASCAL. This type of integration occurs in a number of AI applications including interpretation of numerical sensor data, construction of intelligent user interfaces to existing compiled software packages, and coupling AI techniques with numerical simulation techniques and control systems software. The STAR language was created as part of an AI project for the evaluation of imaging spectrometer data at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Programming in STAR is similar to other symbolic processing languages such as LISP and CLIP. STAR includes seven primitive data types and associated operations for the manipulation of these structures. A semantic network is used to organize data in STAR, with capabilities for inheritance of values and generation of side effects. The AI knowledge base of STAR can be a simple repository of records or it can be a highly interdependent association of implicit and explicit components. The symbolic processing environment of STAR may be extended by linking the interpreter with functions defined in conventional compiled languages. These external routines interact with STAR through function calls in either direction, and through the exchange of references to data structures. The hybrid knowledge base may thus be accessed and processed in general by either side of the application. STAR is initially used to link externally compiled routines and data structures. It is then invoked to interpret the STAR rules and symbolic structures. In a typical interactive session, the user enters an expression to be evaluated, STAR parses the input, evaluates the expression, performs any file input/output required, and displays the results. The STAR interpreter is written in the C language for interactive execution. It has been implemented on a VAX 11/780 computer operating under VMS, and the UNIX version has been implemented on a Sun Microsystems 2/170 workstation. STAR has a memory requirement of approximately 200K of 8 bit bytes, excluding externally compiled functions and application-dependent symbolic definitions. This program was developed in 1985.

Consideraciones sobre la investigacion hermeneutica en la educacion en lenguas y culturas extranjeras (Aspects of Applying a Hermeneutic Approach to Foreign Language and Culture Education).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zoreda, Margaret Lee

Drawing on writings by recent post-modernist thinkers and semioticians, this paper focuses on a combination of hermeneutic and semiotic viewpoints and applies them to defining the nature of interpretation in an educational setting (e.g., text interpretation), the interpreter, and the essence of the act of comprehension and interpretation. The main…

Vectorized algorithms for spiking neural network simulation.

PubMed

Brette, Romain; Goodman, Dan F M

2011-06-01

High-level languages (Matlab, Python) are popular in neuroscience because they are flexible and accelerate development. However, for simulating spiking neural networks, the cost of interpretation is a bottleneck. We describe a set of algorithms to simulate large spiking neural networks efficiently with high-level languages using vector-based operations. These algorithms constitute the core of Brian, a spiking neural network simulator written in the Python language. Vectorized simulation makes it possible to combine the flexibility of high-level languages with the computational efficiency usually associated with compiled languages.

A planning language for activity scheduling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zoch, David R.; Lavallee, David; Weinstein, Stuart; Tong, G. Michael

1991-01-01

Mission planning and scheduling of spacecraft operations are becoming more complex at NASA. Described here are a mission planning process; a robust, flexible planning language for spacecraft and payload operations; and a software scheduling system that generates schedules based on planning language inputs. The mission planning process often involves many people and organizations. Consequently, a planning language is needed to facilitate communication, to provide a standard interface, and to represent flexible requirements. The software scheduling system interprets the planning language and uses the resource, time duration, constraint, and alternative plan flexibilities to resolve scheduling conflicts.

Allgemeine Sprachfaehigkeit und Fremdsprachenerwerb. Zur Struktur von Leistungsdimensionen und linguistischer Kompetenz des Fremdsprachenlerners (General Language Ability and Foreign Language Acquisition. On the Structure of Performance Dimensions and the Linguistic Competence of the Foreign Language Learner). Diskussions beitraege aus dem Institute fuer Bildungsforschung, No. 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sang, Fritz; Vollmer, Helmut J.

This study investigates the theoretical plausibility and empirical validity of the assumption that all performance in a foreign language can be traced back to a single factor, the general language ability factor. The theoretical background of this hypothesis is reviewed in detail. The concept of a unitary linguistic competence, interpreted as an…

The effect of cultural and linguistic diversity on pregnancy outcome.

PubMed

Thomas, Penelope E; Beckmann, Michael; Gibbons, Kristen

2010-10-01

Cultural and linguistic diversity in Australia is increasing rapidly. Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) women include those born outside Australia/New Zealand, non-English speaking, non-Caucasian and refugees. Individually, each of these factors has the potential to influence health and pregnancy outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine whether CALD parameters, including country of birth, race, primary language spoken, need for an interpreter and refugee status are independent predictors of obstetric or neonatal outcomes. A retrospective analysis of 4751 women (including 461 women using an interpreter; 1046 non-Caucasian and 117 women identifying as refugees) was performed. Generalized ordered logistic modelling found no significant relationship between adverse outcomes and refugee status (P = 0.863). Use of interpreter services (P = 0.015) and country of birth (P < 0.001 when at least one adverse outcome has occurred) were significant indicating that using an interpreter and/or being born outside Australia/New Zealand reduced the likelihood of an adverse outcome. These findings are relevant to planning appropriate models of care and guiding effective use of resources. © 2010 The Authors. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology © 2010 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Developmental Screening of Refugees: A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Moore, Jessica A.; Welch, Therese R.; Halterman, Jill S.; Hyman, Susan L.

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Refugee children are at high developmental risk due to dislocation and deprivation. Standardized developmental screening in this diverse population is challenging. We used the Health Belief Model to guide key-informant interviews and focus groups with medical interpreters, health care providers, community collaborators, and refugee parents to explore key elements needed for developmental screening. Cultural and community-specific values and practices related to child development and barriers and facilitators to screening were examined. METHODS: We conducted 19 interviews and 2 focus groups involving 16 Bhutanese-Nepali, Burmese, Iraqi, and Somali participants, 7 community collaborators, and 6 providers from the Center for Refugee Health in Rochester, New York. Subjects were identified through purposive sampling until data saturation. Interviews were recorded, coded, and analyzed using a qualitative framework technique. RESULTS: Twenty-one themes in 4 domains were identified: values/beliefs about development/disability, practices around development/disability, the refugee experience, and feedback specific to the Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status screen. Most participants denied a word for “development” in their primary language and reported limited awareness of developmental milestones. Concern was unlikely unless speech or behavior problems were present. Physical disabilities were recognized but not seen as problematic. Perceived barriers to identification of delays included limited education, poor healthcare knowledge, language, and traditional healing practices. Facilitators included community navigators, trust in health care providers, in-person interpretation, visual supports, and education about child development. CONCLUSIONS: Refugee perspectives on child development may influence a parent’s recognition of and response to developmental concerns. Despite challenges, standardized screening was supported. PMID:27527798

Developmental Screening of Refugees: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Kroening, Abigail L H; Moore, Jessica A; Welch, Therese R; Halterman, Jill S; Hyman, Susan L

2016-09-01

Refugee children are at high developmental risk due to dislocation and deprivation. Standardized developmental screening in this diverse population is challenging. We used the Health Belief Model to guide key-informant interviews and focus groups with medical interpreters, health care providers, community collaborators, and refugee parents to explore key elements needed for developmental screening. Cultural and community-specific values and practices related to child development and barriers and facilitators to screening were examined. We conducted 19 interviews and 2 focus groups involving 16 Bhutanese-Nepali, Burmese, Iraqi, and Somali participants, 7 community collaborators, and 6 providers from the Center for Refugee Health in Rochester, New York. Subjects were identified through purposive sampling until data saturation. Interviews were recorded, coded, and analyzed using a qualitative framework technique. Twenty-one themes in 4 domains were identified: values/beliefs about development/disability, practices around development/disability, the refugee experience, and feedback specific to the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status screen. Most participants denied a word for "development" in their primary language and reported limited awareness of developmental milestones. Concern was unlikely unless speech or behavior problems were present. Physical disabilities were recognized but not seen as problematic. Perceived barriers to identification of delays included limited education, poor healthcare knowledge, language, and traditional healing practices. Facilitators included community navigators, trust in health care providers, in-person interpretation, visual supports, and education about child development. Refugee perspectives on child development may influence a parent's recognition of and response to developmental concerns. Despite challenges, standardized screening was supported. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Explanations, explanations, explanations: how do patients with limited English construct narrative accounts in multi-lingual, multi-ethnic settings, and how can GPs interpret them?

PubMed

Moss, Becky; Roberts, Celia

2005-08-01

The gap is widening between understanding the subtle ways patients and GPs manage their talk, and superficial discussion of the 'language barrier' among linguistic minority patients. All patients have to explain themselves, not just those for whom English is their first or main language. Patients' explanations reflect how they want the doctor to perceive them as a patient and as a person: they reveal patients' identities. Yet interpretations are not easy when patients' style of talking English is influenced by their first language and cultural background. To explore in detail how patients with limited English and GPs jointly overcome misunderstandings in explanations. Using discourse analysis and conversation analysis, we examine how GPs and their patients with limited English negotiate explanations and collaborate to manage, repair or prevent understanding problems. 31% of patients said English was not their first language. Misunderstandings arise owing to a range of linguistic and cultural factors, including stress and intonation patterns, vocabulary, the way a patient sequences their narrative, and patient and GP pursuing different agendas. When talk itself is the problem, patients' explanations can lead to misunderstandings, which GPs have to repair if they cannot prevent. Careful interpretation by skillful GPs can reveal patients' knowledge, experience and perspective.

Calibrated Peer Review for Interpreting Linear Regression Parameters: Results from a Graduate Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enders, Felicity B.; Jenkins, Sarah; Hoverman, Verna

2010-01-01

Biostatistics is traditionally a difficult subject for students to learn. While the mathematical aspects are challenging, it can also be demanding for students to learn the exact language to use to correctly interpret statistical results. In particular, correctly interpreting the parameters from linear regression is both a vital tool and a…

76 FR 65306 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-20

... Proposed Rule Change To Modify Interpretation of Rule 4120(a)(11) October 14, 2011. Pursuant to Section 19... Proposed Rule Change NASDAQ proposes to modify its interpretation of Rule 4120(a)(11) regarding at what... NASDAQ is modifying its interpretation and practices related to certain language contained in Rule 4120(a...

A Theoretical Construct for Interpreting Photographs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrett, Terry

1986-01-01

Past categorizations of photographs are critiqued, and a new category system is offered that asks viewers to consider photographs as if they were analogous to various types of language statements: descriptive, explanatory, interpretive, ethically evaluative, aesthetically evaluative, and theoretical. (Author/RM)

Deaf Mothers and Breastfeeding: Do Unique Features of Deaf Culture and Language Support Breastfeeding Success?

PubMed Central

Chin, Nancy P.; Cuculick, Jess; Starr, Matthew; Panko, Tiffany; Widanka, Holly; Dozier, Ann

2014-01-01

Background Deaf mothers who use American Sign Language (ASL) consider themselves a linguistic minority group, with specific cultural practices. Rarely has this group been engaged in infant-feeding research. Objectives To understand how ASL-using Deaf mothers learn about infant feeding and to identify their breastfeeding challenges. Methods Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach we conducted four focus groups with Deaf mothers who had at least one child 0–5 years. A script was developed using a social ecological model (SEM) to capture multiple levels of influence. All groups were conducted in ASL, filmed, and transcribed into English. Deaf and hearing researchers analyzed data by coding themes within each SEM level. Results Fifteen mothers participated. All had initiated breastfeeding with their most recent child. Breastfeeding duration for eight of the mothers was three weeks to 12 months. Seven of the mothers were still breastfeeding, the longest for 19 months. Those mothers who breastfed longer described a supportive social environment and the ability to surmount challenges. Participants described characteristics of Deaf culture such as direct communication, sharing information, use of technologies, language access through interpreters and ASL-using providers, and strong self-advocacy skills. Finally, mothers used the sign ‘struggle’ to describe their breastfeeding experience. The sign implies a sustained effort over time which leads to success. Conclusions In a setting with a large population of Deaf women and ASL-using providers, we identified several aspects of Deaf culture and language which support BF mothers across institutional, community, and interpersonal levels of the SEM. PMID:23492762

Research-Related Injury Compensation Policies of U.S. Research Institutions

PubMed Central

Resnik, David B.; Parasidis, Efthimios; Carroll, Kelly; Evans, Jennifer M.; Pike, Elizabeth R.; Kissling, Grace E.

2014-01-01

Federal research regulations require participants to be informed about whether medical care or compensation for injury is available in more than minimal risk studies and prohibit language in informed consent documents that waives, or appears to waive, legal rights. The objectives of this study were to compare data collected in 2000 and 2012 to identify significant changes in types of institutional compensation policies at U.S. research institutions, and assess the relationship between institutional characteristics and different types of policies. We found that research-related injury compensation policies did not change substantially during the time period. A significant percentage of policies contain language that can be reasonably interpreted as waiving, or appearing to waive, legal rights. Level of funding, public vs. private status, and institutional involvement in clinical research were associated with different types of policies. The lack of substantial change in compensation policies supports arguments for a national policy. PMID:24649739

The EPMI Malay Basin petroleum geology database: Design philosophy and keys to success

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Low, H.E.; Creaney, S.; Fairchild, L.H.

1994-07-01

Esso Production Malaysia Inc. (EPMI) developed and populated a database containing information collected in the areas of basic well data: stratigraphy, lithology, facies; pressure, temperature, column/contacts; geochemistry, shows and stains, migration, fluid properties; maturation; seal; structure. Paradox was used as the database engine and query language, with links to ZYCOR ZMAP+ for mapping and SAS for data analysis. Paradox has a query language that is simple enough for users. The ability to link to good analytical packages was deemed more important than having the capability in the package. Important elements of design philosophy were included: (1) information on data qualitymore » had to be rigorously recorded; (2) raw and interpreted data were kept separate and clearly identified; (3) correlations between rock and chronostratigraphic surfaces were recorded; and (4) queries across technical boundaries had to be seamless.« less

Portable Just-in-Time Specialization of Dynamically Typed Scripting Languages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Kevin; McCandless, Jason; Gregg, David

In this paper, we present a portable approach to JIT compilation for dynamically typed scripting languages. At runtime we generate ANSI C code and use the system's native C compiler to compile this code. The C compiler runs on a separate thread to the interpreter allowing program execution to continue during JIT compilation. Dynamic languages have variables which may change type at any point in execution. Our interpreter profiles variable types at both whole method and partial method granularity. When a frequently executed region of code is discovered, the compilation thread generates a specialized version of the region based on the profiled types. In this paper, we evaluate the level of instruction specialization achieved by our profiling scheme as well as the overall performance of our JIT.

Social Salience Discriminates Learnability of Contextual Cues in an Artificial Language

PubMed Central

Rácz, Péter; Hay, Jennifer B.; Pierrehumbert, Janet B.

2017-01-01

We investigate the learning of contextual meaning by adults in an artificial language. Contextual meaning here refers to the non-denotative contextual information that speakers attach to a linguistic construction. Through a series of short games, played online, we test how well adults can learn different contextual meanings for a word-formation pattern in an artificial language. We look at whether learning contextual meanings depends on the social salience of the context, whether our players interpret these contexts generally, and whether the learned meaning is generalized to new words. Our results show that adults are capable of learning contextual meaning if the context is socially salient, coherent, and interpretable. Once a contextual meaning is recognized, it is readily generalized to related forms and contexts. PMID:28194122

Proceedings 2014: Selected Papers from the Eighteenth College-Wide Conference for Students in Languages, Linguistics & Literature (18th, Honolulu, Hawai'i, April 26, 2014)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leal, Priscila, Ed.; West, Gordon, Ed.

2015-01-01

The theme for this year's annual graduate student conference of the College of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature (LLL) was "Your Voice, My Voice: Literature, Language, Culture and Society." Translation and interpretation guided the theme for the conference, with Dr. Marvin Puakea Nogelmeier of the Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian…

Citizenship Status and Language Education Policy in an Emerging Latino Community in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mangual Figueroa, Ariana

2013-01-01

This article draws on a 23 month ethnographic study of an emerging--newly established and rapidly growing--Latino community in the New Latino Diaspora of the U.S. in order to examine how educators and parents interpret language education policy (LEP). It analyzes how an English as a Second Language director and one undocumented Mexican mother…

Product Definition Data Interface (PDDI) Product Specification

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-07-01

syntax of the language gives a precise specification of the data without interpretation of it. M - Constituent Read Block. CSECT - Control Section, the...to conform to the PDDI Access Software’s internal data representation so that it may be further processed. JCL - Job Control Language - IBM language...software development and life cycle * phases. OUALITY CONTROL - The planned and systematic application of all actions (management/technical) necessary to

A Method for Interpreting Continental and Analytic Epistemology

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-01-01

solidarity. New York: Cambridge UP, 1995. Wittgenstein , Ludwig. Philosophical Investigations. Trans. G.E.M. Anscombe. Maiden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 1998...concept of language games described by Wittgenstein in the Philosophical Investigations. The definition of a language game is complicated, since "these...it is because of this relationship, or these relationships, that we call them all ’language’" (31). This leads Wittgenstein to compare the

Keep an open mind.

PubMed

Ayodele, Deborah

2016-10-05

On placement with a home treatment team, I went with a social worker and an interpreter to see a client with depression. The client's first language was Arabic and her English was limited, so using an interpreter enabled us to communicate with her more effectively.

Deaf directory.

PubMed

1994-11-23

The third edition of the 199415 Directory from the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP) is now available. Information on 192 sign language interpreters, lipspeakers, interpreters for deafblind people and speech to text reporters is provided. Details from CACDP on 0191 374 3607.

Status of GDL - GNU Data Language

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coulais, A.; Schellens, M.; Gales, J.; Arabas, S.; Boquien, M.; Chanial, P.; Messmer, P.; Fillmore, D.; Poplawski, O.; Maret, S.; Marchal, G.; Galmiche, N.; Mermet, T.

2010-12-01

Gnu Data Language (GDL) is an open-source interpreted language aimed at numerical data analysis and visualisation. It is a free implementation of the Interactive Data Language (IDL) widely used in Astronomy. GDL has a full syntax compatibility with IDL, and includes a large set of library routines targeting advanced matrix manipulation, plotting, time-series and image analysis, mapping, and data input/output including numerous scientific data formats. We will present the current status of the project, the key accomplishments, and the weaknesses - areas where contributions are welcome!

Getting Data Right - and Righteous to Improve Hispanic or Latino Health.

PubMed

Rodríguez-Lainz, Alfonso; McDonald, Mariana; Penman-Aguilar, Ana; Barrett, Drue H

2016-01-01

Hispanics or Latinos constitute the largest racial/ethnic minority in the United States. They are also a very diverse population. Latino/Hispanic's health varies significantly for subgroups defined by national origin, race, primary language, and migration-related factors (place of birth, immigration status, years of residence in the United States). Most Hispanics speak Spanish at home, and one-third have limited English proficiency (LEP). There is growing awareness on the importance for population health monitoring programs to collect those data elements (Hispanic subgroup, primary language, and migration-related factors) that better capture Hispanics' diversity, and to provide language assistance (translation of data collection forms, interpreters) to ensure meaningful inclusion of all Latinos/Hispanics in national health monitoring. There are strong ethical and scientific reasons for such expansion of data collection by public health entities. First, expand data elements can help identify otherwise hidden Hispanic subpopulations' health disparities. This may promote a more just and equitable distribution of health resources to underserved populations. Second, language access is needed to ensure fair and legal treatment of LEP individuals in federally supported data collection activities. Finally, these strategies are likely to improve the quality and representativeness of data needed to monitor and address the health of all Latino/Hispanic populations in the United States.

Getting Data Right — and Righteous to Improve Hispanic or Latino Health

PubMed Central

Rodríguez-Lainz, Alfonso; McDonald, Mariana; Penman-Aguilar, Ana; Barrett, Drue H.

2017-01-01

Hispanics or Latinos constitute the largest racial/ethnic minority in the United States. They are also a very diverse population. Latino/Hispanic’s health varies significantly for subgroups defined by national origin, race, primary language, and migration-related factors (place of birth, immigration status, years of residence in the United States). Most Hispanics speak Spanish at home, and one-third have limited English proficiency (LEP). There is growing awareness on the importance for population health monitoring programs to collect those data elements (Hispanic subgroup, primary language, and migration-related factors) that better capture Hispanics’ diversity, and to provide language assistance (translation of data collection forms, interpreters) to ensure meaningful inclusion of all Latinos/Hispanics in national health monitoring. There are strong ethical and scientific reasons for such expansion of data collection by public health entities. First, expand data elements can help identify otherwise hidden Hispanic subpopulations’ health disparities. This may promote a more just and equitable distribution of health resources to underserved populations. Second, language access is needed to ensure fair and legal treatment of LEP individuals in federally supported data collection activities. Finally, these strategies are likely to improve the quality and representativeness of data needed to monitor and address the health of all Latino/Hispanic populations in the United States. PMID:29416934

Reliability and validity of the Pragmatics Observational Measure (POM): a new observational measure of pragmatic language for children.

PubMed

Cordier, Reinie; Munro, Natalie; Wilkes-Gillan, Sarah; Speyer, Renée; Pearce, Wendy M

2014-07-01

There is a need for a reliable and valid assessment of childhood pragmatic language skills during peer-peer interactions. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of a newly developed pragmatic assessment, the Pragmatic Observational Measure (POM). The psychometric properties of the POM were investigated from observational data of two studies - study 1 involved 342 children aged 5-11 years (108 children with ADHD; 108 typically developing playmates; 126 children in the control group), and study 2 involved 9 children with ADHD who attended a 7-week play-based intervention. The psychometric properties of the POM were determined based on the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) taxonomy of psychometric properties and definitions for health-related outcomes; the Pragmatic Protocol was used as the reference tool against which the POM was evaluated. The POM demonstrated sound psychometric properties in all the reliability, validity and interpretability criteria against which it was assessed. The findings showed that the POM is a reliable and valid measure of pragmatic language skills of children with ADHD between the age of 5 and 11 years and has clinical utility in identifying children with pragmatic language difficulty. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Gender differences in identifying emotions from auditory and visual stimuli.

PubMed

Waaramaa, Teija

2017-12-01

The present study focused on gender differences in emotion identification from auditory and visual stimuli produced by two male and two female actors. Differences in emotion identification from nonsense samples, language samples and prolonged vowels were investigated. It was also studied whether auditory stimuli can convey the emotional content of speech without visual stimuli, and whether visual stimuli can convey the emotional content of speech without auditory stimuli. The aim was to get a better knowledge of vocal attributes and a more holistic understanding of the nonverbal communication of emotion. Females tended to be more accurate in emotion identification than males. Voice quality parameters played a role in emotion identification in both genders. The emotional content of the samples was best conveyed by nonsense sentences, better than by prolonged vowels or shared native language of the speakers and participants. Thus, vocal non-verbal communication tends to affect the interpretation of emotion even in the absence of language. The emotional stimuli were better recognized from visual stimuli than auditory stimuli by both genders. Visual information about speech may not be connected to the language; instead, it may be based on the human ability to understand the kinetic movements in speech production more readily than the characteristics of the acoustic cues.

Toddlers Default to Canonical Surface-to-Meaning Mapping When Learning Verbs

PubMed Central

Dautriche, Isabelle; Cristia, Alejandrina; Brusini, Perrine; Yuan, Sylvia; Fisher, Cynthia; Christophe, Anne

2013-01-01

Previous work has shown that toddlers readily encode each noun in the sentence as a distinct argument of the verb. However, languages allow multiple mappings between form and meaning which do not fit this canonical format. Two experiments examined French 28-month-olds’ interpretation of right-dislocated sentences (nouni-verb, nouni) where the presence of clear, language-specific cues should block such a canonical mapping. Toddlers (N = 96) interpreted novel verbs embedded in these sentences as transitive, disregarding prosodic cues to dislocation (Experiment 1) but correctly interpreted right-dislocated sentences containing well-known verbs (Experiment 2). These results suggest that toddlers can integrate multiple cues in ideal conditions, but default to canonical surface-to-meaning mapping when extracting structural information about novel verbs in semantically impoverished conditions. PMID:24117408

GSFC Systems Test and Operation Language (STOL) functional requirements and language description

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Desjardins, R.; Hall, G.; Mcguire, J.; Merwarth, P.; Mocarsky, W.; Truszkowski, W.; Villasenor, A.; Brosi, F.; Burch, P.; Carey, D.

1978-01-01

The Systems Tests and Operation Language (STOL) provides the means for user communication with payloads, applications programs, and other ground system elements. It is a systems operation language that enables an operator or user to communicate a command to a computer system. The system interprets each high level language directive from the user and performs the indicated action, such as executing a program, printing out a snapshot, or sending a payload command. This document presents the following: (1) required language features and implementation considerations; (2) basic capabilities; (3) telemetry, command, and input/output directives; (4) procedure definition and control; (5) listing, extension, and STOL nucleus capabilities.

Development and Validation of a Taiwanese Communication Progression in Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsin, Ming-Chin; Chien, Sung-pei; Hsu, Yin-Shao; Lin, Chen-Yung; Yore, Larry D.

2016-01-01

Common core standards, interdisciplinary education, and discipline-specific literacy are common international education reforms. The constructive-interpretative language arts pairs (speaking-listening, writing-reading, representing-viewing) and the communication, construction, and persuasion functions of language are central in these movements.…

Integrating Reading and the English-Language Arts in the Geography Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rushdoony, Haig A.

Suggested activities for integrating language concepts and comprehension skills into elementary school geography instruction are presented. The activities focus on concept formation through semantic mapping and making analogies, and on comprehension through recalling, generalizing, interpreting, and making inferences. Semantic maps indicate spoke…

Deciphering the language of nature: cryptography, secrecy, and alterity in Francis Bacon.

PubMed

Clody, Michael C

2011-01-01

The essay argues that Francis Bacon's considerations of parables and cryptography reflect larger interpretative concerns of his natural philosophic project. Bacon describes nature as having a language distinct from those of God and man, and, in so doing, establishes a central problem of his natural philosophy—namely, how can the language of nature be accessed through scientific representation? Ultimately, Bacon's solution relies on a theory of differential and duplicitous signs that conceal within them the hidden voice of nature, which is best recognized in the natural forms of efficient causality. The "alphabet of nature"—those tables of natural occurrences—consequently plays a central role in his program, as it renders nature's language susceptible to a process and decryption that mirrors the model of the bilateral cipher. It is argued that while the writing of Bacon's natural philosophy strives for literality, its investigative process preserves a space for alterity within scientific representation, that is made accessible to those with the interpretative key.

Language, culture, and task shifting--an emerging challenge for global mental health.

PubMed

Swartz, Leslie; Kilian, Sanja; Twesigye, Justus; Attah, Dzifa; Chiliza, Bonginkosi

2014-01-01

Language is at the heart of mental health care. Many high-income countries have sophisticated interpreter services, but in low- and middle-income countries there are not sufficient professional services, let alone interpreter services, and task shifting is used. In this article, we discuss this neglected issue in the context of low- and middle-income countries, where task shifting has been suggested as a solution to the problem of scarce mental health resources. The large diversity of languages in low- and middle-income countries, exacerbated by wide-scale migration, has implications for the scale-up of services. We suggest that it would be useful for those who are working innovatively to develop locally delivered mental health programmes in low- and middle-income countries to explore and report on issues of language and how these have been addressed. We need to know more about local challenges, but also about local solutions which seem to work, and for this we need more information from the field than is currently available.

Interpreter services in an inner city teaching hospital: a 6-year experience.

PubMed

Khwaja, Nadeem; Sharma, Saroj; Wong, Julian; Murray, David; Ghosh, Jonathan; Murphy, Michael O; Halka, Anastassi T; Walker, Michael G

2006-11-01

Being able to communicate effectively with patients is essential not only from a medicolegal standpoint but more importantly from clinical governance perspectives. Issues such as informed consent and patient choice within the NHS are currently being highlighted; for these to be available to patients, their language requirements are paramount. An audit was performed by the Linkworkers office at the Central Manchester & Manchester Children's Hospital NHS (CMMC) Trust on the total number of attendances and refusals per language in the period 1998-2003. In the CMMC Trust, Urdu/Punjabi, Bengali, Cantonese, Somali, Arabic and French represent the majority of the workload, comprising almost 80% of cases in 2003. In the same year, an increase in demand for languages of Eastern European countries became evident. Finding interpreters for these languages even via agencies can be extremely difficult. If the current trend continues, requirement for these services will increase exponentially. For this demand to be met adequately these issues must be kept at the forefront of NHS planning.

Engineers of the Southwest Pacific 1941-1945. Volume 8. Critique

DTIC Science & Technology

1950-01-01

excerpts had to be complemented and expanded into well-rounded interpretations , and the many remotely connected conclusions had to be combined and...88 Brigadier General Ralph Coane, 41st Division Artillery Commander, uses map to interpret ...hostilities, was using six different language interpreters whcn oeaL he addressed his regiment. demolition crew, had crossed. The entireopea- 5 c

Why Study Chinese Classics and How to Go about It: Response to Zongjie Wu's "Interpretation, Autonomy, and Transformation--Chinese Pedagogic Discourse in Cross-Cultural Perspective"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Sor-Hoon

2011-01-01

This response to Zongjie Wu's "Interpretation, autonomy, and interpretation" focuses on the "battle between East and West" which contextualizes Wu's proposal to counter the current Western domination of Chinese pedagogic discourse with an "authentic language" recovered from the Chinese classics. It points out that it…

Relating (Un)acceptability to Interpretation. Experimental Investigations on Negation

PubMed Central

Etxeberria, Urtzi; Tubau, Susagna; Deprez, Viviane; Borràs-Comes, Joan; Espinal, M. Teresa

2018-01-01

Although contemporary linguistic studies routinely use unacceptable sentences to determine the boundary of what falls outside the scope of grammar, investigations far more rarely take into consideration the possible interpretations of such sentences, perhaps because these interpretations are commonly prejudged as irrelevant or unreliable across speakers. In this paper we provide the results of two experiments in which participants had to make parallel acceptability and interpretation judgments of sentences presenting various types of negative dependencies in Basque and in two varieties of Spanish (Castilian Spanish and Basque Country Spanish). Our results show that acceptable sentences are uniformly assigned a single negation reading in the two languages. However, while unacceptable sentences consistently convey single negation in Basque, they are interpreted at chance in both varieties of Spanish. These results confirm that judgment data that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable negative utterances can inform us not only about an adult’s grammar of his/her particular language but also about interesting cross-linguistic differences. We conclude that the acceptability and interpretation of (un)grammatical negative sentences can serve linguistic theory construction by helping to disentangle basic assumptions about the nature of various negative dependencies. PMID:29456515

A formal approach to the analysis of clinical computer-interpretable guideline modeling languages.

PubMed

Grando, M Adela; Glasspool, David; Fox, John

2012-01-01

To develop proof strategies to formally study the expressiveness of workflow-based languages, and to investigate their applicability to clinical computer-interpretable guideline (CIG) modeling languages. We propose two strategies for studying the expressiveness of workflow-based languages based on a standard set of workflow patterns expressed as Petri nets (PNs) and notions of congruence and bisimilarity from process calculus. Proof that a PN-based pattern P can be expressed in a language L can be carried out semi-automatically. Proof that a language L cannot provide the behavior specified by a PNP requires proof by exhaustion based on analysis of cases and cannot be performed automatically. The proof strategies are generic but we exemplify their use with a particular CIG modeling language, PROforma. To illustrate the method we evaluate the expressiveness of PROforma against three standard workflow patterns and compare our results with a previous similar but informal comparison. We show that the two proof strategies are effective in evaluating a CIG modeling language against standard workflow patterns. We find that using the proposed formal techniques we obtain different results to a comparable previously published but less formal study. We discuss the utility of these analyses as the basis for principled extensions to CIG modeling languages. Additionally we explain how the same proof strategies can be reused to prove the satisfaction of patterns expressed in the declarative language CIGDec. The proof strategies we propose are useful tools for analysing the expressiveness of CIG modeling languages. This study provides good evidence of the benefits of applying formal methods of proof over semi-formal ones. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantifying risk: verbal probability expressions in Spanish and English.

PubMed

Cohn, Lawrence D; Vázquez, Miguel E Cortés; Alvarez, Adolfo

2009-01-01

To investigate how Spanish- and English-speaking adults interpret verbal probability expressions presented in Spanish and English (eg, posiblemente and possibly, respectively). Professional translators and university students from México and the United States read a series of likelihood statements in Spanish or English and then estimated the certainty implied by each statement. Several terms that are regarded as cognates in English and Spanish elicited significantly different likelihood ratings. Several language equivalencies were also identified. These findings provide the first reported evaluation of Spanish likelihood terms for use in risk communications directed towards monolingual and bilingual Spanish speakers.

Interpreting ambiguous advertisements: the effect of frontal lobe damage.

PubMed

Pearce, S; McDonald, S; Coltheart, M

1998-11-01

Despite intact primary language processes patients with frontal lobe deficits often have impaired communication skills including impaired capacity to understand conversational inference. This study examined the ability of three patients with demonstrated frontal lobe pathology to interpret lexically ambiguous advertisements. When compared to a nonbrain-damaged control group it was found that the frontal lobe patients were poorer at comprehending the abstract or inferred meanings inherent in the advertisements. The pattern of performance across the patients did, nevertheless, differ despite a similar end result. These findings are discussed in relation to theories concerning the contribution of the frontal lobes to language function.

Deaf Students, Teachers, and Interpreters in the Chemistry Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seal, Brenda C.; Wynne, Dorothy H.; MacDonald, Gina

2002-02-01

This report describes an undergraduate research program at James Madison University that includes deaf and hard-of-hearing students from Gallaudet University, deaf teachers from schools for the Deaf, and both professional interpreters and students engaged in sign language interpreter training. Methods used over a three-year period to maximize participation and expand research opportunities for the students, teachers, and interpreters are shared with the hope that similar projects might be encouraged and replicated in other programs.

Memory Operations and Structures in Sentence Comprehension: Evidence from Ellipsis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Andrea Eyleen

2010-01-01

Natural language often contains dependencies that span words, phrases, or even sentences. Thus, language comprehension relies on recovering recently processed information from memory for subsequent interpretation. This dissertation investigates the memory operations that subserve dependency resolution through the lens of "verb-phrase ellipsis"…

The Political Spectacle of Arizona's Proposition 203

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Wayne E.

2005-01-01

Arizona's Proposition 203 places restrictions on bilingual and English-as-a-second-language programs and essentiality mandates English-only education for English language learners (ELLs). This article provides an analysis of this initiative and the wide variations in its interpretation and implementation. Data sources include official policy and…

PubMed Central

Grégoire, J.

1993-01-01

Between five and 20% of preschool age children have language problems. These can be related to the child's hearing, socioeconomic status, intellectual development, or a psychiatric disorder. Even when it is difficult to recommend a formal screening program, family physicians can interpret delays in speech and language as "indicators" of underlying disorders. PMID:8495143

78 FR 79675 - Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-31

... written translations. --Competency to interpret, however, does not necessarily mean formal certification... free language assistance. --Written tests that do not assess English language competency, but test... States read, write, speak and understand English. There are many individuals, however, for whom English...

76 FR 24463 - Caribbean Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-02

.... Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Act (MSRA)/Annual Catch Limit (ACL) review of language--Overfishing Limit... decisions/motions get treated at Council level. 2. Review of decisions/logic behind 2010 amendment. a. Brief... accessible to people with disabilities. For more information or request for sign language interpretation and...

On the Meaning of Uniqueness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shipman, Barbara A.

2013-01-01

This article analyzes four questions on the meaning of uniqueness that have contrasting answers in common language versus mathematical language. The investigations stem from a scenario in which students interpreted uniqueness according to a definition from standard English, that is, different from the mathematical meaning, in defining an injective…

Programming in HAL/S

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ryer, M. J.

1978-01-01

HAL/S is a computer programming language; it is a representation for algorithms which can be interpreted by either a person or a computer. HAL/S compilers transform blocks of HAL/S code into machine language which can then be directly executed by a computer. When the machine language is executed, the algorithm specified by the HAL/S code (source) is performed. This document describes how to read and write HAL/S source.

Researching the Uses of the English Language in the Law Job Market in the Sultanate of Oman: Implications for Policy-Practice Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Issa, Ali S. M.

2014-01-01

The Sultanate of Oman is a developing country that has accepted the English language as a significant tool for modernization. This was best interpreted in the opening of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in 1986, which has delivered its different academic programmes totally or partially through the English language. One of the colleges of SQU has…

Quantum probabilistic logic programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balu, Radhakrishnan

2015-05-01

We describe a quantum mechanics based logic programming language that supports Horn clauses, random variables, and covariance matrices to express and solve problems in probabilistic logic. The Horn clauses of the language wrap random variables, including infinite valued, to express probability distributions and statistical correlations, a powerful feature to capture relationship between distributions that are not independent. The expressive power of the language is based on a mechanism to implement statistical ensembles and to solve the underlying SAT instances using quantum mechanical machinery. We exploit the fact that classical random variables have quantum decompositions to build the Horn clauses. We establish the semantics of the language in a rigorous fashion by considering an existing probabilistic logic language called PRISM with classical probability measures defined on the Herbrand base and extending it to the quantum context. In the classical case H-interpretations form the sample space and probability measures defined on them lead to consistent definition of probabilities for well formed formulae. In the quantum counterpart, we define probability amplitudes on Hinterpretations facilitating the model generations and verifications via quantum mechanical superpositions and entanglements. We cast the well formed formulae of the language as quantum mechanical observables thus providing an elegant interpretation for their probabilities. We discuss several examples to combine statistical ensembles and predicates of first order logic to reason with situations involving uncertainty.

GRAMPS: a graphics language interpreter for real-time, interactive, three-dimensional picture editing and animation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

O'Donnell, T.J.; Olson, A.J.

1981-08-01

GRAMPS, a graphics language interpreter has been developed in FORTRAN 77 to be used in conjunction with an interactive vector display list processor (Evans and Sutherland Multi-Picture-System). Several of the features of the language make it very useful and convenient for real-time scene construction, manipulation and animation. The GRAMPS language syntax allows natural interaction with scene elements as well as easy, interactive assignment of graphics input devices. GRAMPS facilitates the creation, manipulation and copying of complex nested picture structures. The language has a powerful macro feature that enables new graphics commands to be developed and incorporated interactively. Animation may bemore » achieved in GRAMPS by two different, yet mutually compatible means. Picture structures may contain framed data, which consist of a sequence of fixed objects. These structures may be displayed sequentially to give a traditional frame animation effect. In addition, transformation information on picture structures may be saved at any time in the form of new macro commands that will transform these structures from one saved state to another in a specified number of steps, yielding an interpolated transformation animation effect. An overview of the GRAMPS command structure is given and several examples of application of the language to molecular modeling and animation are presented.« less

Hierarchy of Certain Types of DNA Splicing Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusof, Yuhani; Sarmin, Nor Haniza; Goode, T. Elizabeth; Mahmud, Mazri; Heng, Fong Wan

A Head splicing system (H-system)consists of a finite set of strings (words) written over a finite alphabet, along with a finite set of rules that acts on the strings by iterated cutting and pasting to create a splicing language. Any interpretation that is aligned with Tom Head's original idea is one in which the strings represent double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA) and the rules represent the cutting and pasting action of restriction enzymes and ligase, respectively. A new way of writing the rule sets is adopted so as to make the biological interpretation transparent. This approach is used in a formal language- theoretic analysis of the hierarchy of certain classes of splicing systems, namely simple, semi-simple and semi-null splicing systems. The relations between such systems and their associated languages are given as theorems, corollaries and counterexamples.

Tokens: Facts and Interpretation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmandt-Besserat, Denise

1986-01-01

Summarizes some of the major pieces of evidence concerning the archeological clay tokens, specifically the technique for their manufacture, their geographic distribution, chronology, and the context in which they are found. Discusses the interpretation of tokens as the first example of visible language, particularly as an antecedent of Sumerian…

Building simple multiscale visualizations of outcrop geology using virtual reality modeling language (VRML)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thurmond, John B.; Drzewiecki, Peter A.; Xu, Xueming

2005-08-01

Geological data collected from outcrop are inherently three-dimensional (3D) and span a variety of scales, from the megascopic to the microscopic. This presents challenges in both interpreting and communicating observations. The Virtual Reality Modeling Language provides an easy way for geoscientists to construct complex visualizations that can be viewed with free software. Field data in tabular form can be used to generate hierarchical multi-scale visualizations of outcrops, which can convey the complex relationships between a variety of data types simultaneously. An example from carbonate mud-mounds in southeastern New Mexico illustrates the embedding of three orders of magnitude of observation into a single visualization, for the purpose of interpreting depositional facies relationships in three dimensions. This type of raw data visualization can be built without software tools, yet is incredibly useful for interpreting and communicating data. Even simple visualizations can aid in the interpretation of complex 3D relationships that are frequently encountered in the geosciences.

Dynamic engagement of cognitive control modulates recovery from misinterpretation during real-time language processing

PubMed Central

Hsu, Nina S.; Novick, Jared M.

2016-01-01

Speech unfolds swiftly, yet listeners keep pace by rapidly assigning meaning to what they hear. Sometimes though, initial interpretations turn out wrong. How do listeners revise misinterpretations of language input moment-by-moment, to avoid comprehension errors? Cognitive control may play a role by detecting when processing has gone awry, and then initiating behavioral adjustments accordingly. However, no research has investigated a cause-and-effect interplay between cognitive control engagement and overriding erroneous interpretations in real-time. Using a novel cross-task paradigm, we show that Stroop-conflict detection, which mobilizes cognitive control procedures, subsequently facilitates listeners’ incremental processing of temporarily ambiguous spoken instructions that induce brief misinterpretation. When instructions followed Stroop-incongruent versus-congruent items, listeners’ eye-movements to objects in a scene reflected more transient consideration of the false interpretation and earlier recovery of the correct one. Comprehension errors also decreased. Cognitive control engagement therefore accelerates sentence re-interpretation processes, even as linguistic input is still unfolding. PMID:26957521

Accuracy of sign interpreting and real-time captioning of science videos for the delivery of instruction to deaf students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadler, Karen L.

2009-04-01

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively examine the impact of third-party support service providers on the quality of science information available to deaf students in regular science classrooms. Three different videotapes that were developed by NASA for high school science classrooms were selected for the study, allowing for different concepts and vocabulary to be examined. The focus was on the accuracy of translation as measured by the number of key science words included in the transcripts (captions) or videos (interpreted). Data were collected via transcripts completed by CART (computer assisted real-time captionists) or through videos of sign language interpreters. All participants were required to listen to and translate these NASA educational videos with no prior experience with this information so as not to influence their delivery. CART personnel using captions were found to be significantly more accurate in the delivery of science words as compared to the sign language interpreters in this study.

Dialect Variation of Copula and Auxiliary Verb BE: African American English–Speaking Children With and Without Gullah/Geechee Heritage

PubMed Central

Oetting, Janna B.

2017-01-01

Purpose We compared copula and auxiliary verb BE use by African American English–speaking children with and without a creole heritage, using Gullah/Geechee as the creole criterion, to determine if differences exist, the nature of the differences, and the impact of the differences on interpretations of ability. Method Data came from 38 children, aged 5 to 6 years (19 with Gullah/Geechee and 19 without Gullah/Geechee heritage). All were developing language typically, with groups matched on gender, maternal education, and, when possible, test scores. The children's productions of BE were elicited using a screener, probes, and language samples. Results Although many similarities were documented, the 2 groups' BE systems differed in 3 ways: use of unique forms (i.e., də), unique use of shared forms (i.e., BEEN), and rates of use of shared forms (e.g., am, is, was/were, was for were). Although most noticeable in the language samples, differences surfaced across tasks and showed the potential to affect interpretations of ability. Conclusions Dialect variation that is tied to children's creole heritage exists, involves 3 types of variation, and potentially affects interpretations of ability. Effects of a heritage language and different types of variation should be considered in research and clinical endeavors with African American English–speaking children. PMID:28796859

Inaccurate Language Interpretation and its Clinical Significance in the Medical Encounters of Spanish-speaking Latinos

PubMed Central

Nápoles, Anna M.; Santoyo-Olsson, Jasmine; Karliner, Leah S.; Gregorich, Steven E.; Pérez-Stable, Eliseo J.

2015-01-01

Background Limited English-proficient (LEP) patients suffer poorer quality of care and outcomes. Interpreters can ameliorate these disparities; however, evidence is lacking on the quality of different interpretation modes. Objective Compare accuracy of interpretation for in-person professional (IP), professional videoconferencing (VC), and ad hoc interpretation (AH). Design Cross-sectional study of transcribed audiotaped primary care visits Subjects 32 Spanish-speaking Latino patients; 14 clinicians Measures Independent coding of transcripts by four coders (two were internists) for accurate and inaccurate interpretation instances. Unit of analysis was a segment of continuous speech or text unit (TU). Two internists independently verified inaccurate interpretation instances and rated their clinical significance as clinically insignificant, mildly, moderately or highly clinically significant. Results Accurate interpretation made up 70% of total coded TUs and inaccurate interpretation (errors) made up 30%. Inaccurate interpretation occurred at twice the rate for AH (54% of coded TUs) versus IP (25%) and VC (23%) interpretation, due to more errors of omission (p<0.001) and answers for patient or clinician (p<0.001). Mean number of errors per visit was 27, with 7.1% of errors rated as moderately/highly clinically significant. In adjusted models, the odds of inaccurate interpretation were lower for IP (OR = −1.25, 95% CI −1.56, −0.95) and VC (OR = −1.05; 95% CI −1.26, −0.84) than for AH interpreted visits; the odds of a moderately/highly clinically significant error were lower for IP (OR = −0.06; 95% CI −1.05, 0.92) than for AH interpreted visits. Conclusions Inaccurate language interpretation in medical encounters is common and more frequent when untrained interpreters are used compared to professional in-person or via videoconferencing. Professional video conferencing interpretation may increase access to higher quality medical interpretation services. PMID:26465121

Logos Announced the Light of Salvation: Interpreting How John Presented His Message in John 1:1-18, According to Functional Grammar

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pollinger, Seth

2014-01-01

This study of John 1:1-18 describes how John (the speaker) presented his message to his audience within their activity of verbal communication. By focusing on verbal meaning, this interpretation analyzes how John presented and expressed his meanings through language by interpreting this text based on the seamless interrelation between John's…

Developing Curriculum for Interpreter Training Programs in Vocational Education. Final Report, July 1, 1979-June 30, 1980.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Cynthia B.; And Others

A project was conducted to develop a curriculum for training interpreters to use American Sign Language (ASL) to serve the deaf. The three-phase project involved (1) a task analysis to catalog the skills needed by interpreters and location of existing materials to determine areas where material needed to be developed; (2) development of a model…

Barriers to offering French language physician services in rural and northern Ontario.

PubMed

Timony, Patrick E; Gauthier, Alain P; Serresse, Suzanne; Goodale, Natalie; Prpic, Jason

2016-01-01

Rural and Northern Ontario francophones face many health-related challenges including poor health status, a poor supply of French-speaking physicians, and the potential for an inability or reduced ability to effectively communicate with anglophone healthcare providers. As such, it can reasonably be expected that rural and Northern Ontario francophones experience barriers when receiving care. However, the experience of physicians working in areas densely populated by francophones is largely unexplored. This paper identifies barriers experienced by French-speaking and Non-French-speaking rural and Northern Ontario physicians when serving francophone patients. A series of key informant interviews were conducted with 18 family physicians practicing in rural and urban francophone communities of Northeastern Ontario. Interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis process. Five categories of barrier were identified: (1) language discordance, (2) characteristics of francophone patients, (3) dominance of English in the medical profession, (4) lack of French-speaking medical personnel, and (5) physicians' linguistic (in)sensitivity. Some barriers identified were unique to Non-French-speaking physicians (eg language discordance, use of interpreters, feelings of inadequacy), some were unique to French-speaking physicians (eg limited French education and resources), and some were common to both groups (eg lack of French-speaking colleagues/staff, added time commitments, and the particularities of Franco-Ontarian preferences and culture). Healthcare providers and decision makers may take interest in these results. Although physicians were the focus of the present article, the barriers expressed are likely experienced by other healthcare providers, and thus the lessons learned from this article extend beyond the physician workforce. Efforts must be made to offer educational opportunities for physicians and other healthcare providers working in areas densely populated by francophones; these include linguistic and cultural sensitivity training, in addition to teaching strategies for the practice of 'active offer' of French-language services. In sum, the present study outlines the importance of linguistic concordant communication in healthcare delivery, and describes some of the challenges faced when providing French-language services in rural and Northern Ontario.

Assessing working memory and language comprehension in Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

MacDonald, M C; Almor, A; Henderson, V W; Kempler, D; Andersen, E S

2001-07-01

Studies of language impairments in patients with Alzheimer's disease have often assumed that impairments in linguistic working memory underlie comprehension deficits. Assessment of this hypothesis has been hindered both by vagueness of key terms such as "working memory" and by limitations of available working memory tasks, in that many such tasks either seem to have little relationship to language comprehension or are too confusing or difficult for Alzheimer's patients. Four experiments investigated the usefulness of digit ordering, a new task assessing linguistic working memory and/or language processing skill, in normal adults and patients with probable Alzheimer's disease. The digit ordering task was shown to be strongly correlated with the degree of dementia in Alzheimer's patients. The task correlated with measures of language processing on which patients and normal controls performed differently. The results are interpreted as indicating that linguistic representations, linguistic processing, and linguistic working memory are intertwined, such that a deficit of one (e.g., working memory) cannot be said to "cause" a deficit in the other. The implications of this approach are explored in terms of task demands in comprehension and memory measures, and interpretation of previous results in the literature. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

English Language Community College Students in the Nursing Classroom: Exploring What Matters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mulready-Shick, JoAnn; Parker, Tara L.

2013-01-01

This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of students as English language learners in the nursing classroom. Employing interpretive phenomenological methodology, participants at an urban community college in the Northeast engaged in open-ended interviews that yielded new understandings of everyday concerns that impacted their academic…

Grammar as a Programming Language. Artificial Intelligence Memo 391.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowe, Neil

Student projects that involve writing generative grammars in the computer language, "LOGO," are described in this paper, which presents a grammar-running control structure that allows students to modify and improve the grammar interpreter itself while learning how a simple kind of computer parser works. Included are procedures for…

The Semiotics of Learning New Words

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nöth, Winfried

2014-01-01

In several of his papers, Charles S. Peirce illustrates processes of interpreting and understanding signs by examples from second language vocabulary teaching and learning. The insights conveyed by means of these little pedagogical scenarios are not meant as contributions to the psychology of second language learning, but they aim at elucidating…

Perspectives of Introduction of the Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Monica-Nataliia Laurensovna; Donskaya, Maryana Vladimirovna; Kupriyanova, Milana Evgenievna; Ovezova, Umeda Akparovna

2016-01-01

Present article addresses methodological and technical (instrumental) aspects of creation and implementation of mobile-assisted learning, which is oriented to the process of foreign languages learning. We provide the interpretation of the main definitions of mobile-assisted learning, as well as propose recommendations for using mobile devices in…

The Role of the Arcuate Fasciculus in Conduction Aphasia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernal, Byron; Ardila, Alfredo

2009-01-01

In aphasia literature, it has been considered that a speech repetition defect represents the main constituent of conduction aphasia. Conduction aphasia has frequently been interpreted as a language impairment due to lesions of the arcuate fasciculus (AF) that disconnect receptive language areas from expressive ones. Modern neuroradiological…

Using Linguistic Structures as a Framework for Social Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartoonian, H. Michael

Analysis of the relationship between language and ethics can provide insight into social institutions, social discourse, and social action. Further, synthesis of language and social education can aid educators as they develop curriculum which deals with communication and reasoning in social decision making. Ethics is interpreted to include the…

Combining Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing to Assess Literary Text Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balyan, Renu; McCarthy, Kathryn S.; McNamara, Danielle S.

2017-01-01

This study examined how machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) techniques can be leveraged to assess the interpretive behavior that is required for successful literary text comprehension. We compared the accuracy of seven different machine learning classification algorithms in predicting human ratings of student essays about…

Plurilingual Ethos: A Peep into the Sociology of Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khubchandani, Lachman M.

1998-01-01

Issues in the study of bilingualism and multilingualism in India and Pakistan are examined, including the delineation of linguistic boundaries, defining a society that is multicultural and yet has developed a "communication ethos" based on a core of common experience, the difficulty in interpreting language role and defining language…

Challenging Social Hierarchy: Playing with Oppositional Identities in Family Talk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bani-Shoraka, Helena

2008-01-01

This study examines how bilingual family members use language choice and language alternation as a local scheme of interpretation to distinguish different and often contesting social identities in interaction. It is argued that the playful creation of oppositional identities in interaction relieves the speakers from responsibility and creates a…

Foreign Language Careers: Translation. Q & A.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rennie, Jeanne

Translation skills require the ability to interpret information from a source language into the native tongue without distortion of emotional or written content. A broad knowledge of several subject areas, plus schooling in a special translator-training program, are prerequisites for a career in translation. Nonliterary translation offers the most…

Sketching to Create Meaning: The Story of a Second-Language Learner

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Altman, Chris

2008-01-01

Chris Altman stresses the importance of helping English language learners ascertain the medium they best work with in interpreting information presented in class. Altman reminds us that meaning does not come directly from teachers giving students information, but from students productively making meaning and clarifying understanding through a…

The RSZ BASIC programming language manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stattel, R. J.; Niswander, J. K.; Kochhar, A. K.

1980-01-01

The RSZ BASIC interactive language is described. The RSZ BASIC interpreter is resident in the Telemetry Data Processor, a system dedicated to the processing and displaying of PCM telemetry data. A series of working examples teaches the fundamentals of RSZ BASIC and shows how to construct, edit, and manage storage of programs.

Living Language: Self-Assessment, Oral Production, and Domestic Immersion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dolosic, Haley N.; Brantmeier, Cindy; Strube, Michael; Hogrebe, Mark C.

2016-01-01

With 24 adolescent students enrolled in a French language summer camp, the present study examines the relationship between self-assessment and oral production in French, interpreting results through a framework of individual learning variables. Participants were surrounded by French inside and outside the classroom. Self-assessment was measured…

Geometry and Formal Linguistics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huff, George A.

This paper presents a method of encoding geometric line-drawings in a way which allows sets of such drawings to be interpreted as formal languages. A characterization of certain geometric predicates in terms of their properties as languages is obtained, and techniques usually associated with generative grammars and formal automata are then applied…

On the Margins of Discourse: The Relation of Literature to Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Barbara Herrnstein

This centrally focused collection of articles and lectures examines literary interpretation and the relation of literature to language. The first of the book's three parts introduces the distinction between natural discourse and fictive discourse (verbal structures that function as representatives of natural utterances). It also deals with the…

Effects of Cueing in Auditory Temporal Masking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Ting; Formby, Craig

2007-01-01

Purpose: In a landmark study, B. A. Wright et al. (1997) reported an apparent backward-masking deficit in language-learning-impaired children. Subsequently, the controversial interpretation of those results has been influential in guiding treatments for childhood language problems. This study revisited the temporal-masking paradigm reported by B.…

Conflicts in Language Processing: A New Perspective on the N400-P600 Distinction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frenzel, Sabine; Schlesewsky, Matthias; Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Ina

2011-01-01

Conflicts in language processing often correlate with late positive event-related brain potentials (ERPs), particularly when they are induced by inconsistencies between different information types (e.g. syntactic and thematic/plausibility information). However, under certain circumstances, similar sentence-level interpretation conflicts (inanimate…

Transmodalities and Transnational Encounters: Fostering Critical Cosmopolitan Relations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Margaret R.

2018-01-01

The "trans-" turn in language studies illuminates human communication as the coordination and interpretation of a vast array of semiotic resources that are entangled with language in fluid and unpredictable ways. It also highlights the current era of globalization in which communication occurs with ever-increasing rapidity among…

Career Development in Language Education Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shawer, Saad Fathy; Alkahtani, Saad Ali

2013-01-01

This study assesses the influence of a two-year language program evaluation on program directors and faculty career development. The study makes use of mixed-paradigms (positivism and qualitative interpretive), mixed-strategies (survey research and qualitative evaluation), one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a post-hoc test of multiple…

Statistical Significance Testing in Second Language Research: Basic Problems and Suggestions for Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norris, John M.

2015-01-01

Traditions of statistical significance testing in second language (L2) quantitative research are strongly entrenched in how researchers design studies, select analyses, and interpret results. However, statistical significance tests using "p" values are commonly misinterpreted by researchers, reviewers, readers, and others, leading to…

Prescriptivism and French L2 Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaulieu, Suzie

2016-01-01

Studies in the field of transcultural nursing in the USA and Australia have shown that bilingual nurses who work in their non-dominant language face many communication challenges. The majority of the linguistic problems they encounter are related to their inability to interpret and use language appropriately in different, authentic nursing…

Facilitating Reading Comprehension for Students on the Autism Spectrum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gately, Susan E.

2008-01-01

It is a challenge for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to integrate language, social understanding, and emotional intent of messages to understand their social world. They often have deficits in language and social cognition and difficulty interpreting and labeling emotions and incorporating or integrating each of these aspects of…

Language support for linguistic minority chronic hepatitis B/C patients: an exploratory study of availability and clinicians' perceptions of language barriers in six European countries.

PubMed

Falla, Abby M; Veldhuijzen, Irene K; Ahmad, Amena A; Levi, Miriam; Richardus, Jan Hendrik

2017-02-20

Language support for linguistic minorities can improve patient safety, clinical outcomes and the quality of health care. Most chronic hepatitis B/C infections in Europe are detected among people born in endemic countries mostly in Africa, Asia and Central/Eastern Europe, groups that may experience language barriers when accessing health care services in their host countries. We investigated availability of interpreters and translated materials for linguistic minority hepatitis B/C patients. We also investigated clinicians' agreement that language barriers are explanations of three scenarios: the low screening uptake of hepatitis B/C screening, the lack of screening in primary care, and why cases do not reach specialist care. An online survey was developed, translated and sent to experts in five health care services involved in screening or treating viral hepatitis in six European countries: Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom (UK). The five areas of health care were: general practice/family medicine, antenatal care, health care for asylum seekers, sexual health and specialist secondary care. We measured availability using a three-point ordinal scale ('very common', 'variable or not routine' and 'rarely or never'). We measured agreement using a five-point Likert scale. We received 238 responses (23% response rate, N = 1026) from representatives in each health care field in each country. Interpreters are common in the UK, the Netherlands and Spain but variable or rare in Germany, Hungary and Italy. Translated materials are rarely/never available in Hungary, Italy and Spain but commonly or variably available in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK. Differing levels of agreement that language barriers explain the three scenarios are seen across the countries. Professionals in countries with most infrequent availability (Hungary and Italy) disagree strongest that language barriers are explanations. Our findings show pronounced differences between countries in availability of interpreters, differences that mirror socio-cultural value systems of 'difference-sensitive' and 'difference-blindness'. Improved language support is needed given the complex natural history of hepatitis B/C, the recognised barriers to screening and care, and the large undiagnosed burden among (potentially) linguistic minority migrant groups.

Validated Measures of Illness Perception and Behavior in People with Knee Pain and Knee Osteoarthritis: A Scoping Review.

PubMed

Hamilton, Clayon B; Wong, Ming-Kin; Gignac, Monique A M; Davis, Aileen M; Chesworth, Bert M

2017-01-01

To identify validated measures that capture illness perception and behavior and have been used to assess people who have knee pain/osteoarthritis. A scoping review was performed. Nine electronic databases were searched for records from inception through April 19, 2015. Search terms included illness perception, illness behavior, knee, pain, osteoarthritis, and their related terms. This review included English language publications of primary data on people with knee pain/osteoarthritis who were assessed with validated measures capturing any of 4 components of illness perception and behavior: monitor body, define and interpret symptoms, take remedial action, and utilize sources of help. Seventy-one publications included relevant measures. Two reviewers independently coded and analyzed each relevant measure within the 4 components. Sixteen measures were identified that capture components of illness perception and behavior in the target population. These measures were originally developed to capture constructs that include coping strategies/skills/styles, illness belief, illness perception, self-efficacy, and pain behavior. Coding results indicated that 5, 11, 12, and 5 of these measures included the monitor body, define and interpret symptoms, take remedial action, and utilize sources of help components, respectively. Several validated measures were interpreted as capturing some components, and only 1 measure was interpreted as capturing all of the components of illness perception and behavior in the target population. A measure that comprehensively captures illness perception and behavior could be valuable for informing and evaluating therapy for patients along a continuum of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. © 2016 World Institute of Pain.

Pediatricians' communication about weight with overweight Latino children and their parents.

PubMed

Turer, Christy B; Montaño, Sergio; Lin, Hua; Hoang, Kim; Flores, Glenn

2014-11-01

To examine pediatrician weight-management communication with overweight Latino children and their parents and whether communication differs by pediatrician-patient language congruency. Mixed-methods analysis of video-recorded primary care visits with overweight 6- to 12-year-old children. Three independent reviewers used video/transcript data to identify American Academy of Pediatrics-recommended communication content and establish communication themes/subthemes. Language incongruence (LI) was defined as pediatrician limited Spanish proficiency combined with parent limited English proficiency (LEP). Bivariate analyses examined associations of LI with communication content/themes. The mean child age (N = 26) was 9.5 years old; 81% were obese. Sixty-two percent of parents had LEP. Twenty-seven percent of pediatricians were Spanish-proficient. An interpreter was used in 25% of LI visits. Major themes for how pediatricians communicate overweight included BMI, weight, obese, chubby, and no communication (which only occurred in LI visits). The pediatrician communicated child overweight in 81% of visits, a weight-management plan in 50%, a culturally relevant dietary recommendation in 42%, a recommendation for a follow-up visit in 65%, and nutrition referral in 50%. Growth charts were used in 62% of visits but significantly less often in LI (13%) versus language-congruent (83%) visits (P < .001). Many overweight Latino children do not receive direct communication of overweight, culturally sensitive dietary advice, or follow-up visits. LI is associated with a lower likelihood of growth chart use. During primary care visits with overweight Latino children, special attention should be paid to directly communicating child overweight, formulating culturally sensitive weight-management plans, and follow-up. With LEP families, vigilance is needed in providing a trained interpreter and using growth charts. Copyright © 2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Interpretation of Logical Words in Mandarin-Speaking Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Uncovering Knowledge of Semantics and Pragmatics.

PubMed

Su, Yi Esther; Su, Lin-Yan

2015-07-01

This study investigated the interpretation of the logical words 'some' and 'every…or…' in 4-15-year-old high-functioning Mandarin-speaking children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Children with ASD performed similarly to typical controls in demonstrating semantic knowledge of simple sentences with 'some', and they had delayed knowledge of the complex sentences with 'every…or…'. Interestingly, the children with ASD had pragmatic knowledge of the scalar implicatures of these logical words, parallel to those of the typical controls. Taken together, the interpretation of logical words may be a relative strength in children with ASD. It is possible that some aspects of semantics and pragmatics may be selectively spared in ASD, due to the contribution the language faculty makes to language acquisition in the ASD population.

STAR - A computer language for hybrid AI applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borchardt, G. C.

1986-01-01

Constructing Artificial Intelligence application systems which rely on both symbolic and non-symbolic processing places heavy demands on the communication of data between dissimilar languages. This paper describes STAR (Simple Tool for Automated Reasoning), a computer language for the development of AI application systems which supports the transfer of data structures between a symbolic level and a non-symbolic level defined in languages such as FORTRAN, C and PASCAL. The organization of STAR is presented, followed by the description of an application involving STAR in the interpretation of airborne imaging spectrometer data.

Interpretation of Whorf from Different Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Yanlong

2016-01-01

The paper interprets Whorf's notion by turning to his original writings. Specifically, the paper makes a detailed analysis of Whorf's notion from anthropological linguistics, which largely deals with his famous distinction between overt category and covert category and his detailed description of the American Indian language Hopi; contrastive…

Investigating Tree Thinking & Ancestry with Cladograms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davenport, K. D.; Milks, Kirstin Jane; Van Tassell, Rebecca

2015-01-01

Interpreting cladograms is a key skill for biological literacy. In this lesson, students interpret cladograms based on familial relationships and language relationships to build their understanding of tree thinking and to construct a definition of "common ancestor." These skills can then be applied to a true biological cladogram.

Scalable and Accurate SMT-based Model Checking of Data Flow Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-30

guided by the semantics of the description language . In this project we developed instead a complementary and novel approach based on a somewhat brute...believe that our approach could help considerably in expanding the reach of abstract interpretation techniques to a variety of tar- get languages , as...project. We worked on developing a framework for compositional verification that capitalizes on the fact that data-flow languages , such as Lustre, have

Understanding and Evolving the ML Module System

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-05-01

kinds Abstract The ML module system stands as a high-water mark of programming language support for data abstraction. Nevertheless, it is not in a... language of part (3) using the framework of Harper and Stone, in which the meanings of “external” ML programs are interpreted by translation into an...researcher has been influenced to a large degree by their rigorous approach to programming language research and their profound sense of aesthetics. I

USAF Expeditionary Security Operations 2040:A Technology Vision For Deployed Air Base Defense Capabilities

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-09

development is the ability to connect to language translation service providers, exemplified by the hand-held Enabling Language Service Anywhere ( ELSA ...device. Designed primarily for use by first responders, ELSA connects via cellular signal to a company employing interpreters for over 180 languages...69 ELSA provides a possible model for military emulation where a pool of linguists is available on-call for use in a tactical environment

C3I and Modelling and Simulation (M&S) Interoperability

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-03-01

customised Open Source products. The technical implementation is based on the use of the eXtendend Markup Language (XML) and Python . XML is developed...to structure, store and send information. The language is focus on the description of data. Python is a portable, interpreted, object-oriented...programming language. A huge variety of usable Open Source Projects were issued by the Python Community. 3.1 Phase 1: Feasibility Studies Phase 1 was

Ground Operations Aerospace Language (GOAL). Volume 1: Study overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

A series of NASA and Contractor studies sponsored by NASA/KSC resulted in a specification for the Ground Operations Aerospace Language (GOAL). The Cape Kennedy Facility of the IBM Corporation was given the responsibility, under existing contracts, to perform an analysis of the Language Specification, to design and develop a GOAL Compiler, to provide a specification for a data bank, to design and develop an interpretive code translator, and to perform associated application studies.

Predictors of asthma control in children from different ethnic origins living in Amsterdam.

PubMed

van Dellen, Q M; Stronks, K; Bindels, P J E; Ory, F G; Bruil, J; van Aalderen, W M C

2007-04-01

To identify factors associated with asthma control in a multi-ethnic paediatric population. We interviewed 278 children with paediatrician diagnosed asthma (aged 7-17 years) and one of their parents. Asthma control was assessed with the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ). Detailed information about sociodemographic variables, asthma medication, knowledge of asthma, inhalation technique and environmental factors were collected. Turkish and Moroccan parents were interviewed in their language of choice. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify correlates of asthma control. Of the 278 children, 85 (30.6%) were Dutch, 84 (30.2%) were Moroccan, 58 (20.9%) were Turkish and 51 (18.3%) were Surinamese. Overall, almost 60% had a status of well-controlled asthma, as indicated by the ACQ. Only 51 of the 142 (35.9%) Moroccan and Turkish parents had a good comprehension of the Dutch language. In logistic regression analyses the risk of having uncontrolled asthma was significantly higher among Surinamese children (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.06-4.83), respondents with insufficient comprehension of the Dutch language (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.08-4.78), children using woollen blankets (OR 9.8; 95% CI 1.52-63.42), and significantly lower among male (OR 0.5; 95% CI 0.31-0.91) and non-daily users of inhaled corticosteroids (OR 0.6; 95% CI 0.38-1.07). In conclusion, ethnicity as well as insufficient comprehension of the Dutch language appeared to be independent risk factors for uncontrolled asthma. Special attention should be given to children from immigrants groups for example by calling in an interpreter by physicians when comprehension is insufficient.

Do infant vocabulary skills predict school-age language and literacy outcomes?

PubMed

Duff, Fiona J; Reen, Gurpreet; Plunkett, Kim; Nation, Kate

2015-08-01

Strong associations between infant vocabulary and school-age language and literacy skills would have important practical and theoretical implications: Preschool assessment of vocabulary skills could be used to identify children at risk of reading and language difficulties, and vocabulary could be viewed as a cognitive foundation for reading. However, evidence to date suggests predictive ability from infant vocabulary to later language and literacy is low. This study provides an investigation into, and interpretation of, the magnitude of such infant to school-age relationships. Three hundred British infants whose vocabularies were assessed by parent report in the 2nd year of life (between 16 and 24 months) were followed up on average 5 years later (ages ranged from 4 to 9 years), when their vocabulary, phonological and reading skills were measured. Structural equation modelling of age-regressed scores was used to assess the strength of longitudinal relationships. Infant vocabulary (a latent factor of receptive and expressive vocabulary) was a statistically significant predictor of later vocabulary, phonological awareness, reading accuracy and reading comprehension (accounting for between 4% and 18% of variance). Family risk for language or literacy difficulties explained additional variance in reading (approximately 10%) but not language outcomes. Significant longitudinal relationships between preliteracy vocabulary knowledge and subsequent reading support the theory that vocabulary is a cognitive foundation of both reading accuracy and reading comprehension. Importantly however, the stability of vocabulary skills from infancy to later childhood is too low to be sufficiently predictive of language outcomes at an individual level - a finding that fits well with the observation that the majority of 'late talkers' resolve their early language difficulties. For reading outcomes, prediction of future difficulties is likely to be improved when considering family history of language/literacy difficulties alongside infant vocabulary levels. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Impact of formal training on agreement of videofluoroscopic swallowing study interpretation across and within disciplines.

PubMed

Silbergleit, Alice K; Cook, Diana; Kienzle, Scott; Boettcher, Erica; Myers, Daniel; Collins, Denise; Peterson, Edward; Silbergleit, Matthew A; Silbergleit, Richard

2018-04-04

Formal agreement studies on interpretation of the videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) procedure among speech-language pathologists, radiology house officers, and staff radiologists have not been pursued. Each of these professions participates in the procedure, interprets the examination, and writes separate reports on the findings. The aim of this study was to determine reliability of interpretation between and within the disciplines and to determine if structured training improved reliability. Thirteen speech-language pathologists (SLPs), ten diagnostic radiologists (RADs) and twenty-one diagnostic radiology house officers (HOs) participated in this study. Each group viewed 24 VFSS samples and rated the presence or absence of seven aberrant swallowing features as well as the presence of dysphagia and identification of oral dysphagia, pharyngeal dysphagia, or both. During part two, the groups were provided with a training session on normal and abnormal swallowing, using different VFSS samples from those in part one, followed by re-rating of the original 24 VFSS samples. A generalized estimating equations (GEE) approach with a binomial link function was used to examine each question separately. For each cluster of tests, as example, all pairwise comparisons between the three groups in the pretraining period, a Hochberg's correction for multiple testing was used to determine significance. A GEE approach with a binomial link function was used to compare the premeasure to postmeasure for each of the three groups of raters stratified by experience. The primary result revealed that the HO group scored significantly lower than the SLP and RAD group on identification of the presence of dysphagia (p = 0.008; p = 0.001, respectively), identification of oral phase dysphagia (p = 0.003; p = 0.001, respectively), and identification of both oral and pharyngeal phase dysphagia, (p = 0.014, p = 0.001, respectively) pretraining. Post training there was no statistically significant difference between the three groups on identification of dysphagia and identification of combined oral and pharyngeal dysphagia. Formal training to identify oropharyngeal dysphagia characteristics appears to improve accuracy of interpretation of the VFSS procedure for radiology house officers. Consideration to include formal training in this area for radiology residency training programs is recommended.

Hepatitis B Among the Khmer

PubMed Central

Jackson, J Carey; Rhodes, Lorna A; Inui, Thomas S; Buchwald, Dedra

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVE To assess the comprehensibility of hepatitis B translations for Cambodian refugees, to identify Cambodian illnesses that include the symptoms of hepatitis, and to combine these observations with critical theoretical perspectives of language to reflect on the challenges of medical translation generally. DESIGN Open-ended, semistructured interviews, and participant-observation of a refugee community in Seattle, Washington. SETTING Homes of Cambodian residents of inner-city neighborhoods. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-four adult Cambodian refugees who had each been educated about hepatitis B through public health outreach. RESULTS Medical interpreters translated hepatitis B as rauk tlaam, literally “liver disease.” Unfortunately, while everyone knew of the liver (tlaam), rauk tlaam was a meaningless term to 28 (82%) of 34 respondents and conveyed none of the chronicity and communicability intended by refugee health workers for 34 (100%) of the respondents. In contrast, all respondents knew illnesses named after symptom complexes that include the symptoms of acute and chronic hepatitis, but do not refer to diseased organs. The Cambodian words chosen to translate hepatitis B reflect the medical thinking and medical authority that can unintentionally overwhelm attempts at meaningful communication with non–English-speaking patients. CONCLUSIONS To improve comprehension of hepatitis B translations for the Khmer, translators must choose between medical terminology focused on the liver and Khmer terminology which identifies recognizable experiences, but represents important Khmer health concepts. A critical linguistic view of this situation suggests that for these translations to be meaningful clinicians and health educators must first analyze and then monitor the contextual significance of medical language. In cross-cultural settings, this means a partnership with medical interpreters to pay close attention to the expe-rience of illness and social context of the translation. PMID:9159698

Translating community-based participatory research principles into practice.

PubMed

Burke, Jessica G; Hess, Sally; Hoffmann, Kamden; Guizzetti, Lisa; Loy, Ellyn; Gielen, Andrea; Bailey, Maryanne; Walnoha, Adrienne; Barbee, Genevieve; Yonas, Michael

2013-01-01

Although academics are trained in research methods, few receive formal training in strategies for implementing equitable community engaged research. Academics and their community partners can benefit from such direction and assistance as they establish and maintain community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships. Research partners from the University of Pittsburgh, the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, and the House of Ruth Maryland, one of the nation's leading domestic violence centers serving Baltimore and the surrounding areas, joined together to design, implement, and evaluate a series of activities to increase local CPBR capacity. This article provides an overview of process and findings from two CBPR workshops jointly held for academic and community members and explores specific suggestions from the workshop participants about how to put the CBPR principles into practice to promote community engaged research to address intimate partner violence (IPV). Twenty-four academic and community partners with experience addressing IPV participated in the two workshops. Facilitators led discussions based on the core CPBR principles. Participants were asked to interpret those principles, identify actions that could help to put the principles into practice, and discuss challenges related to CBPR approaches for IPV research. Observational notes and transcripts of the discussions and workshop evaluations are summarized. The CBPR principles were interpreted and revised through consensus into common language that reflected the group discussion of the core CBPR principles. Workshop participants provided a range of actions for putting the principles into practice and identified the need for sensitivity in relation to IPV research. A majority of participants felt that the workshop generated novel ideas about how they could use CPBR in their own work. Translating CBPR principles into common, action-oriented language is a useful first step when building a new academic-community research partnership.

Design and Analysis of Cognitive Interviews for Comparative Multinational Testing

PubMed Central

Fitzgerald, Rory; Padilla, José-Luis; Willson, Stephanie; Widdop, Sally; Caspar, Rachel; Dimov, Martin; Gray, Michelle; Nunes, Cátia; Prüfer, Peter; Schöbi, Nicole; Schoua-Glusberg, Alisú

2011-01-01

This article summarizes the work of the Comparative Cognitive Testing Workgroup, an international coalition of survey methodologists interested in developing an evidence-based methodology for examining the comparability of survey questions within cross-cultural or multinational contexts. To meet this objective, it was necessary to ensure that the cognitive interviewing (CI) method itself did not introduce method bias. Therefore, the workgroup first identified specific characteristics inherent in CI methodology that could undermine the comparability of CI evidence. The group then developed and implemented a protocol addressing those issues. In total, 135 cognitive interviews were conducted by participating countries. Through the process, the group identified various interpretive patterns resulting from sociocultural and language-related differences among countries as well as other patterns of error that would impede comparability of survey data. PMID:29081719

The emergence of Zipf's law - Spontaneous encoding optimization by users of a command language

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellis, S. R.; Hitchcock, R. J.

1986-01-01

The distribution of commands issued by experienced users of a computer operating system allowing command customization tends to conform to Zipf's law. This result documents the emergence of a statistical property of natural language as users master an artificial language. Analysis of Zipf's law by Mandelbrot and Cherry shows that its emergence in the computer interaction of experienced users may be interpreted as evidence that these users optimize their encoding of commands. Accordingly, the extent to which users of a command language exhibit Zipf's law can provide a metric of the naturalness and efficiency with which that language is used.

Knowledge and implicature: modeling language understanding as social cognition.

PubMed

Goodman, Noah D; Stuhlmüller, Andreas

2013-01-01

Is language understanding a special case of social cognition? To help evaluate this view, we can formalize it as the rational speech-act theory: Listeners assume that speakers choose their utterances approximately optimally, and listeners interpret an utterance by using Bayesian inference to "invert" this model of the speaker. We apply this framework to model scalar implicature ("some" implies "not all," and "N" implies "not more than N"). This model predicts an interaction between the speaker's knowledge state and the listener's interpretation. We test these predictions in two experiments and find good fit between model predictions and human judgments. Copyright © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Are Outcomes of Extremely Preterm Infants Improving? Impact of Bayley Assessment on Outcomes

PubMed Central

Vohr, Betty R.; Stephens, Bonnie E.; Higgins, Rosemary D.; Bann, Carla M.; Hintz, Susan R.; Epi, MS; Das, Abhik; Newman, Jamie E.; Peralta-Carcelen, Myriam; Yolton, Kimberly; Dusick, Anna M.; Evans, Patricia W.; Goldstein, Ricki F.; Ehrenkranz, Richard A.; Pappas, Athina; Adams-Chapman, Ira; Wilson-Costello, Deanne E.; Bauer, Charles R.; Bodnar, Anna; Heyne, Roy J.; Vaucher, Yvonne E.; Dillard, Robert G.; Acarregui, Michael J.; McGowan, Elisabeth C.; Myers, Gary J.; Fuller, Janell

2013-01-01

Objectives To compare 18- to 22-month cognitive scores and neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) in 2 time periods using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Neonatal Research Network assessment of extremely low birth weight infants with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Second Edition (Bayley II) in 2006–2007 (period 1) and using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley III), with separate cognitive and language scores, in 2008–2011 (period 2). Study design Scores were compared with bivariate analysis, and regression analyses were run to identify differences in NDI rates. Results Mean Bayley III cognitive scores were 11 points higher than mean Bayley II cognitive scores. The NDI rate was reduced by 70% (from 43% in period 1 to 13% in period 2; P < .0001). Multivariate analyses revealed that Bayley III contributed to a decreased risk of NDI by 5 definitions: cognitive score <70 and <85, cognitive or language score <70; cognitive or motor score <70, and cognitive, language, or motor score <70 (P < .001). Conclusion Whether the Bayley III is overestimating cognitive performance or whether it is a more valid assessment of emerging cognitive skills than the Bayley II is uncertain. Because the Bayley III identifies significantly fewer children with disability, it is recommended that all extremely low birth weight infants be offered early intervention services at the time of discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit, and that Bayley scores be interpreted with caution. PMID:22421261

Processes and Reasoning in Representations of Linear Functions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adu-Gyamfi, Kwaku; Bossé, Michael J.

2014-01-01

This study examined student actions, interpretations, and language in respect to questions raised regarding tabular, graphical, and algebraic representations in the context of functions. The purpose was to investigate students' interpretations and specific ways of working within table, graph, and the algebraic on notions fundamental to a…

Discourse Approaches to Oral Language Assessment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Richard F.

2002-01-01

Looks at a sample conversation and examines layers of interpretation that different academic traditions have constructed to interpret it. Reviews studies that have compared the discourse of oral interaction in assessment with oral discourse in contexts outside the assessment. Discusses studies that related ways of speaking to cultural values of…

Saussurian Linguistics Revisited: Can It Inform Our Interpretation of Mathematical Activity?.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNamara, O.

1995-01-01

Examines the basic notions of Ferdinand de Saussure and proposes that language is fundamental to the process of learning mathematics. Investigates possible mathematical perspectives upon Saussure's ideas and explores the contribution his work can offer to enhance and enrich the interpretive framework through which mathematical activity is observed…

How Engineering Standards Are Interpreted and Translated for Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Judson, Eugene; Ernzen, John; Krause, Stephen; Middleton, James A.; Culbertson, Robert J.

2016-01-01

In this exploratory study we examined the alignment of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) middle school engineering design standards with lesson ideas from middle school teachers, science education faculty, and engineering faculty (4-6 members per group). Respondents were prompted to provide plain language interpretations of two middle…

Applying Chomsky's Linguistic Methodology to the Clinical Interpretation of Symbolic Play.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ariel, Shlomo

This paper summarizes how Chomsky's methodological principles of linguistics may be applied to the clinical interpretation of children's play. Based on Chomsky's derivation of a "universal grammar" (the set of essential, formal, and substantive traits of any human language), a number of hypothesized formal universals of…

English/Japanese Professional Interpretation: Its Linguistic and Conceptual Problems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ishikawa, Luli

1995-01-01

A study of simultaneous interpretation from Japanese to English focused on problems inherent in simultaneous language processing. Data were drawn from a discussion session at an international conference of physicians concerning nuclear war. Transcription of the Japanese source text (romanized), English product, and a gloss of lexical equivalents…

Extra-Rhetorical Restraints on Writing in Accounting.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lund, Donna

Each discourse community teaches and uses a particular version of reality. In the field of accounting, the interpretation of reality is an objective one. Such an interpretation is a constraint on writing, as are accounting's reliance on exclusionary language, its need to meet legal and professional requirements, its adherence to stylistic and…

Verbal and Nonverbal Cognitive Control in Bilinguals and Interpreters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woumans, Evy; Ceuleers, Evy; Van der Linden, Lize; Szmalec, Arnaud; Duyck, Wouter

2015-01-01

The present study explored the relation between language control and nonverbal cognitive control in different bilingual populations. We compared monolinguals, Dutch-French unbalanced bilinguals, balanced bilinguals, and interpreters on the Simon task (Simon & Rudell, 1967) and the Attention Network Test (ANT; Fan, McCandliss, Sommer, Raz,…

Modeling a Nursing Guideline with Standard Terminology and Unified Modeling Language for a Nursing Decision Support System: A Case Study.

PubMed

Choi, Jeeyae; Jansen, Kay; Coenen, Amy

In recent years, Decision Support Systems (DSSs) have been developed and used to achieve "meaningful use". One approach to developing DSSs is to translate clinical guidelines into a computer-interpretable format. However, there is no specific guideline modeling approach to translate nursing guidelines to computer-interpretable guidelines. This results in limited use of DSSs in nursing. Unified modeling language (UML) is a software writing language known to accurately represent the end-users' perspective, due to its expressive characteristics. Furthermore, standard terminology enabled DSSs have been shown to smoothly integrate into existing health information systems. In order to facilitate development of nursing DSSs, the UML was used to represent a guideline for medication management for older adults encode with the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP®). The UML was found to be a useful and sufficient tool to model a nursing guideline for a DSS.

Re-interpreting: Narratives of childhood language brokering over time.

PubMed

Orellana, Marjorie Faulstich; Phoenix, Ann

2017-05-01

This article probes how childhood experiences are actively taken into adult lives and thus challenges the unwitting and unintentional reproduction of an adult-child binary in childhood studies. We do this by analyzing interviews with one adult daughter of immigrants from Mexico to the United States at four points in time (ages 19, 26, 27, and 33). Using narrative analysis to examine the mutability of memory, we consider how Eva oriented herself to her childhood story, what was salient and invisible in each recount, the values she associated with the practice, and the meanings she took from her experiences. We show how Eva re-interpreted her experiences as an immigrant child language broker in relation to unfolding life events, showing her childhood to be very much alive in her adult life. Language brokering serves as one way in which to examine the interpenetration of childhood into adulthood, rather than being the focus per se.

Modeling a Nursing Guideline with Standard Terminology and Unified Modeling Language for a Nursing Decision Support System: A Case Study

PubMed Central

Choi, Jeeyae; Jansen, Kay; Coenen, Amy

2015-01-01

In recent years, Decision Support Systems (DSSs) have been developed and used to achieve “meaningful use”. One approach to developing DSSs is to translate clinical guidelines into a computer-interpretable format. However, there is no specific guideline modeling approach to translate nursing guidelines to computer-interpretable guidelines. This results in limited use of DSSs in nursing. Unified modeling language (UML) is a software writing language known to accurately represent the end-users’ perspective, due to its expressive characteristics. Furthermore, standard terminology enabled DSSs have been shown to smoothly integrate into existing health information systems. In order to facilitate development of nursing DSSs, the UML was used to represent a guideline for medication management for older adults encode with the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP®). The UML was found to be a useful and sufficient tool to model a nursing guideline for a DSS. PMID:26958174