TAPRegExt: a VOResource Schema Extension for Describing TAP Services Version 1.0

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demleitner, Markus; Dowler, Patrick; Plante, Ray; Rixon, Guy; Taylor, Mark; Demleitner, Markus

2012-08-01

This document describes an XML encoding standard for metadata about services implementing the table access protocol TAP [TAP], referred to as TAPRegExt. Instance documents are part of the service's registry record or can be obtained from the service itself. They deliver information to both humans and software on the languages, output formats, and upload methods supported by the service, as well as data models implemented by the exposed tables, optional language features, and certain limits enforced by the service.

Idaho's Three-Tiered System for Speech-Language Paratherapist Training and Utilization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Longhurst, Thomas M.

1997-01-01

Discusses the development and current implementation of Idaho's three-tiered system of speech-language paratherapists. Support personnel providing speech-language services to learners with special communication needs in educational settings must obtain one of three certification levels: (1) speech-language aide, (2) associate degree…

Examining the Effectiveness of an Academic Language Planning Organizer as a Tool for Planning Science Academic Language Instruction and Supports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Karl G.; Brown, Julie C.

2016-12-01

To engage in the practices of science, students must have a strong command of science academic language. However, content area teachers often make academic language an incidental part of their lesson planning, which leads to missed opportunities to enhance students' language development. To support pre-service elementary science teachers (PSTs) in making language planning an explicit part of their science lessons, we created the Academic Language Planning Organizer (ALPO). The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the ALPO on two levels: first, by examining participants' interactions with the ALPO as they identified academic language features, objectives and supports; and second, by exploring the ways that participants translated identified language supports to planned science activities. Findings indicated that, when using the ALPO, PSTs identified clear language functions and relevant vocabulary terms, and also frequently developed clear, observable and measurable language objectives. When lesson planning, PSTs were largely successful in translating previously identified language supports to their lesson plans, and often planned additional language supports beyond what was required. We also found, however, that the ALPO did not meet its intended use in supporting PSTs in identifying discourse and syntax demands associated with specific academic language functions, suggesting that revisions to the ALPO could better support PSTs in identifying these academic language demands. Implications for supporting PSTs' planning for and scaffolding of science academic language use are presented.

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.

Educational provision for children with specific speech and language difficulties: perspectives of speech and language therapy service managers.

PubMed

Dockrell, Julie E; Lindsay, Geoff; Letchford, Becky; Mackie, Clare

2006-01-01

Children with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) pose a challenge to the education system, and to speech and language therapists who support them, as a result of their language needs and associated educational and social-behavioural difficulties. The development of inclusion raises questions regarding appropriate provision, whether the tradition of language units or full inclusion into mainstream schools. To gather the views of speech and language therapy service managers in England and Wales regarding approaches to service delivery, terminology and decision-making for educational provision, and the use of direct and indirect (consultancy) models of intervention. The study reports on a national survey of speech and language therapy (SLT) services in England and Wales (129 respondents, 72.1% response rate) and interviews with 39 SLT service managers. Provision varied by age group with support to children in the mainstream common from pre-school to the end of Key Stage 2 (up to 11 years), and to those in designated specialist provision, common at Key Stages 1/2 (ages 5-11 years), but less prevalent at Key Stages 3/4 (11-16 years). Decision-making regarding provision was influenced by the lack of common terminology, with SSLD and specific language impairment (SLI) the most common, and criteria, including the use of the discrepancy model for defining SSLD. Practice was influenced by the difficulties in distinguishing children with SSLD from those with autistic spectrum disorder, and difficulties translating policies into practice. The implications of the study are discussed with reference to SLT practice, including consultancy models, and the increasingly prevalent policy in local education authorities of inclusion of children with special educational needs.

Supporting In-Service Language Educators in Learning to Telecollaborate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Dowd, Robert

2015-01-01

The importance of teachers' capacity to integrate and exploit computer mediated communication (CMC) in the foreign language classroom has been recognised by many of the leading publications in foreign language teacher education, including the European Profile for Language Teacher Education (2004) and the European portfolio for student teachers of…

Seward Park High School. Project Superemos, 1981-1982. O.E.E. Evaluation Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torres, Judith A.; And Others

Project Superemos, conducted at Seward Park High School in New York City, was implemented in order to supplement the school's instructional services in English as a Second Language, native language arts, and bilingual instruction. The project provided supportive services necessary for mainstreaming into the regular school curriculum approximately…

Patterns and Trends in Michigan Migrant Education. JSRI Statistical Brief No. 8.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heiderson, Mazin A.; Leon, Edgar R.

This report highlights trends of migrant education in Michigan from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. Migrant education services include instruction in reading, math, oral language, English as a second language, and tutoring in other subjects. Support services include medical and dental screenings, career guidance, transportation, emergency…

Building an Evidence Base for Speech-Language Services in the Schools: Challenges and Recommendations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitmire, Kathleen A.; Rivers, Kenyatta O.; Mele-McCarthy, Joan A.; Staskowski, Maureen

2014-01-01

Speech-language pathologists are faced with demands for evidence to support practice. Federal legislation requires high-quality evidence for decisions regarding school-based services as part of evidence-based practice. The purpose of this article is to discuss the limited scientific evidence for making appropriate decisions about speech-language…

Teaching Active Listening Skills to Pre-Service Speech-Language Pathologists: A First Step in Supporting Collaboration with Parents of Young Children Who Require AAC

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thistle, Jennifer J.; McNaughton, David

2015-01-01

Purpose: This study examined the effect of instruction in an active listening strategy on the communication skills of pre-service speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Method: Twenty-three pre-service SLPs in their 2nd year of graduate study received a brief strategy instruction in active listening skills. Participants were videotaped during a…

Creating and Sustaining Inclusive Instructional Settings for English Language Learners: Why, What, and How

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

López, Francesca; Iribarren, Jacqueline

2014-01-01

In this article, we provide an empirically based framework for school leaders to support the replacement of separate means of providing services for English learners (ELs) with more inclusive learning supports. The framework encompasses evidence on cultivating language proficiency, ensuring access to a high-quality curriculum, and promoting…

Collaboration between Teachers and Speech and Language Therapists: Services for Primary School Children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glover, Anna; McCormack, Jane; Smith-Tamaray, Michelle

2015-01-01

Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) are prevalent among primary school-aged children. Collaboration between speech and language therapists (SLTs) and teachers is beneficial for supporting children's communication skills. The aim of this study was to investigate the needs of both professional groups and their preferences for service…

Guiding principles and clinical applications for speech-language pathology practice in early intervention.

PubMed

Paul, Diane; Roth, Froma P

2011-07-01

This article describes guiding principles in early intervention (EI) and demonstrates how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can apply these principles to best serve infants and toddlers with communication and related problems and their families. Four principles guide the implementation of speech-language pathology services. EI services are services that are (a) family centered and culturally and linguistically responsive; (b) developmentally supportive, promoting children's participation in their natural environments; (c) comprehensive, coordinated, and team based; and (d) based on the highest quality evidence available. Actual clinical scenarios are presented to illustrate each principle. The four principles provide a framework for the wide range of roles and responsibilities assumed by SLPs in EI: (a) screening/evaluation/assessment, (b) goal setting and intervention, (c) consultation with and education for team members, (d) service coordination, (e) transition planning, and (f) advocacy. It is critical that families of infants and toddlers who are at risk for, or who have been diagnosed with, communication disorders receive all necessary services and supports. EI services should be tailored to the individual and the changing needs, preferences, and priorities of each family. The earlier services are provided, the more likely is the child's chance to develop effective communication.

BioSWR – Semantic Web Services Registry for Bioinformatics

PubMed Central

Repchevsky, Dmitry; Gelpi, Josep Ll.

2014-01-01

Despite of the variety of available Web services registries specially aimed at Life Sciences, their scope is usually restricted to a limited set of well-defined types of services. While dedicated registries are generally tied to a particular format, general-purpose ones are more adherent to standards and usually rely on Web Service Definition Language (WSDL). Although WSDL is quite flexible to support common Web services types, its lack of semantic expressiveness led to various initiatives to describe Web services via ontology languages. Nevertheless, WSDL 2.0 descriptions gained a standard representation based on Web Ontology Language (OWL). BioSWR is a novel Web services registry that provides standard Resource Description Framework (RDF) based Web services descriptions along with the traditional WSDL based ones. The registry provides Web-based interface for Web services registration, querying and annotation, and is also accessible programmatically via Representational State Transfer (REST) API or using a SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language. BioSWR server is located at http://inb.bsc.es/BioSWR/and its code is available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/bioswr/under the LGPL license. PMID:25233118

BioSWR--semantic web services registry for bioinformatics.

PubMed

Repchevsky, Dmitry; Gelpi, Josep Ll

2014-01-01

Despite of the variety of available Web services registries specially aimed at Life Sciences, their scope is usually restricted to a limited set of well-defined types of services. While dedicated registries are generally tied to a particular format, general-purpose ones are more adherent to standards and usually rely on Web Service Definition Language (WSDL). Although WSDL is quite flexible to support common Web services types, its lack of semantic expressiveness led to various initiatives to describe Web services via ontology languages. Nevertheless, WSDL 2.0 descriptions gained a standard representation based on Web Ontology Language (OWL). BioSWR is a novel Web services registry that provides standard Resource Description Framework (RDF) based Web services descriptions along with the traditional WSDL based ones. The registry provides Web-based interface for Web services registration, querying and annotation, and is also accessible programmatically via Representational State Transfer (REST) API or using a SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language. BioSWR server is located at http://inb.bsc.es/BioSWR/and its code is available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/bioswr/under the LGPL license.

Baby Talk Home Visits: Development and Initial Evaluations of a Primary Prevention Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Clare; Gibbard, Deborah

2011-01-01

Language delay is a common developmental difficulty. Research indicates that it is influenced by environmental factors, particularly social deprivation, but that a parent's interaction protects children's language development against these factors. It is hypothesized that by supporting parents' interaction, language development may be facilitated.…

Effects of Creating Digital Stories on Foreign Language Education Pre-Service Teachers' TPACK Self-Confidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sancar-Tokmak, Hatice; Yanpar-Yelken, Tugba

2015-01-01

This study aimed to examine the effects of creating digital stories (DSs) on the self-confidence of foreign language education (FLE) pre-service teachers with regard to technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK). A one-group pretest/posttest experimental research design was applied, supported by a qualitative approach. A total of 71…

An Exploratory Trial of the Effectiveness of an Enhanced Consultative Approach to Delivering Speech and Language Intervention in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mecrow, Carol; Beckwith, Jennie; Klee, Thomas

2010-01-01

Background: Increased demand for access to specialist services for providing support to children with speech, language and communication needs prompted a local service review of how best to allocate limited resources. This study arose as a consequence of a wish to evaluate the effectiveness of an enhanced consultative approach to delivering speech…

A Roadmap for True Accountability: Reconceptualizing Language-Learning Services, Reclassification Practices and Monitoring Systems for English Language Learners in U.S. Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slama, Rachel B.

2012-01-01

A major problem facing educators in the United States is how to determine when the nation's five million English language learners (ELL) are ready to exit language-learning programs, i.e. to be "reclassified" as fluent English proficient (R-FEP) and placed in mainstream classrooms without additional language support. No Child Left Behind…

'She didn't have a word of English; we didn't have a word of Vietnamese': Exploring parent experiences of communication with toddlers who were adopted internationally.

PubMed

McAndrew, Brid; Malley-Keighran, Mary-Pat O

2017-07-01

The purpose of this study was to explore in detail parents' experiences of communicating with toddlers who were adopted internationally. Often, there is a mismatch between parents and children in terms of language, particularly in the early post-adoption period. There is a gap in the literature regarding parent experiences of this phase of their lives. Changing patterns in international adoption have led to an increase in adoptions of toddlers and older children. Due to institutional care, these toddlers and older children often lack exposure to their native language which may lead to language delay. When they are brought home, they are immersed in English. As well beginning to acquire English, these children are also forming an attachment with their parents. While research has investigated speech and language skills in this population, there is a lack of literature exploring the experiences of parents regarding communicating with toddlers who are adopted internationally in the early months following adoption. This is a qualitative study where interviews and thematic analysis were used to explore the experiences of 12 parents of 12 toddlers who were adopted internationally. Three main themes: 'Getting ready', 'Support', and 'Challenges' emerged from the data. The results highlight the ways in which adoptive parents facilitated communication with their toddlers, supporting their acquisition of English. The results also reveal gaps in service provision for this population. Results also illustrate the proactive way in which parents dealt with challenges, even in the presence of limited support services. Gaps in service provision where intense focus pre-adoption was followed by a lack of support post-adoption were identified by parents. The dual needs of developing attachment and common language development strategies were also described by parents. The study demonstrates the need for pre- and post-adoptive speech and language services for this client group. It highlights the importance of the role of speech and language pathology in working with parents of toddlers and children who were adopted internationally. This role is in health promotion and prevention, as well as providing a service to this population as part of a multidisciplinary team, post-adoption. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Access and acceptability of community-based services for older Greek migrants in Australia: user and provider perspectives.

PubMed

Hurley, Catherine; Panagiotopoulos, Georgia; Tsianikas, Michael; Newman, Lareen; Walker, Ruth

2013-03-01

In most developed nations, ageing migrants represent a growing proportion of the older population. Policies that emphasise care in the community depend on older migrants having access to formal services along with informal support, yet little is known about how older migrants experience community-based formal services. By examining the views of both Greek elders in Australia and those of formal service providers, this research fills an important gap in the literature around access to and acceptability of formal community-based services for older migrants. A research team including two Greek background researchers used existing social groups and a snowball sampling method to conduct face-to-face interviews and focus groups with seventy older Greeks in Adelaide, Australia. In addition, 22 community-based service providers were interviewed over the telephone. Results from users and providers showed that while many older Greeks experience service access issues, they also relied heavily on family for support and assistance at home. Reliance on family was both in preference to formal services or where formal services were used, to locate, negotiate and monitor such services. Common barriers identified by both groups included cost, transport and availability, but additional challenges were posed by language, literacy and cultural attitudes. Demographic changes including greater employment mobility and female workforce participation among adult children will have implications for both formal and informal care providers. Formal service providers need to ensure that services are promoted and delivered to take account of the important role of family in informal support while also addressing the access challenges posed by language and literacy. Research conducted by researchers from the same cultural background in the respondent's native language can further advance knowledge in this area. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Program for the Improvement and Expansion of Foreign Language Instruction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smolen, Lynn

In response to the changing world economic market, foreign language teachers of the University of Akron and Akron Public Schools (Ohio) began a joint project, federally supported, to strengthen foreign language teacher proficiency in the area of careers in business, education, and government service, strengthen oral proficiency of high school…

DHEW Research, Service, and Training Programs in Hearing, Speech, and Language: A Summary of Areas of Interest, Funding Mechanisms, Review Processes, and Information Sources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaplan, Harriet, Comp.; Lloyd, Lyle L., Comp.

Programs of agencies within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare that support research, training, and clinical service projects in hearing, speech, and language development are reviewed. Information on each program usually includes areas of communication development and disorders specific to each agency; the funding mechanism used by…

Do Inclusion Practices for Pupils with Special Educational Needs in the English as a Foreign Language Class in Israel Reflect Inclusion Laws and Language Policy Requirements?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russak, Susie

2016-01-01

The study of additional languages is mandatory for all pupils in most European countries. Usually, the first foreign language is English. This is due to the status of English as a global language. According to inclusion laws, pupils with special educational needs (SEN) should be taught in regular classes with support services by teachers with…

34 CFR 646.30 - What are allowable costs?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM What Conditions Must Be Met by a Grantee? § 646.30 What are allowable costs? The cost principles that apply to the Student Support Services...) Courses in English language instruction for students of limited English proficiency if these classes are...

Related Service Personnel's Resource Guide for Supporting Programs for Emotionally Handicapped Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Indiana State Dept. of Education, Indianapolis. Div. of Special Education.

The guide provides an information resource for related and supportive services personnel (e.g., school nurse, physical therapist, speech language pathologist) in their interactions with emotionally handicapped (EH) students. Following a definition of EH students, the first of six brief chapters discusses student characteristics, presents three…

A survey of North Carolina safety-net dental clinics' methods for communicating with patients of limited english proficiency (LEP).

PubMed

Hammersmith, Kimberly J; Lee, Jessica Y

2009-01-01

Dental providers are increasingly challenged in communicating with patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). Accordingly, the purpose of the study was to examine methods of communicating with patients with LEP in North Carolina (NC) safety-net dental clinics as perceived by dental staff. An anonymous, 36-item, cross-sectional survey was distributed to representatives of 68 NC safety-net dental clinics. Question domains included: a) a perceived need for language services; b) methods of language services provided; c) perceptions of dental staff about dental care experiences for patients with LEP; and d) perceived legal and financial roles in providing language services. Of the 68 clinics, 55 responded (81 percent). All clinics reported treating patients with LEP, and 93 percent of clinics reported a need for providing language services. Many clinics used multiple methods to provide language services. Some clinics reported differences in treatment recommendations (13 percent), treatment provided (19 percent), and visit length (61 percent) for patients with LEP. All responded that additional costs are incurred to treat patients with LEP, and only 69 percent of responding clinics recognized legal obligations of treating patients with LEP. There is a reported need for language services in NC safety-net dental clinics. These services often resulted in additional costs to the dental clinic. To maintain the quality of care and to comply with legal requirements related to dental patients with LEP, additional funding sources might be required to recruit multilingual staff, support language services in dental clinics, and provide language skills training for practicing dentists. Additionally, studies are suggested to measure the perception of the effectiveness of communication methods of patients with LEP.

Native Language Reading Approach Program, 1982-1983. O.E.E. Final Evaluation Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keyes, Jose Luis; And Others

The Native Language Reading Approach Program in New York City was designed as an exemplary approach to on-site training of classroom teachers and their assistants in how to help students transfer reading skills from their native language to English. Program components included support services, teacher training, material/curriculum development,…

Examining the Validity of the Arizona English Language Learners Assessment Cut Scores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Florez, Ida Rose

2012-01-01

The Arizona English Language Learners Assessment (AZELLA) is used by the Arizona Department of Education to determine which children should receive English support services. AZELLA results are used to determine if children are either proficient in English or have English language skills in one of four non-proficient categories (pre-emergent,…

20 CFR 645.220 - What activities are allowable under this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...) Occupational skills training; (3) English as a second language training; and (4) Mentoring. (f) Job retention... job retention and support services funded with WtW monies while they are participating in WIA activities. Job retention and support services can be provided with WtW funds only if they are not otherwise...

Immigrant Faith Institutions: Supporting and Strengthening Vulnerable Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slessarev-Jamir, Helene

2008-01-01

Ethnic faith institutions are important sources of support and provide much-needed services for immigrant families. This article describes how these institutions provide a valuable link to home culture and values, offer an array of services ranging from language acquisition to job training and child care, and help families balance the often…

"Do We Make Ourselves Clear?" Developing a Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD) Support Service's Effectiveness in Detecting and Supporting Children Experiencing Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties (SLCD)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stiles, Matthew

2013-01-01

Research has identified a significant relationship between social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) and speech, language and communication difficulties (SLCD). However, little has been published regarding the levels of knowledge and skill that practitioners working with pupils experiencing SEBD have in this important area, nor how…

Enabling OpenID Authentication for VO-integrated Portals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plante, R.; Yekkirala, V.; Baker, W.

2012-09-01

To support interoperating services that share proprietary data and other user-specific information, the VAO Project provides login services for browser-based portals built on the open standard, OpenID. To help portal developers take advantage of this service, we have developed a downloadable toolkit for integrating OpenID single sign-on support into any portal. This toolkit provides APIs in a few languages commonly used on the server-side as well as a command-line version for use in any language. In addition to describing how to use this toolkit, we also discuss the general VAO framework for single sign-on. While a portal may, if it wishes, support any OpenID provider, the VAO service provides a few extra features to support VO interoperability. This includes a portal's ability to retrieve (with the user's permission) an X.509 certificate representing the authenticated user so that the portal can access other restricted services on the user's behalf. Other standard features of OpenID allow portals to request other information about the user; this feature will be used in the future for sharing information about a user's group membership to enable sharing within a group of collaborating scientists.

United States Special Operations Command’s Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus at ILR 1/1+: Initial Review and Recommended Changes to Improve Results and Lower Cost

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-01

to be useful for proficiency development, and with the limited research available, Doughty found that instructed language learners moved further...absolute speaking proficiency in languages taught at the Foreign Service Institute. Arlington, VA: Author. SOFLO Support Project USSOCOM’s Foreign...on language and linguistics 1999: Language in our time: Bilingual education and official English , ebonics and standard English , immigration and the Unz

Do the AZELLA Cut Scores Meet the Standards? A Validation Review of Arizona English Language Learner Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Florez, Ida Rose

2010-01-01

The Arizona English Language Learners Assessment (AZELLA) is used by the Arizona Department of Education to determine which children should receive English support services. AZELLA results are used to determine if children are either proficient in English or have English language skills in one of four pre-proficient categories (pre-emergent,…

20 CFR 669.430 - What Related Assistance services may be provided to eligible farmworkers?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... instruction; (c) Housing development assistance; (d) Other supportive services described in the grant plan; and (e) English language classes and basic education classes for participants not enrolled in...

Support like a walking stick: parent-buddy matching for language and culture in the NICU.

PubMed

Ardal, Frida; Sulman, Joanne; Fuller-Thomson, Esme

2011-01-01

(1) To explore the experience of non-English-speaking mothers with preterm, very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (,1,500 g); and (2) to examine mothers' assessment of a peer support program matching them with linguistically and culturally similar parent-buddies. An exploratory, qualitative analysis based on grounded theory. A convenience sample of eight mothers from four of the most prevalent non-English-speaking cultures (Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Tamil) in an urban Canadian-teaching hospital. Non-Anglophone mothers' experience and support in the NICU. Study mothers experienced intense role disequilibrium during the unanticipated crisis of preterm birth of a VLBW infant; situational crises owing to the high-tech NI CU environment and their infant's condition; and developmental crises with feelings of loss, guilt, helplessness, and anxiety. Language barriers compounded the difficulties. Parent-buddies helped non-English-speaking mothers mobilize their strengths. Culture and language are important determinants of service satisfaction for non-English-speaking mothers. Linguistically congruent parent-to-parent matching increases access to service.

Writing Skills of Hearing-Impaired Students Who Benefit from Support Services at Public Schools in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karasu, H. Pelin

2017-01-01

Support services provide an essential role for hearing-impaired students attending public schools, in terms of improving their language and academic skills. In this study, the writing skills of hearing-impaired students enrolled in public schools were evaluated, and the relationship between the writing scores, audiological variables and…

The Effects of Behavior-Based Support Services on Social Communication among High School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yu, Jennifer W.; Wei, Xin; Wagner, Mary

2014-01-01

This study used propensity score techniques on data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 to assess the causal relationship between speech and behavior-based support services and rates of social communication among high school students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Findings indicate that receptive language problems were…

A web access script language to support clinical application development.

PubMed

O'Kane, K C; McColligan, E E

1998-02-01

This paper describes the development of a script language to support the implementation of decentralized, clinical information applications on the World Wide Web (Web). The goal of this work is to facilitate construction of low overhead, fully functional clinical information systems that can be accessed anywhere by low cost Web browsers to search, retrieve and analyze stored patient data. The Web provides a model of network access to data bases on a global scale. Although it was originally conceived as a means to exchange scientific documents, Web browsers and servers currently support access to a wide variety of audio, video, graphical and text based data to a rapidly growing community. Access to these services is via inexpensive client software browsers that connect to servers by means of the open architecture of the Internet. In this paper, the design and implementation of a script language that supports the development of low cost, Web-based, distributed clinical information systems for both Inter- and Intra-Net use is presented. The language is based on the Mumps language and, consequently, supports many legacy applications with few modifications. Several enhancements, however, have been made to support modern programming practices and the Web interface. The interpreter for the language also supports standalone program execution on Unix, MS-Windows, OS/2 and other operating systems.

School Leavers with Learning Disabilities Moving from Child to Adult Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) Teams: SLTs' Views of Successful and Less Successful Transition Co-Working Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCartney, Elspeth; Muir, Margaret

2017-01-01

School-leaving for pupils with long-term speech, language, swallowing or communication difficulties requires careful management. Speech and language therapists (SLTs) support communication, secure assistive technology and manage swallowing difficulties post-school. UK SLTs are employed by health services, with child SLT teams based in schools.…

Home Language Survey Practices in the Initial Identification of English Learners in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bailey, Alison L.; Kelly, Kimberly R.

2013-01-01

This article is focused on the different Home Language Surveys (HLS) used across U.S. states as a means of identifying students who, with further assessment, may prove eligible for language-support services. The majority of states mandate some form of HLS, be it state- or district-created. However, there is great variation in the number and the…

Expanding Use of Telepractice in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Marge; Stredler-Brown, Arlene; Houston, K. Todd

2012-01-01

Recent advances in videoconferencing technology have resulted in a substantial increase in the use of live videoconferencing--referred to here as telepractice--to diagnose and treat speech, language, and hearing disorders. There is growing support from professional organizations for use of this service delivery model, as videoconferencing…

Providing Support for English Language Learner Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corona, Elia; Armour, Lauren

2007-01-01

Encouraging literacy and academic success among English language learners (ELLs) is becoming an increasingly common challenge for educators. In the course of the authors work of training teachers or providing training for implementation of materials, they have found that the resources of the school library media center are invaluable for helping…

Project Porvenir, 1988-89. Evaluation Section Report. OREA Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berney, Tomi D.; Lista, Carlos A.

In its first year, Project Porvenir provided instructional and support services to Spanish-speaking students of limited English proficiency in bilingual and special education in four Bronx (New York) elementary schools. Project goals were to increase students' English language proficiency and develop native language skills, provide career…

Enhancement of the Acquisition Process for a Combat System-A Case Study to Model the Workflow Processes for an Air Defense System Acquisition

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-12-01

Business Process Modeling BPMN Business Process Modeling Notation SoA Service-oriented Architecture UML Unified Modeling Language CSP...system developers. Supporting technologies include Business Process Modeling Notation ( BPMN ), Unified Modeling Language (UML), model-driven architecture

Can psychiatric liaison reduce neuroleptic use and reduce health service utilization for dementia patients residing in care facilities.

PubMed

Ballard, Clive; Powell, Ian; James, Ian; Reichelt, Katharina; Myint, Pat; Potkins, Dawn; Bannister, Carol; Lana, Marisa; Howard, Robert; O'Brien, John; Swann, Alan; Robinson, Damian; Shrimanker, Jay; Barber, Robert

2002-02-01

The quality of care and overuse of neuroleptic medication in care environments are major issues in the care of elderly people with dementia. The quality of care (Dementia Care Mapping), the severity of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms (BPSD--Neuropsychiatric Inventory), expressive language skills (Sheffield Acquired Language Disorder scale), service utilization and use of neuroleptic drugs was compared over 9 months between six care facilities receiving a psychiatric liaison service and three facilities receiving the usual clinical support, using a single blind design. There was a significant reduction in neuroleptic usage in the facilities receiving the liaison service (McNemar test p<0.0001), but not amongst those receiving standard clinical support (McNemar test p=0.07). There were also significantly less GP contacts (t=3.9 p=0.0001) for residents in the facilities receiving the liaison service, and a three fold reduction in psychiatric in-patient bed usage (Bed days per person 0.6 vs. 1.5). Residents in care facilities receiving the liaison service experienced significantly less deterioration in expressive language skills (t=2.2 p=0.03), but there were no significant differences in BPSD or wellbeing. A resource efficient psychiatric liaison service can reduce neuroleptic drug use and reduce some aspects of health service utilization; but a more extensive intervention is probably required to improve the overall quality of care. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Neuro-Oncology Branch patient emotional support services | Center for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

Emotional Support Services The diagnosis of a brain tumor elicits many different and sometimes difficult emotions, not only for the patient, but also for their family members. Patients may encounter changes in cognitive functioning and language, a diminished ability to focus or make decisions, or short-term memory loss, all of which can greatly affect their personal and

Ontology-based, multi-agent support of production management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meridou, Despina T.; Inden, Udo; Rückemann, Claus-Peter; Patrikakis, Charalampos Z.; Kaklamani, Dimitra-Theodora I.; Venieris, Iakovos S.

2016-06-01

Over the recent years, the reported incidents on failed aircraft ramp-ups or the delayed production in small-lots have increased substantially. In this paper, we present a production management platform that combines agent-based techniques with the Service Oriented Architecture paradigm. This platform takes advantage of the functionality offered by the semantic web language OWL, which allows the users and services of the platform to speak a common language and, at the same time, facilitates risk management and decision making.

Achievement, Language, and Technology Use Among College-Bound Deaf Learners.

PubMed

Crowe, Kathryn; Marschark, Marc; Dammeyer, Jesper; Lehane, Christine

2017-10-01

Deaf learners are a highly heterogeneous group who demonstrate varied levels of academic achievement and attainment. Most prior research involving this population has focused on factors facilitating academic success in young deaf children, with less attention paid to older learners. Recent studies, however, have suggested that while factors such as early cochlear implantation and early sign language fluency are positively associated with academic achievement in younger deaf children, they no longer predict achievement once children reach high school age. This study, involving data from 980 college-bound high school students with hearing loss, examined relations between academic achievement, communication variables (audiological, language), and use of assistive technologies (e.g., cochlear implants [CIs], FM systems) and other support services (e.g., interpreting, real-time text) in the classroom. Spoken language skills were positively related to achievement in some domains, while better sign language skills were related to poorer achievement in others. Among these college-bound students, use of CIs and academic support services in high school accounted for little variability in their college entrance examination scores. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Agent-based paradigm for integration of interactive cable television operations and business support systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wattawa, Scott

1995-11-01

Offering interactive services and data in a hybrid fiber/coax cable system requires the coordination of a host of operations and business support systems. New service offerings and network growth and evolution create never-ending changes in the network infrastructure. Agent-based enterprise models provide a flexible mechanism for systems integration of service and support systems. Agent models also provide a mechanism to decouple interactive services from network architecture. By using the Java programming language, agents may be made safe, portable, and intelligent. This paper investigates the application of the Object Management Group's Common Object Request Brokering Architecture to the integration of a multiple services metropolitan area network.

Computers in Bilingual Education: Project CIBE. Evaluation Section Report. OREA Reports.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berney, Tomi D.; Alvarez, Rosalyn

This project provided 360 students at South Bronx High School (New York) with instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL); Native Language Arts (NLA); the bilingual content area subjects of mathematics, science, and social studies; and computer literacy. The goal of the project was to provide instructional and support services to…

Teacher Leadership to Support English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Felice Atesoglu; Von Esch, Kerry Soo

2018-01-01

As today's K-12 schools become increasingly diverse, many teachers are struggling to meet the needs of English language learners and teach them in a culturally and linguistically responsive manner. The authors provide a pair of examples to illustrate specific ways teacher leaders can be effective advocates for better instruction and services for…

Parent Perceptions of Audiology and Speech-Language Services and Support for Young Children with Cochlear Implants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Patrick Michael

2013-01-01

Parents of children diagnosed with severe-profound sensorineural hearing loss are selecting cochlear implants at an increasing rate and when their children are very young. Audiologists and speech-language pathologists are typically involved in habilitation activities following implantation in an effort to increase children's access to listening…

Supporting College Students through Peer Mentoring: Serving Immigrant Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kring, Matthew

2017-01-01

Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) Immigrant Services program enlists the support of peer mentors to provide holistic support to the institution's immigrant, refugee, and English Language Learner (ELL) populations. These peer mentors are highly specialized in their student employee role and are trained to provide academic and…

Effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on special education in school-aged children.

PubMed

Levine, Todd P; Liu, Jing; Das, Abhik; Lester, Barry; Lagasse, Linda; Shankaran, Seetha; Bada, Henrietta S; Bauer, Charles R; Higgins, Rosemary

2008-07-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on special education at age 7 with adjustment for covariates. As part of the prospective, longitudinal, multisite study of children with prenatal cocaine exposure (Maternal Lifestyle Study), school records were reviewed for 943 children at 7 years to determine involvement in special education outcomes: (1) individualized education plan; (2) special education conditions; (3) support services; (4) special education classes; and (5) speech and language services. Logistic regression was used to examine the effect of prenatal cocaine exposure on these outcomes with environmental, maternal, and infant medical variables as covariates, as well as with and without low child IQ. Complete data for each analysis model were available for 737 to 916 children. When controlling for covariates including low child IQ, prenatal cocaine exposure had a significant effect on individualized education plan. When low child IQ was not included in the model, prenatal cocaine exposure had a significant effect on support services. Male gender, low birth weight, white race, and low child IQ also predicted individualized education plan. Low birth weight and low child IQ were significant in all models. White race was also significant in speech and language services. Other covariate effects were model specific. When included in the models, low child IQ accounted for more of the variance and changed the significance of other covariates. Prenatal cocaine exposure increased the likelihood of receiving an individualized education plan and support services, with adjustment for covariates. Low birth weight and low child IQ increased the likelihood of all outcomes. The finding that white children were more likely to get an individualized education plan and speech and language services could indicate a greater advantage in getting educational resources for this population.

SCOSII OL: A dedicated language for mission operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baldi, Andrea; Elgaard, Dennis; Lynenskjold, Steen; Pecchioli, Mauro

1994-01-01

The Spacecraft Control and Operations System 2 (SCOSII) is the new generation of Mission Control Systems (MCS) to be used at ESOC. The system is generic because it offers a collection of standard functions configured through a database upon which a dedicated MCS is established for a given mission. An integral component of SCOSII is the support of a dedicated Operations Language (OL). The spacecraft operation engineers edit, test, validate, and install OL scripts as part of the configuration of the system with, e.g., expressions for computing derived parameters and procedures for performing flight operations, all without involvement of software support engineers. A layered approach has been adopted for the implementation centered around the explicit representation of a data model. The data model is object-oriented defining the structure of the objects in terms of attributes (data) and services (functions) which can be accessed by the OL. SCOSII supports the creation of a mission model. System elements as, e.g., a gyro are explicit, as are the attributes which described them and the services they provide. The data model driven approach makes it possible to take immediate advantage of this higher-level of abstraction, without requiring expansion of the language. This article describes the background and context leading to the OL, concepts, language facilities, implementation, status and conclusions found so far.

Effects of Web-Mediated Teacher Professional Development on the Language and Literacy Skills of Children Enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten Programs

PubMed Central

Downer, Jason; Pianta, Robert; Fan, Xitao; Hamre, Bridget; Mashburn, Andrew; Justice, Laura

2012-01-01

As early education grows in the United States, in-service professional development in key instructional and interaction skills is a core component of capacity-building in early childhood education. In this paper, we describe results from an evaluation of the effects of MyTeachingPartner, a web-based system of professional development, on language and literacy development during pre-kindergarten for 1338 children in 161 teachers’ classrooms. High levels of support for teachers’ implementation of language/literacy activities showed modest but significant effects for improving early language and literacy for children in classrooms in which English was the dominant language spoken by the students and teachers. The combination of web-based supports, including video-based consultation and web-based video teaching exemplars, was more effective at improving children’s literacy and language skills than was only making available to teachers a set of instructional materials and detailed lesson guides. These results suggest the importance of targeted, practice-focused supports for teachers in designing professional development systems for effective teaching in early childhood programs. PMID:23144591

49 CFR 26.51 - What means do recipients use to meet overall goals?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... such means as simplifying the bonding process, reducing bonding requirements, eliminating the impact of... and financing); (3) Providing technical assistance and other services; (4) Carrying out information... information in languages other than English, where appropriate); (5) Implementing a supportive services...

Navigating Disability and Related Services: Stories of Immigrant Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cummings, Katrina P.; Hardin, Belinda J.

2017-01-01

Cultural beliefs, values, language differences, and unfamiliar educational infrastructures and practices can impact immigrant parents' capacity to support their children with disabilities in their new country. This study presents perspectives of disability and experiences with special education services based on interviews with eight immigrant…

The World Report on Disability as a blueprint for international, national, and local aphasia services.

PubMed

Worrall, Linda E; Howe, Tami; O'Callaghan, Anna; Hill, Anne J; Rose, Miranda; Wallace, Sarah J; Rose, Tanya; Brown, Kyla; Power, Emma; O'Halloran, Robyn; Rohde, Alexia

2013-02-01

This commentary aims to extend the debate of the lead article authors (Wylie, McAllister, Davidson, and Marshall, 2013) by translating the nine recommendations of the World Report on Disability into a plan of action for the aphasia community. Solutions for the advancement of aphasia science and services are presented at international (macro), national (meso), and local (micro) levels. Implications for speech-language pathologists and aphasia service delivery are discussed. An overarching call to action is the need for speech-language pathologists to support a strong and vibrant aphasia community at all levels, so that the voices of people with aphasia can be heard.

Professional Development for In-Service Practitioners Serving Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Kathryn; Nevins, Mary Ellen; Houston, K. Todd

2010-01-01

Because children who are deaf or hard of hearing are being identified at birth, fitted with advanced hearing technology, and enrolled in early intervention programs, families increasingly seek professionals who can provide services that support their choice of listening and spoken language. The increased demand for these services and shortages of…

Community Nursing Care of Chinese-Australian Cancer Patients: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

McKenzie, Heather; Kwok, Cannas; Tsang, Heidi; Moreau, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

Providing quality care and support to cancer patients from minority cultures can challenge community nurses when language barriers and cultural complexities intersect with the need for complex care. This article reports on a qualitative study that explores interactions between community nurses and Chinese-Australian cancer patients. The research method focused on particular nurse-patient encounters and involved preencounter and postencounter interviews with the nurse, postencounter interviews with the patient, and observation of the encounters. Participants included community nurses, Chinese cancer patients being cared for at home, and their carers if present. Four themes were conceptualized: (1) the impact of language barriers on nurse-patient interactions, (2) patient understandings of the scope and objectives of healthcare services, (3) cultural complexities and sensitivities, and (4) valued care and support. The study demonstrates that, although many nurses do provide comprehensive, culturally competent care, language barriers can lead to task-oriented rather than comprehensive approaches, and other cultural complexities do have an impact on patient experiences and on the quality of nurse-patient interactions. Nevertheless, most patient participants experienced a feeling of security as a result of regular contact with a community nursing service. Cancer patients with complex care needs but limited English proficiency require support to negotiate complicated community services networks. Culturally competent community nurses can provide this support. The study highlights the need for continuing cultural competence education for community nurses and the importance of careful discharge planning to ensure continuity of care for this vulnerable patient group.

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.

Helping Children to Learn at Home: A Family Project to Support Young English-Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jasinski, Mary-Anne

2012-01-01

The Coalition for Equal Access to Education (CEAE) is a Calgary-based nonprofit organization committed to working with community, education, and government stakeholders to promote access to quality, equitable education and services for K-12 English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners. CEAE is active in developing innovative projects, research…

Proposing a Web-Based Tutorial System to Teach Malay Language Braille Code to the Sighted

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wah, Lee Lay; Keong, Foo Kok

2010-01-01

The "e-KodBrailleBM Tutorial System" is a web-based tutorial system which is specially designed to teach, facilitate and support the learning of Malay Language Braille Code to individuals who are sighted. The targeted group includes special education teachers, pre-service teachers, and parents. Learning Braille code involves memorisation…

How Elementary Pre-Service Teachers Acquire Pedagogical Language Knowledge for Supporting English Learners' Academic Language Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harmon, Lois

2017-01-01

Increasingly large populations of English Learners (ELs) attend public schools within the US and teachers are held accountable for the academic performance of these students. Unfortunately, multiple studies have concluded that teachers graduating from teacher education programs are not equipped with the competencies to clearly identify the…

Migrants and the language of instruction: Is the EU policy deficit driving new innovations in social inclusion?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cullen, Joe

2017-08-01

Language learning has long been seen as an important tool for achieving European Union (EU) targets for social inclusion. However, "mainstream" policy instruments like the Action Plan on Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity and the European Charter for Minority Languages have been undermined in recent years by the effects of the global financial crisis, which has contributed to the widespread decimation of welfare budgets in many EU member states. This has been accompanied by the increasing influence of a "neo-liberal" discourse in welfare and social service policies and practices, leading to the delegation of responsibility for service provision from central, regional and local government to commercial enterprises, civil society and, ultimately, to citizens themselves. At the same time, the gaps in service provision that have resulted from this "financial crisis" have opened up new opportunities for social innovators. New kinds of organisations are beginning to develop and apply new approaches using language learning to deliver innovative services aimed, for example, at supporting the integration of immigrants in society. Using case study analysis, this paper explores how these new approaches have developed, what kinds of innovation are being delivered and the contribution these social innovations are making to broader EU social inclusion objectives.

A Model-Driven Approach for Telecommunications Network Services Definition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiprianov, Vanea; Kermarrec, Yvon; Alff, Patrick D.

Present day Telecommunications market imposes a short concept-to-market time for service providers. To reduce it, we propose a computer-aided, model-driven, service-specific tool, with support for collaborative work and for checking properties on models. We started by defining a prototype of the Meta-model (MM) of the service domain. Using this prototype, we defined a simple graphical modeling language specific for service designers. We are currently enlarging the MM of the domain using model transformations from Network Abstractions Layers (NALs). In the future, we will investigate approaches to ensure the support for collaborative work and for checking properties on models.

Enterprise Pattern: integrating the business process into a unified enterprise model of modern service company

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ying; Luo, Zhiling; Yin, Jianwei; Xu, Lida; Yin, Yuyu; Wu, Zhaohui

2017-01-01

Modern service company (MSC), the enterprise involving special domains, such as the financial industry, information service industry and technology development industry, depends heavily on information technology. Modelling of such enterprise has attracted much research attention because it promises to help enterprise managers to analyse basic business strategies (e.g. the pricing strategy) and even optimise the business process (BP) to gain benefits. While the existing models proposed by economists cover the economic elements, they fail to address the basic BP and its relationship with the economic characteristics. Those proposed in computer science regardless of achieving great success in BP modelling perform poorly in supporting the economic analysis. Therefore, the existing approaches fail to satisfy the requirement of enterprise modelling for MSC, which demands simultaneous consideration of both economic analysing and business processing. In this article, we provide a unified enterprise modelling approach named Enterprise Pattern (EP) which bridges the gap between the BP model and the enterprise economic model of MSC. Proposing a language named Enterprise Pattern Description Language (EPDL) covering all the basic language elements of EP, we formulate the language syntaxes and two basic extraction rules assisting economic analysis. Furthermore, we extend Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) to support EPDL, named BPMN for Enterprise Pattern (BPMN4EP). The example of mobile application platform is studied in detail for a better understanding of EPDL.

A Service Design Thinking Approach for Stakeholder-Centred eHealth.

PubMed

Lee, Eunji

2016-01-01

Studies have described the opportunities and challenges of applying service design techniques to health services, but empirical evidence on how such techniques can be implemented in the context of eHealth services is still lacking. This paper presents how a service design thinking approach can be applied for specification of an existing and new eHealth service by supporting evaluation of the current service and facilitating suggestions for the future service. We propose Service Journey Modelling Language and Service Journey Cards to engage stakeholders in the design of eHealth services.

Instructional Services for Limited English Proficient Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Malley, J. Michael

1982-01-01

The 1978 Children's English and Services Study (United States) contains five findings for limited English proficient children aged 5-14, e.g., one-third are served by bilingual education/English (second language); Federal and state support for special types of instruction are received predominantly by limited English proficient children within the…

Experiencing the Needs and Challenges of ELLs: Improving Knowledge and Efficacy of Pre-Service Teachers through the Use of a Language Immersion Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright-Maley, Cory; Green, Jennifer D.

2015-01-01

Pre-service teachers need to understand how to support ELLs in their future classrooms, yet evidence suggests that pre-service ELL training may not be as effective as we need it to be. One promising strategy for increasing pre-service teachers' efficacy and knowledge around teaching ELLs is through a shock-and-show simulation. This strategy…

Asian and Arabic Mediated Enrichment Resource and Instructional Career Awareness. Project Amreica 1988-89. OREA Evaluation Section Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berney, Tomi D.; Hriskos, Constantine

Project America provided supplemental instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL); Native Language Arts (NLA); and bilingual instruction in the subjects of mathematics, science, and social studies. The project also provided support services to encourage pride in, and respect for, both ethnic heritage and the American culture. The project…

Supporting the Academic Excellence, Engagement, and College Readiness of High School ESOL Students through ESOL Student Service Learning Clubs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maina, Nyambura Susan; McGaughey, Trisha; Wade, Julie

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Student Service Learning (SSL) Club on academic and non-academic outcomes for students receiving ESOL services during 2012-2013 in six high schools in Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools (MCPS). The ESOL SSL Club convenes regularly…

Rethinking ESL Service Courses for International Graduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Min, Young-Kyung

2016-01-01

Drawing on data from a writing program in English as a second language (ESL) at a large university in the midwestern United States, this article addresses the significant gap in programmatic and pedagogical responses for graduate writing support by probing the notion of ESL service courses that approach graduate writing courses as being…

Factors Affecting Early Services for Children Who Are Hard of Hearing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrison, Melody; Page, Thomas A.; Oleson, Jacob; Spratford, Meredith; Berry, Lauren Unflat; Peterson, Barbara; Welhaven, Anne; Arenas, Richard M.; Moeller, Mary Pat

2016-01-01

Purpose: To describe factors affecting early intervention (EI) for children who are hard of hearing, we analyzed (a) service setting(s) and the relationship of setting to families' frequency of participation, and (b) provider preparation, caseload composition, and experience in relation to comfort with skills that support spoken language for…

Perspectives on English Education in the Japanese Public School System: The Views of Foreign Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amaki, Yuki

2008-01-01

Public school students in Japan must take English as a required subject for three years in junior high school and for three more years in senior high school. In spite of the amount of classroom time invested, and in spite of the available learning support services, the foreign Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) system included, the English…

In the right words: addressing language and culture in providing health care.

PubMed

2003-08-01

As part of its continuing mission to serve trustees, executives, and staff of health foundations and corporate giving programs, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) convened a group of experts from philanthropy, research, health care practice, and policy on April 4, 2003, to discuss the roles of language and culture in providing effective health care. During this Issue Dialogue, In the Right Words: Addressing Language and Culture in Providing Health Care, health grantmakers and experts from policy and practice participated in an open exchange of ideas and perspectives on language access and heard from fellow grantmakers who are funding innovative programs in this area. Together they explored ways to effectively support comprehensive language services, including the use of interpreters and translation of written materials. This Issue Brief synthesizes key points from the day's discussion with a background paper previously prepared for Issue Dialogue participants. It focuses on the challenges and opportunities involved with ensuring language access for the growing number of people who require it. Sections include: recent immigration trends and demographic changes; the effect of language barriers on health outcomes and health care processes; laws and policies regarding the provision of language services to patients, including an overview of public financing mechanisms; strategies for improving language access, including enhancing access in delivery settings, promoting advocacy and policy change, improving interpreter training, and advancing research; and roles for foundations in supporting improved language access, including examples of current activities. The Issue Dialogue focused mainly on activities and programs that ensure linguistic access to health care for all patients. Although language and culture are clearly inseparable, a full exploration of the field of cultural competence and initiatives that promote its application to the health care setting are beyond the scope of this Issue Brief. The day's discussion did, however, raise provocative issues of culture that are reflected throughout this report.

ITOHealth: a multimodal middleware-oriented integrated architecture for discovering medical entities.

PubMed

Alor-Hernández, Giner; Sánchez-Cervantes, José Luis; Juárez-Martínez, Ulises; Posada-Gómez, Rubén; Cortes-Robles, Guillermo; Aguilar-Laserre, Alberto

2012-03-01

Emergency healthcare is one of the emerging application domains for information services, which requires highly multimodal information services. The time of consuming pre-hospital emergency process is critical. Therefore, the minimization of required time for providing primary care and consultation to patients is one of the crucial factors when trying to improve the healthcare delivery in emergency situations. In this sense, dynamic location of medical entities is a complex process that needs time and it can be critical when a person requires medical attention. This work presents a multimodal location-based system for locating and assigning medical entities called ITOHealth. ITOHealth provides a multimodal middleware-oriented integrated architecture using a service-oriented architecture in order to provide information of medical entities in mobile devices and web browsers with enriched interfaces providing multimodality support. ITOHealth's multimodality is based on the use of Microsoft Agent Characters, the integration of natural language voice to the characters, and multi-language and multi-characters support providing an advantage for users with visual impairments.

Person-Centeredness in Home- and Community-Based Services and Supports: Domains, Attributes, and Assisted Living Indicators.

PubMed

Zimmerman, Sheryl; Love, Karen; Cohen, Lauren W; Pinkowitz, Jackie; Nyrop, Kirsten A

2014-01-01

As a result of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) interest in creating a unifying definition of "community living" for its Medicaid Home and Community Based Services and Support (HCBS) programs, it needed clarifying descriptors of person-centered (PC) practices in assisted living to distinguish them from institutional ones. Additionally, CMS's proposed language defining "community living" had the unintended potential to exclude many assisted living communities and disadvantage residents who receive Medicaid. This manuscript describes the consensus process through which clarifying language for "community living" and a framework for HCBS PC domains, attributes, and indicators specific to assisted living were developed. It examines the validity of those domains based on literature review, surveys, and stakeholder focus groups, and identifies nine domains and 43 indicators that provide a foundation for defining and measuring PC practice in assisted living. Ongoing efforts using community-based participatory research methods are further refining and testing PC indicators for assisted living to advance knowledge, operational policies, practices, and quality outcomes.

Pragmatic service development and customisation with the CEDA OGC Web Services framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pascoe, Stephen; Stephens, Ag; Lowe, Dominic

2010-05-01

The CEDA OGC Web Services framework (COWS) emphasises rapid service development by providing a lightweight layer of OGC web service logic on top of Pylons, a mature web application framework for the Python language. This approach gives developers a flexible web service development environment without compromising access to the full range of web application tools and patterns: Model-View-Controller paradigm, XML templating, Object-Relational-Mapper integration and authentication/authorization. We have found this approach useful for exploring evolving standards and implementing protocol extensions to meet the requirements of operational deployments. This paper outlines how COWS is being used to implement customised WMS, WCS, WFS and WPS services in a variety of web applications from experimental prototypes to load-balanced cluster deployments serving 10-100 simultaneous users. In particular we will cover 1) The use of Climate Science Modeling Language (CSML) in complex-feature aware WMS, WCS and WFS services, 2) Extending WMS to support applications with features specific to earth system science and 3) A cluster-enabled Web Processing Service (WPS) supporting asynchronous data processing. The COWS WPS underpins all backend services in the UK Climate Projections User Interface where users can extract, plot and further process outputs from a multi-dimensional probabilistic climate model dataset. The COWS WPS supports cluster job execution, result caching, execution time estimation and user management. The COWS WMS and WCS components drive the project-specific NCEO and QESDI portals developed by the British Atmospheric Data Centre. These portals use CSML as a backend description format and implement features such as multiple WMS layer dimensions and climatology axes that are beyond the scope of general purpose GIS tools and yet vital for atmospheric science applications.

Neuro-Oncology Branch patient emotional support services | Center for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

Emotional Support Services The diagnosis of a brain tumor elicits many different and sometimes difficult emotions, not only for the patient, but also for their family members. Patients may encounter changes in cognitive functioning and language, a diminished ability to focus or make decisions, or short-term memory loss, all of which can greatly affect their personal and professional lives. We are dedicated to helping patients and their families deal with the physical and emotional facets of this disease.

Extending enterprise architecture modelling with business goals and requirements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engelsman, Wilco; Quartel, Dick; Jonkers, Henk; van Sinderen, Marten

2011-02-01

The methods for enterprise architecture (EA), such as The Open Group Architecture Framework, acknowledge the importance of requirements modelling in the development of EAs. Modelling support is needed to specify, document, communicate and reason about goals and requirements. The current modelling techniques for EA focus on the products, services, processes and applications of an enterprise. In addition, techniques may be provided to describe structured requirements lists and use cases. Little support is available however for modelling the underlying motivation of EAs in terms of stakeholder concerns and the high-level goals that address these concerns. This article describes a language that supports the modelling of this motivation. The definition of the language is based on existing work on high-level goal and requirements modelling and is aligned with an existing standard for enterprise modelling: the ArchiMate language. Furthermore, the article illustrates how EA can benefit from analysis techniques from the requirements engineering domain.

Ground Support Software for Spaceborne Instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anicich, Vincent; Thorpe, rob; Fletcher, Greg; Waite, Hunter; Xu, Hykua; Walter, Erin; Frick, Kristie; Farris, Greg; Gell, Dave; Furman, Jufy;

State of the Art Student Support Services in an IEP Learning Center

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanson, Jessica; Maxwell, Jeffrey; Mulder, Monika

2015-01-01

Intensive English language programs (IEPs) at American universities have the task of recruiting, retaining, and preparing international students for mainstream classes. In order to achieve these tasks, many programs have explored using supplemental instruction (SI) in the form of learning centers (LCs) to support their students. In this study, we…

A Framework for Bilingual School Consultation to Facilitate Multitier Systems of Support for English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Bryn; Sullivan, Amanda L.

2017-01-01

Bilingual students comprise a substantial and growing proportion of U.S. school enrollment and often experience unsatisfactory school outcomes attributed to limited opportunities to learn. Bilingual consultants have the unique opportunity to shape school psychological services and general education supports for all bilingual students by working…

Studying and Supporting Writing in Student Organizations as a High-Impact Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hendrickson, Brian

2016-01-01

Institutions of postsecondary education, and the field of writing across the curriculum and in the disciplines (WAC/WID) in particular, need to do more to trouble learning paradigms that employ writing only in service to particular disciplines, only in traditional learning environments, and only in particular languages, or in service to an overly…

Communication and language challenges experienced by Chinese and South Asian immigrant parents of children with cancer in Canada: implications for health services delivery.

PubMed

Gulati, Sonia; Watt, Lisa; Shaw, Nicola; Sung, Lillian; Poureslami, Iraj M; Klaassen, Robert; Dix, David; Klassen, Anne F

2012-04-01

Language is an important aspect of health literacy and plays a vital role in families' ability to access and use health information and resources. Our study explored the role of communication and language in the healthcare experiences of immigrant parents of children with cancer living in Canada. We used a grounded theory approach. Chinese and South Asian parents of children 6 months post-diagnosis were recruited from six Canadian pediatric oncology centers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Cantonese, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, or English. Questions relevant to communication included: how parents navigated the healthcare system; nature of interpreter services and translated materials; and suggestions about how to improve services. Analysis involved line-by-line, focused and theoretical coding, and constant comparison. Thirty-one (62%) parents reported no difficulty communicating with healthcare providers in English, while 13 (26%) parents struggled with English, and six (12%) parents could not communicate in English. Communication challenges influenced parents' role in caring for their child and made it difficult to learn complex medical terminology. Interpreting services were sometimes inadequate or not accessible. Parents occasionally missed out on services and resources, reported limited availability of linguistically and culturally appropriate information, and experienced a lack of social integration in the healthcare process. Language ability played an essential role in parents' healthcare experiences for pragmatic and social purposes. Language challenges can heighten systemic and socio-cultural barriers to accessing health information and resources. The provision of enhanced culturally and linguistically sensitive services may support immigrant families in their caregiving role. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Use of Radio in an In-service Teacher-Training Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahrens, Patricia; Ghodiwala, Adam

1987-01-01

Describes the background and structure of an inservice project which offered primary school teachers in India support in the teaching of English as a foreign language through radio broadcasts. (Author/CB)

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.

Survey of bilingualism in autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Bird, Elizabeth Kay-Raining; Lamond, Erin; Holden, Jeanette

2012-01-01

This survey study investigates issues related to bilingualism and autism. Bilingualism is common around the world but there is little published information to guide professionals and parents in making decisions about bilingualism for children with autism. Participants were 49 parents or guardians of children with autism who were members of a bilingual family; 75% were raising their child with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to be bilingual or multilingual. Professionals did not always support this choice. Parents reported that living in a bilingual community and the need to communicate with various people in a variety of venues supported a bilingual choice along with the enrichment and job opportunities that bilingualism afforded. Parents also reported concerns around choosing bilingualism for their children with ASD, such as lack of services and supports and concerns about whether their children would be able to learn two languages. Children with ASD exposed to two languages were often reported to be acquiring their languages of exposure, albeit to varying degrees. Given the small sample size and the exploratory nature of the study, the need for more research is emphasized. © 2011 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Proof of Concept Integration of a Single-Level Service-Oriented Architecture into a Multi-Domain Secure Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

Machine [29]. OC4J applications support Java Servlets , Web services, and the following J2EE specific standards: Extensible Markup Language (XML...IMAP Internet Message Access Protocol IP Internet Protocol IT Information Technology xviii J2EE Java Enterprise Environment JSR 168 Java ...LDAP), World Wide Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDav), Java Specification Request 168 (JSR 168), and Web Services for Remote

Constraint processing in our extensible language for cooperative imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aoki, Minoru; Murao, Yo; Enomoto, Hajime

1996-02-01

The extensible WELL (Window-based elaboration language) has been developed using the concept of common platform, where both client and server can communicate with each other with support from a communication manager. This extensible language is based on an object oriented design by introducing constraint processing. Any kind of services including imaging in the extensible language is controlled by the constraints. Interactive functions between client and server are extended by introducing agent functions including a request-respond relation. Necessary service integrations are satisfied with some cooperative processes using constraints. Constraints are treated similarly to data, because the system should have flexibilities in the execution of many kinds of services. The similar control process is defined by using intentional logic. There are two kinds of constraints, temporal and modal constraints. Rendering the constraints, the predicate format as the relation between attribute values can be a warrant for entities' validity as data. As an imaging example, a processing procedure of interaction between multiple objects is shown as an image application for the extensible system. This paper describes how the procedure proceeds in the system, and that how the constraints work for generating moving pictures.

The Effectiveness of Special Education Programs for ELs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez, Veronica

2014-01-01

The purpose of this research is to investigate the services and supports that EL students with special needs receive. It is a goal of this study also to determine which students achieve higher CST scores on the English Language Arts section, based on the supports that they receive and the programs in which they are placed. The researcher utilized…

BPELPower—A BPEL execution engine for geospatial web services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Genong (Eugene); Zhao, Peisheng; Di, Liping; Chen, Aijun; Deng, Meixia; Bai, Yuqi

2012-10-01

The Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) has become a popular choice for orchestrating and executing workflows in the Web environment. As one special kind of scientific workflow, geospatial Web processing workflows are data-intensive, deal with complex structures in data and geographic features, and execute automatically with limited human intervention. To enable the proper execution and coordination of geospatial workflows, a specially enhanced BPEL execution engine is required. BPELPower was designed, developed, and implemented as a generic BPEL execution engine with enhancements for executing geospatial workflows. The enhancements are especially in its capabilities in handling Geography Markup Language (GML) and standard geospatial Web services, such as the Web Processing Service (WPS) and the Web Feature Service (WFS). BPELPower has been used in several demonstrations over the decade. Two scenarios were discussed in detail to demonstrate the capabilities of BPELPower. That study showed a standard-compliant, Web-based approach for properly supporting geospatial processing, with the only enhancement at the implementation level. Pattern-based evaluation and performance improvement of the engine are discussed: BPELPower directly supports 22 workflow control patterns and 17 workflow data patterns. In the future, the engine will be enhanced with high performance parallel processing and broad Web paradigms.

Telling Stories and Making Books: Evidence for an Intervention to Help Parents in Migrant Head Start Families Support Their Children's Language and Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyce, Lisa K.; Innocenti, Mark S.; Roggman, Lori A.; Norman, Vonda K. Jump; Ortiz, Eduardo

2010-01-01

Research Findings: In this study, 75 Spanish-speaking preschoolers (M age = 41.43 months, SD = 10.78 months; 30 girls) attending a Migrant Head Start program were randomly assigned to receive the Storytelling for the Home Enrichment of Language and Literacy Skills (SHELLS) in addition to their Head Start services (n = 32) or to continue to receive…

A Micro-Ethnographic Study of the Communication/Language Development in a Japanese Child with Profound Hearing Loss before and after Cochlear Implantation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kretschmer, Richard R.; Kretschmer, Laura; Kuwahara, Katsura; Truax, Roberta

2010-01-01

This study described the communication and spoken language development of a Japanese girl with profound hearing loss who used a cochlear implant from 19 months of age. The girl, Akiko, was born in Belgium where her family was living at that time. After she was identified as deaf at birth, she and her parents were provided with support services.…

Applications of Dynamic Deployment of Services in Industrial Automation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Candido, Gonçalo; Barata, José; Jammes, François; Colombo, Armando W.

Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) is becoming a de facto paradigm for business and enterprise integration. SOA is expanding into several domains of application envisioning a unified solution suitable across all different layers of an enterprise infrastructure. The application of SOA based on open web standards can significantly enhance the interoperability and openness of those devices. By embedding a dynamical deployment service even into small field de- vices, it would be either possible to allow machine builders to place built- in services and still allow the integrator to deploy on-the-run the services that best fit his current application. This approach allows the developer to keep his own preferred development language, but still deliver a SOA- compliant application. A dynamic deployment service is envisaged as a fundamental framework to support more complex applications, reducing deployment delays, while increasing overall system agility. As use-case scenario, a dynamic deployment service was implemented over DPWS and WS-Management specifications allowing designing and programming an automation application using IEC61131 languages, and deploying these components as web services into devices.

An exploratory trial of the effectiveness of an enhanced consultative approach to delivering speech and language intervention in schools.

PubMed

Mecrow, Carol; Beckwith, Jennie; Klee, Thomas

2010-01-01

Increased demand for access to specialist services for providing support to children with speech, language and communication needs prompted a local service review of how best to allocate limited resources. This study arose as a consequence of a wish to evaluate the effectiveness of an enhanced consultative approach to delivering speech and language intervention in local schools. The purpose was to evaluate an intensive speech and language intervention for children in mainstream schools delivered by specialist teaching assistants. A within-subjects, quasi-experimental exploratory trial was conducted, with each child serving as his or her own control with respect to the primary outcome measure. Thirty-five children between the ages of 4;2 and 6;10 (years; months) received speech and/or language intervention for an average of four 1-hour sessions per week over 10 weeks. The primary outcome measure consisted of change between pre- and post-intervention scores on probe tasks of treated and untreated behaviours summed across the group of children, and maintenance probes of treated behaviours. Secondary outcome measures included standardized tests (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals - Preschool(UK) (CELF-P(UK)); Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP)) and questionnaires completed by parents/carers and school staff before and after the intervention period. The primary outcome measure showed improvement over the intervention period, with target behaviours showing a significantly larger increase than control behaviours. The gains made on the target behaviours as a result of intervention were sustained when reassessed 3-12 months later. These findings were replicated on a second set of targets and controls. Significant gains were also observed on CELF-Preschool(UK) receptive and expressive language standard scores from pre- to post-intervention. However, DEAP standard scores of speech ability did not increase over the intervention period, although improvements in raw scores were observed. Questionnaires completed before and after intervention showed some significant differences relating to how much the child's speech and language difficulties affected him/her at home and at school. This exploratory study demonstrates the benefit of an intensive therapy delivered by specialist teaching assistants for remediating speech and language difficulties experienced by young children in mainstream schools. The service delivery model was perceived by professionals as offering an inclusive and effective practice and provides empirical support for using both direct and indirect intervention in the school setting.

Resources for Middle Eastern patients: online resources for culturally and linguistically appropriate services in home healthcare and hospice, Part 3.

PubMed

Young, Judith S

2014-05-01

As the population of patients for whom English is not their primary language grows, home care and hospice clinicians are challenged to provide culturally respectful and acceptable patient-centered care for cultures and languages unfamiliar to them. This article identifies resources for understanding the culture of Middle Eastern-born patients and appropriate patient education materials in most of the languages spoken by this population. The resources have been made available for free on the Web by healthcare professionals, government agencies, and support organizations from around the world.

Resources for Middle Eastern patients: online resources for culturally and linguistically appropriate services in home healthcare and hospice, part 3.

PubMed

Young, Judith S

2013-01-01

As the population of patients for whom English is not their primary language grows, home care and hospice clinicians are challenged to provide culturally respectful and acceptable patient-centered care for cultures and languages unfamiliar to them. This article identifies resources for understanding the culture of Middle Eastern-born patients and appropriate patient education materials in most of the languages spoken by this population. The resources have been made available for free on the Web by healthcare professionals, government agencies, and support organizations from around the world.

A new approach in psychotherapy: ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy).

PubMed

McHugh, Louise

2011-09-01

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) focuses on enhancing psychological flexibility in the service of achieving core life values. One thing that distinguishes ACT from other psychotherapies is its grounding in empirical behavioural science. The results of the latter suggest that the capacity for human language can produce seriously negative psychological effects under certain circumstances. ACT is a therapeutic approach in which the negative effects of human language are undermined so as to support flexible values based living. ACT therapeutic work involves six key processes proposed under the "hexaflex" model. ACT has received considerable empirical support at a number of different levels of analysis.

Predictors of language service availability in U.S. hospitals

PubMed Central

Schiaffino, Melody K.; Al-Amin, Mona; Schumacher, Jessica R.

2014-01-01

Background: Hispanics comprise 17% of the total U.S. population, surpassing African-Americans as the largest minority group. Linguistically, almost 60 million people speak a language other than English. This language diversity can create barriers and additional burden and risk when seeking health services. Patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) for example, have been shown to experience a disproportionate risk of poor health outcomes, making the provision of Language Services (LS) in healthcare facilities critical. Research on the determinants of LS adoption has focused more on overall cultural competence and internal managerial decision-making than on measuring LS adoption as a process outcome influenced by contextual or external factors. The current investigation examines the relationship between state policy, service area factors, and hospital characteristics on hospital LS adoption. Methods: We employ a cross-sectional analysis of survey data from a national sample of hospitals in the American Hospital Association (AHA) database for 2011 (N= 4876) to analyze hospital characteristics and outcomes, augmented with additional population data from the American Community Survey (ACS) to estimate language diversity in the hospital service area. Additional data from the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) facilitated the state level Medicaid reimbursement factor. Results: Only 64% of hospitals offered LS. Hospitals that adopted LS were more likely to be not-for-profit, in areas with higher than average language diversity, larger, and urban. Hospitals in above average language diverse counties had more than 2-fold greater odds of adopting LS than less language diverse areas [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR): 2.26, P< 0.01]. Further, hospitals with a strategic orientation toward diversity had nearly 2-fold greater odds of adopting LS (AOR: 1.90, P< 0.001). Conclusion: Our findings support the importance of structural and contextual factors as they relate to healthcare delivery. Healthcare organizations must address the needs of the population they serve and align their efforts internally. Current financial incentives do not appear to influence adoption of LS, nor do Medicaid reimbursement funds, thus suggesting that further alignment of incentives. Organizational and system level factors have a place in disparities research and warrant further analysis; additional spatial methods could enhance our understanding of population factors critical to system-level health services research. PMID:25337600

Related Services Research for Students With Low-Incidence Disabilities: Implications for Speech-Language Pathologists in Inclusive Classrooms.

PubMed

Giangreco, Michael F

2000-07-01

When speech-language pathologists provide educationally related services for students with lowincidence disabilities who are placed in inclusive classrooms, they are asked to work with a variety of other adults. The ways in which these adults make decisions about individualizing a student's educational program, determine related services, and coordinate their activities have an impact on educational outcomes for students as well as on interprofessional interactions. This article summarizes a team process for making related services decisions called VISTA (Vermont Interdependent Services Team Approach) and a series of nine research studies pertaining to the use and impact of VISTA. It also addresses related topics, such as team size, consumer perspectives, and paraprofessional supports. Five major implications from these studies are offered concerning (a) developing a disposition of being an ongoing learner, (b) developing a shared framework among team members, (c) having a research-based process to build consensus, (d) clarifying roles, and (e) increasing involvement of families and general education teachers.

42 CFR 409.23 - Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...-language pathology services. 409.23 Section 409.23 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES... § 409.23 Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services. Medicare pays for physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech-language pathology services as posthospital SNF...

42 CFR 409.23 - Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...-language pathology services. 409.23 Section 409.23 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES... § 409.23 Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services. Medicare pays for physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech-language pathology services as posthospital SNF...

42 CFR 409.23 - Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...-language pathology services. 409.23 Section 409.23 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES... § 409.23 Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services. Medicare pays for physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech-language pathology services as posthospital SNF...

42 CFR 409.23 - Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...-language pathology services. 409.23 Section 409.23 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES... § 409.23 Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services. Medicare pays for physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech-language pathology services as posthospital SNF...

48 CFR 332.407 - Interest.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...) Dissemination of information derived from educational research. (6) Surveys or demonstrations in the field of... for the hearing impaired. (8) Operation of language or area centers. (9) Biomedical research and support services. (10) Research surveys or demonstrations involving the training and placement of health...

48 CFR 332.407 - Interest.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...) Dissemination of information derived from educational research. (6) Surveys or demonstrations in the field of... for the hearing impaired. (8) Operation of language or area centers. (9) Biomedical research and support services. (10) Research surveys or demonstrations involving the training and placement of health...

48 CFR 332.407 - Interest.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...) Dissemination of information derived from educational research. (6) Surveys or demonstrations in the field of... for the hearing impaired. (8) Operation of language or area centers. (9) Biomedical research and support services. (10) Research surveys or demonstrations involving the training and placement of health...

48 CFR 332.407 - Interest.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...) Dissemination of information derived from educational research. (6) Surveys or demonstrations in the field of... for the hearing impaired. (8) Operation of language or area centers. (9) Biomedical research and support services. (10) Research surveys or demonstrations involving the training and placement of health...

48 CFR 332.407 - Interest.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...) Dissemination of information derived from educational research. (6) Surveys or demonstrations in the field of... for the hearing impaired. (8) Operation of language or area centers. (9) Biomedical research and support services. (10) Research surveys or demonstrations involving the training and placement of health...

Information integration for a sky survey by data warehousing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, A.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, Y.

The virtualization service of data system for a sky survey LAMOST is very important for astronomers The service needs to integrate information from data collections catalogs and references and support simple federation of a set of distributed files and associated metadata Data warehousing has been in existence for several years and demonstrated superiority over traditional relational database management systems by providing novel indexing schemes that supported efficient on-line analytical processing OLAP of large databases Now relational database systems such as Oracle etc support the warehouse capability which including extensions to the SQL language to support OLAP operations and a number of metadata management tools have been created The information integration of LAMOST by applying data warehousing is to effectively provide data and knowledge on-line

Telerehabilitation, virtual therapists, and acquired neurologic speech and language disorders.

PubMed

Cherney, Leora R; van Vuuren, Sarel

2012-08-01

Telerehabilitation (telerehab) offers cost-effective services that potentially can improve access to care for those with acquired neurologic communication disorders. However, regulatory issues including licensure, reimbursement, and threats to privacy and confidentiality hinder the routine implementation of telerehab services into the clinical setting. Despite these barriers, rapid technological advances and a growing body of research regarding the use of telerehab applications support its use. This article reviews the evidence related to acquired neurologic speech and language disorders in adults, focusing on studies that have been published since 2000. Research studies have used telerehab systems to assess and treat disorders including dysarthria, apraxia of speech, aphasia, and mild Alzheimer disease. They show that telerehab is a valid and reliable vehicle for delivering speech and language services. The studies represent a progression of technological advances in computing, Internet, and mobile technologies. They range on a continuum from working synchronously (in real-time) with a speech-language pathologist to working asynchronously (offline) with a stand-in virtual therapist. One such system that uses a virtual therapist for the treatment of aphasia, the Web-ORLA™ (Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL) system, is described in detail. Future directions for the advancement of telerehab for clinical practice are discussed. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Information persistence using XML database technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Thomas A.; Lipa, Brian E. G.; Macera, Anthony R.; Staskevich, Gennady R.

2005-05-01

The Joint Battlespace Infosphere (JBI) Information Management (IM) services provide information exchange and persistence capabilities that support tailored, dynamic, and timely access to required information, enabling near real-time planning, control, and execution for DoD decision making. JBI IM services will be built on a substrate of network centric core enterprise services and when transitioned, will establish an interoperable information space that aggregates, integrates, fuses, and intelligently disseminates relevant information to support effective warfighter business processes. This virtual information space provides individual users with information tailored to their specific functional responsibilities and provides a highly tailored repository of, or access to, information that is designed to support a specific Community of Interest (COI), geographic area or mission. Critical to effective operation of JBI IM services is the implementation of repositories, where data, represented as information, is represented and persisted for quick and easy retrieval. This paper will address information representation, persistence and retrieval using existing database technologies to manage structured data in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format as well as unstructured data in an IM services-oriented environment. Three basic categories of database technologies will be compared and contrasted: Relational, XML-Enabled, and Native XML. These technologies have diverse properties such as maturity, performance, query language specifications, indexing, and retrieval methods. We will describe our application of these evolving technologies within the context of a JBI Reference Implementation (RI) by providing some hopefully insightful anecdotes and lessons learned along the way. This paper will also outline future directions, promising technologies and emerging COTS products that can offer more powerful information management representations, better persistence mechanisms and improved retrieval techniques.

Aphasia in Clinical Practice

PubMed Central

Kertesz, Andrew

1983-01-01

Aphasia is a central language impairment with word finding and comprehension deficit and paraphasias. The highlights of the essential language tests and the classification based on a scorable assessment are presented. The clinical syndromes of Broca's, global, Wernicke, conduction, anomic and transcortical aphasias are detailed with definition, localization, and prognosis. Modality specific disorders associated with aphasic syndromes are discussed. The management of the aphasic patient, consisting of informed support and coordination of available services, is often the responsibility of the family physician. ImagesFig. 1Fig. 2 PMID:21286589

Data Strategies to Support Automated Multi-Sensor Data Fusion in a Service Oriented Architecture

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

and employ vast quantities of content. This dissertation provides two software architectural patterns and an auto-fusion process that guide the...UDDI), Simple Order Access Protocol (SOAP), Java, Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), Business Process Execution Language for Web Service (BPEL4WS) 16...content. This dissertation provides two software architectural patterns and an auto-fusion process that guide the development of a distributed

An Ecosystem of Intelligent ICT Tools for Speech-Language Therapy Based on a Formal Knowledge Model.

PubMed

Robles-Bykbaev, Vladimir; López-Nores, Martín; Pazos-Arias, José; Quisi-Peralta, Diego; García-Duque, Jorge

2015-01-01

The language and communication constitute the development mainstays of several intellectual and cognitive skills in humans. However, there are millions of people around the world who suffer from several disabilities and disorders related with language and communication, while most of the countries present a lack of corresponding services related with health care and rehabilitation. On these grounds, we are working to develop an ecosystem of intelligent ICT tools to support speech and language pathologists, doctors, students, patients and their relatives. This ecosystem has several layers and components, integrating Electronic Health Records management, standardized vocabularies, a knowledge database, an ontology of concepts from the speech-language domain, and an expert system. We discuss the advantages of such an approach through experiments carried out in several institutions assisting children with a wide spectrum of disabilities.

77 FR 65927 - 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Office of Language Services Contractor...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-31

... of Language Services Contractor Application Form ACTION: Notice of request for public comment... Collection: Office of Language Services Contractor Application Form. OMB Control Number: 1405-0191. Type of... become contractors for the U.S. Department of State, Office of Language Services, the information...

Specific language impairment: a convenient label for whom?

PubMed

Reilly, Sheena; Tomblin, Bruce; Law, James; McKean, Cristina; Mensah, Fiona K; Morgan, Angela; Goldfeld, Sharon; Nicholson, Jan M; Wake, Melissa

2014-01-01

The term 'specific language impairment' (SLI), in use since the 1980s, describes children with language impairment whose cognitive skills are within normal limits where there is no identifiable reason for the language impairment. SLI is determined by applying exclusionary criteria, so that it is defined by what it is not rather than by what it is. The recent decision to not include SLI in DSM-5 provoked much debate and concern from researchers and clinicians. To explore how the term 'specific language impairment' emerged, to consider how disorders, including SLI, are generally defined and to explore how societal changes might impact on use the term. We reviewed the literature to explore the origins of the term 'specific language impairment' and present published evidence, as well as new analyses of population data, to explore the validity of continuing to use the term. We support the decision to exclude the term 'specific language impairment' from DSM-5 and conclude that the term has been a convenient label for researchers, but that the current classification is unacceptably arbitrary. Furthermore, we argue there is no empirical evidence to support the continued use of the term SLI and limited evidence that it has provided any real benefits for children and their families. In fact, the term may be disadvantageous to some due to the use of exclusionary criteria to determine eligibility for and access to speech pathology services. We propose the following recommendations. First, that the word 'specific' be removed and the label 'language impairment' be used. Second, that the exclusionary criteria be relaxed and in their place inclusionary criteria be adopted that take into account the fluid nature of language development particularly in the preschool period. Building on the goodwill and collaborations between the clinical and research communities we propose the establishment of an international consensus panel to develop an agreed definition and set of criteria for language impairment. Given the rich data now available in population studies it is possible to test the validity of these definitions and criteria. Consultation with service users and policy-makers should be incorporated into the decision-making process. © 2014 The Authors International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

ELL Spoken Here

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Starkman, Neal

2008-01-01

Online resources and educator networks are providing teachers of English language learners with a support system they do not often get within their own school districts. Catherine Collier's Cross Cultural Developmental Education Services, based in Ferndale, WA., has been providing professional development and teaching materials to ELL teachers.…

Clinical, information and business process modeling to promote development of safe and flexible software.

PubMed

Liaw, Siaw-Teng; Deveny, Elizabeth; Morrison, Iain; Lewis, Bryn

2006-09-01

Using a factorial vignette survey and modeling methodology, we developed clinical and information models - incorporating evidence base, key concepts, relevant terms, decision-making and workflow needed to practice safely and effectively - to guide the development of an integrated rule-based knowledge module to support prescribing decisions in asthma. We identified workflows, decision-making factors, factor use, and clinician information requirements. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) and public domain software and knowledge engineering tools (e.g. Protégé) were used, with the Australian GP Data Model as the starting point for expressing information needs. A Web Services service-oriented architecture approach was adopted within which to express functional needs, and clinical processes and workflows were expressed in the Business Process Execution Language (BPEL). This formal analysis and modeling methodology to define and capture the process and logic of prescribing best practice in a reference implementation is fundamental to tackling deficiencies in prescribing decision support software.

At the intersection of culture: Ethnically diverse dementia caregivers' service use.

PubMed

Richardson, Virginia E; Fields, Noelle; Won, Seojin; Bradley, Evie; Gibson, Allison; Rivera, Gretchen; Holmes, Sarah D

2017-01-01

This study used an ethnocultural approach to explore how cultural factors influenced ethnically diverse dementia caregivers' experiences and use of services. A modified thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 15 caregivers, ranging in age from 50 to 75 years, including spouses, daughters, sons, cousins, and a friend, from three minority groups-African American, Hispanic, and South Korean caregivers-was conducted by a team of multi-lingual researchers. Caregiver stress was pervasive across all subgroups. Several themes emerged that were qualitatively different across groups, including knowledge about dementia, language barriers, religion and spirituality, and cultural differences in attitudes about caring and formal services. A two-pronged intervention model that includes a generic intervention to reduce caregiver stress along with a culturally targeted intervention tailored to a family's language, food preferences, religious practices, gender norms, and other values was recommended to more successfully reach and support these caregivers.

Providing Written Language Services in the Schools: The Time Is Now

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fallon, Karen A.; Katz, Lauren A.

2011-01-01

Purpose: The current study was conducted to investigate the provision of written language services by school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Specifically, the study examined SLPs' knowledge, attitudes, and collaborative practices in the area of written language services as well as the variables that impact provision of these services.…

Process model-based atomic service discovery and composition of composite semantic web services using web ontology language for services (OWL-S)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paulraj, D.; Swamynathan, S.; Madhaiyan, M.

2012-11-01

Web Service composition has become indispensable as a single web service cannot satisfy complex functional requirements. Composition of services has received much interest to support business-to-business (B2B) or enterprise application integration. An important component of the service composition is the discovery of relevant services. In Semantic Web Services (SWS), service discovery is generally achieved by using service profile of Ontology Web Languages for Services (OWL-S). The profile of the service is a derived and concise description but not a functional part of the service. The information contained in the service profile is sufficient for atomic service discovery, but it is not sufficient for the discovery of composite semantic web services (CSWS). The purpose of this article is two-fold: first to prove that the process model is a better choice than the service profile for service discovery. Second, to facilitate the composition of inter-organisational CSWS by proposing a new composition method which uses process ontology. The proposed service composition approach uses an algorithm which performs a fine grained match at the level of atomic process rather than at the level of the entire service in a composite semantic web service. Many works carried out in this area have proposed solutions only for the composition of atomic services and this article proposes a solution for the composition of composite semantic web services.

Effects of Community Service-Learning on Heritage Language Learners' Attitudes toward Their Language and Culture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pascual y Cabo, Diego; Prada, Josh; Lowther Pereira, Kelly

2017-01-01

This study examined the effects of participation in a community service-learning experience on Spanish heritage language learners' attitudes toward their heritage language and culture. Quantitative and qualitative data from heritage language learners demonstrated that engagement in community service-learning activities as part of the Spanish…

Educating for interprofessional practice: moving from knowing to being, is it the final piece of the puzzle?

PubMed

Ward, Helena; Gum, Lyn; Attrill, Stacie; Bramwell, Donald; Lindemann, Iris; Lawn, Sharon; Sweet, Linda

2017-01-06

Professional socialisation and identity arise from interactions occurring within university-based interprofessional education, and workplace-based interprofessional practice experience. However, it is unclear how closely language and concepts of academic learning situations align with workplace contexts for interprofessional learning. This paper reports on a study that brought together university-based educators responsible for teaching health professional students and health service-based practitioners who supervise students in the field. Interviews and focus groups with university-based educators and health service-base practitioners were used to explore perceptions of capabilities required for interprofessional practice. The qualitative data were then examined to explore similarities and differences in the language used by these groups. This analysis identified that there were language differences between the university-based educators and health service based practitioners involved in the project. The former demonstrated a curriculum lens, focusing on educational activities, student support and supervision. Conversely, health service-based practitioners presented a client-centred lens, with a focus on communication, professional disposition, attitude towards clients and co-workers, and authenticity of practice. Building on these insights, we theorise about the need for students to develop the self in order to be an interprofessional practitioner. The implications for health professional education in both university and workplace settings are explored.

EO Domain Specific Knowledge Enabled Services (KES-B)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varas, J.; Busto, J.; Torguet, R.

2004-09-01

This paper recovers and describes a number of major statements with respect to the vision, mission and technological approaches of the Technological Research Project (TRP) "EO Domain Specific Knowledge Enabled Services" (project acronym KES-B), which is currently under development at the European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) under contract "16397/02/I- SB". Resulting from the on-going R&D activities, the KES-B project aims are to demonstrate with a prototype system the feasibility of the application of innovative knowledge-based technologies to provide services for easy, scheduled and controlled exploitation of EO resources (e.g.: data, algorithms, procedures, storage, processors, ...), to automate the generation of products, and to support users in easily identifying and accessing the required information or products by using their own vocabulary, domain knowledge and preferences. The ultimate goals of KES-B are summarized in the provision of the two main types of KES services: 1st the Search service (also referred to as Product Exploitation or Information Retrieval; and 2nd the Production service (also referred to as Information Extraction), with the strategic advantage that they are enabled by Knowledge consolidated (formalized) within the system. The KES-B system technical solution approach is driven by a strong commitment for the adoption of industry (XML-based) language standards, aiming to have an interoperable, scalable and flexible operational prototype. In that sense, the Search KES services builds on the basis of the adoption of consolidated and/or emergent W3C semantic-web standards. Remarkably the languages/models Dublin Core (DC), Universal Resource Identifier (URI), Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Ontology Web Language (OWL), and COTS like Protege [1] and JENA [2] are being integrated in the system as building bricks for the construction of the KES based Search services. On the other hand, the Production KES services builds on top of workflow management standards and tools. In this side, the Business Process Execution Language (BPEL), the Web Services Definition Language (WSDL), and the Collaxa [3] COTS tool for workflow management are being integrated for the construction of the KES-B Production Services. The KES-B platform (web portal and web-server) architecture is build on the basis of the J2EE reference architecture. These languages represent the mean for the codification of the different types of knowledge that are to be formalized in the system. This representing the ontological architecture of the system. This shall enable in fact the interoperability with other KES-based systems committing as well to those standards. The motivation behind this vision is pointing towards the construction of the Semantic-web based GRID supply- chain infrastructure for EO-services, in line with the INSPIRE initiative suggestions.

Negotiating health and chronic illness in Filipino-Australians: a qualitative study with implications for health promotion.

PubMed

Maneze, Della; Ramjan, Lucie; DiGiacomo, Michelle; Everett, Bronwyn; Davidson, Patricia Mary; Salamonson, Yenna

2018-08-01

In spite of the healthy immigrant effect, the prevalence of lifestyle-related chronic diseases among migrants is reported to approximate that of the host country with longer duration of stay. For example, higher rates of chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and hypertension have been observed among Filipino migrants and these have been linked to acculturation. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of Filipino-Australian migrants in managing their chronic health conditions in a Western host country. This paper reports on qualitative findings of a mixed methods study that used an explanatory sequential design. Nine focus group discussions were undertaken with 58 Filipino-Australian migrants with chronic disease. Thematic analysis was undertaken using a five-stage general purpose thematic framework ensuring that themes closely identified key participants' experiences . Findings revealed that health benefits provided by the health system in Australia were considered advantageous. However, a lack of social and instrumental support compounded isolation and disempowerment, limiting self-management strategies for chronic illnesses. Cultural beliefs and practices influenced their knowledge, attitude to and management of chronic disease, which health service providers overlooked because of perceived acculturation and English language skills. Overall this study has clearly identified recognition of cultural beliefs, language needs and support as three core needs of Filipino-Australian migrants with the elderly the most vulnerable. This paper highlights that self-management of chronic disease among elderly Filipino immigrants may be adversely affected by host language difficulties, a lack of social support and cultural issues, impacting on access to services, health-seeking behaviours and participation in health promotion initiatives. Language, culture-specific health interventions and resources and enhancing social support are likely important strategies in promoting chronic disease self-management among the elderly. These interventions have the potential to empower and encourage individuals to take control and better manage their chronic disease.

Beyond Early Intervention: Providing Support to Public School Personnel

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Kathryn

2006-01-01

At age 3, children with hearing loss transition from Part C early intervention to Part B public school services. These children represent a heterogeneous population when considering factors such as communication approaches; speech, language, auditory and cognitive skills; social-emotional and motor development; parental involvement; hearing…

Curriculum Considerations for Enhancing Baccalaureate Learning for International Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pardue, Karen T.; Haas, Barbara

2003-01-01

A nursing education program for Israeli students included a final semester in the United States. Program adjustments were made to address English-language fluency, cultural orientation to collectivism, support services for academic writing, and other issues related to the specific learning needs of this population. (SK)

Having a baby in the new land: a qualitative exploration of the experiences of Asian migrants in rural Tasmania, Australia.

PubMed

Hoang, H T; Le, Q; Kilpatrick, S

2009-01-01

Australia is a land of cultural diversity. Cultural differences in maternity care may result in conflict between migrants and healthcare providers, especially when migrants have minimal English language knowledge. The aim of the study was to investigate Asian migrant women's child-birth experiences in a rural Australian context. The study consisted of semi-structured interviews conducted with 10 Asian migrant women living in rural Tasmania to explore their childbirth experiences and the barriers they faced in accessing maternal care in the new land. The data were analysed using grounded theory and three main categories were identified: 'migrants with traditional practices in the new land', 'support and postnatal experiences' and 'barriers to accessing maternal care'. The findings revealed that Asian migrants in Tasmania faced language and cultural barriers when dealing with the new healthcare system. Because some Asian migrants retain traditional views and practices for maternity care, confusion and conflicting expectations may occur. Family and community play an important role in supporting migrant women through their maternity care. Providing interpreting services, social support for migrant women and improving the cross-cultural training for healthcare providers were recommended to improve available maternal care services.

42 CFR 440.110 - Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and services for individuals with speech, hearing, and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... services for individuals with speech, hearing, and language disorders. 440.110 Section 440.110 Public..., occupational therapy, and services for individuals with speech, hearing, and language disorders. (a) Physical...) Services for individuals with speech, hearing, and language disorders. (1) Services for individuals with...

Providing written language services in the schools: the time is now.

PubMed

Fallon, Karen A; Katz, Lauren A

2011-01-01

The current study was conducted to investigate the provision of written language services by school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Specifically, the study examined SLPs' knowledge, attitudes, and collaborative practices in the area of written language services as well as the variables that impact provision of these services. Public school-based SLPs from across the country were solicited for participation in an online, Web-based survey. Data from 645 full-time SLPs from 49 states were evaluated using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Many school-based SLPs reported not providing any services in the area of written language to students with written language weaknesses. Knowledge, attitudes, and collaborative practices were mixed. A logistic regression revealed three variables likely to predict high levels of service provision in the area of written language. Data from the current study revealed that many struggling readers and writers on school-based SLPs' caseloads are not receiving services from their SLPs. Implications for SLPs' preservice preparation, continuing education, and doctoral preparation are discussed.

48 CFR 1523.703-1 - Acquisition of environmentally preferable meeting and conference services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... purchasing agreement that includes contractor support for meeting and conference planning and logistics must include a green meeting and conference requirement. The contracting officer shall ensure language is... as the provision at 1552.223-71, EPA Green Meetings and Conferences, in solicitations for meeting and...

48 CFR 1523.703-1 - Acquisition of environmentally preferable meeting and conference services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... purchasing agreement that includes contractor support for meeting and conference planning and logistics must include a green meeting and conference requirement. The contracting officer shall ensure language is... as the provision at 1552.223-71, EPA Green Meetings and Conferences, in solicitations for meeting and...

48 CFR 1523.703-1 - Acquisition of environmentally preferable meeting and conference services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... purchasing agreement that includes contractor support for meeting and conference planning and logistics must include a green meeting and conference requirement. The contracting officer shall ensure language is... as the provision at 1552.223-71, EPA Green Meetings and Conferences, in solicitations for meeting and...

48 CFR 1523.703-1 - Acquisition of environmentally preferable meeting and conference services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... purchasing agreement that includes contractor support for meeting and conference planning and logistics must include a green meeting and conference requirement. The contracting officer shall ensure language is... as the provision at 1552.223-71, EPA Green Meetings and Conferences, in solicitations for meeting and...

77 FR 16541 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests; Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-21

...). Grants are made to Institutions of Higher Education that have entered into consortium arrangements with... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests; Office of Planning..., which is administered by the Office of English Language Acquisition, is to support pre-service education...

Interrupting the Professional Schism That Allows Less Successful Educational Practices with ELLs to Persist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamann, Edmund T.; Reeves, Jenelle

2013-01-01

Different worldviews, different histories of induction into teaching, presumed differences in responsibilities, and different emphases in preservice and in-service preparation have all long contributed to enduring schisms that keep general education (or mainstream) teachers and English language support faculty from coordinating and finding common…

Energy Systems Integration News | Energy Systems Integration Facility |

Science.gov Websites

NREL January 2018 Blockchain concept demonstrated Blockchain to Enable Energy Market in BlockCypher Partnership NREL is partnering with BlockCypher, a blockchain Web services provider, to demonstrate how blockchain technology can support distributed energy markets. For some, the language and

Project BITEC, 1985-1986. OEA Evaluation Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York City Board of Education, Brooklyn. Office of Educational Assessment.

In 1985-86, Project BITEC provided bilingual instruction and supportive services to 379 limited English proficient (LEP) students from Italian, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Latin American backgrounds at New Utrecht High School (Brooklyn, New York). The project aimed at enabling its target population to master the English language as soon as possible,…

Bilingual Vocational Training for Health Care Workers: A Guide for Practitioners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Career Resources Development Center, Inc., San Francisco, CA.

A model for bilingual vocational training of health care workers, designed for immigrants and refugees with limited English skills, is presented. The model's seven components include: recruitment; intake assessment; adapted vocational instruction; Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL); counseling and support services; job development and…

Ethical dilemmas experienced by speech-language pathologists working in private practice.

PubMed

Flatley, Danielle R; Kenny, Belinda J; Lincoln, Michelle A

2014-06-01

Speech-language pathologists experience ethical dilemmas as they fulfil their professional roles and responsibilities. Previous research findings indicated that speech-language pathologists working in publicly funded settings identified ethical dilemmas when they managed complex clients, negotiated professional relationships, and addressed service delivery issues. However, little is known about ethical dilemmas experienced by speech-language pathologists working in private practice settings. The aim of this qualitative study was to describe the nature of ethical dilemmas experienced by speech-language pathologists working in private practice. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 speech-language pathologists employed in diverse private practice settings. Participants explained the nature of ethical dilemmas they experienced at work and identified their most challenging and frequently occurring ethical conflicts. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse transcribed data and generate themes. Four themes reflected the nature of speech-language pathologists' ethical dilemmas; balancing benefit and harm, fidelity of business practices, distributing funds, and personal and professional integrity. Findings support the need for professional development activities that are specifically targeted towards facilitating ethical practice for speech-language pathologists in the private sector.

Towards Using Reo for Compliance-Aware Business Process Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arbab, Farhad; Kokash, Natallia; Meng, Sun

Business process modeling and implementation of process supporting infrastructures are two challenging tasks that are not fully aligned. On the one hand, languages such as Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) exist to capture business processes at the level of domain analysis. On the other hand, programming paradigms and technologies such as Service-Oriented Computing (SOC) and web services have emerged to simplify the development of distributed web systems that underly business processes. BPMN is the most recognized language for specifying process workflows at the early design steps. However, it is rather declarative and may lead to the executable models which are incomplete or semantically erroneous. Therefore, an approach for expressing and analyzing BPMN models in a formal setting is required. In this paper we describe how BPMN diagrams can be represented by means of a semantically precise channel-based coordination language called Reo which admits formal analysis using model checking and bisimulation techniques. Moreover, since additional requirements may come from various regulatory/legislative documents, we discuss the opportunities offered by Reo and its mathematical abstractions for expressing process-related constraints such as Quality of Service (QoS) or time-aware conditions on process states.

Health and human services for persons who stutter and education of logopedists in East-European countries.

PubMed

Fibiger, Steen; Peters, Herman F M; Euler, Harald A; Neumann, Katrin

2008-03-01

The International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP) assessed the therapy status of fluency disorders, service opportunities, and education of logopedists (speech-language pathologists) with a mail survey in Eastern Europe. Information was collected on the following aspects: incidence, prevalence, availability of information, non-therapeutic support for persons who stutter (PWS), providers of diagnostics and therapy, cooperating professionals, therapy approaches, forms, goals, financing, early detection and prevention, training of professionals, specialization in stuttering therapy, needs for improving the situation of PWS, and problems which hinder better care. Stuttering therapy for children is available in many countries and is frequently provided by the educational system. Therapy for adults is provided best by the health services but is not satisfactorily available everywhere. Modern therapeutic approaches coexist with obsolete ones. Lack of resources, awareness, entitlement, and assessment of therapy effectiveness are pervasive problems. Readers will be able to describe and evaluate: (1) the therapy status of fluency disorders and service opportunities in various East-European countries; (2) the training of logopedists (speech-language pathologists); (3) specialization in stuttering therapy; and (4) the organizational services for PWS within the health and human service systems.

Making the Invisible Visible: A Responsive Evaluation Study of ESL and Spanish Language Services for Immigrants in a Small Rural County in Indiana

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pawan, Faridah; Thomalla, Therese Groff

2005-01-01

This article describes a responsive evaluation study of ESL services and Spanish language services for immigrants in a rural county in Indiana. An ESL specialist led the evaluation of language services in the county from the perspectives of language providers and recipients. The responsive evaluation--a form of action research that uses…

42 CFR 418.72 - Condition of participation: Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology. 418.72 Section 418.72 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE...: Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology. Physical therapy services, occupational therapy services, and speech-language pathology services must be available, and when provided...

42 CFR 418.72 - Condition of participation: Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology. 418.72 Section 418.72 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE...: Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology. Physical therapy services, occupational therapy services, and speech-language pathology services must be available, and when provided...

42 CFR 418.72 - Condition of participation: Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology. 418.72 Section 418.72 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE...: Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology. Physical therapy services, occupational therapy services, and speech-language pathology services must be available, and when provided...

42 CFR 418.72 - Condition of participation: Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology. 418.72 Section 418.72 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE... therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology. Physical therapy services, occupational therapy services, and speech-language pathology services must be available, and when provided, offered in...

42 CFR 418.72 - Condition of participation: Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology. 418.72 Section 418.72 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE... therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology. Physical therapy services, occupational therapy services, and speech-language pathology services must be available, and when provided, offered in...

Specific language impairment: a convenient label for whom?

PubMed Central

Reilly, Sheena; Tomblin, Bruce; Law, James; McKean, Cristina; Mensah, Fiona K; Morgan, Angela; Goldfeld, Sharon; Nicholson, Jan M; Wake, Melissa

2014-01-01

Background The term ‘specific language impairment’ (SLI), in use since the 1980s, describes children with language impairment whose cognitive skills are within normal limits where there is no identifiable reason for the language impairment. SLI is determined by applying exclusionary criteria, so that it is defined by what it is not rather than by what it is. The recent decision to not include SLI in DSM-5 provoked much debate and concern from researchers and clinicians. Aims To explore how the term ‘specific language impairment’ emerged, to consider how disorders, including SLI, are generally defined and to explore how societal changes might impact on use the term. Methods & Procedures We reviewed the literature to explore the origins of the term ‘specific language impairment’ and present published evidence, as well as new analyses of population data, to explore the validity of continuing to use the term. Outcomes & Results and Conclusions & Implications We support the decision to exclude the term ‘specific language impairment’ from DSM-5 and conclude that the term has been a convenient label for researchers, but that the current classification is unacceptably arbitrary. Furthermore, we argue there is no empirical evidence to support the continued use of the term SLI and limited evidence that it has provided any real benefits for children and their families. In fact, the term may be disadvantageous to some due to the use of exclusionary criteria to determine eligibility for and access to speech pathology services. We propose the following recommendations. First, that the word ‘specific’ be removed and the label ‘language impairment’ be used. Second, that the exclusionary criteria be relaxed and in their place inclusionary criteria be adopted that take into account the fluid nature of language development particularly in the preschool period. Building on the goodwill and collaborations between the clinical and research communities we propose the establishment of an international consensus panel to develop an agreed definition and set of criteria for language impairment. Given the rich data now available in population studies it is possible to test the validity of these definitions and criteria. Consultation with service users and policy-makers should be incorporated into the decision-making process. PMID:25142091

Proposed changes to the American Psychiatric Association diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder: implications for young children and their families.

PubMed

Grant, Roy; Nozyce, Molly

2013-05-01

The American Psychiatric Association has revised the diagnostic criteria for their DSM-5 manual. Important changes have been made to the diagnosis of the current (DSM-IV) category of Pervasive Developmental Disorders. This category includes Autistic Disorder (autism), Asperger's Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). The DSM-5 deletes Asperger's Disorder and PDD-NOS as diagnostic entities. This change may have unintended consequences, including the possibility that the new diagnostic framework will adversely affect access to developmental interventions under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs, Early Intervention (for birth to 2 years olds) and preschool special education (for 3 and 4 years olds). Changing the current diagnosis of PDD-NOS to a "Social Communication Disorder" focused on language pragmatics in the DSM-5 may restrict eligibility for IDEA programs and limit the scope of services for affected children. Young children who meet current criteria for PDD-NOS require more intensive and multi-disciplinary services than would be available with a communication domain diagnosis and possible service authorization limited to speech-language therapy. Intensive behavioral interventions, inclusive group setting placements, and family support services are typically more available for children with an autism spectrum disorder than with diagnoses reflecting speech-language delay. The diagnostic distinction reflective of the higher language and social functioning between Asperger's Disorder and autism is also undermined by eliminating the former as a categorical diagnosis and subsuming it under autism. This change may adversely affect treatment planning and misinform parents about prognosis for children who meet current criteria for Asperger's Disorder.

Speech and language support: How physicians can identify and treat speech and language delays in the office setting.

PubMed

Moharir, Madhavi; Barnett, Noel; Taras, Jillian; Cole, Martha; Ford-Jones, E Lee; Levin, Leo

2014-01-01

Failure to recognize and intervene early in speech and language delays can lead to multifaceted and potentially severe consequences for early child development and later literacy skills. While routine evaluations of speech and language during well-child visits are recommended, there is no standardized (office) approach to facilitate this. Furthermore, extensive wait times for speech and language pathology consultation represent valuable lost time for the child and family. Using speech and language expertise, and paediatric collaboration, key content for an office-based tool was developed. early and accurate identification of speech and language delays as well as children at risk for literacy challenges; appropriate referral to speech and language services when required; and teaching and, thus, empowering parents to create rich and responsive language environments at home. Using this tool, in combination with the Canadian Paediatric Society's Read, Speak, Sing and Grow Literacy Initiative, physicians will be better positioned to offer practical strategies to caregivers to enhance children's speech and language capabilities. The tool represents a strategy to evaluate speech and language delays. It depicts age-specific linguistic/phonetic milestones and suggests interventions. The tool represents a practical interim treatment while the family is waiting for formal speech and language therapy consultation.

Implementing a distributed intranet-based information system.

PubMed

O'Kane, K C; McColligan, E E; Davis, G A

1996-11-01

The article discusses Internet and intranet technologies and describes how to install an intranet-based information system using the Merle language facility and other readily available components. Merle is a script language designed to support decentralized medical record information retrieval applications on the World Wide Web. The goal of this work is to provide a script language tool to facilitate construction of efficient, fully functional, multipoint medical record information systems that can be accessed anywhere by low-cost Web browsers to search, retrieve, and analyze patient information. The language allows legacy MUMPS applications to function in a Web environment and to make use of the Web graphical, sound, and video presentation services. It also permits downloading of script applets for execution on client browsers, and it can be used in standalone mode with the Unix, Windows 95, Windows NT, and OS/2 operating systems.

Economic aspects of a therapy and support service for people with long-term stroke and aphasia.

PubMed

van der Gaag, Anna; Brooks, Richard

2008-01-01

This paper considers some economic aspects of a therapy and support service for people with stroke and aphasia. This material was part of a broader evaluation of the service, which is reported elsewhere (van der Gaag et al. 2005, van der Gaag and Mowles 2005). The purpose of this part of the study was to investigate the feasibility of undertaking economic appraisal in a voluntary sector service providing therapy for people with aphasia and their families. The costs of delivering therapy and support services were calculated. These costs were compared with the costs of equivalent services in the National Health Service (NHS). The EQ-5D health-related quality of life instrument was used to calculate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). The cost of delivering therapy was lower than expected for a customized service of this nature. The study generated cost data for delivering therapy services, allowing some comparisons to be made with equivalent services in NHS settings. QALY data were generated for a sample of 25 clients on one of the programmes. The economics of speech and language therapy service delivery have received scant attention in the published literature. The paper argues that decision-making about methods of service delivery can be aided by the explicit consideration of the costs and consequences of different programmes.

45 CFR 1308.9 - Eligibility criteria: Speech or language impairments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN... language impairments. (a) A speech or language impairment means a communication disorder such as stuttering... language disorder may be characterized by difficulty in understanding and producing language, including...

An Intelligent Polar Cyberinfrastrucuture to Support Spatiotemporal Decision Making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, M.; Li, W.; Zhou, X.

2014-12-01

In the era of big data, polar sciences have already faced an urgent demand of utilizing intelligent approaches to support precise and effective spatiotemporal decision-making. Service-oriented cyberinfrastructure has advantages of seamlessly integrating distributed computing resources, and aggregating a variety of geospatial data derived from Earth observation network. This paper focuses on building a smart service-oriented cyberinfrastructure to support intelligent question answering related to polar datasets. The innovation of this polar cyberinfrastructure includes: (1) a problem-solving environment that parses geospatial question in natural language, builds geoprocessing rules, composites atomic processing services and executes the entire workflow; (2) a self-adaptive spatiotemporal filter that is capable of refining query constraints through semantic analysis; (3) a dynamic visualization strategy to support results animation and statistics in multiple spatial reference systems; and (4) a user-friendly online portal to support collaborative decision-making. By means of this polar cyberinfrastructure, we intend to facilitate integration of distributed and heterogeneous Arctic datasets and comprehensive analysis of multiple environmental elements (e.g. snow, ice, permafrost) to provide a better understanding of the environmental variation in circumpolar regions.

Health Action Theatre by Seniors: Community Development and Education with Groups of Diverse Languages and Cultures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmar, Isabel; Nascimento, Odete

2002-01-01

Describes St. Christopher House Health Action Theatre by Seniors in Toronto, which uses interactive theater to address such issues as elder abuse, mental health, substance abuse, and other health care issues. Includes information about the lack of appropriate culturally sensitive healthcare and home care support services. (JOW)

ESL Students in California Public Higher Education. ICAS ESL Task Force Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Online Submission, 2006

2006-01-01

The enclosed English as a Second Language (ESL) Task Force Report represents a response to questions raised by some educators and legislators about ESL programs, practices, and support services across the three California postsecondary systems: the California Community Colleges (CCCs), the California State Universities (CSUs), and the University…

PA-EFL: A Phonological Awareness Program For Indigenous EFL Students with Hearing Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yonovitz, L.; Yonovitz, A.; Palmer, Juan C.

2000-01-01

Australia's indigenous populations have endemic levels of otitis media with conductive hearing loss. PA-EFL is a phonological awareness program designed for indigenous Australians who are at high risk for hearing disabilities and who are learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Hearing support services were provided; remarkable literacy gains…

Sarah J. Hale High School-Project SABER.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenblatt, Harold

Project SABER, which operated in Sarah J. Hale High School in South Brooklyn, New York, consisted of bilingual instructional and supportive services to 9th and 10th grade Spanish language students. Students received bilingual instruction in social studies, science, math, and Spanish. All the SABER students received English as a second language…

Investigation of a New Intervention for Children with Word-Finding Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Best, Wendy

2005-01-01

Background: Around one-quarter of children attending language support services have difficulty in retrieving words. Therapy studies with such children have shown that both semantic and phonological techniques can improve word finding. A new approach to intervention is described using a computerized aid that converts letters into sound cues. Aims:…

Collaborative Research Projects in the Technology-Enhanced Language Classroom: Preservice and In-Service Teachers Exchange Knowledge about Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmid, Euline Cutrim; Hegelheimer, Volker

2014-01-01

This paper presents research findings of a longitudinal empirical case study that investigated an innovative Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) professional development program for pre-service English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. The conceptualization of the program was based on the assumption that pre-service language teachers…

Knowledge Discovery from Posts in Online Health Communities Using Unified Medical Language System.

PubMed

Chen, Donghua; Zhang, Runtong; Liu, Kecheng; Hou, Lei

2018-06-19

Patient-reported posts in Online Health Communities (OHCs) contain various valuable information that can help establish knowledge-based online support for online patients. However, utilizing these reports to improve online patient services in the absence of appropriate medical and healthcare expert knowledge is difficult. Thus, we propose a comprehensive knowledge discovery method that is based on the Unified Medical Language System for the analysis of narrative posts in OHCs. First, we propose a domain-knowledge support framework for OHCs to provide a basis for post analysis. Second, we develop a Knowledge-Involved Topic Modeling (KI-TM) method to extract and expand explicit knowledge within the text. We propose four metrics, namely, explicit knowledge rate, latent knowledge rate, knowledge correlation rate, and perplexity, for the evaluation of the KI-TM method. Our experimental results indicate that our proposed method outperforms existing methods in terms of providing knowledge support. Our method enhances knowledge support for online patients and can help develop intelligent OHCs in the future.

Care-giving as a Canadian-Vietnamese tradition: ‘It's like eating, you just do it’

PubMed Central

Donovan, Rhonda; Williams, Allison M

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine how Vietnamese family caregivers (FCGs) perceive, manage and experience end-of-life care-giving for seriously ill family members. Using an instrumental case study design, this longitudinal qualitative research employed the use of cultural brokers/language interpreters to help ensure that the research was conducted in a culturally-appropriate manner. Participants (n = 18) discussed their experiences of care-giving within the context of a traditional cultural framework, which was found to influence their motivations and approaches to care-giving, as well as their propensities towards the use of various supports and services. The study was carried out in southern Ontario, Canada, and participants were providing home-based care-giving in the community. Data were collected throughout 2010 and 2011. The ways in which care-giving was perceived and expressed are reflected in three themes: (i) Natural: identity and care work; (ii) Intentional: whole-person care; and (iii) Intensive: standards, struggle and the context of care. This research confirms the need for culturally-appropriate services and supports while illustrating that Vietnamese FCGs not only value, but are also likely to use healthcare and social services if they are language-accessible, built on trust and demonstrate respect for their values as individuals, regardless of culture. PMID:25328018

Influence of the prospective payment system on speech-language pathology services.

PubMed

Frymark, Tobi B; Mullen, Robert C

2005-01-01

The present study was performed to determine the clinical effects of the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System (IRF PPS) on speech and language intervention services and to examine the feasibility of using the federally mandated FIM instrument to establish resource allocation to patients with cognitive, communication, and swallowing disorders. A pre-IRF PPS and post-IRF PPS comparative study was conducted over a 1-yr time interval using data from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's National Outcomes Measurement System. Toward this end, the National Outcomes Measurement System's Functional Communication Measures were used to obtain data from 2,631 patients residing in 96 freestanding rehabilitation hospitals or hospitals with rehabilitation units implementing the prospective payment system on or after January 1, 2002. To ensure reliable retrospective and prospective data comparisons, all sites were active participants within the National Outcomes Measurement System program before the introduction of IRF PPS within their facilities. Findings revealed changes in both the utilization of speech-language pathologists and patient outcomes. Under the IRF PPS, there was a clear decline in speech- and language-related lengths of stay. However, clinicians attempted to compensate for these decrements in lengths of stay by increasing the intensity and frequency of their speech and language services. Despite these compensatory efforts, further analyses of the data revealed that under the IRF PPS, fewer patients achieved multiple levels of functional progress in speech and language abilities than before this payment system was implemented. This trend was most noteworthy in the treatment areas of swallowing, motor speech, and memory. In addition, this study revealed that, compared with the National Outcomes Measurement System's Functional Communication Measures, the FIM instrument significantly under-represented and undervalued the extent of a patient's overall progress in recovering from their cognitive, communication, or swallowing disabilities. These findings support the notion that the introduction of the IRF PPS has, perhaps unintentionally, caused more patients with cognitive, communication, and swallowing disorders to be discharged from inpatient rehabilitative care with less than adequate functional skill levels. The discouraging results in speech-language pathology utilization and patient outcomes will be useful for clinicians in the future when facing the ongoing challenges of maintaining quality care while streamlining services under the prospective payment system.

Equitable service provision for inclusive education and effective early intervention.

PubMed

Wicks, K M

1998-01-01

This paper illustrates one model of providing an integrated paediatric speech and language therapy service which attempts to meet the demands of both inclusive education and effective early intervention. A move has been made from location-oriented therapy provision to offering children and their families equal opportunities to have appropriate intervention according to need. The model incorporates the philosophy of inclusive education and supports the development of current specialist educational establishments into resource bases of expertise for children with special needs in mainstream schools.

How Much Will Be Enough? Assessing Changing Defense Strategies Implications for Army Resource Requirements

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

reaching a peak of $212M (constant 2010 dollars) over the baseline language program in 2010. Needless to say, neither this increase nor the increase...committed on a large scale, as has occurred with Afghanistan and Iraq. This figure assumes peaks and valleys in requirements as wars begin and wind...Support • SRM • Depot Maintenance • Reset • Service-Wide Transportation • Central Supply Activities • Logistic Support Activities • Ammunition

Telehealth language assessments using consumer grade equipment in rural and urban settings: Feasible, reliable and well tolerated.

PubMed

Sutherland, Rebecca; Trembath, David; Hodge, Antoinette; Drevensek, Suzi; Lee, Sabrena; Silove, Natalie; Roberts, Jacqueline

2017-01-01

Introduction Telehealth can be an effective way to provide speech pathology intervention to children with speech and language impairments. However, the provision of reliable and feasible standardised language assessments via telehealth to establish children's needs for intervention and to monitor progress has not yet been well established. Further, there is limited information about children's reactions to telehealth. This study aimed to examine the reliability and feasibility of conducting standardised language assessment with school-aged children with known or suspected language impairment via a telehealth application using consumer grade computer equipment within a public school setting. Method Twenty-three children (aged 8-12 years) participated. Each child was assessed using a standardised language assessment comprising six subtests. Two subtests were administered by a speech pathologist face-to-face (local clinician) and four subtests were administered via telehealth. All subtests were completed within a single visit to the clinic service, with a break between the face to face and telehealth sessions. The face-to-face clinician completed behaviour observation checklists in the telehealth and face to face conditions and provided feedback on the audio and video quality of the application from the child's point of view. Parent feedback about their child's experience was elicited via survey. Results There was strong inter-rater reliability in the telehealth and face-to-face conditions (correlation coefficients ranged from r = 0.96-1.0 across the subtests) and good agreement on all measures. Similar levels of attention, distractibility and anxiety were observed in the two conditions. Clinicians rated only one session of 23 as having poor audio quality and no sessions were rated as having poor visual quality. Parent and child reactions to the use of telehealth were largely positive and supportive of using telehealth to assess rural children. Discussion The findings support the use of telehealth in the language assessment of school-aged children using a web application and commercially available computer equipment. This reliable and innovative service delivery model has the potential to be used by speech pathologists to provide assessments to children in remote communities.

Improving Language Learning Strategies and Performance of Pre-Service Language Teachers through a CALLA-TBLT Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guapacha Chamorro, Maria Eugenia; Benavidez Paz, Luis Humberto

2017-01-01

This paper reports an action-research study on language learning strategies in tertiary education at a Colombian university. The study aimed at improving the English language performance and language learning strategies use of 33 first-year pre-service language teachers by combining elements from two models: the cognitive academic language…

Young offenders' perspectives on their literacy and communication skills.

PubMed

Hopkins, Thomas; Clegg, Judy; Stackhouse, Joy

2016-01-01

Research has revealed that the youth offending population has low language ability when assessed on standardized language measures. However, little is known about the perceptions young offenders (YOs) have of their own literacy ability and their communicative interactions with others. Such knowledge might further our understanding of the possible association between language, literacy and offending behaviour. This study investigates the perceptions and experiences YOs have of using literacy and communicating with others. It addresses the following questions. How satisfied are YOs with their own literacy and communication skills and how important do YOs perceive these to be? How much do YOs believe they understand others in their communicative interactions? How satisfied are YOs with their communicative interactions with others and how does this influence conflict at home, school, and in the youth justice system? An opportunity sample of 31 YOs on court orders were recruited from a local youth offending service, excluding any who did not have English as a first language or were in receipt of current speech and language therapy provision. Twenty-six qualitative individual semi-structured interviews and two focus group interviews were carried out and analysed using a framework analysis method. Themes revealed participants were dissatisfied with their communication and literacy ability. Other themes identified were difficulty in understanding others, a perceived lack of support and respect gained from others, and a negative impact of communication on self-esteem. The findings suggest that YOs often found themselves in disputes with authority figures, but that they avoided using positive communication to solve such conflicts and also avoided confiding in others. The findings support the results found from quantitative research on the language abilities of YOs. This emphasizes the value in adopting qualitative methodology to understand the relationship between literacy, communication skills and offending behaviour in YOs. The findings highlight a need for increased language, literacy and communication training, and support for YOs, and for the staff who work alongside them. © 2015 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

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

29 CFR 37.35 - What are a recipient's responsibilities to provide services and information in languages other...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... and information in languages other than English? 37.35 Section 37.35 Labor Office of the Secretary of... Communication § 37.35 What are a recipient's responsibilities to provide services and information in languages... services or information in a language other than English in order to be effectively informed about, or able...

Impacts of an In-Service Education Program on Promoting Language Development in Young Children: A Pilot Study with Early Childhood Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scarinci, Nerina; Rose, Tanya; Pee, Jerrine; Webb, Kylie

2015-01-01

Early childhood educators (ECEs) play an important role in fostering language development in young children. In-service education, led by speech-language pathologists (SLPs), has a potential role in educating ECEs about language development. In this pilot study, 42 ECEs attended an in-service education program and completed pre- and…

Laying the Groundwork for Enterprise-Wide Medical Language Processing Services: Architecture and Process

PubMed Central

Chen, Elizabeth S.; Maloney, Francine L.; Shilmayster, Eugene; Goldberg, Howard S.

2009-01-01

A systematic and standard process for capturing information within free-text clinical documents could facilitate opportunities for improving quality and safety of patient care, enhancing decision support, and advancing data warehousing across an enterprise setting. At Partners HealthCare System, the Medical Language Processing (MLP) services project was initiated to establish a component-based architectural model and processes to facilitate putting MLP functionality into production for enterprise consumption, promote sharing of components, and encourage reuse. Key objectives included exploring the use of an open-source framework called the Unstructured Information Management Architecture (UIMA) and leveraging existing MLP-related efforts, terminology, and document standards. This paper describes early experiences in defining the infrastructure and standards for extracting, encoding, and structuring clinical observations from a variety of clinical documents to serve enterprise-wide needs. PMID:20351830

Laying the groundwork for enterprise-wide medical language processing services: architecture and process.

PubMed

Chen, Elizabeth S; Maloney, Francine L; Shilmayster, Eugene; Goldberg, Howard S

2009-11-14

A systematic and standard process for capturing information within free-text clinical documents could facilitate opportunities for improving quality and safety of patient care, enhancing decision support, and advancing data warehousing across an enterprise setting. At Partners HealthCare System, the Medical Language Processing (MLP) services project was initiated to establish a component-based architectural model and processes to facilitate putting MLP functionality into production for enterprise consumption, promote sharing of components, and encourage reuse. Key objectives included exploring the use of an open-source framework called the Unstructured Information Management Architecture (UIMA) and leveraging existing MLP-related efforts, terminology, and document standards. This paper describes early experiences in defining the infrastructure and standards for extracting, encoding, and structuring clinical observations from a variety of clinical documents to serve enterprise-wide needs.

Beyond lip service: Towards human rights-driven guidelines for South African speech-language pathologists.

PubMed

Pascoe, Michelle; Klop, Daleen; Mdlalo, Thandeka; Ndhambi, Mikateko

2018-02-01

Developed with a strong awareness of past injustices, South Africa's progressive constitution emphasises a full spectrum of human rights. While the constitution celebrates many languages and cultures, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) face challenges in translating these values into practice with a diverse clientele. Similarly, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights focuses on freedom of expression in one's language of choice, but is often perceived as a "Cinderella" right (i.e. one that is frequently neglected). This paper presents a literature review undertaken in association with the Health Professions Council of South Africa to produce guidelines to support SLPs in their practice with diverse linguistic and cultural groups. The aim was to identify key points for inclusion in a set of human rights-driven guidelines. Specific objectives were to critique: (1) current guidelines for SLPs working with diverse cultural and linguistic groups; and (2) equivalent guidelines for related professions. Content analysis of the datasets revealed key themes which formed the basis of an initial skeleton, to be further developed through a consultative process and discussion, ultimately aiming to provide supportive, practical guidelines to better equip South African SLPs to serve all the people of the country.

A survey of parents' reactions to the diagnosis of an autistic spectrum disorder by a local service: access to information and use of services.

PubMed

Mansell, Warren; Morris, Kathleen

2004-12-01

We conducted a postal survey of parents whose child had been diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder by a district diagnostic service. The service was regarded as having improved significantly following recent changes, but there were still shortcomings. Parents had obtained useful information from a range of other sources, including a parents' support group, school teachers, speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, the Internet, books and academic journals. Special units and schools were rated as the most useful source of support and treatment, but many other interventions were rated highly. Parents reported a diverse range of both negative and positive consequences of diagnosis, and many reported a change in their attitudes to diagnosis over time. Many expressed frustration with trying to get an early diagnosis, with the social, educational and health services, and with the way that autistic spectrum disorders are regarded by lay people and other parents.

Upholding the human right of children in New Zealand experiencing communication difficulties to voice their needs and dreams.

PubMed

Doell, Elizabeth; Clendon, Sally

2018-02-01

New Zealand Ministry of Education's proposal for an updated service to support children experiencing communication difficulties provides an opportunity to consider the essential criteria required for children to express their opinion, information and ideas as outlined under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This commentary begins with a summary of key policies that provide strategic direction for enhancing children's rights to be actively involved in the development of services designed to support them and to communicate and participate in inclusive environments. The authors use a human rights lens to inform the development of speech-language pathology services that facilitate individuals' contribution and engagement and are responsive to their needs. A review of international literature describing the lived experience of children and young people identifies key factors related to accessible information, service coordination, holistic practice, and partnerships that facilitate co-constructed understanding and decision-making. The commentary concludes with suggested recommendations for structuring services, establishing partnership models, and capability building.

A web application to support telemedicine services in Brazil.

PubMed

Barbosa, Ana Karina P; de A Novaes, Magdala; de Vasconcelos, Alexandre M L

2003-01-01

This paper describes a system that has been developed to support Telemedicine activities in Brazil, a country that has serious problems in the delivery of health services. The system is a part of the broader Tele-health Project that has been developed to make health services more accessible to the low-income population in the northeast region. The HealthNet system is based upon a pilot area that uses fetal and pediatric cardiology. This article describes both the system's conceptual model, including the tele-diagnosis and second medical opinion services, as well as its architecture and development stages. The system model describes both collaborating tools used asynchronously, such as discussion forums, and synchronous tools, such as videoconference services. Web and free-of-charge tools are utilized for implementation, such as Java and MySQL database. Furthermore, an interface with Electronic Patient Record (EPR) systems using Extended Markup Language (XML) technology is also proposed. Finally, considerations concerning the development and implementation process are presented.

LAnd surface remote sensing Products VAlidation System (LAPVAS) and its preliminary application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Xingwen; Wen, Jianguang; Tang, Yong; Ma, Mingguo; Dou, Baocheng; Wu, Xiaodan; Meng, Lumin

2014-11-01

The long term record of remote sensing product shows the land surface parameters with spatial and temporal change to support regional and global scientific research widely. Remote sensing product with different sensors and different algorithms is necessary to be validated to ensure the high quality remote sensing product. Investigation about the remote sensing product validation shows that it is a complex processing both the quality of in-situ data requirement and method of precision assessment. A comprehensive validation should be needed with long time series and multiple land surface types. So a system named as land surface remote sensing product is designed in this paper to assess the uncertainty information of the remote sensing products based on a amount of in situ data and the validation techniques. The designed validation system platform consists of three parts: Validation databases Precision analysis subsystem, Inter-external interface of system. These three parts are built by some essential service modules, such as Data-Read service modules, Data-Insert service modules, Data-Associated service modules, Precision-Analysis service modules, Scale-Change service modules and so on. To run the validation system platform, users could order these service modules and choreograph them by the user interactive and then compete the validation tasks of remote sensing products (such as LAI ,ALBEDO ,VI etc.) . Taking SOA-based architecture as the framework of this system. The benefit of this architecture is the good service modules which could be independent of any development environment by standards such as the Web-Service Description Language(WSDL). The standard language: C++ and java will used as the primary programming language to create service modules. One of the key land surface parameter, albedo, is selected as an example of the system application. It is illustrated that the LAPVAS has a good performance to implement the land surface remote sensing product validation.

Selecting the Best Mobile Information Service with Natural Language User Input

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Qiangze; Qi, Hongwei; Fukushima, Toshikazu

Information services accessed via mobile phones provide information directly relevant to subscribers’ daily lives and are an area of dynamic market growth worldwide. Although many information services are currently offered by mobile operators, many of the existing solutions require a unique gateway for each service, and it is inconvenient for users to have to remember a large number of such gateways. Furthermore, the Short Message Service (SMS) is very popular in China and Chinese users would prefer to access these services in natural language via SMS. This chapter describes a Natural Language Based Service Selection System (NL3S) for use with a large number of mobile information services. The system can accept user queries in natural language and navigate it to the required service. Since it is difficult for existing methods to achieve high accuracy and high coverage and anticipate which other services a user might want to query, the NL3S is developed based on a Multi-service Ontology (MO) and Multi-service Query Language (MQL). The MO and MQL provide semantic and linguistic knowledge, respectively, to facilitate service selection for a user query and to provide adaptive service recommendations. Experiments show that the NL3S can achieve 75-95% accuracies and 85-95% satisfactions for processing various styles of natural language queries. A trial involving navigation of 30 different mobile services shows that the NL3S can provide a viable commercial solution for mobile operators.

Integrating Music Therapy Services and Speech-Language Therapy Services for Children with Severe Communication Impairments: A Co-Treatment Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geist, Kamile; McCarthy, John; Rodgers-Smith, Amy; Porter, Jessica

2008-01-01

Documenting how music therapy can be integrated with speech-language therapy services for children with communication delay is not evident in the literature. In this article, a collaborative model with procedures, experiences, and communication outcomes of integrating music therapy with the existing speech-language services is given. Using…

The Effects of Service Learning Participation in Foreign Language Classes on Students' Attitudes towards the Spanish Language and Culture and Their Language Proficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malkin, Fran

2010-01-01

This dissertation examines the effects of service learning experiences on participants' attitudes towards the Spanish language and culture and their language proficiency. It was hypothesized that using the Spanish language outside the confines of the academic environment would affect participants' attitudes and have an impact on their language…

An 8 year follow-up of a specialist supported employment service for high-ability adults with autism or Asperger syndrome.

PubMed

Howlin, Patricia; Alcock, Jennifer; Burkin, Catherine

2005-12-01

Few supported employment programmes have been specifically designed for people with autism, especially those who are more able. This study examines the outcome of a supported employment service (NAS Prospects) for adults with autism or Asperger syndrome (IQ 60+) over an 8 year period. Approximately 68 percent of clients found employment. Of the 192 jobs, the majority were permanent contracts and most involved administrative, technical or computing work. Assessment of current clients indicates that IQ, language skills and educational attainments are high. However, work has also been found for those of lower abilities. Individuals supported by Prospects show a rise in salaries, contribute more tax and claim fewer benefits. Satisfaction with the scheme is high among clients, employers and support workers. Although the programme continues to incur a financial deficit, this has decreased. Moreover, there are many non-financial benefits, which are difficult to quantify. The importance of specialist employment support of this kind is discussed.

Extending Medicare coverage to medically necessary dental care.

PubMed

Patton, L L; White, B A; Field, M J

2001-09-01

Periodically, Congress considers expanding Medicare coverage to include some currently excluded health care services. In 1999 and 2000, an Institute of Medicine committee studied the issues related to coverage for certain services, including "medically necessary dental services." The committee conducted a literature search for dental care studies in five areas: head and neck cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, organ transplantation, and heart valve repair or replacement. The committee examined evidence to support Medicare coverage for dental services related to these conditions and estimated the cost to Medicare of such coverage. Evidence supported Medicare coverage for preventive dental care before jaw radiation therapy for head or neck cancer and coverage for treatment to prevent or eliminate acute oral infections for patients with leukemia before chemotherapy. Insufficient evidence supported dental coverage for patients with lymphoma or organ transplants and for patients who had undergone heart valve repair or replacement. The committee suggested that Congress update statutory language to permit Medicare coverage of effective dental services needed in conjunction with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or pharmacological treatment for life-threatening medical conditions. Dental care is important for members of all age groups. More direct, research-based evidence on the efficacy of medically necessary dental care is needed both to guide treatment and to support Medicare payment policy.

The crustal dynamics intelligent user interface anthology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Short, Nicholas M., Jr.; Campbell, William J.; Roelofs, Larry H.; Wattawa, Scott L.

1987-01-01

The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) has initiated an Intelligent Data Management (IDM) research effort which has, as one of its components, the development of an Intelligent User Interface (IUI). The intent of the IUI is to develop a friendly and intelligent user interface service based on expert systems and natural language processing technologies. The purpose of such a service is to support the large number of potential scientific and engineering users that have need of space and land-related research and technical data, but have little or no experience in query languages or understanding of the information content or architecture of the databases of interest. This document presents the design concepts, development approach and evaluation of the performance of a prototype IUI system for the Crustal Dynamics Project Database, which was developed using a microcomputer-based expert system tool (M. 1), the natural language query processor THEMIS, and the graphics software system GSS. The IUI design is based on a multiple view representation of a database from both the user and database perspective, with intelligent processes to translate between the views.

Wellness Centre: An Evidence-Guided Approach to Delivering Culturally Relevant Community Psychogeriatric Services for Chinese Elders

PubMed Central

Chan, Kar C.; Sadavoy, Joel

2012-01-01

Ethnic elders are commonly reluctant to access mental health services and their mental health problems are often overlooked and detected late in the course of illness. Prior studies identified major barriers to ethnic seniors accessing appropriate mental health care demonstrating that language and cultural beliefs cannot be ignored if effective mental health services are to be provided to patients from diverse cultural groups. These are particularly important when care is needed by less acculturated immigrant ethnic seniors for whom language barriers are often greatest. Differences in conceptions of mental distress affect ethnic seniors' choice of help-seeking and often discourage or divert aged persons from utilizing mainstream conventional psychiatric care. Despite the extensive need for appropriate service models for ethnic populations, there have been limited data and models to illustrate how these programs can be systematically and effectively integrated within the mainstream mental health service framework. This paper describes an innovative, mainstream, community-based psychogeriatric service delivery model developed for Chinese seniors in Toronto, Canada, aiming at improving their access to care and enhancing earlier mental health problem detection. The important concepts and strategies of designing and operating a culturally acceptable program are illustrated supported by program data and the challenges analyzed. PMID:23762771

Changing practice: implications of the World Report on Disability for responding to communication disability in under-served populations.

PubMed

Wylie, Karen; McAllister, Lindy; Davidson, Bronwyn; Marshall, Julie

2013-02-01

The World Report on Disability provides a major challenge to the conceptualization and delivery of services for people with communication disabilities around the world. Many people, in both Majority and Minority World countries, receive limited or no support in relation to their communication disability. In this paper the prevalence of communication disability across the world (and the challenges to obtaining these data) are discussed, particularly in relation to disability more broadly. Populations that are under-served by speech-language pathology services in both Majority and Minority World countries are described. The paper describes organizational change theory and the potential it has, together with a biopsychosocial model of disability, to assist in understanding and influencing development of relevant services for people with communication disabilities (PWCD), particularly those who are under-served. Aspects of, and influences on, service delivery for PWCD are described. The need for novel ways of conceptualizing development of services, including population-based approaches, is highlighted. Finally, the challenges and opportunities for PWCD and for speech-language pathologists which arise from the nine recommendations of the World Report on Disability are considered and readers are encouraged to consider new and novel ways of developing equitable services for people with communication disabilities, in both majority and minority world settings.

Language Learning Strategies and Language Self-Efficacy: Investigating the Relationship in Malaysia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Mary Siew-Lian

2005-01-01

This study explored graduate pre-service teachers' language learning strategies and language self-efficacy and the relationship between these two constructs. Seventy-four graduate English-as-a-second-language (ESL) pre-service teachers (13 males, 61 females) from a teachers' college in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, participated in this study. These…

Speech and language support: How physicians can identify and treat speech and language delays in the office setting

PubMed Central

Moharir, Madhavi; Barnett, Noel; Taras, Jillian; Cole, Martha; Ford-Jones, E Lee; Levin, Leo

2014-01-01

Failure to recognize and intervene early in speech and language delays can lead to multifaceted and potentially severe consequences for early child development and later literacy skills. While routine evaluations of speech and language during well-child visits are recommended, there is no standardized (office) approach to facilitate this. Furthermore, extensive wait times for speech and language pathology consultation represent valuable lost time for the child and family. Using speech and language expertise, and paediatric collaboration, key content for an office-based tool was developed. The tool aimed to help physicians achieve three main goals: early and accurate identification of speech and language delays as well as children at risk for literacy challenges; appropriate referral to speech and language services when required; and teaching and, thus, empowering parents to create rich and responsive language environments at home. Using this tool, in combination with the Canadian Paediatric Society’s Read, Speak, Sing and Grow Literacy Initiative, physicians will be better positioned to offer practical strategies to caregivers to enhance children’s speech and language capabilities. The tool represents a strategy to evaluate speech and language delays. It depicts age-specific linguistic/phonetic milestones and suggests interventions. The tool represents a practical interim treatment while the family is waiting for formal speech and language therapy consultation. PMID:24627648

Supporting Bilingual Learners and Their Families: Key Understandings for Pre-Service Teachers and the Institutions That Prepare Them

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Commins, Nancy L.

2014-01-01

An essential component of successful schooling in linguistically and culturally diverse settings is the active involvement of parents and community members. This is made possible when teachers honor families' languages and cultural traditions and build upon them. Teacher preparation programs play a critical role in helping preservice teachers…

George W. Wingate High School Multilingual Survival Skills Program, 1985-1986. OEA Evaluation Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York City Board of Education, Brooklyn. Office of Educational Assessment.

The Multilingual Survival Skills Program, in its final year of a three-year funding cycle, provided instructional and support services to 350 Haitian and Hispanic students of limited English proficiency (LEP) at George Wingate High School (Brooklyn, New York). The program emphasized the acquisition of English language skills, using students'…

Clara Barton High School Bilingual Program. O.E.E. Evaluation Report, 1982-1983.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collazo-Levy, Dora; Sica, Michael

In 1982-83, the program evaluated here provided tutorial and supportive services to approximately 50 Spanish-speaking students of limited English proficiency (LEP) in grades 9-12 at Clara Barton High School, Brooklyn, New York. The program's main objective was to enable LEP students to function successfully in terms of language achievement and…

In Nova Scotia, a Mi'kmaw Model for First Nation Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewington, Jennifer

2012-01-01

In 1999, under federal government legislation, Mi'kmaw communities in Nova Scotia won the right to manage the education of their children for the first time in a century. With support from Mi'kmaw Kina'matnewey, an education authority that provides central services, local Mi'kmaw schools deliver language immersion courses, culturally-appropriate…

Establishing a Public School Dysphagia Program: A Model for Administration and Service Provision

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Homer, Emily M.

2008-01-01

Purpose: Many school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are hampered in participating in managing children with dysphagia by their school systems' lack of supportive policies and procedures. A need exists to better define the dysphagia-trained SLP's role and clarify the district's responsibility. The purpose of this article is to address…

Meeting the Early Learning Challenge: Supporting English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Hannah

2011-01-01

The Race to The Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) is designed to improve the quality of early learning and development and close the achievement gap for children with high needs. The Departments of Education and Health and Human Services define high needs to include children who are English learners, often referred to as English Language…

Erasmus Hall High School Bilingual Program, 1987-88. OREA Report. Evaluation Section Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berney, Tomi D.; Plotkin, Donna

The Erasmus High School bilingual Program of instructional and support services served 111 limited-English-proficient students in its fifth year of federal funding. The program's major goal was to provide the least academically and linguistically prepared students with the instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL) needed for moving into…

Rescuing Language Education from the Neoliberal Disaster: Culturometric Predictions and Analyses of Future Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boufoy-Bastick, Béatrice

2015-01-01

Over the last three decades neoliberal government policies have spread successfully around the world with disastrous effects on the social infrastructures of many countries. Neoliberal policies move vast amounts of public money into private hands increasing the gap between rich and poor and decimating social support services for the majority of…

Identifying Preschool Children for Higher Tiers of Language and Early Literacy Instruction within a Response to Intervention Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carta, Judith J.; Greenwood, Charles R.; Atwater, Jane; McConnell, Scott R.; Goldstein, Howard; Kaminski, Ruth A.

2014-01-01

Response to Intervention (RTI) or Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is beginning to be implemented in preschool programs to improve outcomes and to reduce the need for special education services. The proportions of children in programs identified as struggling learners through universal screening have important implications for the…

Learning to Support Adolescent Literacy: Teacher Educator Pedagogy and Novice Teacher Take up in Secondary English Language Arts Teacher Preparation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kavanagh, Sarah Schneider; Rainey, Emily C.

2017-01-01

Disciplinary literacy scholars promote text-based instruction in the service of disciplinary inquiry, and scholars of teacher education promote practice-based preparation for teachers. This study brings these scholarly communities into conversation by investigating how practice orientations in teacher education influence novice teachers' literacy…

Developing Successful Collaborative Working Practices for Children with Speech and Language Difficulties: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paradice, Ruth; Bailey-Wood, Nicola; Davies, Kate; Solomon, Marion

2007-01-01

The importance of collaborative practice between those who provide services to children with special educational needs is now regarded as essential and is supported strongly by the UK government. However, joint working is often difficult to implement, despite the goodwill of all involved. This paper describes a pilot study aimed at developing…

Culturally competent library services and related factors among health sciences librarians: an exploratory study.

PubMed

Mi, Misa; Zhang, Yingting

2017-04-01

This study investigated the current state of health sciences libraries' provision of culturally competent services to support health professions education and patient care and examined factors associated with cultural competency in relation to library services and professional development. This was a cross-sectional study. Data were collected with a survey questionnaire that was distributed via SurveyMonkey to several health sciences librarian email discussion lists. Out of 176 respondents, 163 reported serving clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. Various services were provided to develop or support initiatives in cultural competency in health professions education and patient care. A considerable number of respondents were unsure or reported no library services to support initiatives in cultural competency, although a majority of respondents perceived the importance of providing culturally competent library services (156, 89.1%) and cultural competency for health sciences librarians (162, 93.1%). Those who self-identified as nonwhites perceived culturally competent services to be more important than whites ( p =0.04). Those who spoke another language in addition to English had higher self-rated cultural competency ( p =0.01) than those who only spoke English. These findings contribute to our knowledge of the types of library services provided to support cultural competency initiatives and of health sciences librarians' perceived importance in providing culturally competent library services and cultural competency for health sciences librarians. The results suggest implications for health sciences libraries in fostering professional development in cultural competency and in providing culturally competent services to increase library use by people from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds.

Culturally competent library services and related factors among health sciences librarians: an exploratory study

PubMed Central

Mi, Misa; Zhang, Yingting

2017-01-01

Objective This study investigated the current state of health sciences libraries’ provision of culturally competent services to support health professions education and patient care and examined factors associated with cultural competency in relation to library services and professional development. Methods This was a cross-sectional study. Data were collected with a survey questionnaire that was distributed via SurveyMonkey to several health sciences librarian email discussion lists. Results Out of 176 respondents, 163 reported serving clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. Various services were provided to develop or support initiatives in cultural competency in health professions education and patient care. A considerable number of respondents were unsure or reported no library services to support initiatives in cultural competency, although a majority of respondents perceived the importance of providing culturally competent library services (156, 89.1%) and cultural competency for health sciences librarians (162, 93.1%). Those who self-identified as nonwhites perceived culturally competent services to be more important than whites (p=0.04). Those who spoke another language in addition to English had higher self-rated cultural competency (p=0.01) than those who only spoke English. Conclusions These findings contribute to our knowledge of the types of library services provided to support cultural competency initiatives and of health sciences librarians’ perceived importance in providing culturally competent library services and cultural competency for health sciences librarians. The results suggest implications for health sciences libraries in fostering professional development in cultural competency and in providing culturally competent services to increase library use by people from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds. PMID:28377675

Who Receives Speech/Language Services by 5 Years of Age in the United States?

PubMed Central

Hammer, Carol Scheffner; Farkas, George; Hillemeier, Marianne M.; Maczuga, Steve; Cook, Michael; Morano, Stephanie

2016-01-01

Purpose We sought to identify factors predictive of or associated with receipt of speech/language services during early childhood. We did so by analyzing data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort (ECLS-B; Andreassen & Fletcher, 2005), a nationally representative data set maintained by the U.S. Department of Education. We addressed two research questions of particular importance to speech-language pathology practice and policy. First, do early vocabulary delays increase children's likelihood of receiving speech/language services? Second, are minority children systematically less likely to receive these services than otherwise similar White children? Method Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed for a population-based sample of 9,600 children and families participating in the ECLS-B. Results Expressive vocabulary delays by 24 months of age were strongly associated with and predictive of children's receipt of speech/language services at 24, 48, and 60 months of age (adjusted odds ratio range = 4.32–16.60). Black children were less likely to receive speech/language services than otherwise similar White children at 24, 48, and 60 months of age (adjusted odds ratio range = 0.42–0.55). Lower socioeconomic status children and those whose parental primary language was other than English were also less likely to receive services. Being born with very low birth weight also significantly increased children's receipt of services at 24, 48, and 60 months of age. Conclusion Expressive vocabulary delays at 24 months of age increase children’s risk for later speech/language services. Increased use of culturally and linguistically sensitive practices may help racial/ethnic minority children access needed services. PMID:26579989

Defense Information Systems Agency Technical Integration Support (DISA- TIS). MUMPS Study.

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

usable in DoD, MUMPS must continue to improve in its support of DoD and OSE standards such as SQL , X-Windows, POSIX, PHIGS, etc. MUMPS and large AlSs...Language ( SQL ), X-Windows, and Graphical Kernel Services (GKS)) 2.2.2.3 FIPS Adoption by NIST The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST...many of the performance tuning mechanisms that must be performed explicitly with other systems. The VA looks forward to the SQL binding (1993 ANS) that

VHA mental health information system: applying health information technology to monitor and facilitate implementation of VHA Uniform Mental Health Services Handbook requirements.

PubMed

Trafton, Jodie A; Greenberg, Greg; Harris, Alex H S; Tavakoli, Sara; Kearney, Lisa; McCarthy, John; Blow, Fredric; Hoff, Rani; Schohn, Mary

2013-03-01

To describe the design and deployment of health information technology to support implementation of mental health services policy requirements in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Using administrative and self-report survey data, we developed and fielded metrics regarding implementation of the requirements delineated in the VHA Uniform Mental Health Services Handbook. Finalized metrics were incorporated into 2 external facilitation-based quality improvement programs led by the VHA Mental Health Operations. To support these programs, tailored site-specific reports were generated. Metric development required close collaboration between program evaluators, policy makers and clinical leadership, and consideration of policy language and intent. Electronic reports supporting different purposes required distinct formatting and presentation features, despite their having similar general goals and using the same metrics. Health information technology can facilitate mental health policy implementation but must be integrated into a process of consensus building and close collaboration with policy makers, evaluators, and practitioners.

78 FR 13394 - 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Office of Language Services Contractor...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-27

... of Language Services Contractor Application Form ACTION: Notice of request for public comment and...: Title of Information Collection: Office of Language Services Contractor Application Form. OMB Control... States. If candidates successfully become contractors for the U.S. Department of State, Office of...

The impact of workplace factors on evidence-based speech-language pathology practice for children with autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Cheung, Gladys; Trembath, David; Arciuli, Joanne; Togher, Leanne

2013-08-01

Although researchers have examined barriers to implementing evidence-based practice (EBP) at the level of the individual, little is known about the effects workplaces have on speech-language pathologists' implementation of EBP. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of workplace factors on the use of EBP amongst speech-language pathologists who work with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This study sought to (a) explore views about EBP amongst speech-language pathologists who work with children with ASD, (b) identify workplace factors which, in the participants' opinions, acted as barriers or enablers to their provision of evidence-based speech-language pathology services, and (c) examine whether or not speech-language pathologists' responses to workplace factors differed based on the type of workplace or their years of experience. A total of 105 speech-language pathologists from across Australia completed an anonymous online questionnaire. The results indicate that, although the majority of speech-language pathologists agreed that EBP is necessary, they experienced barriers to their implementation of EBP including workplace culture and support, lack of time, cost of EBP, and the availability and accessibility of EBP resources. The barriers reported by speech-language pathologists were similar, regardless of their workplace (private practice vs organization) and years of experience.

A survey of assistive technology service providers in the USA.

PubMed

Arthanat, Sajay; Elsaesser, Linda-Jeanne; Bauer, Stephen

2017-11-01

This study investigates perspectives of assistive technology service (ATS) providers regarding their education and training, interdisciplinary standards of practice, use of a common language framework, funding policies, utilization of evidence and outcomes measurement. A survey underpinned by AT legislations and established guidelines for practice was completed by 318 certified AT providers. More than 30% of the providers reported their education and training as inadequate to fulfil four of the seven primary roles of ATS. Nearly 90% of providers expressed awareness of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) domains for interdisciplinary communication. However, only 45% felt that they could effectively utilize the ICF in their documentation. About 75% of the providers acknowledged the lack of a recognized standard for the provision of services. Prevailing inadequacies in funding were negatively impacting the quality of ATS, as expressed by 88% of respondents. Translation of evidence to practice was identified as a major challenge by 41% of service providers. Providers were predominantly documenting outcomes through informal interviews (54%) or non-standard instruments (26%). Findings support the need for strengthening professional curriculum, pre-service and in-service training and an established standard to support effective, interdisciplinary AT services and data collection to support public policy decisions. Implications for Rehabilitation This study validates the need to strengthen education and training of AT service providers by enhancing professional curriculum as well as their engagement in pre-service and in-service training activities. This study draws attention to health care funding policies and practices that critically impact the quality of AT services. This study signifies the need for an established interdisciplinary standard among AT professionals to support effective communication, service coordination and outcomes measurement.

A verification strategy for web services composition using enhanced stacked automata model.

PubMed

Nagamouttou, Danapaquiame; Egambaram, Ilavarasan; Krishnan, Muthumanickam; Narasingam, Poonkuzhali

2015-01-01

Currently, Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is becoming the most popular software architecture of contemporary enterprise applications, and one crucial technique of its implementation is web services. Individual service offered by some service providers may symbolize limited business functionality; however, by composing individual services from different service providers, a composite service describing the intact business process of an enterprise can be made. Many new standards have been defined to decipher web service composition problem namely Business Process Execution Language (BPEL). BPEL provides an initial work for forming an Extended Markup Language (XML) specification language for defining and implementing business practice workflows for web services. The problems with most realistic approaches to service composition are the verification of composed web services. It has to depend on formal verification method to ensure the correctness of composed services. A few research works has been carried out in the literature survey for verification of web services for deterministic system. Moreover the existing models did not address the verification properties like dead transition, deadlock, reachability and safetyness. In this paper, a new model to verify the composed web services using Enhanced Stacked Automata Model (ESAM) has been proposed. The correctness properties of the non-deterministic system have been evaluated based on the properties like dead transition, deadlock, safetyness, liveness and reachability. Initially web services are composed using Business Process Execution Language for Web Service (BPEL4WS) and it is converted into ESAM (combination of Muller Automata (MA) and Push Down Automata (PDA)) and it is transformed into Promela language, an input language for Simple ProMeLa Interpreter (SPIN) tool. The model is verified using SPIN tool and the results revealed better recital in terms of finding dead transition and deadlock in contrast to the existing models.

Data Discovery with IBM Watson

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fessler, J.

2016-12-01

BM Watson is a cognitive computing system that uses machine learning, statistical analysis, and natural language processing to find and understand the clues in questions posed to it. Watson was made famous when it bested two champions on TV's Jeopardy! show. Since then, Watson has evolved into a platform of cognitive services that can be trained on very granular fields up study. Watson is being used to support a number of subject domains, such as cancer research, public safety, engineering, and the intelligence community. IBM will be providing a presentation and demonstration on the Watson technology and will discuss its capabilities including Natural Language Processing, text analytics and enterprise search, as well as cognitive computing with deep Q&A. The team will also be giving examples of how IBM Watson technology is being used to support real-world problems across a number of public sector agencies

Why do speech and language therapists stay in, leave and (sometimes) return to the National Health Service (NHS)?

PubMed

Loan-Clarke, John; Arnold, John; Coombs, Crispin; Bosley, Sara; Martin, Caroline

2009-01-01

Research into recruitment, retention and return of speech and language therapists in the National Health Service (NHS) is relatively limited, particularly in respect of understanding the factors that drive employment choice decisions. To identify what factors influence speech and language therapists working in the NHS to stay, and consider leaving, but not do so. To identify what features of the NHS and alternative employers influence speech and language therapists to leave the NHS. To identify why some speech and language therapists return to the NHS after working elsewhere. A total of 516 male and female speech and language therapists, in three distinct groups (NHS stayers, leavers and returners) completed a questionnaire and gave responses to open-ended questions regarding their perceptions of the NHS and other employers. Qualitative data analysis identified reasons why individuals stayed in, left or returned to the NHS employment, and what actions could be taken by management to facilitate retention and return. Stayers value job and pension security; professional development opportunities; the work itself; and professional support. Leavers not involved in childcare left because of workload/pressure/stress; poor pay; and not being able to give good patient care. Returners returned because of flexible hours; work location; professional development; and pension provision. Stayers and returners primarily wish to see more staff in the NHS, whereas leavers would return if there were more flexibility in work arrangements. Returners were particularly hostile towards Agenda for Change. Whilst some preferences appear to require increased resources, others such as reducing bureaucracy and valuing professionals do not. The full impact of Agenda for Change has yet to be established. Predicted excess labour supply of allied health professionals and future structural changes present pressures but also possible opportunities for speech and language therapists.

'I never even gave it a second thought': PGCE students' attitudes towards the inclusion of children with speech and language impairments.

PubMed

Marshall, Julie; Stojanovik, Vesna; Ralph, Sue

2002-01-01

Approximately 7% of young school-aged children have specific language impairments. Many such children are now being educated in mainstream settings. However, there is a dearth of up-to-date and valid research that considers UK (student) teachers' attitudes towards such children. This study aimed to investigate trainee teachers' attitudes towards teaching children with speech and language impairments, to investigate the reported effects of those attitudes on participants' acceptance of teaching such children, and to consider any implications for speech and language therapy (SLT) services and inclusive education. Nineteen trainee teachers (PGCE students) from a university in the North West of England took part in semistructured group interviews. The data were transcribed and analysed qualitatively, and recurrent themes identified. A range of attitudes was expressed, and six major themes were identified from the data. Participants discussed concerns about the resources and knowledge they considered necessary to support fully children with specific language impairments. There was some differentiation of attitudes related to the types of disability that a child may have and the subject being taught. Much of the discussion was about disabilities in general rather than specific to speech and language impairments. Many of the participants reflected on their own previous experiences to inform their opinions. Although many of the participants expressed positive attitudes, some had concerns about workload and at least one was openly hostile to the idea of teaching children with disabilities within mainstream settings. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to previous research, the quantitative data obtained in this project, SLT services and the increases in the inclusion of children with specific language impairments into mainstream educational settings.

Improving the quality of communication and service provision for renal patients of South Asian origin: the contribution of a cultural and health improvement officer.

PubMed

Akhtar, Tahira; Hipkiss, Vicki; Stoves, John

2014-09-01

A large number of patients with advanced chronic kidney disease in Bradford, UK are of South Asian origin. Effective delivery of care for these patients demands a consistently high standard of communication between patients, their families and renal unit staff. Communication may be problematic for a number of reasons, including language barriers and an incomplete appreciation of important cultural or religious beliefs. In 2010, we received charitable funding for an Ethnic Liaison Support Worker, renamed Cultural and Health Improvement Officer (CHIO). The CHIO is able to engage with and support patients, relatives and other members of the multidisciplinary renal team. Core responsibilities include ensuring that patients and their families feel at ease whenever they are in communication with the renal services team in Bradford; contributing to formal discussion and explanation of important clinical issues in the patient's first language (typically Urdu or Punjabi), thereby encouraging patients to feel more involved in decisions about their care; listening to ad hoc patient queries and concerns and addressing these directly or indirectly through timely involvement of other members of the renal team; cultivating a greater awareness of and empathy towards the holistic needs of patients and their families within the renal MDT; and strengthening the links between renal and social care services. The involvement of the CHIO is especially important when discussing sensitive and complex issues such as conservative and end-of-life care with patients and their families, as communication needs to be detailed, precise and unequivocal. This is crucial to providing a bespoke supportive service for our all patients, especially those who have opted for conservative management. The significant contribution of the CHIO to the quality of renal services in Bradford has been recognised and a permanent CHIO post has now been established. © 2014 European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association.

42 CFR 409.23 - Physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...-language pathology. 409.23 Section 409.23 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES... § 409.23 Physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology. Medicare pays for... therapy or speech-language pathology services must be furnished— (1) By qualified physical therapists...

Engaging teenagers productively in service design.

PubMed

Bowen, Simon; Sustar, Helena; Wolstenholme, Daniel; Dearden, Andy

2013-09-01

Engaging young people in participatory design can be challenging, particularly in health-related projects. In a study co-designing diabetes support and information services with teenagers, we found framing activities using popular culture was a useful strategy. Various cultural references helped us stage activities that were productive for the design process, and were engaging for our young participants (e.g. exploring practical implications through discussions in a 'Dragons' Den'). Some activities were more effective than others and the idea of language-games , which has been widely explored in participatory design, explains why our strategy was successful when there was a clear 'family resemblance' between the popular cultural references and certain essential stages of designing. However, attention is required in selecting appropriate cultural references if this strategy is adopted elsewhere, and design facilitators should focus first on devising accessible language-games, rather than expecting popular cultural references to provide complete solutions to the challenge of staging participatory design.

A Survey of Speech and Language Pathology Services for Down's Syndrome: State of the Art.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kumin, Libby

1986-01-01

This article summarizes current trends in speech and language pathology services to individuals with Down's syndrome. Speech and language pathologists (N=112) responded to a survey identifying widely used assessment instruments, therapy materials, sources of information, and needs in relation to services at five age levels. (Author/DB)

Language Workbook for Food Service.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mankoski, Linda C.

This workbook parallels the manual, "Food Service" (see related note), and is designed to assist the language arts or foods service teacher in helping deaf students cope with problems of reading the parallel text. The language system used in this text is based upon the Roberts English Series, which uses a linguistic approach to teaching language…

Investigation of Pre-Service Teachers' Communication Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kana, Fatih

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the levels of Turkish language pre-service teachers' communication skills. Descriptive survey model was used in this study. 218 pre-service Turkish language teachers, who are studying at Department of Turkish Language Teaching at a university in the west of Turkey, participated in the study. Criterion…

Pre-Service English as a Foreign Language Teachers' Perceptions of the Relationship between Multiple Intelligences and Foreign Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savas, Perihan

2012-01-01

The relationship between intelligence, language, and learning is a challenging field of study. One way to study how this relationship occurs and works is to investigate the perceptions of advanced language learners. Therefore, this paper reports a study that was conducted to explore 160 pre-service English language teachers' perceptions about…

Perceptions about Representative English-Language Accents from Prospective and Practicing Providers of Business-Related Language Services in Argentina

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, James Calvert; Green, Diana J.; Rosewarne, David D.

2004-01-01

The purposes of the study were (a) to identify perceptions about representative English-language accents from prospective and practicing providers of business-related language services residing in Argentina and (b) to examine the differences in their perceptions of these English-language accents. The respondents ranked the accents in this order:…

78 FR 76574 - Burial Benefits

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-18

...The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to clarify, reorganize, and rewrite in plain language its regulations that govern entitlement to monetary burial benefits, which include burial allowances for service-connected and non-service-connected deaths, a plot or interment allowance, and reimbursement of transportation expenses. The amendments would also establish rules to support VA's automated payment of burial allowances to surviving spouses, conversion to flat-rate burial and plot or interment allowances that are equal to the maximum benefit authorized by law, and priority of payment to non- spouse survivors.

Amelie: A Recombinant Computing Framework for Ambient Awareness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metaxas, Georgios; Markopoulos, Panos; Aarts, Emile

This paper presents Amelie, a service oriented framework that supports the implementation of awareness systems. Amelie adopts the tenets of Recombinant computing to address an important non-functional requirement for Ambient Intelligence software, namely the heterogeneous combination of services and components. Amelie is founded upon FN-AAR an abstract model of Awareness Systems which enables the immediate expression and implementation of socially salient requirements, such as symmetry and social translucence. We discuss the framework and show how system behaviours can be specified using the Awareness Mark-up Language AML.

Speech-Language Pathologists' Comfort Levels in English Language Learner Service Delivery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kimble, Carlotta

2013-01-01

This study examined speech-language pathologists' (SLPs) comfort levels in providing service delivery to English language learners (ELLs) and limited English proficient (LEP) students. Participants included 192 SLPs from the United States and Guam. Participants completed a brief, six-item questionnaire that investigated their perceptions regarding…

Care-giving as a Canadian-Vietnamese tradition: 'it's like eating, you just do it'.

PubMed

Donovan, Rhonda; Williams, Allison M

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine how Vietnamese family caregivers (FCGs) perceive, manage and experience end-of-life care-giving for seriously ill family members. Using an instrumental case study design, this longitudinal qualitative research employed the use of cultural brokers/language interpreters to help ensure that the research was conducted in a culturally-appropriate manner. Participants (n = 18) discussed their experiences of care-giving within the context of a traditional cultural framework, which was found to influence their motivations and approaches to care-giving, as well as their propensities towards the use of various supports and services. The study was carried out in southern Ontario, Canada, and participants were providing home-based care-giving in the community. Data were collected throughout 2010 and 2011. The ways in which care-giving was perceived and expressed are reflected in three themes: (i) Natural: identity and care work; (ii) Intentional: whole-person care; and (iii) Intensive: standards, struggle and the context of care. This research confirms the need for culturally-appropriate services and supports while illustrating that Vietnamese FCGs not only value, but are also likely to use healthcare and social services if they are language-accessible, built on trust and demonstrate respect for their values as individuals, regardless of culture. © 2014 The Authors. Health and Social Care in the Community published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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

Teaching active listening skills to pre-service speech-language pathologists: a first step in supporting collaboration with parents of young children who require AAC.

PubMed

Thistle, Jennifer J; McNaughton, David

2015-01-01

This study examined the effect of instruction in an active listening strategy on the communication skills of pre-service speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Twenty-three pre-service SLPs in their 2nd year of graduate study received a brief strategy instruction in active listening skills. Participants were videotaped during a simulated parent meeting before and after the strategy instruction. Simulated parent meetings addressed issues that parents of children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) may face. Social validity measures were gathered from the participants and from parents of children who use AAC. Pre- and postinstruction use of the active listening strategy was scored and compared using a Wilcoxon signed-ranks test, with statistically significant results. Postinstruction scores were significantly higher than preinstruction scores, providing evidence of the effectiveness of the instruction. Furthermore, participants and parents of children who use AAC described the postinstruction interactions more positively than the preinstruction interactions, suggesting that the pre-service SLPs benefited from the instruction. The current study provides evidence of the effectiveness of strategy instruction in active listening skills that may be incorporated into SLP preparation programs.

Communication Capacity Research in the Majority World: Supporting the human right to communication specialist services.

PubMed

Hopf, Suzanne C

2018-02-01

Receipt of accessible and appropriate specialist services and resources by all people with communication and/or swallowing disability is a human right; however, it is a right rarely achieved in either Minority or Majority World contexts. This paper considers communication specialists' efforts to provide sustainable services for people with communication difficulties living in Majority World countries. The commentary draws on human rights literature, particularly Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Communication Capacity Research program that includes: (1) gathering knowledge from policy and literature; (2) gathering knowledge from the community; (3) understanding speech, language and literacy use and proficiency; and (4) developing culturally and linguistically appropriate resources and assessments. To inform the development of resources and assessments that could be used by speech-language pathologists as well as other communication specialists in Fiji, the Communication Capacity Research program involved collection and analysis of data from multiple sources including 144 community members, 75 school students and their families, and 25 teachers. The Communication Capacity Research program may be applicable for achieving the development of evidence-based, culturally and linguistically sustainable SLP services in similar contexts.

Web service activities at the IRIS DMC to support federated and multidisciplinary access

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trabant, Chad; Ahern, Timothy K.

2013-04-01

At the IRIS Data Management Center (DMC) we have developed a suite of web service interfaces to access our large archive of, primarily seismological, time series data and related metadata. The goals of these web services include providing: a) next-generation and easily used access interfaces for our current users, b) access to data holdings in a form usable for non-seismologists, c) programmatic access to facilitate integration into data processing workflows and d) a foundation for participation in federated data discovery and access systems. To support our current users, our services provide access to the raw time series data and metadata or conversions of the raw data to commonly used formats. Our services also support simple, on-the-fly signal processing options that are common first steps in many workflows. Additionally, high-level data products derived from raw data are available via service interfaces. To support data access by researchers unfamiliar with seismic data we offer conversion of the data to broadly usable formats (e.g. ASCII text) and data processing to convert the data to Earth units. By their very nature, web services are programmatic interfaces. Combined with ubiquitous support for web technologies in programming & scripting languages and support in many computing environments, web services are very well suited for integrating data access into data processing workflows. As programmatic interfaces that can return data in both discipline-specific and broadly usable formats, our services are also well suited for participation in federated and brokered systems either specific to seismology or multidisciplinary. Working within the International Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks, the DMC collaborated on the specification of standardized web service interfaces for use at any seismological data center. These data access interfaces, when supported by multiple data centers, will form a foundation on which to build discovery and access mechanisms for data sets spanning multiple centers. To promote the adoption of these standardized services the DMC has developed portable implementations of the software needed to host these interfaces, minimizing the work required at each data center. Within the COOPEUS project framework, the DMC is working with EU partners to install web services implementations at multiple data centers in Europe.

DeWitt Clinton High School. Bilingual-Bicultural Program. O.E.E. Evaluation Report, 1981-1982.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keyes, Jose Luis; And Others

The Bilingual-Bicultural Program at DeWitt Clinton High School, Bronx, New York, was designed to provide support services to students with problems in reading and writing skills, and in linguistic, academic, and classroom adjustment. The program offered instruction in English as a Second language (ESL), Spanish for native speakers, Spanish as a…

Alternatives in Aural Rehabilitation: Provider Training of Nonaudiologists in the Delivery of Hearing-Aid Supportive Services to Older Persons with Hearing Loss.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patterson, Karen; Dancer, Jess

1987-01-01

Describes program in which American Speech-Language-Hearing Association certified audiologists train protocol providers to assist older hearing-aid users in adjusting to using hearing aids on a daily basis. Training emphasizes empathy, effective communication skills, knowledge of the interaction of aging and hearing loss, phases outlined in…

Teachers' Engagement with New Literacies: Support for Implementing Technology in the English/Language Arts Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zoch, Melody; Myers, Joy; Belcher, Jennifer

2017-01-01

This qualitative study examined in-service teachers who were enrolled in a graduate level course that focused on new literacies and the integration of technology with literacy. They also taught children enrolled in a summer writing camp as part of the course. The authors followed the teachers into their classrooms once the graduate course ended to…

Nationwide Plan Review Phase 2 Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-16

for the Deaf (TDDs), Text Telephones/Teletypewriters (TTYs), hearing aids, Braille note- takers), and service animals whenever possible during an...dedicated TTY line. Plans rarely provide for written communications to be available in alternative formats such as in Braille or large print for...including citizens needing special media formats, such as Braille or non-English languages. The State has conducted thorough planning to support local

Generalizing the Arden Syntax to a Common Clinical Application Language.

PubMed

Kraus, Stefan

2018-01-01

The Arden Syntax for Medical Logic Systems is a standard for encoding and sharing knowledge in the form of Medical Logic Modules (MLMs). Although the Arden Syntax has been designed to meet the requirements of data-driven clinical event monitoring, multiple studies suggest that its language constructs may be suitable for use outside the intended application area and even as a common clinical application language. Such a broader context, however, requires to reconsider some language features. The purpose of this paper is to outline the related modifications on the basis of a generalized Arden Syntax version. The implemented prototype provides multiple adjustments to the standard, such as an option to use programming language constructs without the frame-like MLM structure, a JSON compliant data type system, a means to use MLMs as user-defined functions, and native support of restful web services with integrated data mapping. This study does not aim to promote an actually new language, but a more generic version of the proven Arden Syntax standard. Such an easy-to-understand domain-specific language for common clinical applications might cover multiple additional medical subdomains and serve as a lingua franca for arbitrary clinical algorithms, therefore avoiding a patchwork of multiple all-purpose languages between, and even within, institutions.

Risk and protective factors associated with speech and language impairment in a nationally representative sample of 4- to 5-year-old children.

PubMed

Harrison, Linda J; McLeod, Sharynne

2010-04-01

To determine risk and protective factors for speech and language impairment in early childhood. Data are presented for a nationally representative sample of 4,983 children participating in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (described in McLeod & Harrison, 2009). Thirty-one child, parent, family, and community factors previously reported as being predictors of speech and language impairment were tested as predictors of (a) parent-rated expressive speech/language concern and (b) receptive language concern, (c) use of speech-language pathology services, and (d) low receptive vocabulary. Bivariate logistic regression analyses confirmed 29 of the identified factors. However, when tested concurrently with other predictors in multivariate analyses, only 19 remained significant: 9 for 2-4 outcomes and 10 for 1 outcome. Consistent risk factors were being male, having ongoing hearing problems, and having a more reactive temperament. Protective factors were having a more persistent and sociable temperament and higher levels of maternal well-being. Results differed by outcome for having an older sibling, parents speaking a language other than English, and parental support for children's learning at home. Identification of children requiring speech and language assessment requires consideration of the context of family life as well as biological and psychosocial factors intrinsic to the child.

Auditory verbal habilitation is associated with improved outcome for children with cochlear implant.

PubMed

Percy-Smith, Lone; Tønning, Tenna Lindbjerg; Josvassen, Jane Lignel; Mikkelsen, Jeanette Hølledig; Nissen, Lena; Dieleman, Eveline; Hallstrøm, Maria; Cayé-Thomasen, Per

2018-01-01

To study the impact of (re)habilitation strategy on speech-language outcomes for early, cochlear implanted children enrolled in different intervention programmes post implant. Data relate to a total of 130 children representing two pediatric cohorts consisting of 94 and 36 subjects, respectively. The two cohorts had different speech and language intervention following cochlear implantation, i.e. standard habilitation vs. auditory verbal (AV) intervention. Three tests of speech and language were applied covering language areas of receptive and productive vocabulary and language understanding. Children in AV intervention outperformed children in standard habilitation on all three tests of speech and language. When effect of intervention was adjusted with other covariates children in AV intervention still had higher odds at performing at age equivalent speech and language levels. Compared to standard intervention, AV intervention is associated with improved outcome for children with CI. Based on this finding, we recommend that all children with HI should be offered this intervention and it is, therefore, highly relevant when National boards of Health and Social Affairs recommend basing the habilitation on principles from AV practice. It should be noted, that a minority of children use spoken language with sign support. For this group it is, however, still important that educational services provide auditory skills training.

Pre-Service English Language Teachers' Perceptions of Computer Self-Efficacy and General Self-Efficacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Topkaya, Ece Zehir

2010-01-01

The primary aim of this study is to investigate pre-service English language teachers' perceptions of computer self-efficacy in relation to different variables. Secondarily, the study also explores the relationship between pre-service English language teachers' perceptions of computer self-efficacy and their perceptions of general self-efficacy.…

Using Internet-Based Language Testing Capacity to the Private Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garcia Laborda, Jesus

2009-01-01

Language testing has a large number of commercial applications in both the institutional and the private sectors. Some jobs in the health services sector or the public services sector require foreign language skills and these skills require continuous and efficient language assessments. Based on an experience developed through the cooperation of…

Who Needs Linguistics? Service-Learning and Linguistics for Spanish Heritage Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Llombart-Huesca, Amàlia; Pulido, Alejandra

2017-01-01

In recent years, the World Languages field has witnessed an increased interest in service-learning (SL) initiatives. Many SL projects focus on the potential that Spanish-speaking communities offer students of Spanish, as a foreign language, to increase their language skills and cultural understanding of these communities. Some authors, however,…

Dual language versus English-only support for bilingual children with hearing loss who use cochlear implants and hearing aids.

PubMed

Bunta, Ferenc; Douglas, Michael; Dickson, Hanna; Cantu, Amy; Wickesberg, Jennifer; Gifford, René H

2016-07-01

There is a critical need to understand better speech and language development in bilingual children learning two spoken languages who use cochlear implants (CIs) and hearing aids (HAs). The paucity of knowledge in this area poses a significant barrier to providing maximal communicative outcomes to a growing number of children who have a hearing loss (HL) and are learning multiple spoken languages. In fact, the number of bilingual individuals receiving CIs and HAs is rapidly increasing, and Hispanic children display a higher prevalence of HL than the general population of the United States. In order to serve better bilingual children with CIs and HAs, appropriate and effective therapy approaches need to be designed and tested, based on research findings. This study investigated the effects of supporting both the home language (Spanish) and the language of the majority culture (English) on language outcomes in bilingual children with HL who use CIs and HAs as compared to their bilingual peers who receive English-only support. Retrospective analyses of language measures were completed for two groups of Spanish- and English-speaking bilingual children with HL who use CIs and HAs matched on a range of demographic and socio-economic variables: those with dual-language support versus their peers with English-only support. Dependent variables included scores from the English version of the Preschool Language Scales, 4th Edition. Bilingual children who received dual-language support outperformed their peers who received English-only support at statistically significant levels as measured by Total Language and Expressive Communication as raw and language age scores. No statistically significant group differences were found on Auditory Comprehension scores. In addition to providing support in English, encouraging home language use and providing treatment support in the first language may help rather than hinder development of both English and the home language in bilingual children with HL who use CIs and HAs. In fact, dual-language support may yield better overall and expressive English language outcomes than English-only support for this population. © 2016 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Language of motivation and emotion in an internet support group for smoking cessation: explorative use of automated content analysis to measure regulatory focus.

PubMed

Johnsen, Jan-Are K; Vambheim, Sara M; Wynn, Rolf; Wangberg, Silje C

2014-01-01

The present study describes a novel approach to the identification of the motivational processes in text data extracted from an Internet support group (ISG) for smoking cessation. Based on the previous findings that a "prevention" focus might be more relevant for maintaining behavior change, it was hypothesized that 1) language use (ie, the use of emotional words) signaling a "promotion" focus would be dominant in the initiating stages of the ISG, and 2) that the proportion of words signaling a prevention focus would increase over time. The data were collected from the ISG site, spanning 4 years of forum activity. The data were analyzed using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count application. The first hypothesis - of promotion focus dominance in the initiating stages - was not supported during year 1. However, for all the other years measured, the data showed that a prevention failure was more dominant compared with a promotion failure. The results indicate that content analysis could be used to investigate motivational and language-driven processes in ISGs. Understanding the interplay between self-regulation, lifestyle change, and modern communication channels could be of vital importance in providing the public with better health care services and interventions.

What can we talk about, in which language, in what way and with whom? Sami patients' experiences of language choice and cultural norms in mental health treatment.

PubMed

Dagsvold, Inger; Møllersen, Snefrid; Stordahl, Vigdis

2015-01-01

The Sami in Norway have a legal right to receive health services adapted to Sami language and culture. This calls for a study of the significance of language choice and cultural norms in Sami patients' encounters with mental health services. To explore the significance of language and cultural norms in communication about mental health topics experienced by Sami patients receiving mental health treatment to enhance our understanding of linguistic and cultural adaptation of health services. Data were collected through individual interviews with 4 Sami patients receiving mental health treatment in Northern Norway. A systematic text reduction and a thematic analysis were employed. Two themes were identified:(I) Language choice is influenced by language competence, with whom one talks and what one talks about.Bilingualism was a resource and natural part of the participants' lives, but there were limited possibilities to speak Sami in encounters with health services. A professional working relationship was placed on an equal footing with the possibility to speak Sami. Sami patients' language choice in different communication situations is influenced by a complexity of social and cultural factors. Sami patients have varying opinions about and preferences for what they can talk about, in which language, in what way and with whom. Bilingualism and knowledge about both Sami and Norwegian culture provide latitude and enhanced possibilities for both patients and the health services. The challenge for the health services is to allow for and safeguard such individual variations within the cultural framework of the patients.

`Does it answer the question or is it French fries?': an exploration of language supports for scientific argumentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González-Howard, María; McNeill, Katherine L.; Marco-Bujosa, Lisa M.; Proctor, C. Patrick

2017-03-01

Reform initiatives around the world are reconceptualising science education by stressing student engagement in science practices. Yet, science practices are language-intensive, requiring students to have strong receptive and productive language proficiencies. It is critical to address these rigorous language demands to ensure equitable learning opportunities for all students, including English language learners (ELLs). Little research has examined how to specifically support ELL students' engagement in science practices, such as argumentation. Using case-study methodology, we examined one middle school science teacher's instructional strategies as she taught an argumentation-focused curriculum in a self-contained ELL classroom. Findings revealed that three trends characterized the teacher's language supports for the structural and dialogic components of argumentation: (1) more language supports focused on argument structure, (2) dialogic interactions were most often facilitated by productive language supports, and (3) some language supports offered a rationale for argumentation. Findings suggest a need to identify and develop supports for the dialogic aspects of argumentation. Furthermore, engaging students in argumentation through productive language functions could be leveraged to support dialogic interactions. Lastly, our work points to the need for language supports that make the rationale for argumentation explicit since such transparency could further increase access for all students.

Competencies of front-line managers in supported accommodation: issues for practice and future research.

PubMed

Clement, Tim; Bigby, Christine

2012-06-01

Front-line managers of supported accommodation for people with intellectual disability are assumed to have a key role in the realisation of outcomes for service users. Yet, their job has been little researched. A job analysis from Minnesota that identified 142 competencies required of effective front-line managers was used to examine what was expected of the equivalent position in Victoria, Australia. These competencies formed the basis of semistructured interviews with an extreme sample of 16 high-performing house supervisors and 5 more senior managers. Ninety-two percent of the original competences were retained, with changes in language and terminology to reflect the local context. Emergent findings highlighted the importance of house supervisors' "orientations." The findings support the proposition that the front-line manager's job is underpinned by core competencies and that the role merits further study. Issues of wider significance for human service organisations and researchers are discussed.

Child speech, language and communication need re-examined in a public health context: a new direction for the speech and language therapy profession.

PubMed

Law, James; Reilly, Sheena; Snow, Pamela C

2013-01-01

Historically speech and language therapy services for children have been framed within a rehabilitative framework with explicit assumptions made about providing therapy to individuals. While this is clearly important in many cases, we argue that this model needs revisiting for a number of reasons. First, our understanding of the nature of disability, and therefore communication disabilities, has changed over the past century. Second, there is an increasing understanding of the impact that the social gradient has on early communication difficulties. Finally, understanding how these factors interact with one other and have an impact across the life course remains poorly understood. To describe the public health paradigm and explore its implications for speech and language therapy with children. We test the application of public health methodologies to speech and language therapy services by looking at four dimensions of service delivery: (1) the uptake of services and whether those children who need services receive them; (2) the development of universal prevention services in relation to social disadvantage; (3) the risk of over-interpreting co-morbidity from clinical samples; and (4) the overlap between communicative competence and mental health. It is concluded that there is a strong case for speech and language therapy services to be reconceptualized to respond to the needs of the whole population and according to socially determined needs, focusing on primary prevention. This is not to disregard individual need, but to highlight the needs of the population as a whole. Although the socio-political context is different between countries, we maintain that this is relevant wherever speech and language therapists have a responsibility for covering whole populations. Finally, we recommend that speech and language therapy services be conceptualized within the framework laid down in The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. © 2013 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Learning about Literacy outside the Classroom: Pre-Service Teachers Reflect on Learning a Second Language through Cultural Immersion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gutierrez, A. Renee; Hunter, Cheryl A.

2012-01-01

This qualitative case study examined the perceived impact of immersion language study for pre-service teachers. The focus of the case was a month-long exploratory language and cultural immersion project in Costa Rica. The guiding questions were: what knowledge of teaching literacy do pre-service teachers reflect upon during a linguistic and…

Dual language versus English only support for bilingual children with hearing loss who use cochlear implants and hearing aids

PubMed Central

Bunta, Ferenc; Douglas, Michael; Dickson, Hanna; Cantu, Amy; Wickesberg, Jennifer; Gifford, René H.

2015-01-01

Background There is a critical need to better understand speech and language development in bilingual children learning two spoken languages who use cochlear implants (CIs) and hearing aids (HAs). The paucity of knowledge in this area poses a significant barrier to providing maximal communicative outcomes to a growing number of children who have a hearing loss and are learning multiple spoken languages. In fact, the number of bilingual individuals receiving CIs and HAs is rapidly increasing, and Hispanic children display a higher prevalence of hearing loss than the general population of the United States (e.g., Mehra, Eavey, & Keamy, 2009). In order to better serve bilingual children with CIs and HAs, appropriate and effective therapy approaches need to be designed and tested, based on research findings. Aims This study investigated the effects of supporting both the home language (Spanish) and the language of the majority culture (English) on language outcomes in bilingual children with hearing loss (HL) who use CIs and HAs as compared to their bilingual peers who receive English only support. Methods and Procedures Retrospective analyses of language measures were completed for two groups of Spanish-and English-speaking bilingual children with HL who use CIs and HAs matched on a range of demographic and socio-economic variables: those with dual language support versus their peers with English only support. Dependent variables included scores from the English version of the Preschool Language Scales, 4th edition. Results Bilingual children who received dual language support outperformed their peers who received English only support at statistically significant levels as measured by Total Language and Expressive Communication as raw and language age scores. No statistically significant group differences were found on Auditory Comprehension scores. Conclusions In addition to providing support in English, encouraging home language use and providing treatment support in the first language may help rather than hinder development of both English and the home language in bilingual children with hearing loss who use CIs and HAs. In fact, dual language support may yield better overall and expressive English language outcomes than English only support for this population. PMID:27017913

Applang - A DSL for specification of mobile applications for android platform based on textX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kosanović, Milan; Dejanović, Igor; Milosavljević, Gordana

2016-06-01

Mobile platforms become a ubiquitous part of our daily lives thus making more pressure to software developers to develop more applications faster and with the support for different mobile operating systems. To foster the faster development of mobile services and applications and to support various mobile operating systems a new software development approaches must be undertaken. Domain-Specific Languages (DSL) are a viable approach that promise to solve a problem of target platform diversity as well as to facilitate rapid application development and shorter time-to-market. This paper presents Applang, a DSL for the specification of mobile applications for the Android platform, based on textX meta-language. The application is described using Applang DSL and the source code for a target platform is automatically generated by the provided code generator. The same application defined using single Applang source can be transformed to various targets with little or no manual modifications.

BioRuby: bioinformatics software for the Ruby programming language.

PubMed

Goto, Naohisa; Prins, Pjotr; Nakao, Mitsuteru; Bonnal, Raoul; Aerts, Jan; Katayama, Toshiaki

2010-10-15

The BioRuby software toolkit contains a comprehensive set of free development tools and libraries for bioinformatics and molecular biology, written in the Ruby programming language. BioRuby has components for sequence analysis, pathway analysis, protein modelling and phylogenetic analysis; it supports many widely used data formats and provides easy access to databases, external programs and public web services, including BLAST, KEGG, GenBank, MEDLINE and GO. BioRuby comes with a tutorial, documentation and an interactive environment, which can be used in the shell, and in the web browser. BioRuby is free and open source software, made available under the Ruby license. BioRuby runs on all platforms that support Ruby, including Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. And, with JRuby, BioRuby runs on the Java Virtual Machine. The source code is available from http://www.bioruby.org/. katayama@bioruby.org

The Arizona Home Language Survey: The Identification of Students for ELL Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldenberg, Claude; Rutherford-Quach, Sara

2010-01-01

Assuring that English language learners (ELLs) receive the services to which they have a right requires accurately identifying those students. Virtually all states identify ELLs in a two-step process. First, parents fill out a home language survey. Second, students in whose homes a language other than English is spoken and who therefore might…

Profiles of Turkish Pre-Service Teachers of English in Terms of Language Learning Background

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uztosun, Mehmet Sercan

2017-01-01

This study aims to describe the language learning backgrounds of Turkish pre-service teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) with reference to their perceived language competence and satisfaction with perceived speaking ability. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a questionnaire that was administered to 365 first-year…

New graduates’ perceptions of preparedness to provide speech-language therapy services in general and dysphagia services in particular

PubMed Central

Booth, Alannah; Choto, Fadziso; Gotlieb, Jessica; Robertson, Rebecca; Morris, Gabriella; Stockley, Nicola; Mauff, Katya

2015-01-01

Background Upon graduation, newly qualified speech-language therapists are expected to provide services independently. This study describes new graduates’ perceptions of their preparedness to provide services across the scope of the profession and explores associations between perceptions of dysphagia theory and clinical learning curricula with preparedness for adult and paediatric dysphagia service delivery. Methods New graduates of six South African universities were recruited to participate in a survey by completing an electronic questionnaire exploring their perceptions of the dysphagia curricula and their preparedness to practise across the scope of the profession of speech-language therapy. Results Eighty graduates participated in the study yielding a response rate of 63.49%. Participants perceived themselves to be well prepared in some areas (e.g. child language: 100%; articulation and phonology: 97.26%), but less prepared in other areas (e.g. adult dysphagia: 50.70%; paediatric dysarthria: 46.58%; paediatric dysphagia: 38.36%) and most unprepared to provide services requiring sign language (23.61%) and African languages (20.55%). There was a significant relationship between perceptions of adequate theory and clinical learning opportunities with assessment and management of dysphagia and perceptions of preparedness to provide dysphagia services. Conclusion There is a need for review of existing curricula and consideration of developing a standard speech-language therapy curriculum across universities, particularly in service provision to a multilingual population, and in both the theory and clinical learning of the assessment and management of adult and paediatric dysphagia, to better equip graduates for practice. PMID:26304217

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

Wagner, Robert; Rivers, Wilmer

any single computer program for seismic data analysis will not have all the capabilities needed to study reference events, since hese detailed studies will be highly specialized. It may be necessary to develop and test new algorithms, and then these special ;odes must be integrated with existing software to use their conventional data-processing routines. We have investigated two neans of establishing communications between the legacy and new codes: CORBA and XML/SOAP Web services. We have nvestigated making new Java code communicate with a legacy C-language program, geotool, running under Linux. Both methods vere successful, but both were difficult to implement.more » C programs on UNIX/Linux are poorly supported for Web services, compared vith the Java and .NET languages and platforms. Easier-to-use middleware will be required for scientists to construct distributed applications as easily as stand-alone ones. Considerable difficulty was encountered in modifying geotool, and this problem shows he need to use component-based user interfaces instead of large C-language codes where changes to one part of the program nay introduce side effects into other parts. We have nevertheless made bug fixes and enhancements to that legacy program, but t remains difficult to expand it through communications with external software.« less

Exploring the emerging profession of speech-language pathology in Vietnam through pioneering eyes.

PubMed

Atherton, Marie; Davidson, Bronwyn; McAllister, Lindy

2017-04-01

In September 2012, 18 Vietnamese health professionals graduated as Vietnam's first university qualified speech-language pathologists (SLPs). This study details the reflections of these pioneering health professionals at 12 months following their graduation, drawing attention to their scope of practice as SLPs and to the opportunities and challenges to progressing the practice of speech-language pathology (SLP) in Vietnam. Thirteen graduates participated in small group interviews where they described their work and their perceptions of their emerging practice. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts was employed to identify key concepts and themes within the data. Four overarching themes were identified-scope of practice, establishing identity, confidence to practise and progressing the profession. Overall analysis revealed evolving professional practice characterised by new learning, fluctuations in confidence and an active forging of professional identity. Mentoring and support by international colleagues and advancing professional recognition were identified as critical to the profession's progression and to the development of context-specific and culturally appropriate services. Participants' reflections draw focus to an important role for the international SLP community as it works in partnership with colleagues to enhance awareness of and services for people with communication disabilities in under-served communities such as Vietnam.

Children's views of communication and speech-language pathology.

PubMed

Merrick, Rosalind; Roulstone, Sue

2011-08-01

Children have the right to express their views and influence decisions in matters that affect them. Yet decisions regarding speech-language pathology are often made on their behalf, and research into the perspectives of children who receive speech-language pathology intervention is currently limited. This paper reports a qualitative study which explored experiences of communication and of speech-language pathology from the perspectives of children with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN). The aim was to explore their perspectives of communication, communication impairment, and assistance. Eleven school-children participated in the study, aged between 7-10 years. They were recruited through a speech-language pathology service in south west England, to include a range of ages and severity of difficulties. The study used open-ended interviews within which non-verbal activities such as drawing, taking photographs, and compiling a scrapbook were used to create a context for supported conversations. Findings were analysed according to the principles of grounded theory. Three ways of talking about communication emerged. These were in terms of impairment, learning, and behaviour. Findings offer insight into dialogue between children with SLCN and adults; the way communication is talked about has implications for children's view of themselves, their skills, and their participation.

Technology and the evolution of clinical methods for stuttering.

PubMed

Packman, Ann; Meredith, Grant

2011-06-01

The World Wide Web (WWW) was 20 years old last year. Enormous amounts of information about stuttering are now available to anyone who can access the Internet. Compared to 20 years ago, people who stutter and their families can now make more informed choices about speech-language interventions, from a distance. Blogs and chat rooms provide opportunities for people who stutter to share their experiences from a distance and to support one another. New technologies are also being adopted into speech-language pathology practice and service delivery. Telehealth is an exciting development as it means that treatment can now be made available to many rural and remotely located people who previously did not have access to it. Possible future technological developments for speech-language pathology practice include Internet based treatments and the use of Virtual Reality. Having speech and CBT treatments for stuttering available on the Internet would greatly increase their accessibility. Second Life also has exciting possibilities for people who stutter. The reader will (1) explain how people who stutter and their families can get information about stuttering from the World Wide Web, (2) discuss how new technologies have been applied in speech-language pathology practice, and (3) summarize the principles and practice of telehealth delivery of services for people who stutter and their families. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Reprint of: technology and the evolution of clinical methods for stuttering.

PubMed

Packman, Ann; Meredith, Grant

2011-09-01

The World Wide Web (WWW) was 20 years old last year. Enormous amounts of information about stuttering are now available to anyone who can access the Internet. Compared to 20 years ago, people who stutter and their families can now make more informed choices about speech-language interventions, from a distance. Blogs and chat rooms provide opportunities for people who stutter to share their experiences from a distance and to support one another. New technologies are also being adopted into speech-language pathology practice and service delivery. Telehealth is an exciting development as it means that treatment can now be made available to many rural and remotely located people who previously did not have access to it. Possible future technological developments for speech-language pathology practice include Internet based treatments and the use of Virtual Reality. Having speech and CBT treatments for stuttering available on the Internet would greatly increase their accessibility. Second Life also has exciting possibilities for people who stutter. The reader will (1) explain how people who stutter and their families can get information about stuttering from the World Wide Web, (2) discuss how new technologies have been applied in speech-language pathology practice, and (3) summarize the principles and practice of telehealth delivery of services for people who stutter and their families. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Assessment and management of the communication difficulties of children with cerebral palsy: a UK survey of SLT practice.

PubMed

Watson, Rose Mary; Pennington, Lindsay

2015-01-01

Communication difficulties are common in cerebral palsy (CP) and are frequently associated with motor, intellectual and sensory impairments. Speech and language therapy research comprises single-case experimental design and small group studies, limiting evidence-based intervention and possibly exacerbating variation in practice. To describe the assessment and intervention practices of speech-language therapist (SLTs) in the UK in their management of communication difficulties associated with CP in childhood. An online survey of the assessments and interventions employed by UK SLTs working with children and young people with CP was conducted. The survey was publicized via NHS trusts, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and private practice associations using a variety of social media. The survey was open from 5 December 2011 to 30 January 2012. Two hundred and sixty-five UK SLTs who worked with children and young people with CP in England (n = 199), Wales (n = 13), Scotland (n = 36) and Northern Ireland (n = 17) completed the survey. SLTs reported using a wide variety of published, standardized tests, but most commonly reported assessing oromotor function, speech, receptive and expressive language, and communication skills by observation or using assessment schedules they had developed themselves. The most highly prioritized areas for intervention were: dysphagia, alternative and augmentative (AAC)/interaction and receptive language. SLTs reported using a wide variety of techniques to address difficulties in speech, language and communication. Some interventions used have no supporting evidence. Many SLTs felt unable to estimate the hours of therapy per year children and young people with CP and communication disorders received from their service. The assessment and management of communication difficulties associated with CP in childhood varies widely in the UK. Lack of standard assessment practices prevents comparisons across time or services. The adoption of a standard set of agreed clinical measures would enable benchmarking of service provision, permit the development of large-scale research studies using routine clinical data and facilitate the identification of potential participants for research studies in the UK. Some interventions provided lack evidence. Recent systematic reviews could guide intervention, but robust evidence is needed in most areas addressed in clinical practice. © 2015 The Authors International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Theodore Roosevelt High School, Project C.H.A.S.P. O.E.E. Evaluation Report, 1982-1983.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sjostrom, Barbara R.; Schulman, Robert

In 1982-83, Project CHASP offered bilingual instruction and support services to 100 Cambodian and 75 Hispanic limited-English-speaking students in the 9th and 10th grades at Theodore Roosevelt High School, Bronx, New York. The goal of the program was to develop student proficiency in the English language skills necessary for full mainstreaming…

George Washington High School Bilingual Academic and Career Orientation Program, 1982-1983. O.E.E. Evaluation Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cotayo, Armando; Collins, Carla

This program, in its final year of a two-year funding cycle, offered bilingual instruction and supportive services with a career orientation focus to 250 Hispanic students in grades 9-12. The major program goal was to expedite the acquisition of the English language skills necessary for full mainstreaming within an average period of three years.…

Supporting College and University Students with Invisible Disabilities: A Guide for Faculty and Staff Working with Students with Autism, AD/HD, Language Processing Disorders, Anxiety, and Mental Illness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oslund, Christy

2013-01-01

With increasing numbers of students with invisible disabilities attending college and university, faculty and staff find themselves faced with new challenges. This practical handbook provides lecturers, tutors, disability services, and administrative staff with an overview of the invisible disabilities they may encounter, dispelling common myths…

An Analysis of TPACK Integration into English Language Teacher Education Programs: A Comparative Study of Turkey and Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turgut, Yildiz

2017-01-01

Technology has always been a part of teaching process and being able to teach with technology requires an understanding of how technology, pedagogy, and content interact to support student learning. Recently, studies on developing TPACK skills of teachers have been emerged; however, studies on TPACK in pre-service education on a specific domain,…

An Evaluation of an Integrated Model of Speech and Language Therapy in Public Health Practice for Early Language Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Clare; Gibbard, Deborah; Higgins, Louise

2017-01-01

Speech and language therapists (SLT) frequently operate in an integrated manner, working with other professionals in the delivery of services to children. Since the end of the 1990s within the UK SLTs have developed integrated services within the field of public health. This study reports an evaluation of an integrated model of service delivery…

47 CFR 73.4165 - Obscene language.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Obscene language. 73.4165 Section 73.4165 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES Rules Applicable to All Broadcast Stations § 73.4165 Obscene language. (a) See FCC v. Pacifica...

47 CFR 73.4165 - Obscene language.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Obscene language. 73.4165 Section 73.4165 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES Rules Applicable to All Broadcast Stations § 73.4165 Obscene language. (a) See FCC v. Pacifica...

Refugee experiences of general practice in countries of resettlement: a literature review.

PubMed

Cheng, I-Hao; Drillich, Ann; Schattner, Peter

2015-03-01

Refugees and asylum seekers often struggle to use general practice services in resettlement countries. To describe and analyse the literature on the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers using general practice services in countries of resettlement. Literature review using systematic search and narrative data extraction and synthesis methodologies. International, peer-reviewed literature published in English language between 1990 and 2013. Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CSA Sociological Abstracts, and CINAHL databases were searched using the terms: refugee, asylum seeker, experience, perception, doctor, physician, and general practitioner. Titles, abstracts and full texts were reviewed and were critically appraised. Narrative themes describing the refugee or asylum seeker's personal experiences of general practice services were identified, coded, and analysed. From 8722 papers, 85 were fully reviewed and 23 included. These represented the experiences of approximately 864 individuals using general practice services across 11 countries. Common narrative themes that emerged were: difficulties accessing general practice services, language barriers, poor doctor-patient relationships, and problems with the cultural acceptability of medical care. The difficulties refugees and asylum seekers experience accessing and using general practice services could be addressed by providing practical support for patients to register, make appointments, and attend services, and through using interpreters. Clinicians should look beyond refugee stereotypes to focus on the needs and expectations of the individual. They should provide clear explanations about unfamiliar clinical processes and treatments while offering timely management. © British Journal of General Practice 2015.

Refugee experiences of general practice in countries of resettlement: a literature review

PubMed Central

Cheng, I-Hao; Drillich, Ann; Schattner, Peter

2015-01-01

Background Refugees and asylum seekers often struggle to use general practice services in resettlement countries. Aim To describe and analyse the literature on the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers using general practice services in countries of resettlement. Design and setting Literature review using systematic search and narrative data extraction and synthesis methodologies. International, peer-reviewed literature published in English language between 1990 and 2013. Method Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CSA Sociological Abstracts, and CINAHL databases were searched using the terms: refugee, asylum seeker, experience, perception, doctor, physician, and general practitioner. Titles, abstracts and full texts were reviewed and were critically appraised. Narrative themes describing the refugee or asylum seeker’s personal experiences of general practice services were identified, coded, and analysed. Results From 8722 papers, 85 were fully reviewed and 23 included. These represented the experiences of approximately 864 individuals using general practice services across 11 countries. Common narrative themes that emerged were: difficulties accessing general practice services, language barriers, poor doctor–patient relationships, and problems with the cultural acceptability of medical care. Conclusion The difficulties refugees and asylum seekers experience accessing and using general practice services could be addressed by providing practical support for patients to register, make appointments, and attend services, and through using interpreters. Clinicians should look beyond refugee stereotypes to focus on the needs and expectations of the individual. They should provide clear explanations about unfamiliar clinical processes and treatments while offering timely management. PMID:25733438

Origin of symbol-using systems: speech, but not sign, without the semantic urge

PubMed Central

Sereno, Martin I.

2014-01-01

Natural language—spoken and signed—is a multichannel phenomenon, involving facial and body expression, and voice and visual intonation that is often used in the service of a social urge to communicate meaning. Given that iconicity seems easier and less abstract than making arbitrary connections between sound and meaning, iconicity and gesture have often been invoked in the origin of language alongside the urge to convey meaning. To get a fresh perspective, we critically distinguish the origin of a system capable of evolution from the subsequent evolution that system becomes capable of. Human language arose on a substrate of a system already capable of Darwinian evolution; the genetically supported uniquely human ability to learn a language reflects a key contact point between Darwinian evolution and language. Though implemented in brains generated by DNA symbols coding for protein meaning, the second higher-level symbol-using system of language now operates in a world mostly decoupled from Darwinian evolutionary constraints. Examination of Darwinian evolution of vocal learning in other animals suggests that the initial fixation of a key prerequisite to language into the human genome may actually have required initially side-stepping not only iconicity, but the urge to mean itself. If sign languages came later, they would not have faced this constraint. PMID:25092671

Who gets help for pre-school communication problems? Data from a prospective community study.

PubMed

Skeat, J; Wake, M; Ukoumunne, O C; Eadie, P; Bretherton, L; Reilly, S

2014-03-01

Pre-school communication problems are common, with implications for school readiness and educational achievement. Help is available from a variety of community healthcare providers. This study examined the extent to which help is received, and the predictors of service receipt. Prospective community study, in Melbourne, Victoria. At age 4 years, we assessed the speech, receptive and expressive language and fluency of 1607 children and gave feedback to their parents. At age 5 years, 983 families provided data on service use for communication problems between and 4 and 5 years. We compared service use between participants with and without impairment, and used logistic regression to estimate the strength of association between potential predictors (gender, socio-economic status, maternal education, English-speaking background status, family history of speech and language problems and parent concern) and service use (binary outcome). Data were available for both communication status and service use for 753 children. Only 44.9% of the 196 children with communication impairment received help from a professional. Furthermore, 7% of the 557 that did not meet criteria for communication impairment nevertheless received help from a professional. Parent concern was the strongest predictor of service use (adjusted odds ratio = 9.0; 95% CI: 5.6-14.8). Both over- and under-servicing for communication problems were evident. This study shows that accessing help for communication problems requires more than simply informing parents about the problem and having services available; there is a need for systematic support to get the right children to services. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Impact of CALL Instruction on English Language Teachers' Use of Technology in Language Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiliçkaya, Ferit; Seferoglu, Gölge

2013-01-01

This study investigates the impact of CALL training on in-service language teachers' use of CALL-based activities in their classrooms. The participants included 35 pre-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers who took an undergraduate-level elective CALL course (FLE318) offered during the 2008-2009 academic year in the Department of…

Implementation of Flipped Instruction in Language Classrooms: An Alternative Way to Develop Speaking Skills of Pre-Service English Language Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Köroglu, Zeynep Çetin; Çakir, Abdulvahit

2017-01-01

Flipped Instruction is overemphasized in recent years that has a significant impact in language education. In this context, the current research investigates the effects of Flipped Instruction on pre-service English language teachers' speaking skills development. The research covers subskills of speaking skills. In this study quantitative data…

A Language-Based Approach to Content Instruction (LACI) for English Language Learners: Examples from Two Elementary Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Oliveira, Luciana C.

2016-01-01

The number of English language learners (ELLs) in the United States has increased dramatically. Given this increase it is vital for teacher education programs at the pre-service level and professional learning programs at eh in-service level to address the needs of ELLs. This article presents a teacher preparation model--"a language-based…

Service-Learning as a Means of Vocabulary Learning for Second Language and Heritage Language Learners of Spanish

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tocaimaza-Hatch, C. Cecilia; Walls, Laura C.

2016-01-01

Service-Learning (SL) has been defined as an experiential teaching methodology. Through SL, students participate in activities that benefit their community and enhance their learning experience. In the current study, Spanish as a second language (L2) and heritage language learners (HLLs) engaged in a SL project in which they translated English…

Measuring Digital Competence and ICT Literacy: An Exploratory Study of In-Service English Language Teachers in the Context of Saudi Arabia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al Khateeb, Ahmed Abdulteeef M.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this research is to measure in-service English language teachers' digital competence, particularly for the enhancement of teaching English as a second/foreign language in schools in Saudi Arabia. Information and communication technology (ICT) knowledge is currently considered as a vital skill for foreign language teachers in…

Caught in the Middle: Child Language Brokering as a Form of Unrecognised Language Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antonini, Rachele

2016-01-01

This paper will present the findings of a wide-scale research aimed at studying the phenomenon of Child Language Brokering (henceforth CLB) in Italy. After providing a description of recent immigration patterns and the provision of language services in Italy, and an overview of current research in this field, this study will discuss narrative data…

Is Language a Barrier to the Use of Preventive Services?

PubMed Central

Woloshin, Steven; Schwartz, Lisa M; Katz, Steven J; Welch, H Gilbert

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVE To isolate the effect of spoken language from financial barriers to care, we examined the relation of language to use of preventive services in a system with universal access. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. SETTING Household population of women living in Ontario, Canada, in 1990. PARTICIPANTS Subjects were 22,448 women completing the 1990 Ontario Health Survey, a population-based random sample of households. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS We defined language as the language spoken in the home and assessed self-reported receipt of breast examination, mammogram and Pap testing. We used logistic regression to calculate odds ratios for each service adjusting for potential sources of confounding: socioeconomic characteristics, contact with the health care system, and measures reflecting culture. Ten percent of the women spoke a non-English language at home (4% French, 6% other). After adjustment, compared with English speakers, French-speaking women were significantly less likely to receive breast exams or mammography, and other language speakers were less likely to receive Pap testing. CONCLUSIONS Women whose main spoken language was not English were less likely to receive important preventive services. Improving communication with patients with limited English may enhance participation in screening programs. PMID:9276652

AdaFF: Adaptive Failure-Handling Framework for Composite Web Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Yuna; Lee, Wan Yeon; Kim, Kyong Hoon; Kim, Jong

In this paper, we propose a novel Web service composition framework which dynamically accommodates various failure recovery requirements. In the proposed framework called Adaptive Failure-handling Framework (AdaFF), failure-handling submodules are prepared during the design of a composite service, and some of them are systematically selected and automatically combined with the composite Web service at service instantiation in accordance with the requirement of individual users. In contrast, existing frameworks cannot adapt the failure-handling behaviors to user's requirements. AdaFF rapidly delivers a composite service supporting the requirement-matched failure handling without manual development, and contributes to a flexible composite Web service design in that service architects never care about failure handling or variable requirements of users. For proof of concept, we implement a prototype system of the AdaFF, which automatically generates a composite service instance with Web Services Business Process Execution Language (WS-BPEL) according to the users' requirement specified in XML format and executes the generated instance on the ActiveBPEL engine.

What can we talk about, in which language, in what way and with whom? Sami patients' experiences of language choice and cultural norms in mental health treatment

PubMed Central

Dagsvold, Inger; Møllersen, Snefrid; Stordahl, Vigdis

2015-01-01

Background The Sami in Norway have a legal right to receive health services adapted to Sami language and culture. This calls for a study of the significance of language choice and cultural norms in Sami patients’ encounters with mental health services. Objectives To explore the significance of language and cultural norms in communication about mental health topics experienced by Sami patients receiving mental health treatment to enhance our understanding of linguistic and cultural adaptation of health services. Methods Data were collected through individual interviews with 4 Sami patients receiving mental health treatment in Northern Norway. A systematic text reduction and a thematic analysis were employed. Findings Two themes were identified: (I) Language choice is influenced by language competence, with whom one talks and what one talks about. Bilingualism was a resource and natural part of the participants’ lives, but there were limited possibilities to speak Sami in encounters with health services. A professional working relationship was placed on an equal footing with the possibility to speak Sami. (II) Cultural norms influence what one talks about, in what way and to whom. However, norms could be bypassed, by talking about norm-regulated topics in Norwegian with health providers. Conclusion Sami patients’ language choice in different communication situations is influenced by a complexity of social and cultural factors. Sami patients have varying opinions about and preferences for what they can talk about, in which language, in what way and with whom. Bilingualism and knowledge about both Sami and Norwegian culture provide latitude and enhanced possibilities for both patients and the health services. The challenge for the health services is to allow for and safeguard such individual variations within the cultural framework of the patients. PMID:25976741

Return to learn: Transitioning to school and through ascending levels of academic support for students following a concussion.

PubMed

McAvoy, Karen; Eagan-Johnson, Brenda; Halstead, Mark

2018-01-01

The purpose of this article is to familiarize healthcare providers and parents with educational language, laws, and processes as they relate to a comprehensive ascending level of academic supports as it pertains to promoting a smooth and supported transition to school following a concussion. Returning to learn (RTL) following a concussion is of parallel importance to returning to sport (RTS). A successful RTL is a critical part of concussion management. Many RTL articles advise healthcare providers and parents to request formalized educational supports, also known as Tier 2 or Tier 3 services, for children with concussion as they return to school. Premature requests for formal (Tier 2 or 3) educational services, rather than allowing for immediate informal educational supports (known as Tier 1), can actually delay academic supports and have the potential to cause adversarial relationships between parents and schools. Additionally, this practice contradicts current research demonstrating the need for fast, flexible, temporary academic supports within the first month post-injury. Allowing school districts to direct the application of existing ascending levels of educational support for students with concussion as they return to school can promote robust and positive outcomes.

Improving the management and care of refugees in Australian hospitals: a descriptive study.

PubMed

Ross, Lindsey; Harding, Catherine; Seal, Alexa; Duncan, Geraldine

2016-01-01

Objectives The aim of the present study was to investigate healthcare provider perceptions of the impact of refugee patients at two public hospitals, one rural and one urban, in designated refugee resettlement areas. Healthcare professionals' views regarding improvements that could be made in this area were also sought. Methods Two-page anonymous questionnaires containing demographic, quantitative and open-ended questions were distributed to 150 healthcare providers at each research site. Results Response rates at the rural and urban sites were 50% and 49%, respectively. Refugees were seen at least monthly by 40% of respondents. Additional support was requested by 70% of respondents. Confidence was associated with being born overseas (P=0.029) and increased time working with refugees (r s =0.418, P<0.001). Only 47% of respondents felt confident managing social and psychological needs of refugees. Midwives saw refugees more than nursing and allied healthcare staff combined, and this was significant at the rural hospital (P<0.001). Rural respondents reported that working with refugees enhanced their practice (P=0.025), although felt significantly less confident (P<0.001) than urban respondents. Themes that arose regarding barriers to care included language and cultural barriers, paucity of knowledge and issues accessing available services, including appropriate interpreters, Medicare eligibility and patient factors, including lack of patient trust in government systems. Desire for support was more pronounced in the rural setting (P=0.001). Conclusions Refugees were seen frequently in both settings and most respondents requested additional support, highlighting that caring for refugees in Australian hospitals is a significant challenge. Additional support and education should be targeted to those caring for refugees most frequently, particularly midwifery services, to reduce barriers to care. What is known about the topic? Refugees are a vulnerable group, often with complex health needs. These needs are often unmet because of issues including language and cultural barriers. What does this paper add? Refugees were seen frequently in the two public hospital settings involved in the present study and most often by midwifery services. Healthcare professionals require more support, more information about available services and better access to interpreter services. These issues were more pronounced in the rural setting where very limited research exists. What are the implications for practitioners? Implementing additional support and education regarding refugee health needs could increase knowledge and confidence when managing refugees, reducing barriers to care and improving quality of care.

42 CFR 482.56 - Condition of participation: Rehabilitation services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...-language pathology or audiology services, if provided, must be provided by qualified physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, speech-language... provides rehabilitation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, or speech pathology services...

42 CFR 482.56 - Condition of participation: Rehabilitation services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...-language pathology or audiology services, if provided, must be provided by qualified physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, speech-language... provides rehabilitation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, or speech pathology services...

42 CFR 482.56 - Condition of participation: Rehabilitation services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...-language pathology or audiology services, if provided, must be provided by qualified physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, speech-language... provides rehabilitation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, or speech pathology services...

The impact of threshold language assistance programming on the accessibility of mental health services for persons with limited English proficiency in the Medi-Cal setting.

PubMed

McClellan, Sean R; Wu, Frances M; Snowden, Lonnie R

2012-06-01

Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits federal funds recipients from providing care to limited English proficiency (LEP) persons more limited in scope or lower in quality than care provided to others. In 1999, the California Department of Mental Health implemented a "threshold language access policy" to meet its Title VI obligations. Under this policy, Medi-Cal agencies must provide language assistance programming in a non-English language where a county's Medical population contains either 3000 residents or 5% speakers of that language. We examine the impact of threshold language policy-required language assistance programming on LEP persons' access to mental health services by analyzing the county-level penetration rate of services for Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese speakers across 34 California counties, over 10 years of quarterly data. Exploiting a time series with nonequivalent control group study design, we studied this phenomena using linear regression with random county effects to account for trends over time. Threshold language policy-required assistance programming led to an immediate and significant increase in the penetration rate of mental health services for Russian (8.2, P < 0.01) and Vietnamese (3.3, P < 0.01) language speaking persons. Threshold language assistance programming was effective in increasing mental health access for Russian and Vietnamese, but not for Spanish-speaking LEP persons.

Perceptions of parents and speech and language therapists on the effects of paediatric cochlear implantation and habilitation and education following it.

PubMed

Huttunen, Kerttu; Välimaa, Taina

2012-01-01

During the process of implantation, parents may have rather heterogeneous expectations and concerns about their child's development and the functioning of habilitation and education services. Their views on habilitation and education are important for building family-centred practices. We explored the perceptions of parents and speech and language therapists (SLTs) on the effects of implantation on the child and the family and on the quality of services provided. Their views were also compared. Parents and SLTs of 18 children filled out questionnaires containing open- and closed-ended questions at 6 months and annually 1-5 years after activation of the implant. Their responses were analysed mainly using data-based inductive content analysis. Positive experiences outnumbered negative ones in the responses of both the parents and the SLTs surveyed. The parents were particularly satisfied with the improvement in communication and expanded social life in the family. These were the most prevalent themes also raised by the SLTs. The parents were also satisfied with the organization and content of habilitation. Most of the negative experiences were related to arrangement of hospital visits and the usability and maintenance of speech processor technology. Some children did not receive enough speech and language therapy, and some of the parents were dissatisfied with educational services. The habilitation process had generally required parental efforts at an expected level. However, parents with a child with at least one concomitant problem experienced habilitation as more stressful than did other parents. Parents and SLTs had more positive than negative experiences with implantation. As the usability and maintenance of speech processor technology were often compromised, we urge implant centres to ensure sufficient personnel for technical maintenance. It is also important to promote services by providing enough information and parental support. © 2011 Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists.

AAC services for multilingual populations: South African service provider perspectives.

PubMed

Tönsing, Kerstin M; van Niekerk, Karin; Schlünz, Georg I; Wilken, Ilana

In South Africa, many persons in need of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) come from multilingual backgrounds. There is as yet a limited evidence base (locally and internationally) for the provision of AAC services to multilingual populations. The perspectives of service providers can assist in gaining an understanding of current practices and the factors that influence these. The study aimed to obtain the perspectives of AAC service providers about practices in providing AAC systems and AAC intervention to clients from multilingual backgrounds. Fifteen AAC service providers were purposefully chosen to participate in one of three focus groups - two face-to-face and one online focus group. Data from the face-to-face focus groups was transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes and subthemes in the data. Four overarching themes were identified, namely (a) current practices, (b) factors influencing current practices, (c) service provides' orientation towards different language options in AAC intervention, and (d) needs and desired developments regarding AAC technology. This paper reports on the first three themes. Service providers reported their practices to range from a focus on L1 exclusively, L2 exclusively, to a multilingual (sequential or simultaneous) approach. The South African language context, family language preferences and choices, service provider skill and knowledge, as well as AAC technology were identified as factors influencing their practices. Although many viewed access to multiple languages through AAC as positive, they also expressed concerns and reservations about providing multilingual AAC services. Although service providers in general saw the need to give clients from multilingual backgrounds access to multiple languages using AAC, this did not always translate into multilingual AAC practices. Both extrinsic factors (e.g. the lack of appropriate AAC devices, software and apps giving access to non-English languages) and intrinsic factors (service providers' language competency and their beliefs about the cognitive demands of multilingual AAC systems) influenced their practices and choices. Appropriate AAC service delivery to multilingual populations in South Africa would require not only appropriate AAC technology developments, but also research evidence to establish the efficacy of multilingual AAC interventions for clients with a variety of characteristics. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Data Service: Distributed Data Capture and Replication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warner, P. B.; Pietrowicz, S. R.

2007-10-01

Data Service is a critical component of the NOAO Data Management and Science Support (DMaSS) Solutions Platform, which is based on a service-oriented architecture, and is to replace the current NOAO Data Transport System. Its responsibilities include capturing data from NOAO and partner telescopes and instruments and replicating the data across multiple (currently six) storage sites. Java 5 was chosen as the implementation language, and Java EE as the underlying enterprise framework. Application metadata persistence is performed using EJB and Hibernate on the JBoss Application Server, with PostgreSQL as the persistence back-end. Although potentially any underlying mass storage system may be used as the Data Service file persistence technology, DTS deployments and Data Service test deployments currently use the Storage Resource Broker from SDSC. This paper presents an overview and high-level design of the Data Service, including aspects of deployment, e.g., for the LSST Data Challenge at the NCSA computing facilities.

Listening to the Voices of Pre-Service Student Teachers from Teaching Practice: The Challenges of Implementing the English as a Second Language Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ngwaru, Cathrine

2013-01-01

Pre-service teachers in Zimbabwe face a number of challenges on their Teaching Practice (TP) usually because a second language (English) is the language of education. Challenges and experiences articulated by pre-service student teachers on TP therefore provide a strategic window into the practices of novice teachers. This study uses a concurrent…

42 CFR 410.61 - Plan of treatment requirements for outpatient rehabilitation services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... the occupational therapy services. (5) A nurse practitioner, a clinical nurse specialist, or a... the speech-language pathology services. (v) A registered professional nurse or a staff physician, in...-language pathologist who furnishes the services. (vi) A nurse practitioner, a clinical nurse specialist, or...

Qualitative focus group study investigating experiences of accessing and engaging with social care services: perspectives of carers from diverse ethnic groups caring for stroke survivors

PubMed Central

Greenwood, Nan; Holley, Jess; Ellmers, Theresa; Mein, Gill; Cloud, Geoffrey

2016-01-01

Objectives Informal carers, often family members, play a vital role in supporting stroke survivors with post-stroke disability. As populations age, numbers of carers overall and those from minority ethnic groups in particular, are rising. Carers from all ethnic groups, but especially those from black and minority ethnic groups frequently fail to access support services, making understanding their experiences important. The study therefore explored the experiences of carers of stroke survivors aged 45+ years from 5 ethnic groups in accessing and receiving social care services after hospital discharge. Design This qualitative study used 7 recorded focus groups with informal carers of stroke survivors. Data were analysed thematically focusing on similarities and differences between ethnic groups. Setting Carers were recruited from voluntary sector organisations supporting carers, stroke survivors and black and minority ethnic groups in the UK. Participants 41 carers from 5 ethnic groups (Asian Indian, Asian Pakistani, black African, black Caribbean, white British) participated in the focus groups. Results Several interconnected themes were identified including: the service gap between hospital discharge and home; carers as the best person to care and cultural aspects of caring and using services. Many themes were common to all the included ethnic groups but some related to specific groups. Conclusions Across ethnic groups there were many similarities in the experiences of people caring for stroke survivors with complex, long-term care needs. Accessing services demands effort and persistence on carers’ part. If carers believe services are unsatisfactory or that they, rather than formal services, should be providing support for stroke survivors, they are unlikely to persist in their efforts. Cultural and language differences add to the challenges black and minority ethnic group carers face. PMID:26826148

GeoSciML and EarthResourceML Update, 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richard, S. M.; Commissionthe Management; Application Inte, I.

2012-12-01

CGI Interoperability Working Group activities during 2012 include deployment of services using the GeoSciML-Portrayal schema, addition of new vocabularies to support properties added in version 3.0, improvements to server software for deploying services, introduction of EarthResourceML v.2 for mineral resources, and collaboration with the IUSS on a markup language for soils information. GeoSciML and EarthResourceML have been used as the basis for the INSPIRE Geology and Mineral Resources specifications respectively. GeoSciML-Portrayal is an OGC GML simple-feature application schema for presentation of geologic map unit, contact, and shear displacement structure (fault and ductile shear zone) descriptions in web map services. Use of standard vocabularies for geologic age and lithology enables map services using shared legends to achieve visual harmonization of maps provided by different services. New vocabularies have been added to the collection of CGI vocabularies provided to support interoperable GeoSciML services, and can be accessed through http://resource.geosciml.org. Concept URIs can be dereferenced to obtain SKOS rdf or html representations using the SISSVoc vocabulary service. New releases of the FOSS GeoServer application greatly improve support for complex XML feature schemas like GeoSciML, and the ArcGIS for INSPIRE extension implements similar complex feature support for ArcGIS Server. These improved server implementations greatly facilitate deploying GeoSciML services. EarthResourceML v2 adds features for information related to mining activities. SoilML provides an interchange format for soil material, soil profile, and terrain information. Work is underway to add GeoSciML to the portfolio of Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) specifications.

Unique Contributors to the Curriculum: From Research to Practice for Speech-Language Pathologists in Schools.

PubMed

Powell, Rachel K

2018-04-05

This lead article of the Clinical Forum focuses on the research that supports why speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are an integral part of the overarching curriculum for all students in schools. Focus on education has shifted to student performance in our global world, specifically in college and career readiness standards. This article reviews recommendations on best practice from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association on SLPs' roles in schools, as well as data on school-based services. Implementation of these practices as it is applicable to school initiatives will be explored. Methods of interventions available in schools, from general education to special education, will be discussed based on national guidelines for a Response to Intervention and Multi-Tiered System of Support. Research regarding teacher knowledge of the linguistic principles of reading instruction will be explored, as well as correlation between teacher knowledge and student performance. The implications for how SLPs as the linguistic experts offer unique roles in curriculum and the evidence available to support this role will be explored. Implications for future research needs will be discussed. The demands of a highly rigorous curriculum allow SLPs a unique opportunity to apply their knowledge in linguistic principles to increase student performance and achievement. With the increased focus on student achievement, growth outcome measures, and value-added incentives, it is critical that SLPs become contributors to the curriculum for all students and that data to support this role are gathered through focused research initiatives.

An overview of the Opus language and runtime system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehrotra, Piyush; Haines, Matthew

1994-01-01

We have recently introduced a new language, called Opus, which provides a set of Fortran language extensions that allow for integrated support of task and data parallelism. lt also provides shared data abstractions (SDA's) as a method for communication and synchronization among these tasks. In this paper, we first provide a brief description of the language features and then focus on both the language-dependent and language-independent parts of the runtime system that support the language. The language-independent portion of the runtime system supports lightweight threads across multiple address spaces, and is built upon existing lightweight thread and communication systems. The language-dependent portion of the runtime system supports conditional invocation of SDA methods and distributed SDA argument handling.

An organisational change intervention for increasing the delivery of smoking cessation support in addiction treatment centres: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Bonevski, Billie; Guillaumier, Ashleigh; Shakeshaft, Anthony; Farrell, Michael; Tzelepis, Flora; Walsberger, Scott; D'Este, Catherine; Paul, Chris; Dunlop, Adrian; Searles, Andrew; Kelly, Peter; Fry, Rae; Stirling, Robert; Fowlie, Carrie; Skelton, Eliza

2016-06-14

The provision of smoking cessation support in Australian drug and alcohol treatment services is sub-optimal. This study examines the cost-effectiveness of an organisational change intervention to reduce smoking amongst clients attending drug and alcohol treatment services. A cluster-randomised controlled trial will be conducted with drug and alcohol treatment centres as the unit of randomisation. Biochemically verified (carbon monoxide by breath analysis) client 7-day-point prevalence of smoking cessation at 6 weeks will be the primary outcome measure. The study will be conducted in 33 drug and alcohol treatment services in four mainland states and territories of Australia: New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, and South Australia. Eligible services are those with ongoing client contact and that include pharmacotherapy services, withdrawal management services, residential rehabilitation, counselling services, and case management services. Eligible clients are those aged over 16 years who are attending their first of a number of expected visits, are self-reported current smokers, proficient in the English language, and do not have severe untreated mental illness as identified by the service staff. Control services will continue to provide usual care to the clients. Intervention group services will receive an organisational change intervention, including assistance in developing smoke-free policies, nomination of champions, staff training and educational client and service resources, and free nicotine replacement therapy in order to integrate smoking cessation support as part of usual client care. If effective, the organisational change intervention has clear potential for implementation as part of the standard care in drug and alcohol treatment centres. Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12615000204549 . Registered on 3 March 2015.

Developing culturally responsive approaches with Southeast Asian American families experiencing developmental disabilities.

PubMed

Baker, Dian L; Miller, Elizabeth; Dang, Michelle T; Yaangh, Chiem-Seng; Hansen, Robin L

2010-12-01

Southeast Asian American families are underrepresented among recipients of special education and social services for people with developmental disabilities. Our aims were to use a community-based participatory research approach to examine Hmong and Mien families' perceptions of developmental disabilities and understand barriers to and facilitators of service provision among families experiencing developmental disabilities. We describe here a case study of a successful attempt to engage marginalized and underserved communities to understand their needs to improve access and services for persons with developmental disabilities. We conducted 2 focus groups with 11 key informants and 1 focus group with 10 family members of persons with developmental disabilities, as well as in-depth interviews with 3 shamans. Using a thematic analysis approach, we coded notes and transcripts to assess community members' understanding of developmental disabilities, experiences negotiating educational and health care systems, and barriers to high-quality care. A predominant theme was the perception that reliance on governmental support services is not appropriate. Common barriers identified included lack of accurate information, language difficulties, lack of trust, and limited outreach. These perceptions and barriers, combined with limited access to services, interfere with community acceptance and use of available support services. Despite these barriers, participants indicated that with education, outreach, and culturally responsive support, families would likely accept services. Community-based participatory methods are effective for eliciting root causes of health inequities in marginalized communities. Outreach to community-based organizations and an inclusive research practice identified social and cultural reasons for low service uptake and provided a pathway for the community to improve services for persons with developmental disabilities.

Development of XML Schema for Broadband Digital Seismograms and Data Center Portal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeuchi, N.; Tsuboi, S.; Ishihara, Y.; Nagao, H.; Yamagishi, Y.; Watanabe, T.; Yanaka, H.; Yamaji, H.

2008-12-01

There are a number of data centers around the globe, where the digital broadband seismograms are opened to researchers. Those centers use their own user interfaces and there are no standard to access and retrieve seismograms from different data centers using unified interface. One of the emergent technologies to realize unified user interface for different data centers is the concept of WebService and WebService portal. Here we have developed a prototype of data center portal for digital broadband seismograms. This WebService portal uses WSDL (Web Services Description Language) to accommodate differences among the different data centers. By using the WSDL, alteration and addition of data center user interfaces can be easily managed. This portal, called NINJA Portal, assumes three WebServices: (1) database Query service, (2) Seismic event data request service, and (3) Seismic continuous data request service. Current system supports both station search of database Query service and seismic continuous data request service. Data centers supported by this NINJA portal will be OHP data center in ERI and Pacific21 data center in IFREE/JAMSTEC in the beginning. We have developed metadata standard for seismological data based on QuakeML for parametric data, which has been developed by ETH Zurich, and XML-SEED for waveform data, which was developed by IFREE/JAMSTEC. The prototype of NINJA portal is now released through IFREE web page (http://www.jamstec.go.jp/pacific21/).

Adoption of Telepractice for Speech-Language Services: A Statewide Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowman, J. Joneen; Kleinert, Harold L.

2017-01-01

Little information exists regarding the statewide adoption of telepractice, the delivery of speech-language services at a distance through telecommunications, for addressing the documented shortage of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in rural communities. A statewide survey of directors of special education revealed that only two school…

Providing Early Intervention Services to Diverse Populations: Are Speech-Language Pathologists Prepared?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caesar, Lena G.

2013-01-01

This study used a survey approach to investigate the current state of speech-language preservice academic and clinical preparation for providing early intervention (EI) services to culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) populations. Information was obtained from speech-language pathologists (SLPs) employed in EI settings regarding their…

Children with Speech and Language Disability: Caseload Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broomfield, Jan; Dodd, Barbara

2004-01-01

Background: There has been no previous incidence survey of children referred to a speech and language therapy service in the UK. Previous studies of prevalence of specific communication difficulties provide contradictory data from which it is difficult to plan speech and language therapy service provision. Reliable data are needed concerning the…

Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of a Short-Term International Experience Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barkhuizen, Gary; Feryok, Anne

2006-01-01

Short-term international experiences (STIE) are becoming a regular, sometimes required, feature of pre-service language teacher education programmes. Often inappropriately termed "immersion programmes", they aim to give teachers the opportunity to improve their language proficiency in the language they will teach, to develop their…

34 CFR 303.403 - Prior notice; native language.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... services to the child and the child's family. (b) Content of notice. The notice must be in sufficient... mode of communication of the parent is not a written language, the public agency, or designated service... parent in the parent's native language or other mode of communication; (ii) The parent understands the...

Foreign Languages and Careers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Honig, Lucille J.; Brod, Richard I.

1974-01-01

Gives employment opportunity information in the following fields where foreign language can be used as an auxiliary skill: 1) Business, Industry, Commerce; 2) Civil Service; 3) Education; 4) Law; 5) Library Science; 6) Media; 7) Science; 8) Service; 9) Social Sciences; 10) Travel, Tourism. The fields of foreign language teaching and interpretation…

Analysis of the Problems in Language Teachers' Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Han, Ligang

2017-01-01

In-service language teachers' professional development is a crucial factor that influences the teaching and learning effectiveness. Educational action research is considered by many researchers and scholars as an effective way or approach for language teachers' professional development. This article reports a case study of in-service English…

The Definition and Implementation of a Computer Programming Language Based on Constraints.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-08-01

though not quite reached, is a complete programming system which will implicitly support the constraint paradigm to the same extent that IISP , say...and detecting and resolving conflicts, just as iisp provides certain services such as automatic storage management, which records given dala in a...defined- it permits the statement of equalities and some simple arithmetic relationships. An implementation representation is chosen, and IISP code for a

Engaging teenagers productively in service design

PubMed Central

Bowen, Simon; Sustar, Helena; Wolstenholme, Daniel; Dearden, Andy

2013-01-01

Engaging young people in participatory design can be challenging, particularly in health-related projects. In a study co-designing diabetes support and information services with teenagers, we found framing activities using popular culture was a useful strategy. Various cultural references helped us stage activities that were productive for the design process, and were engaging for our young participants (e.g. exploring practical implications through discussions in a ‘Dragons’ Den’). Some activities were more effective than others and the idea of language-games, which has been widely explored in participatory design, explains why our strategy was successful when there was a clear ‘family resemblance’ between the popular cultural references and certain essential stages of designing. However, attention is required in selecting appropriate cultural references if this strategy is adopted elsewhere, and design facilitators should focus first on devising accessible language-games, rather than expecting popular cultural references to provide complete solutions to the challenge of staging participatory design. PMID:26516621

The lived experience of being a speech-language therapist in the Western Cape public health service.

PubMed

Warden, Jocelyn A; Mayers, Patricia; Kathard, Harsha

2008-01-01

This study explores the lived experience of being a Speech-Language Therapist (S-L Therapist) in the South African Western Cape public health service. The lived experience of seven S-L Therapists with varied clinical experience was illuminated using a qualitative phenomenological research design. S-L Therapists, working in the three Western Cape tertiary hospitals, provided an in-depth account of their experiences as S-L Therapists. The audio recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using an adaptation of Colaizzi's (1978) method of analysis. The rigour and trustworthiness of the research process was informed by consideration of issues of credibility, applicability, confirmability and dependability as they relate to phenomenological design. Five main themes emerged from data analysis: expectations of practice and practice realities; being part of the "underdog" profession: role definition and status; being connected; the holistic nature of the S-L Therapist's practice; and erosion or promotion.The implications for training and support of S-L Therapists by managers and policymakers and peers are highlighted.

Development of a web application for water resources based on open source software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delipetrev, Blagoj; Jonoski, Andreja; Solomatine, Dimitri P.

2014-01-01

This article presents research and development of a prototype web application for water resources using latest advancements in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), open source software and web GIS. The web application has three web services for: (1) managing, presenting and storing of geospatial data, (2) support of water resources modeling and (3) water resources optimization. The web application is developed using several programming languages (PhP, Ajax, JavaScript, Java), libraries (OpenLayers, JQuery) and open source software components (GeoServer, PostgreSQL, PostGIS). The presented web application has several main advantages: it is available all the time, it is accessible from everywhere, it creates a real time multi-user collaboration platform, the programing languages code and components are interoperable and designed to work in a distributed computer environment, it is flexible for adding additional components and services and, it is scalable depending on the workload. The application was successfully tested on a case study with concurrent multi-users access.

Enhancing the Metalinguistic Abilities of Pre-Service Teachers via Coursework Targeting Language Structure Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Purvis, Caralyn J.; McNeill, Brigid C.; Everatt, John

2016-01-01

Low metalinguistic knowledge of pre-service and in-service teachers is likely to restrict the provision of evidence-based literacy instruction in the classroom. Despite such concerns, relatively few studies have examined the effects of teacher preparation coursework in building pre-service teachers' language structure knowledge. This study…

It Is Time to Rethink Central Auditory Processing Disorder Protocols for School-Aged Children.

PubMed

DeBonis, David A

2015-06-01

The purpose of this article is to review the literature that pertains to ongoing concerns regarding the central auditory processing construct among school-aged children and to assess whether the degree of uncertainty surrounding central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) warrants a change in current protocols. Methodology on this topic included a review of relevant and recent literature through electronic search tools (e.g., ComDisDome, PsycINFO, Medline, and Cochrane databases); published texts; as well as published articles from the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology; the American Journal of Audiology; the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research; and Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. This review revealed strong support for the following: (a) Current testing of CAPD is highly influenced by nonauditory factors, including memory, attention, language, and executive function; (b) the lack of agreement regarding the performance criteria for diagnosis is concerning; (c) the contribution of auditory processing abilities to language, reading, and academic and listening abilities, as assessed by current measures, is not significant; and (d) the effectiveness of auditory interventions for improving communication abilities has not been established. Routine use of CAPD test protocols cannot be supported, and strong consideration should be given to redirecting focus on assessing overall listening abilities. Also, intervention needs to be contextualized and functional. A suggested protocol is provided for consideration. All of these issues warrant ongoing research.

Innovative Active Networking Services

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-03-01

implementation of the ML programming language and runtime system. OCaml offers a programming environment that can be formally analyzed; 3. University... language such as Java or OCaml . A typical PLANet (PLAN Active network) node would look as in Figure 1. The University of Kansas /ITTC 6 Innovative... language . Hence we will be discussing it alone. 2.1.2 OCaml OCaml provides several of the design goals required for a service level language . Some of

Investigation of Pre-Service English Language Teachers' Cognitive Structures about Some Key Concepts in Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching Course through Word Association Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ersanli, Ceylan Yangin

2016-01-01

This study aims to map the cognitive structure of pre-service English language (EL) teachers about three key concepts related to approaches and methods in language teaching so as to discover their learning process and misconceptions. The study involves both qualitative and quantitative data. The researcher administrated a Word Association Test…

Practice Patterns of Speech-Language Pathologists in Pediatric Vocal Health.

PubMed

Hartley, Naomi A; Braden, Maia; Thibeault, Susan L

2017-05-17

The purpose of this study was to investigate current practices of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in the management of pediatric vocal health, with specific analysis of the influence of clinical specialty and workplace setting on management approaches. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association-certified clinicians providing services within the United States (1%-100% voice caseload) completed an anonymous online survey detailing clinician demographics; employment location and service delivery models; approaches to continuing professional development; and specifics of case management, including assessment, treatment, and discharge procedures. Current practice patterns were analyzed for 100 SLPs (0-42 years of experience; 77 self-identifying as voice specialists) providing services in 34 U.S. states across a range of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan workplace settings. In general, SLPs favored a multidisciplinary approach to management; included perceptual, instrumental, and quality of life measures during evaluation; and tailored intervention to the individual using a combination of therapy approaches. In contrast with current practice guidelines, only half reported requiring an otolaryngology evaluation prior to initiating treatment. Both clinical specialty and workplace setting were found to affect practice patterns. SLPs in school settings were significantly less likely to consider themselves voice specialists compared with all other work environments. Those SLPs who considered themselves voice specialists were significantly more likely to utilize voice-specific assessment and treatment approaches. SLP practice largely mirrors current professional practice guidelines; however, potential exists to further enhance client care. To ensure that SLPs are best able to support children in successful communication, further research, education, and advocacy are required.

Communication rehabilitation in sub-Saharan Africa: A workforce profile of speech and language therapists

PubMed Central

McAllister, Lindy; Davidson, Bronwyn; Marshall, Julie

2016-01-01

Background There is an urgent global need to strengthen rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. In sub-Saharan Africa, rehabilitation services for people with communication disabilities continue to be underdeveloped. A first step in strengthening services for people with a communication disabilities is to understand the composition and conditions of the current workforce. Objectives This research describes a sample of the speech and language therapists (SLTs) working in SSA (excluding South Africa). This study explores the characteristics of this workforce, including their demographics, education, experience and geographical stability. Method A mixed-methods survey was used to collect data from SLTs within Anglophone countries of SSA. Completed surveys were received from 33 respondents working in 44 jobs across nine countries. Analysis included descriptive and non-parametric inferential statistics. This study reports on a subset of descriptive and quantitative data from the wider survey. Results A background profile of SLTs across the region is presented. Results indicated that the workforce of SLTs comprised a mix of local and international SLTs, with university-level education. Local SLTs were educated both within and outside of Africa, with more recent graduates trained in Africa. These data reflected the local emergence of speech and language therapy training in SSA. Conclusion This sample comprised a mix of African and international SLTs, with indications of growing localisation of the workforce. Workforce localisation offers potential advantages of linguistic diversity and stability. Challenges including workforce support and developing culturally and contextually relevant SLT practices are discussed. PMID:28730052

Impact of Home Language and Literacy Support on English-Chinese Biliteracy Acquisition among Chinese Heritage Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lu, Chan; Koda, Keiko

2011-01-01

Studies on monolingual children have shown that home language and literacy support is crucial in children's early literacy acquisition. However, such support has not been examined as thoroughly among bilingual children, including heritage speakers. This study investigated the effect of home language and literacy support on important precursors of…

The Role of Relational and Instructional Classroom Supports in the Language Development of At-Risk Preschoolers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gosse, Carolyn S.; McGinty, Anita S.; Mashburn, Andrew J.; Hoffman, LaVae M.; Pianta, Robert C.

2014-01-01

The present study examined the extent to which preschool classroom supports--relational support (RS) and instructional support (IS)--are associated with children's language development and whether these associations vary as a function of children's language ability. The language skills of 360 children within 95 classrooms were assessed using an…

Therapy service use in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy: An Australian perspective.

PubMed

Meehan, Elaine; Harvey, Adrienne; Reid, Susan M; Reddihough, Dinah S; Williams, Katrina; Crompton, Kylie E; Omar, Suhaila; Scheinberg, Adam

2016-03-01

The aim of this study was to describe the patterns of therapy service use for a sample of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy over a 1 year period and to identify factors associated with frequency of therapy and parental satisfaction with therapy frequency. Parents of 83 children completed a survey on their child's use of occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language pathology services over the previous year. Participants were randomly selected from a sample stratified by age and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level. During the year prior to survey completion, 83% of children had received occupational therapy, 88% had received physiotherapy and 60% had received speech and language pathology services. Frequency of therapy was higher for younger children (P < 0.01), those classified at GMFCS levels IV-V (P < 0.05) and those attending schools specifically for children with disabilities. Current structures for therapy service delivery for children with cerebral palsy are systems-based, and age-based funding systems and the organisation of services around the education system are preventing the delivery of needs-based therapy. Paediatricians that care for children and young people with cerebral palsy need to pay particular attention to those that may miss out on therapy due to age or school type, and support these families in accessing appropriate therapy. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2015 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

Training a new generation of speech-language pathologists with competences in the management of literacy disorders and learning disabilities in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Yuen, Kevin C P

2014-01-01

One of the recent developments in the education of speech-language pathology is to include literacy disorders and learning disabilities as key training components in the training curriculum. Disorders in reading and writing are interwoven with disorders in speaking and listening, which should be managed holistically, particularly in children and adolescents. With extensive training in clinical linguistics, language disorders, and other theoretical knowledge and clinical skills, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are the best equipped and most competent professionals to screen, identify, diagnose, and manage individuals with literacy disorders. To tackle the challenges of and the huge demand for services in literacy as well as language and learning disorders, the Hong Kong Institute of Education has recently developed the Master of Science Programme in Educational Speech-Language Pathology and Learning Disabilities, which is one of the very first speech-language pathology training programmes in Asia to blend training components of learning disabilities, literacy disorders, and social-emotional-behavioural-developmental disabilities into a developmentally and medically oriented speech-language pathology training programme. This new training programme aims to prepare a new generation of SLPs to be able to offer comprehensive support to individuals with speech, language, literacy, learning, communication, and swallowing disorders of different developmental or neurogenic origins, particularly to infants and adolescents as well as to their family and educational team. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

QoS measurement of workflow-based web service compositions using Colored Petri net.

PubMed

Nematzadeh, Hossein; Motameni, Homayun; Mohamad, Radziah; Nematzadeh, Zahra

2014-01-01

Workflow-based web service compositions (WB-WSCs) is one of the main composition categories in service oriented architecture (SOA). Eflow, polymorphic process model (PPM), and business process execution language (BPEL) are the main techniques of the category of WB-WSCs. Due to maturity of web services, measuring the quality of composite web services being developed by different techniques becomes one of the most important challenges in today's web environments. Business should try to provide good quality regarding the customers' requirements to a composed web service. Thus, quality of service (QoS) which refers to nonfunctional parameters is important to be measured since the quality degree of a certain web service composition could be achieved. This paper tried to find a deterministic analytical method for dependability and performance measurement using Colored Petri net (CPN) with explicit routing constructs and application of theory of probability. A computer tool called WSET was also developed for modeling and supporting QoS measurement through simulation.

A qualitative study on African immigrant and refugee families' experiences of accessing primary health care services in Manitoba, Canada: it's not easy!

PubMed

Woodgate, Roberta Lynn; Busolo, David Shiyokha; Crockett, Maryanne; Dean, Ruth Anne; Amaladas, Miriam R; Plourde, Pierre J

2017-01-09

Immigrant and refugee families form a growing proportion of the Canadian population and experience barriers in accessing primary health care services. The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of access to primary health care by African immigrant and refugee families. Eighty-three families originating from 15 African countries took part in multiple open ended interviews in western Canada. Qualitative data was collected in six different languages between 2013 and 2015. Data analysis involved delineating units of meaning from the data, clustering units of meaning to form thematic statements, and extracting themes. African immigrant and refugee families experienced challenges in their quest to access primary health care that were represented by three themes: Expectations not quite met, facing a new life, and let's buddy up to improve access. On the theme of expectations not quite met, families struggled to understand and become familiar with a new health system that presented with a number of barriers including lengthy wait times, a shortage of health care providers, high cost of medication and non-basic health care, and less than ideal care. On the theme of facing a new life, immigrant and refugee families talked of the difficulties of getting used to their new and unfamiliar environments and the barriers that impact their access to health care services. They talked of challenges related to transportation, weather, employment, language and cultural differences, and lack of social support in their quest to access health care services. Additionally, families expressed their lack of social support in accessing care. Privately sponsored families and families with children experienced even less social support. Importantly, in the theme of let's buddy up to improve access, families recommended utilizing networking approaches to engage and improve their access to primary health care services. African immigrant and refugee families experience barriers to accessing primary health care. To improve access, culturally relevant programs, collaborative networking approaches, and policies that focus on addressing social determinants of health are needed.

Measuring family-centred practices of professionals in early intervention services in Taiwan.

PubMed

Kang, L-J; Palisano, R J; Simeonsson, R J; Hwang, A-W

2017-09-01

Family-centred practices emphasize professional supports for forming partnerships with families in early intervention. The Measure of Processes of Care for Service Providers (MPOC-SP) measures the perceptions of paediatric service providers in supporting children and families. This study aimed to establish reliability of the Chinese version of the MPOC-SP (C-MPOC-SP) and to examine professional perceptions of family-centred practices in relation to professional discipline and years of experience. A convenience sample of 94 physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, social workers and early childhood educators completed the C-MPOC-SP. Thirty-seven professionals completed the measure a second time within 2-4 weeks for test-retest reliability. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were examined by Cronbach's α and intra-class correlation coefficient. Comparisons were made across professional disciplines by multivariate analyses of variance followed by analyses of variance. Relationships between years of experience and ratings of family-centred practices were examined by Pearson's correlation coefficients (r). Cronbach's α for items on each of the four scales of the C-MPOC-SP ranged from 0.80 to 0.92, indicating adequate internal consistency. Intra-class correlation coefficient between the initial and repeat completion of the C-MPOC-SP for each scale ranged from 0.56 to 0.77, indicating adequate to excellent test-retest reliability. Mean ratings for the Communicating Specific Information were significantly higher for physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists than for social workers (P = 0.001). The C-MPOC-SP scores were positively correlated with years of experience for all four scales (r = 0.23-0.38; P < 0.05). This study established adequate internal consistency and adequate to excellent test-retest reliability of the C-MPOC-SP in measuring perceptions of family centeredness of early intervention service providers. Cross-discipline differences were found in communicating specific information about the child. Higher perceptions of family centeredness were associated with more years of experience. The results support the utility of the C-MPOC-SP in professional education and programme evaluation of early intervention services in Taiwan. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The case of Iranian immigrants in the greater Toronto area: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Dastjerdi, Mahdieh

2012-02-27

Iranians comprise an immigrant group that has a very different cultural background from that of the mainstream Canadian population and speaks a language other than English or French; in this case mainly Farsi (Persian). Although Iranian immigrants in Toronto receive a high proportion of care from Farsi-speaking family physicians and health care providers than physicians who cannot speak Farsi, they are still not satisfied with the provided services. The purpose of this study was to identify the obstacles and issues Iranian immigrants faced in accessing health care services as seen through the eyes of Iranian health care professionals/providers and social workers working in Greater Toronto Area, Canada. Narrative inquiry was used to capture and understand the obstacles this immigrant population faces when accessing health care services, through the lens of fifty Iranian health care professionals/providers and social workers. Thirty three health care professionals and five social workers were interviewed. To capture the essence of issues, individual interviews were followed by three focus groups consisting of three health care professionals and one social worker in each group. Three major themes emerged from the study: language barrier and the lack of knowledge of Canadian health care services/systems; lack of trust in Canadian health care services due to financial limitations and fear of disclosure; and somatization and needs for psychological supports. Iranians may not be satisfied with the Canadian health care services due to a lack of knowledge of the system, as well as cultural differences when seeking care, such as fear of disclosure, discrimination, and mistrust of primary care. To attain equitable, adequate, and effective access to health care services, immigrants need to be educated and informed about the Canadian health care system and services it provides. It would be of great benefit to this population to hold workshops on health topics, and mental health issues, build strong ties with the community by increasing their involvement, use plain language, design informative and health related websites in both Farsi and English, and provide a Farsi speaking telephone help line to answer their health related issues.

Profile and predictors of service needs for families of children with autism spectrum disorders

PubMed Central

Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie; Nicholas, David

2015-01-01

Purpose: Increasing demand for autism services is straining service systems. Tailoring services to best meet families’ needs could improve their quality of life and decrease burden on the system. We explored overall, best, and worst met service needs, and predictors of those needs, for families of children with autism spectrum disorders. Methods: Parents of 143 children with autism spectrum disorders (2–18 years) completed a survey including demographic and descriptive information, the Family Needs Survey–Revised, and an open-ended question about service needs. Descriptive statistics characterize the sample and determine the degree to which items were identified and met as needs. Predictors of total and unmet needs were modeled with regression or generalized linear model. Qualitative responses were thematically analyzed. Results: The most frequently identified overall and unmet service needs were information on services, family support, and respite care. The funding and quality of professional support available were viewed positively. Decreased child’s age and income and being an older mother predicted more total needs. Having an older child or mother, lower income, and disruptive behaviors predicted more total unmet needs, yet only disruptive behaviors predicted proportional unmet need. Child’s language or intellectual abilities did not predict needs. Conclusion: Findings can help professionals, funders, and policy-makers tailor services to best meet families’ needs. PMID:25073749

Mental health screening of preschool children: validity and reliability of ABLE.

PubMed

Barbarin, Oscar A

2007-07-01

Children with behavioral, emotional or language problems struggle to do well at school often with limited success. ABLE (Attention, Behavior, Language, and Emotions), a new screening tool, was used to estimate the prevalence and the severity of concerns parents and teachers have about children's school adjustment and evaluate their need for services. Data obtained from the parents and teachers of children randomly selected from public Pre-K classrooms in 6 states (N = 415) and from a mental health screening of rural and urban children (N = 5,577) support the validity and reliability of ABLE. Parents identified severe problems in 18.4% of children and Pre-K teachers identified 10.5%. By kindergarten, the proportion of children identified by their teachers with serious problems more than doubled to 23%. Inattention/overactivity and behavior problems were identified most often. These children were 3.4 times more likely to be certified later for special education services by kindergarten than children not identified with problems by ABLE. However, fewer than 14% of children in public Pre-K identified with serious problems in Pre-K had received mental health services by the end of Kindergarten. ((c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved).

Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers' Experiences of Learning to Program in an Object-Oriented Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Govender, I.; Grayson, D. J.

2008-01-01

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the various ways in which pre-service and in-service teachers experience learning to program in an object-oriented language. Both groups of teachers were enrolled in university courses. In most cases, the pre-service teachers were learning to program for the first time, while the in-service…

Towards integrated practices in early detection of and intervention for deaf and hard of hearing children.

PubMed

Storbeck, Claudine; Calvert-Evers, Jennifer

2008-01-01

It is well documented that undetected hearing loss can have a profound effect on a child's holistic development, including communicative, language and cognitive development. It is crucial therefore that deaf and hard of hearing infants are detected as early as possible so that appropriate intervention services and support can be initiated. To assist parents in enabling their child's optimal growth and development, HI HOPES-the first South African home-based early intervention project-was launched in August 2006, offering families weekly home-based support that is both child-centred and family-directed. A critical overview of the pilot implementation of HI HOPES is presented, from inception to implementation, focusing on its innovative services and practices, and issues that influence the intervention process including a reflection on the challenges and areas for development.

Unveiling Pre-Service Language Teachers' Conceptualizations of Teachers of English through Metaphors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kavanoz, Suzan

2016-01-01

The present research aimed at conducting an analysis of metaphors Turkish pre-service language teachers generated about English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. This study also examined whether and how the metaphors created by teacher candidates at different phases of their education demonstrated variation. The data gathered from 94…

20 Ways for Classroom Teachers to Collaborate with Speech-Language Pathologists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bauer, Kellie L.; Iyer, Suneeti Nathani; Boon, Richard T.; Fore, Cecil, III

2010-01-01

Students with disabilities are increasingly receiving services in the general education classroom, and as a result, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are using a variety of flexible models to meet the needs of these students. Although some schools continue to provide pullout service delivery models for speech-language therapy, many are…

Quality through Networking--From Reactive Administration to Proactive Cooperation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karttu, Petri; Kiilunen, Liisa; Laulajainen, Tiina

2012-01-01

The Language Centre functions as an independent institute within the University of Helsinki. It provides services to all the faculties and units of the university by offering language services and doing its share in creating an international learning environment. Together, the Language Centre and the faculties have one goal in common, namely, a…

Building Bridges against Violence: Service-Learning for Second Language Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orban, Clara E.; Thompson, Martha E.

2007-01-01

In this essay, the authors argue that linking second language learners with communities that need their language skills can result in an empowering experience for students and for the communities with which they work. They describe a college-level service-learning project that was designed to help IMPACT Chicago, a women's self-defense…

Service Climate in New Zealand English Language Centres

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, John

2007-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to report on the findings of a study into staff perceptions of service climate in New Zealand English language centres (ELCs) offering ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses. Design/methodology/approach: A 71-item questionnaire based on a Likert scale was used to survey non-management teaching and…

Diversity among Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners: Profiles of Early Literacy Skills in Kindergarten

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ford, Karen L.; Cabell, Sonia Q.; Konold, Timothy R.; Invernizzi, Marcia; Gartland, Lauren B.

2013-01-01

This study explored heterogeneity in literacy development among 2,300 Hispanic children receiving English as a Second Language (ESL) services at the start of kindergarten. Two research questions guided this work: (1) Do Spanish-speaking English language learners receiving ESL services in the fall of kindergarten demonstrate homogeneous early…

The Relationship among Pre-Service EFL Teachers' Beliefs about Language Learning, Pedagogical Beliefs, and Beliefs about ICT Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inayati, Dian; Emaliana, Ive

2017-01-01

This paper elucidates the relationship among pre-service teachers' beliefs about language learning, pedagogical beliefs, and beliefs about ICT Integration through survey methodology. This study employed a quantitative approach, particularly a correlational relationship to investigate the relationships among beliefs about language learning,…

Language, Literacy, and Performance: Working Identities in the Back of the House

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunter, Judy

2007-01-01

In the 21st century concerns about workplace language and literacy skills, particularly in the service and manufacturing sectors, continue to drive education and testing policy in many OECD countries. Employers tend to adopt deficit assumptions about service workers' skills, conflating social identities and language and literacy, which can blind…

Critical Thinking Dispositions of Pre-Service Turkish Language Teachers and Primary Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maltepe, Sadet

2016-01-01

The present study aimed to determine critical thinking dispositions of pre-service Turkish language and primary teachers in terms of several variables by employing descriptive survey design. The study group consisted of 215 senior students attending Turkish Language Teaching and Primary Education Departments of Necatibey Faculty of Education at…

Developing Pre-Service English Teachers' Competencies for Integration of Technology in Language Classrooms in Kazakhstan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egorov, Victor V.; Jantassova, Damira D.; Churchill, Natalia

2007-01-01

This article discusses the implementation of the "Information and Communication Technologies in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning" course conducted as a component of the pre-service English language teacher training program in the Buketov Karaganda State University, Kazakhstan. The course was introduced in 2003. The central…

Survey on Services to Multicultural Populations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olivier, Lee; And Others

1994-01-01

Reports results of a recent national survey that examined the availability and variety of services provided to multicultural populations by medium and large public libraries. Highlights include measuring multicultural activity; planning for new services; staffing; languages; literacy and English-as-a-Second-Language programs; and barriers to…

45 CFR 1308.11 - Eligibility criteria: Hearing impairment including deafness.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... hearing loss can include impaired listening skills, delayed language development, and articulation... OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR... frequently, and receive speech, language or hearing services as indicated by the IEPs. As soon as special...

Applying and evaluating computer-animated tutors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massaro, Dominic W.; Bosseler, Alexis; Stone, Patrick S.; Connors, Pamela

2002-05-01

We have developed computer-assisted speech and language tutors for deaf, hard of hearing, and autistic children. Our language-training program utilizes our computer-animated talking head, Baldi, as the conversational agent, who guides students through a variety of exercises designed to teach vocabulary and grammer, to improve speech articulation, and to develop linguistic and phonological awareness. Baldi is an accurate three-dimensional animated talking head appropriately aligned with either synthesized or natural speech. Baldi has a tongue and palate, which can be displayed by making his skin transparent. Two specific language-training programs have been evaluated to determine if they improve word learning and speech articulation. The results indicate that the programs are effective in teaching receptive and productive language. Advantages of utilizing a computer-animated agent as a language tutor are the popularity of computers and embodied conversational agents with autistic kids, the perpetual availability of the program, and individualized instruction. Students enjoy working with Baldi because he offers extreme patience, he doesn't become angry, tired, or bored, and he is in effect a perpetual teaching machine. The results indicate that the psychology and technology of Baldi holds great promise in language learning and speech therapy. [Work supported by NSF Grant Nos. CDA-9726363 and BCS-9905176 and Public Health Service Grant No. PHS R01 DC00236.

Stimulation of Executive Functions as Part of the Language Intervention Process in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Sun, Ingrid Ya I; Varanda, Cristina Andrade; Fernandes, Fernanda Dreux

2017-01-01

Identifying effective methods for stimulating language and communication of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is fundamental to the effective use of available resources to support these children. This pilot study was designed to explore the potential benefits of a program of stimulation of executive functions (SEF) on the functional aspects of language and communication through the assessment of the functional communicative profile and social-cognitive performance. Twenty children, aged 5-12 years, with a diagnosis of ASD participated in the study. Two stimulation programs were offered over a 10- to 12-week period as part of the regular services offered to these children through a University's speech and language therapy outpatient clinic in São Paulo, Brazil. Children either received SEF intervention in their home implemented by their parent/s, with close monitoring by the speech-language pathologist (SLP) (group 1), or they received SEF by the SLP during regular speech-language therapy individual sessions (group 2). The findings suggested that there were differences between the children's pre- and posttest performance. Significantly different performances were observed in the areas of occupation of communication space, proportion of communicative interactivity, and social-cognitive performance. The inclusion of activities to stimulate executive function abilities in language intervention for children with ASD warrants further investigation. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

elevatr: Access Elevation Data from Various APIs | Science ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Several web services are available that provide access to elevation data. This package provides access to several of those services and returns elevation data either as a SpatialPointsDataFrame from point elevation services or as a raster object from raster elevation services. Currently, the package supports access to the Mapzen Elevation Service, Mapzen Terrain Service, and the USGS Elevation Point Query Service. The R language for statistical computing is increasingly used for spatial data analysis . This R package, elevatr, is in response to this and provides access to elevation data from various sources directly in R. The impact of `elevatr` is that it will 1) facilitate spatial analysis in R by providing access to foundational dataset for many types of analyses (e.g. hydrology, limnology) 2) open up a new set of users and uses for APIs widely used outside of R, and 3) provide an excellent example federal open source development as promoted by the Federal Source Code Policy (https://sourcecode.cio.gov/).

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.

Active offer of health services in French in Ontario: Analysis of reorganization and management strategies of health care organizations.

PubMed

Farmanova, Elina; Bonneville, Luc; Bouchard, Louise

2018-01-01

The availability of health services in French is not only weak but also inexistent in some regions in Canada. As a result, estimated 78% of more than a million of Francophones living in a minority situation in Canada experience difficulties accessing health care in French. To promote the delivery of health services in French, publicly funded organizations are encouraged to take measures to ensure that French-language services are clearly visible, available, easily accessible, and equivalent to the quality of services offered in English. This study examines the reorganization and management strategies taken by health care organizations in Ontario that provide health services in French. Review and analysis of designation plans of a sample of health care organizations. Few health care organizations providing services in French have concrete strategies to guarantee availability, visibility, and accessibility of French-language services. Implementation of the active offer of French-language services is likely to be difficult and slow. The Ontario government must strengthen collaboration with health care organizations, Francophone communities, and other key actors participating in the designation process to help health care organizations build capacities for the effective offer of French-language services. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ADESSA: A Real-Time Decision Support Service for Delivery of Semantically Coded Adverse Drug Event Data

PubMed Central

Duke, Jon D.; Friedlin, Jeff

2010-01-01

Evaluating medications for potential adverse events is a time-consuming process, typically involving manual lookup of information by physicians. This process can be expedited by CDS systems that support dynamic retrieval and filtering of adverse drug events (ADE’s), but such systems require a source of semantically-coded ADE data. We created a two-component system that addresses this need. First we created a natural language processing application which extracts adverse events from Structured Product Labels and generates a standardized ADE knowledge base. We then built a decision support service that consumes a Continuity of Care Document and returns a list of patient-specific ADE’s. Our database currently contains 534,125 ADE’s from 5602 product labels. An NLP evaluation of 9529 ADE’s showed recall of 93% and precision of 95%. On a trial set of 30 CCD’s, the system provided adverse event data for 88% of drugs and returned these results in an average of 620ms. PMID:21346964

Investigation of Practices to Support the Complex Communication Needs of Children with Hearing Impairment and Cerebral Palsy in a Rural District of Kenya: A Case Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bunning, Karen; Gona, Joseph K.; Buell, Susan; Newton, Charles R.; Hartley, Sally

2013-01-01

Background: Rehabilitation services are scarce in low-income countries, where under-representation of some specialist professions has led to the role extension of others. An example of this can be found in Kilifi in Kenya where the role of speech and language therapy has been taken on by occupational therapists and teachers. Aims: To investigate…

Human Computer Collaboration at the Edge: Enhancing Collective Situation Understanding with Controlled Natural Language

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-06

settled all but question 36 which was: ‘What sport does Capt Falcon play?’ and answers conflicted because some players used the name ‘soccer’ while others...email: PreeceAD@cardiff.ac.uk †Emerging Technology Services, IBM United Kingdom Ltd, Hursley Park, Winchester, UK ‡US Army Research Laboratory, Human... Research and Engineering Directorate, Aberdeen Proving Ground, USA Abstract—Effective coalition operations require support for dynamic information

Examining the relationship between social support availability, urban center size, and self-perceived mental health of recent immigrants to Canada: a mixed-methods analysis.

PubMed

Chadwick, Kathryn A; Collins, Patricia A

2015-03-01

The experiences of settlement in a new country (e.g., securing housing and employment, language barriers) pose numerous challenges for recent immigrants that can impede their health and well-being. Lack of social support upon arrival and during settlement may help to explain why immigrant mental health status declines over time. While most urban centers in Canada offer some settlement services, little is known about how the availability of social supports, and the health statuses of recent immigrants, varies by city size. The objective of this mixed-methods study was to examine the relationship between self-perceived mental health (SPMH), social support availability, and urban center size, for recent immigrants to Canada. The quantitative component involved analysis of 2009-2010 Canadian Community Health Survey data, selecting for only recent immigrants and for those living in either large or small urban centers. The qualitative component involved in-depth interviews with managers of settlement service organizations located in three large and three small urban centers in Canada. The quantitative analysis revealed that social support availability is positively associated with higher SPMH status, and is higher in small urban centers. In support of these findings, our interviews revealed that settlement service organizations operating in small urban centers offer more intensive social supports; interviewees attributed this difference to personal relationships in small cities, and the ease with which they can connect to other agencies to provide clients with necessary supports. Logistic regression analysis revealed, however, that recent immigrants in small urban centers are twice as likely to report low SPMH compared to those living in large urban centers. Thus, while the scope and nature of settlements services appears to vary by city size in Canada, more research is needed to understand what effect settlement services have on the health status of recent immigrants to Canada, especially in smaller urban centers. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The implementation and use of Ada on distributed systems with reliability requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reynolds, P. F.; Knight, J. C.; Urquhart, J. I. A.

1983-01-01

The issues involved in the use of the programming language Ada on distributed systems are discussed. The effects of Ada programs on hardware failures such as loss of a processor are emphasized. It is shown that many Ada language elements are not well suited to this environment. Processor failure can easily lead to difficulties on those processors which remain. As an example, the calling task in a rendezvous may be suspended forever if the processor executing the serving task fails. A mechanism for detecting failure is proposed and changes to the Ada run time support system are suggested which avoid most of the difficulties. Ada program structures are defined which allow programs to reconfigure and continue to provide service following processor failure.

Foreign Language and International Public Service at SIU-C: An Interdisciplinary B.A. Degree Program under Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Timpe, Eugene F.

A model for undergraduate programs designed to integrate foreign language instruction with training for an international public service occupation is outlined. The language component and professional training, taught separately at first, are brought together at the end of the program in an internship in an international public service…

Multilingual Pedagogies and Pre-Service Teachers: Implementing "Language as a Resource" Orientations in Teacher Education Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catalano, Theresa; Hamann, Edmund T.

2016-01-01

While Ruiz's (1984) influential work on language orientations has substantively influenced how we study and talk about language planning, few teacher education programs today actually embed his framework in the praxis of preparing pre-service and practicing teachers. Hence, the primary purpose of this article is to demonstrate new understandings…

Second Language Pre-Service Teachers as Learners: The Language Portfolio Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christiansen, Helen; Laplante, Bernard

2004-01-01

This article reports on a study of pre-service French immersion teachers who were required to compile second language (L2) portfolios as part of their professional development. Documents included a brief biography of the students' lives as speakers and learners of French; an action plan in which students assessed their L2 proficiency and set…

Rates and Predictors of Professional Interpreting Provision for Patients With Limited English Proficiency in the Emergency Department and Inpatient Ward

PubMed Central

Ryan, Jennifer; Abbato, Samantha; Greer, Ristan; Vayne-Bossert, Petra; Good, Phillip

2017-01-01

The provision of professional interpreting services in the hospital setting decreases communication errors of clinical significance and improves clinical outcomes. A retrospective audit was conducted at a tertiary referral adult hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Of 20 563 admissions of patients presenting to the hospital emergency department (ED) and admitted to a ward during 2013-2014, 582 (2.8%) were identified as requiring interpreting services. In all, 19.8% of admissions were provided professional interpreting services in the ED, and 26.1% were provided on the ward. Patients were more likely to receive interpreting services in the ED if they were younger, spoke an Asian language, or used sign language. On the wards, using sign language was associated with 3 times odds of being provided an interpreter compared with other languages spoken. Characteristics of patients including their age and type of language spoken influence the clinician’s decision to engage a professional interpreter in both the ED and inpatient ward. PMID:29144184

The Intersection of Inquiry-Based Science and Language: Preparing Teachers for ELL Classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weinburgh, Molly; Silva, Cecilia; Smith, Kathy Horak; Groulx, Judy; Nettles, Jenesta

2014-08-01

As teacher educators, we are tasked with preparing prospective teachers to enter a field that has undergone significant changes in student population and policy since we were K-12 teachers. With the emphasis placed on connections, mathematics integration, and communication by the New Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (Achieve in Next generation science standards, 2012), more research is needed on how teachers can accomplish this integration (Bunch in Rev Res Educ 37:298-341, 2013; Lee et al. in Educ Res 42(4):223-233, 2013). Science teacher educators, in response to the NGSS, recognize that it is necessary for pre-service and in-service teachers to know more about how instructional strategies in language and science can complement one another. Our purpose in this study was to explore a model of integration that can be used in classrooms. To do this, we examined the change in science content knowledge and academic vocabulary for English language learners (ELLs) as they engaged in inquiry-based science experience utilizing the 5R Instructional Model. Two units, erosion and wind turbines, were developed using the 5R Instructional Model and taught during two different years in a summer school program for ELLs. We analyzed data from interviews to assess change in conceptual understanding and science academic vocabulary over the 60 h of instruction. The statistics show a clear trend of growth supporting our claim that ELLs did construct more sophisticated understanding of the topics and use more language to communicate their knowledge. As science teacher educators seek ways to prepare elementary teachers to help preK-12 students to learn science and develop the language of science, the 5R Instructional Model is one pathway.

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...

Perceived barriers to adopting an Asian-language quitline service: a survey of state funding agencies.

PubMed

Zhuang, Yue-Lin; Cummins, Sharon E; Lee, Hye-ryeon; Dearing, James; Kirby, Carrie; Zhu, Shu-Hong

2012-10-01

This study examined the perceived barriers to adopting an Asian-language quitline service among agencies that fund current state quitline services across the U.S. A self-administered survey on organizational readiness was sent to the funding agencies of 47 states plus Washington D.C. that currently fund state quitlines in English and Spanish, but not in Asian languages (response rate = 58%). The 2010 Census and the 2009 North American Quitline Consortium Survey were used to obtain the proportion of Asians among the state population and state quitline funding level, respectively. The most frequently cited reasons for not adopting an Asian quitline are: the Asian population in the state would be too small (71.4%), costs of service would be too high (57.1%), and the belief that using third-party translation for counseling is sufficient (39.3%). However, neither the actual proportion of Asians among the state population (range = 0.7% to 7.3%), nor the quitline funding level (range = $0.17 to $20.8 per capita) predicts the reported reasons. The results indicate that quitline funding agencies need more education on the necessity and the feasibility of an Asian-language quitline. Three states are currently participating in a multi-state Asian-language quitline in which each state promotes the service to its residents and one state (CA) provides the services for all the states. This centralized multi-state Asian-language quitline operation, which helps reduce practical barriers in adoption and disparity in access to service, could be extended.

Win-win: advancing written language knowledge and practice through university clinics.

PubMed

Katz, Lauren A; Fallon, Karen A

2015-02-01

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are uniquely suited for assessing and treating individuals with both spoken and written language disorders. Yet as students move from the elementary grades into the middle and high school grades, SLPs tend to provide fewer direct language services to them. Although spoken language disorders become written language disorders, SLP are not receiving sufficient training in the area of written language, and this is reflected in the extent to which they believe they have the knowledge and skills to provide services to struggling readers and writers on their caseloads. In this article, we discuss these problems and present effective methods for addressing them. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Unmet needs in immigrant cancer survivors: a cross-sectional population-based study.

PubMed

Butow, P N; Bell, M L; Aldridge, L J; Sze, M; Eisenbruch, M; Jefford, M; Schofield, P; Girgis, A; King, M; Duggal, P S; McGrane, J; Goldstein, D

2013-09-01

Social suffering, language difficulties, and cultural factors may all make the cancer experience more difficult for immigrants. This study aimed to document unmet needs, and variables associated with these, in a population-based sample of first-generation immigrants and Anglo-Australians who had survived cancer. Participants were recruited via Australian cancer registries. Eligible cancer survivors had a new diagnosis 1-6 years earlier and were aged between 18 and 80 years at diagnosis. Eligible immigrant participants and parents were born in a country where Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, and other dialects), or Greek is spoken, and they spoke one of these languages. A random sample of English-speaking Anglo-Australian-born controls was recruited. Five hundred ninety-six patients (277 immigrants) were recruited to the study (response rate, 26%). Compared to Anglo-Australians, the adjusted odds ratio of Chinese immigrants for at least one unmet information/support need was 5.1 (95% CI 3.1, 8.3) and for any unmet physical need was 3.1 (95% CI 1.9, 5.1). For Greek, these were 2.0 (95% CI 1.1, 4.0) and 2.7 (95% CI 1.4, 5.2). Arabic patients had elevated, but not statistically significant, odds ratios compared to Anglo-Australians. Written information and having a specialist, support services, and other health professionals who spoke their language were in the top ten unmet needs amongst immigrants. Immigrant cancer survivors, several years after initial diagnosis, are more likely to have an unmet need for information or for help with a physical problem than Anglo-Australians. They strongly desire information and support in their own language.

Does it matter what you call it? A randomized trial of language used to describe palliative care services.

PubMed

Maciasz, R M; Arnold, R M; Chu, E; Park, S Y; White, D B; Vater, L B; Schenker, Y

2013-12-01

Integration of palliative care into oncology practice remains suboptimal. Misperceptions about the meaning of palliative care may negatively impact utilization. We assessed whether the term and/or description of palliative care services affected patient views. 2x2 between-subject randomized factorial telephone survey of 169 patients with advanced cancer. Patients were randomized into one of four groups that differed by name (supportive care vs. palliative care) and description (patient-centered vs. traditional). Main outcomes (0-10 Likert scale) were patient understanding, impressions, perceived need, and intended use of services. When compared to palliative care, the term supportive care was associated with better understanding (7.7 vs. 6.8; p = 0.021), more favorable impressions (8.4 vs. 7.3; p = 0.002), and higher future perceived need (8.6 vs. 7.7; p = 0.017). There was no difference in outcomes between traditional and patient-centered descriptions. In adjusted linear regression models, the term supportive care remained associated with more favorable impressions (p = 0.003) and higher future perceived need (p = 0.022) when compared to palliative care. Patients with advanced cancer view the name supportive care more favorably than palliative care. Future efforts to integrate principles of palliative medicine into oncology may require changing impressions of palliative care or substituting the term supportive care.

Purpose of Newborn Hearing Screening

MedlinePlus

... services, babies will have trouble with speech and language development. For some babies, early intervention services may include ... baby will have the best chance for normal language development if any hearing loss is discovered and treatment ...

Prostate cancer support groups, health literacy and consumerism: are community-based volunteers re-defining older men's health?

PubMed

Oliffe, John L; Bottorff, Joan L; McKenzie, Michael M; Hislop, T Gregory; Gerbrandt, Julieta S; Oglov, Valerie

2011-11-01

In this article we describe the connections between prostate cancer support groups (PCSGs) and men's health literacy and consumer orientation to health care services. The study findings are drawn from participant observations conducted at 16 PCSGs in British Columbia, Canada and 54 individual interviews that focused on men's experiences of attending group meetings. Men's communication and interactions at PCSGs provide important insights for how men talk about and conceptualize health and illness. For example, biomedical language often predominated at group meetings, and men used numbers and measures to engage with risk discourses in linking prostate cancer markers to various treatment options and morbidity and mortality rates. Many groups afforded opportunities for men to interact with health care providers as a means to better understand the language and logic of prostate cancer management. The health literacy skills fostered at PCSGs along with specific group-informed strategies could be mobilized in the men's subsequent clinical consultations. Consumer discourses and strategies to contest power relations with health care professionals underpinned many men's search for prostate cancer information and their commitment to assisting other men. Key were patients' rights, and perhaps responsibility, to compare diverse health products and services in making decisions across the entire trajectory of their prostate cancer. Overall, the study findings reveal PCSGs as having the capacity to contest as well as align with medical expertise and services facilitating men's transition from patient to informed health care consumers. The processes through which this occurs may direct the design of older men's health promotion programs.

Adult language use and infant comprehension of English: associations with encoding and generalization across cues at 20 months.

PubMed

Phung, Janice N; Milojevich, Helen M; Lukowski, Angela F

2014-11-01

Adult-provided language shapes event memory in children who are preverbal and in those who are able to discuss the past using language. The research conducted to date, however, has not yet established whether infant language comprehension abilities moderate the extent to which preverbal infants benefit from adult-provided supportive language. The present study was conducted to address this question by examining immediate imitation and 1-week delayed generalization across cues in 20-month-old infants as a function of (a) variability in adult-provided linguistic support at encoding and test, (b) infant language comprehension abilities, and (c) their interaction. The provision of supportive adult language at encoding and test was associated with delayed generalization across cues although supportive adult language at encoding did not influence performance at immediate imitation. Infant language comprehension abilities were associated with performance at immediate imitation and delayed generalization across cues. In addition, infant language comprehension abilities moderated the extent to which infants benefited from adult-provided supportive language at encoding and test. The findings contribute to the literature by demonstrating that adult language use and infant language comprehension are independently and differentially associated with immediate imitation and 1-week delayed generalization across cues but also serve to jointly structure event memory in the second year of life. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

a Kml-Based Approach for Distributed Collaborative Interpretation of Remote Sensing Images in the Geo-Browser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, L.; Zhu, X.; Guo, W.; Xiang, L.; Chen, X.; Mei, Y.

2012-07-01

Existing implementations of collaborative image interpretation have many limitations for very large satellite imageries, such as inefficient browsing, slow transmission, etc. This article presents a KML-based approach to support distributed, real-time, synchronous collaborative interpretation for remote sensing images in the geo-browser. As an OGC standard, KML (Keyhole Markup Language) has the advantage of organizing various types of geospatial data (including image, annotation, geometry, etc.) in the geo-browser. Existing KML elements can be used to describe simple interpretation results indicated by vector symbols. To enlarge its application, this article expands KML elements to describe some complex image processing operations, including band combination, grey transformation, geometric correction, etc. Improved KML is employed to describe and share interpretation operations and results among interpreters. Further, this article develops some collaboration related services that are collaboration launch service, perceiving service and communication service. The launch service creates a collaborative interpretation task and provides a unified interface for all participants. The perceiving service supports interpreters to share collaboration awareness. Communication service provides interpreters with written words communication. Finally, the GeoGlobe geo-browser (an extensible and flexible geospatial platform developed in LIESMARS) is selected to perform experiments of collaborative image interpretation. The geo-browser, which manage and visualize massive geospatial information, can provide distributed users with quick browsing and transmission. Meanwhile in the geo-browser, GIS data (for example DEM, DTM, thematic map and etc.) can be integrated to assist in improving accuracy of interpretation. Results show that the proposed method is available to support distributed collaborative interpretation of remote sensing image

Selling a service: experiences of peer supporters while promoting exclusive infant feeding in three sites in South Africa.

PubMed

Nkonki, Lungiswa L; Daniels, Karen L

2010-10-26

Even though it has been shown that peer support to mothers at home helps to increase exclusive breastfeeding, little is known about the experiences of peer supporters themselves and what is required of them to fulfil their day-to-day tasks. Therefore, a community-based randomised control trial using trained "lay" women to support exclusive infant feeding at home was implemented in three different sites across South Africa. The aim of this paper is to describe the experiences of peer supporters who promote exclusive infant feeding. Three focus group discussions were held, in a language of their choice, with peer supporters. These meetings focused on how the peer educators utilised their time in the process of delivering the intervention. Data from the discussions were transcribed, with both verbatim and translated transcripts being used in the analysis. Unlike the services provided by mainstream health care, peer supporters had to market their services. They had to negotiate entry into the mother's home and then her life. Furthermore, they had to demonstrate competence and come across as professional and trustworthy. An HIV-positive mother's fear of being stigmatised posed an added burden - subsequent disclosure of her positive status would lead to an increased workload and emotional distress. Peer supporters spent most of their time in the field and had to learn the skill of self-management. Their support-base was enhanced when supervision focused on their working conditions as well as the delivery of their tasks. Despite this, they faced other insurmountable issues, such as mothers being compelled to offer their infants mixed feeding simultaneously due to normative practices and working in the fields postpartum. Designers of peer support interventions should consider the skills required for delivering health messages and the skills required for selling a service. Supportive supervision should be responsive both to the health care task and the challenges faced in the process of delivering it. NCT00297150.

Qualitative focus group study investigating experiences of accessing and engaging with social care services: perspectives of carers from diverse ethnic groups caring for stroke survivors.

PubMed

Greenwood, Nan; Holley, Jess; Ellmers, Theresa; Mein, Gill; Cloud, Geoffrey

2016-01-29

Informal carers, often family members, play a vital role in supporting stroke survivors with post-stroke disability. As populations age, numbers of carers overall and those from minority ethnic groups in particular, are rising. Carers from all ethnic groups, but especially those from black and minority ethnic groups frequently fail to access support services, making understanding their experiences important. The study therefore explored the experiences of carers of stroke survivors aged 45+ years from 5 ethnic groups in accessing and receiving social care services after hospital discharge. This qualitative study used 7 recorded focus groups with informal carers of stroke survivors. Data were analysed thematically focusing on similarities and differences between ethnic groups. Carers were recruited from voluntary sector organisations supporting carers, stroke survivors and black and minority ethnic groups in the UK. 41 carers from 5 ethnic groups (Asian Indian, Asian Pakistani, black African, black Caribbean, white British) participated in the focus groups. Several interconnected themes were identified including: the service gap between hospital discharge and home; carers as the best person to care and cultural aspects of caring and using services. Many themes were common to all the included ethnic groups but some related to specific groups. Across ethnic groups there were many similarities in the experiences of people caring for stroke survivors with complex, long-term care needs. Accessing services demands effort and persistence on carers' part. If carers believe services are unsatisfactory or that they, rather than formal services, should be providing support for stroke survivors, they are unlikely to persist in their efforts. Cultural and language differences add to the challenges black and minority ethnic group carers face. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

[A quantitative analysis of information-seeking behaviors regarding medical institutions with Spanish language support among South American Spanish-speaking migrants in Aichi Prefecture, Japan].

PubMed

Takaku, Michiko; Ichikawa, Seiichi; Kaneko, Noriyo

2015-01-01

This study aimed to explore the factors associated with information-seeking behaviors regarding medical institutions with Spanish language support among South American Spanish-speaking migrants living in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The survey targeted South American Spanish-speaking migrants aged 18 years and older currently residing in Aichi Prefecture who had lived in Japan for at least three months and who had previously seen a doctor in Japan. The questionnaire was written in Spanish and the survey was conducted from April to July, 2010. Wilson's information behavior model was used to study information-seeking behavior regarding medical institutions with Spanish language support among 245 respondents who completed the questionnaires (response rate: 58.9%). Experience seeking medical institutions with Spanish language support in the Tokai area was set as the dependent variable and a chi-square test was conducted to examine relationships with language support needs, recognition of and access to medical institutions with Spanish language support, living situation in Japan, and Japanese language skills. Among the 245 respondents, 106 were male (43.3%) and 139 were female (56.7%). The average age was 39.6±11.2 years old and 84.5% were Peruvian. The average length of residency in Japan was 11.0±5.7 years, and 34.3% of respondents had lived in Aichi for 5-9 years. A total of 165 respondents (67.3%) had searched for medical institutions with Spanish language support, while 80 (32.7%) had not. Information-seeking behavior regarding medical institutions with Spanish language support was associated with having previously experienced a need for Spanish language support when seeing doctors in Japan, finding and attending medical institutions with Spanish language support in the Tokai area, length of residency in Japan, Japanese language skills, and the language used in daily life. Experience in requiring Spanish support when sick or injured in Japan motivated respondents to seek medical institutions with Spanish language support. Communication difficulties in Japanese, speaking Spanish in daily life, and length of residency in Japan were relevant factors in their information-seeking behaviors. Respondents were likely to obtain information from family, friends, co-workers, and Spanish media, but not from public institutions that distribute Spanish material. Finding an effective way to disseminate health-related information was a fundamental health issue for South American Spanish-speaking migrants.

Speech-Language Services in Public Schools: How Policy Ambiguity Regarding Eligibility Criteria Impacts Speech-Language Pathologists in a Litigious and Resource Constrained Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sylvan, Lesley

2014-01-01

Public school districts must determine which students are eligible to receive special education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This study, which involves 39 interviews with speech-language pathologists and school administrators, examines how eligibility recommendations are made for one widely…

Why Do Speech and Language Therapists Stay in, Leave and (Sometimes) Return to the National Health Service (NHS)?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loan-Clarke, John; Arnold, John; Coombs, Crispin; Bosley, Sara; Martin, Caroline

2009-01-01

Background: Research into recruitment, retention and return of speech and language therapists in the National Health Service (NHS) is relatively limited, particularly in respect of understanding the factors that drive employment choice decisions. Aims: To identify what factors influence speech and language therapists working in the NHS to stay,…

A General Investigation of the In-Service Training of English Language Teachers at Elementary Schools in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koç, Ebru Melek

2016-01-01

This study presents a critical diagnosis of in-service teacher-training activities offered to English-language teachers in Turkey and aims to investigate whether those teachers are satisfied with the activities. Thirty-two English-language teachers participated in this study. Data were collected from 32 elementary-school teachers of English as a…

English Language Learners: A Case Study on Educators' Perceptions of English Language Learners as They Relate to Special Education Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greaney, Leonard V.

2016-01-01

This qualitative study investigated the reasons why educators initiate referrals of ELLs for special education services in a sample of three educational organizations near a major city in a mid-Atlantic state. This study addressed how and why educator perception influenced the referral process and identification of English language learners into…

A Pilot Study of Service-Learning in a Spanish Heritage Speaker Course: Community Engagement, Identity, and Language in the Chicago Area

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petrov, Lisa Amor

2013-01-01

This article presents research findings from a pilot study of the use of service-learning in an intermediate-high class ("Spanish Language and Culture for Heritage Speakers") in the fall semesters of 2010 and 2011. Students reported gains in the areas of communication skills, dispositional learning, language, identity formation, and…

29 CFR 37.35 - What are a recipient's responsibilities to provide services and information in languages other...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... and information in languages other than English? 37.35 Section 37.35 Labor Office of the Secretary of... other than English? (a) A significant number or proportion of the population eligible to be served, or... services or information in a language other than English in order to be effectively informed about, or able...

Management of developmental speech and language disorders: Part 1.

PubMed

O'Hare, Anne; Bremner, Lynne

2016-03-01

The identification of developmental problems in a child's acquisition of speech, language and/or communication is a core activity in child surveillance. These are common difficulties with up to 15% of toddlers being 'late talkers' and 7% of children entering school with persisting impairments of their language development. These delays can confer disadvantages in the long term, adversely affecting language, cognition, academic attainment, behaviour and mental health. All children presenting with significant speech and language delay should be investigated with a comprehensive hearing assessment and be considered for speech and language therapy assessment. Socioeconomic adversity correlates with delayed language development. Clinical assessment should confirm that the presentation is definitely not acquired (see part 2) and will also guide whether the difficulty is primary, in which there are often familial patterns, or secondary, from a very wide range of aetiologies. Symptoms may be salient, such as the regression of communication in <3-year-olds which 'flags up' autism spectrum disorder. Further investigation will be informed from this clinical assessment, for example, genetic investigation for sex aneuploidies in enduring primary difficulties. Management of the speech and language difficulty itself is the realm of the speech and language therapist, who has an ever-increasing evidence-based choice of interventions. This should take place within a multidisciplinary team, particularly for children with more severe conditions who may benefit from individualised parental and educational supports. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Speech and language therapy services to education in England and Wales.

PubMed

Lindsay, Geoff; Soloff, Nina; Law, James; Band, Sue; Peacey, Nick; Gascoigne, Marie; Radford, Julie

2002-01-01

Services for children with speech and language needs in England and Wales are in a period of change. The context is subject to major systemic pressures deriving from government policies. These include the development of inclusive education and encouragement of multiprofessional collaboration in policy development and practice ('joined up thinking'). In addition, structures at local level are changing with the establishment of unitary authorities and the change from Health Trusts to Primary Care Trusts. Professional practice is also changing with a shift from clinical to community settings for speech and language therapists working with children. The present study reports on a survey sponsored by the Department for Education and Employment, Department of Health and the Welsh Assembly to identify the nature of speech and language therapy (SLT) services provided to education in England and Wales. The sample comprised all SLT service managers (n = 133, response rate 74%). The results indicate that services vary greatly in size and in their SLT: child ratio, with a mean of one SLT to 4257 child population. The caseload was highest for the 5-10 age group, and service delivery was targeted at these children, with low levels of work with secondary aged pupils. Most provision in educational settings was made to mainstream schools, but the provision of SLT time per child was substantially higher in specialist language resources. Apart from the preschool phase, most SLT provision was for children with statements of special educational needs. Prioritization of service delivery was usually by severity of need. The provision of bilingual SLT services was very limited, with only 14.0 full-time equivalents SLTs fluent in a community language, other than Welsh, where proportionately availability was much greater. Most LEAs funded SLT posts, although these were usually employed as part of the SLT service, with only about 10% of LEAs employing SLTs direct. However, 55.5% of SLT managers reported that recruitment and retention were problematic, resulting in gaps in the service. These findings are discussed with respect to changes driven by professional judgements on the nature of optimal service delivery, and government policy, with particular reference to inclusion and equity of service delivery.

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.

Bilingual Virtual Reference: It's Better than Searching the Open Web

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lupien, Pascal

2004-01-01

Online library services have been mostly available uniquely in English. To serve the diverse communities that uses library services, a growing number of libraries have been investigating the ins and outs of offering virtual reference in languages other than English. Developing this kind of service in languages spoken by various library user groups…

Pre-Service Foreign Language Teachers' Attitudes of Privilege and Oppression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGowan, Shannon L.; Kern, Anne L.

2014-01-01

Over the past several years multicultural education has seen an increased attention in teacher preparation. However, little research exists that examines the attitudes of pre-service teachers related to white privilege. This study is a quantitative exploration of the attitudes of pre-service foreign language teachers on a variety of social issues…

Utilisation and Satisfaction with Rehabilitation Services in Children with Primary Language Impairment Transitioning to School: Parents' Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazer, Barbara; Dion, Karyne; Moryoussef, Aguy

2017-01-01

Children with disabilities require coordinated services to optimise transition into school. This study compared type, frequency and approach to service utilisation for children with primary language impairment transitioning from rehabilitation to the educational system, and examined parent satisfaction. Parents responded to a telephone…

Extension of specification language for soundness and completeness of service workflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viriyasitavat, Wattana; Xu, Li Da; Bi, Zhuming; Sapsomboon, Assadaporn

2018-05-01

A Service Workflow is an aggregation of distributed services to fulfill specific functionalities. With ever increasing available services, the methodologies for the selections of the services against the given requirements become main research subjects in multiple disciplines. A few of researchers have contributed to the formal specification languages and the methods for model checking; however, existing methods have the difficulties to tackle with the complexity of workflow compositions. In this paper, we propose to formalize the specification language to reduce the complexity of the workflow composition. To this end, we extend a specification language with the consideration of formal logic, so that some effective theorems can be derived for the verification of syntax, semantics, and inference rules in the workflow composition. The logic-based approach automates compliance checking effectively. The Service Workflow Specification (SWSpec) has been extended and formulated, and the soundness, completeness, and consistency of SWSpec applications have been verified; note that a logic-based SWSpec is mandatory for the development of model checking. The application of the proposed SWSpec has been demonstrated by the examples with the addressed soundness, completeness, and consistency.

Learning Lodge Institute: Montana Colleges Empower Cultures To Save Languages.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyer, Paul

2000-01-01

Describes the Learning Lodge Institute, a collaboration of seven Montana tribal colleges that utilizes language courses to promote and strengthen knowledge of traditional culture. Also discusses documenting the loss of language and building support for tribal languages. The institute supports existing language instruction programs to make them…

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.

Cross-language Babel structs—making scientific interfaces more efficient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prantl, Adrian; Ebner, Dietmar; Epperly, Thomas G. W.

2013-01-01

Babel is an open-source language interoperability framework tailored to the needs of high-performance scientific computing. As an integral element of the Common Component Architecture, it is employed in a wide range of scientific applications where it is used to connect components written in different programming languages. In this paper we describe how we extended Babel to support interoperable tuple data types (structs). Structs are a common idiom in (mono-lingual) scientific application programming interfaces (APIs); they are an efficient way to pass tuples of nonuniform data between functions, and are supported natively by most programming languages. Using our extended version of Babel, developers of scientific codes can now pass structs as arguments between functions implemented in any of the supported languages. In C, C++, Fortran 2003/2008 and Chapel, structs can be passed without the overhead of data marshaling or copying, providing language interoperability at minimal cost. Other supported languages are Fortran 77, Fortran 90/95, Java and Python. We will show how we designed a struct implementation that is interoperable with all of the supported languages and present benchmark data to compare the performance of all language bindings, highlighting the differences between languages that offer native struct support and an object-oriented interface with getter/setter methods. A case study shows how structs can help simplify the interfaces of scientific codes significantly.

Data Management System (DMS) testbed user's manual development, volumes 1 and 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcbride, John G.; Cohen, Norman

1986-01-01

A critical review of the network communication services contained in the Tinman User's Manual for Data Management System Test Bed (Tinman DMS User's Manual) is presented. The review is from the perspective of applying modern software engineering principles and using the Ada language effectively to ensure the test bed network communication services provide a robust capability. Overall the material on network communication services reflects a reasonably good grasp of the Ada language. Language features are appropriately used for most services. Design alternatives are offered to provide improved system performance and a basis for better application software development. Section two contains a review and suggests clarifications of the Statement of Policies and Services contained in Appendix B of the Tinman DMS User's Manual. Section three contains a review of the Network Communication Services and section four contains concluding comments.

Extending Climate Analytics-As to the Earth System Grid Federation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamkin, G.; Schnase, J. L.; Duffy, D.; McInerney, M.; Nadeau, D.; Li, J.; Strong, S.; Thompson, J. H.

2015-12-01

We are building three extensions to prior-funded work on climate analytics-as-a-service that will benefit the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) as it addresses the Big Data challenges of future climate research: (1) We are creating a cloud-based, high-performance Virtual Real-Time Analytics Testbed supporting a select set of climate variables from six major reanalysis data sets. This near real-time capability will enable advanced technologies like the Cloudera Impala-based Structured Query Language (SQL) query capabilities and Hadoop-based MapReduce analytics over native NetCDF files while providing a platform for community experimentation with emerging analytic technologies. (2) We are building a full-featured Reanalysis Ensemble Service comprising monthly means data from six reanalysis data sets. The service will provide a basic set of commonly used operations over the reanalysis collections. The operations will be made accessible through NASA's climate data analytics Web services and our client-side Climate Data Services (CDS) API. (3) We are establishing an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) WPS-compliant Web service interface to our climate data analytics service that will enable greater interoperability with next-generation ESGF capabilities. The CDS API will be extended to accommodate the new WPS Web service endpoints as well as ESGF's Web service endpoints. These activities address some of the most important technical challenges for server-side analytics and support the research community's requirements for improved interoperability and improved access to reanalysis data.

Myria: Scalable Analytics as a Service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howe, B.; Halperin, D.; Whitaker, A.

2014-12-01

At the UW eScience Institute, we're working to empower non-experts, especially in the sciences, to write and use data-parallel algorithms. To this end, we are building Myria, a web-based platform for scalable analytics and data-parallel programming. Myria's internal model of computation is the relational algebra extended with iteration, such that every program is inherently data-parallel, just as every query in a database is inherently data-parallel. But unlike databases, iteration is a first class concept, allowing us to express machine learning tasks, graph traversal tasks, and more. Programs can be expressed in a number of languages and can be executed on a number of execution environments, but we emphasize a particular language called MyriaL that supports both imperative and declarative styles and a particular execution engine called MyriaX that uses an in-memory column-oriented representation and asynchronous iteration. We deliver Myria over the web as a service, providing an editor, performance analysis tools, and catalog browsing features in a single environment. We find that this web-based "delivery vector" is critical in reaching non-experts: they are insulated from irrelevant effort technical work associated with installation, configuration, and resource management. The MyriaX backend, one of several execution runtimes we support, is a main-memory, column-oriented, RDBMS-on-the-worker system that supports cyclic data flows as a first-class citizen and has been shown to outperform competitive systems on 100-machine cluster sizes. I will describe the Myria system, give a demo, and present some new results in large-scale oceanographic microbiology.

Data Services in Support of High Performance Computing-Based Distributed Hydrologic Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarboton, D. G.; Horsburgh, J. S.; Dash, P. K.; Gichamo, T.; Yildirim, A. A.; Jones, N.

2014-12-01

We have developed web-based data services to support the application of hydrologic models on High Performance Computing (HPC) systems. The purposes of these services are to provide hydrologic researchers, modelers, water managers, and users access to HPC resources without requiring them to become HPC experts and understanding the intrinsic complexities of the data services, so as to reduce the amount of time and effort spent in finding and organizing the data required to execute hydrologic models and data preprocessing tools on HPC systems. These services address some of the data challenges faced by hydrologic models that strive to take advantage of HPC. Needed data is often not in the form needed by such models, requiring researchers to spend time and effort on data preparation and preprocessing that inhibits or limits the application of these models. Another limitation is the difficult to use batch job control and queuing systems used by HPC systems. We have developed a REST-based gateway application programming interface (API) for authenticated access to HPC systems that abstracts away many of the details that are barriers to HPC use and enhances accessibility from desktop programming and scripting languages such as Python and R. We have used this gateway API to establish software services that support the delineation of watersheds to define a modeling domain, then extract terrain and land use information to automatically configure the inputs required for hydrologic models. These services support the Terrain Analysis Using Digital Elevation Model (TauDEM) tools for watershed delineation and generation of hydrology-based terrain information such as wetness index and stream networks. These services also support the derivation of inputs for the Utah Energy Balance snowmelt model used to address questions such as how climate, land cover and land use change may affect snowmelt inputs to runoff generation. To enhance access to the time varying climate data used to drive hydrologic models, we have developed services to downscale and re-grid nationally available climate analysis data from systems such as NLDAS and MERRA. These cases serve as examples for how this approach can be extended to other models to enhance the use of HPC for hydrologic modeling.

Language Learning Strategies Employed by Chinese English-Major Pre-Service Teachers in Relation to Gender and Personality Types

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhou, Chaoying; Intaraprasert, Channarong

2015-01-01

This study was intended to investigate the use of language learning strategy employed by English-major pre-service teachers in Midwest China in relation to their gender and personality types. The modified Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) and adopted personality type inventory were used to collect the data. ANOVA and Chi-square tests…

Effect of Mobile-Assisted Dialect Awareness Training on the Dialect Attitudes of Prospective English Language Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bozoglan, Hilal; Gok, Duygu

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a mobile-assisted dialect awareness programme on the dialect attitudes of pre-service English language teachers in Turkey. The study adopted a pre-test and a post-test design including 58 first-grade pre-service English language teachers in two different classes. The experimental group…

Building Language Educators: The Implications of Case-Based Pedagogy Using Practicum-Based Student-Teacher-Generated Cases for Pre-Service Language Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cournoyer, Amy Beth

2014-01-01

This case study investigated case-based pedagogy using student-teacher-generated cases as an instructional tool in the preparation of 12 pre-service ESL, Bilingual, and Modern Foreign Language teachers enrolled in a Student Teaching Seminar at a post-secondary institution. In the fall methods course, each participant generated a case study based…

Training Cyber Warriors: What Can Be Learned from Defense Language Training?

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

other agencies. In addition, the National Cryp- tologic School , Foreign Service Institute, and CIA University, among others, each train students for...They provide a variety of services, including group instruction , distance learning , and one-on-one tutoring. Pipeline-Building Programs The Language...commonly monolingual English speakers,1 (2) the U.S. education system provides limited opportunities for students to learn other languages in

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

Parents with Learning Disabilities and Speech and Language Therapy. A Service Evaluation of Referrals and Episodes of Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stansfield, Jois

2012-01-01

The speech and language therapy (SLT) service in an area of northern England receives referrals of parents who have learning disabilities. The aim of this study was to identify current referral patterns and quantify the level of demand upon the SLT service from this relatively new referral population to enable to service to meet the needs of these…

English Proficiency, Threshold Language Policy and Mental Health Service Utilization among Asian-American Children.

PubMed

Aratani, Yumiko; Liu, Cindy H

2015-10-01

This paper explores the role of English proficiency, ethnicity, and California's threshold language policy in the rates of discontinuing mental health services among Asian-American children. We used data from the 2001-2006 Client and Services Information (CSI) System, which contains county-level information about service users in public mental health systems. Our data included 59,218 service users under the age of 18. We used logistic regression to determine the likelihood of discontinuing services, while controlling for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. English-speaking Asians were 11% more likely than English-speaking Whites to discontinue mental health services. Non-English-speaking Asians were 50% significantly more likely to stay in services. The results also revealed some inter-ethnic variations in the discontinuation patterns; however, the patterns of mental health service utilization appear to be driven by the availability of mental health services in Asian-ethnic languages in county of residence. Further research is needed to understand the intake and referral processes that Asian children go through within the mental health service system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Language Barriers Impact Access to Services for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

PubMed

St Amant, Helaine G; Schrager, Sheree M; Peña-Ricardo, Carolina; Williams, Marian E; Vanderbilt, Douglas L

2018-02-01

Racial and ethnic disparities in accessing health care have been described in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In a retrospective chart review of 152 children with ASD, children of parents whose primary language was English were significantly more likely to have both social skills and communication goals within their individualized education plan (IEP) compared to children of parents whose primary language was not English. Additionally, children of primary English speakers received significantly more hours of direct services from their state disability program. After controlling for demographic covariates, findings suggest that language barriers may negatively affect parents' abilities to access health care services for their child with ASD. Acculturation factors must therefore be considered when analyzing disparities in autism.

A Project for Everyone: English Language Learners and Technology in Content-Area Classrooms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egbert, Joy

2002-01-01

Discussion of student participation in classroom projects when learning English as a second language highlights conditions that support language and content learning; approaches that can facilitate language and content learning; and what technology and other resources support English language learners in content-area classrooms. Uses a project on…

"You never know who are Sami or speak Sami" Clinicians' experiences with language-appropriate care to Sami-speaking patients in outpatient mental health clinics in Northern Norway.

PubMed

Dagsvold, Inger; Møllersen, Snefrid; Stordahl, Vigdis

2016-01-01

The Indigenous population in Norway, the Sami, have a statutory right to speak and be spoken to in the Sami language when receiving health services. There is, however, limited knowledge about how clinicians deal with this in clinical practice. This study explores how clinicians deal with language-appropriate care with Sami-speaking patients in specialist mental health services. This study aims to explore how clinicians identify and respond to Sami patients' language data, as well as how they experience provision of therapy to Sami-speaking patients in outpatient mental health clinics in Sami language administrative districts. Data were collected using qualitative method, through individual interviews with 20 therapists working in outpatient mental health clinics serving Sami populations in northern Norway. A thematic analysis inspired by systematic text reduction was employed. Two themes were identified: (a) identification of Sami patients' language data and (b) experiences with provision of therapy to Sami-speaking patients. Findings indicate that clinicians are not aware of patients' language needs prior to admission and that they deal with identification of language data and offer of language-appropriate care ad hoc when patients arrive. Sami-speaking participants reported always offering language choice and found more profound understanding of patients' experiences when Sami language was used. Whatever language Sami-speaking patients may choose, they are found to switch between languages during therapy. Most non-Sami-speaking participants reported offering Sami-speaking services, but the patients chose to speak Norwegian. However, a few of the participants maintained language awareness and could identify language needs despite a patient's refusal to speak Sami in therapy. Finally, some non-Sami-speaking participants were satisfied if they understood what the patients were saying. They left it to patients to address language problems, only to discover patients' complaints in retrospect. Consequently, language-appropriate care depends on individual clinicians' language assessment and offering of language choice.

A multimedia PDA/PC speech and language therapy tool for patients with aphasia.

PubMed

Reeves, Nina; Jefferies, Laura; Cunningham, Sally-Jo; Harris, Catherine

2007-01-01

Aphasia is a speech disorder usually caused by stroke or head injury and may involve a variety of communication difficulties. As 30% of stroke sufferers have a persisting speech and language disorder and therapy resources are low, there is clear scope for the development of technology to support patients between therapy sessions. This paper reports on an empirical study which evaluated SoundHelper, a multimedia application to demonstrate how to pronounce target speech sounds. Two prototypes, involving either video or animation, were developed and evaluated with 20 Speech and Language Therapists. Participants responded positively to both, with the video being preferred because of the perceived extra information provided. The potential for the use on portable devices, since internet access is limited in hospitals, is explored in the light of opinions of Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) device users in the UK nd Europe who have expressed a strong desire for more use of internet services.

The effectiveness of early head start for 3-year-old children and their parents: lessons for policy and programs.

PubMed

Love, John M; Kisker, Ellen Eliason; Ross, Christine; Raikes, Helen; Constantine, Jill; Boller, Kimberly; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; Chazan-Cohen, Rachel; Tarullo, Louisa Banks; Brady-Smith, Christy; Fuligni, Allison Sidle; Schochet, Peter Z; Paulsell, Diane; Vogel, Cheri

2005-11-01

Early Head Start, a federal program begun in 1995 for low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers, was evaluated through a randomized trial of 3,001 families in 17 programs. Interviews with primary caregivers, child assessments, and observations of parent-child interactions were completed when children were 3 years old. Caregivers were diverse in race-ethnicity, language, and other characteristics. Regression-adjusted impact analyses showed that 3-year-old program children performed better than did control children in cognitive and language development, displayed higher emotional engagement of the parent and sustained attention with play objects, and were lower in aggressive behavior. Compared with controls, Early Head Start parents were more emotionally supportive, provided more language and learning stimulation, read to their children more, and spanked less. The strongest and most numerous impacts were for programs that offered a mix of home-visiting and center-based services and that fully implemented the performance standards early. ((c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved).

Adding Hierarchical Objects to Relational Database General-Purpose XML-Based Information Managements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Shu-Chun; Knight, Chris; La, Tracy; Maluf, David; Bell, David; Tran, Khai Peter; Gawdiak, Yuri

2006-01-01

NETMARK is a flexible, high-throughput software system for managing, storing, and rapid searching of unstructured and semi-structured documents. NETMARK transforms such documents from their original highly complex, constantly changing, heterogeneous data formats into well-structured, common data formats in using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and/or Extensible Markup Language (XML). The software implements an object-relational database system that combines the best practices of the relational model utilizing Structured Query Language (SQL) with those of the object-oriented, semantic database model for creating complex data. In particular, NETMARK takes advantage of the Oracle 8i object-relational database model using physical-address data types for very efficient keyword searches of records across both context and content. NETMARK also supports multiple international standards such as WEBDAV for drag-and-drop file management and SOAP for integrated information management using Web services. The document-organization and -searching capabilities afforded by NETMARK are likely to make this software attractive for use in disciplines as diverse as science, auditing, and law enforcement.

Language Development: Understanding Language Diversity in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levey, Sandra; Polirstok, Susan

2010-01-01

Language Development: Understanding Language Diversity in the Classroom offers comprehensive coverage of the language development process for pre- and in-service teachers while emphasizing the factors that further academic success in the classroom, including literacy skills, phonological awareness, and narrative. With chapters written by respected…

Brain Bases of Morphological Processing in Young Children

PubMed Central

Arredondo, Maria M.; Ip, Ka I; Hsu, Lucy Shih-Ju; Tardif, Twila; Kovelman, Ioulia

2017-01-01

How does the developing brain support the transition from spoken language to print? Two spoken language abilities form the initial base of child literacy across languages: knowledge of language sounds (phonology) and knowledge of the smallest units that carry meaning (morphology). While phonology has received much attention from the field, the brain mechanisms that support morphological competence for learning to read remain largely unknown. In the present study, young English-speaking children completed an auditory morphological awareness task behaviorally (n = 69, ages 6–12) and in fMRI (n = 16). The data revealed two findings: First, children with better morphological abilities showed greater activation in left temporo-parietal regions previously thought to be important for supporting phonological reading skills, suggesting that this region supports multiple language abilities for successful reading acquisition. Second, children showed activation in left frontal regions previously found active in young Chinese readers, suggesting morphological processes for reading acquisition might be similar across languages. These findings offer new insights for developing a comprehensive model of how spoken language abilities support children’s reading acquisition across languages. PMID:25930011

Why elementary teachers might be inadequately prepared to teach reading.

PubMed

Joshi, R Malatesha; Binks, Emily; Hougen, Martha; Dahlgren, Mary E; Ocker-Dean, Emily; Smith, Dennie L

2009-01-01

Several national reports have suggested the usefulness of systematic, explicit, synthetic phonics instruction based on English word structure along with wide reading of quality literature for supporting development in early reading instruction. Other studies have indicated, however, that many in-service teachers are not knowledgeable in the basic concepts of the English language. They may be well versed in children's literature but not know how to address the basic building blocks of language and reading. The authors hypothesized that one of the reasons for this situation is that many instructors responsible for training future elementary teachers are not familiar with the concepts of the linguistic features of English language. This hypothesis was tested by administering a survey of language concepts to 78 instructors. The results showed that even though teacher educators were familiar with syllabic knowledge, they performed poorly on concepts relating to morphemes and phonemes. In a second study, 40 instructors were interviewed about best practices in teaching components and subskills of reading. Eighty percent of instructors defined phonological awareness as letter-sound correspondence. They also did not mention synthetic phonics as a desirable method to use for beginning reading instruction, particularly for students at risk for reading difficulties. In conclusion, providing professional development experiences related to language concepts to instructors could provide them the necessary knowledge of language concepts related to early literacy instruction, which they could then integrate into their preservice reading courses.

The OGC Sensor Web Enablement framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cox, S. J.; Botts, M.

2006-12-01

Sensor observations are at the core of natural sciences. Improvements in data-sharing technologies offer the promise of much greater utilisation of observational data. A key to this is interoperable data standards. The Open Geospatial Consortium's (OGC) Sensor Web Enablement initiative (SWE) is developing open standards for web interfaces for the discovery, exchange and processing of sensor observations, and tasking of sensor systems. The goal is to support the construction of complex sensor applications through real-time composition of service chains from standard components. The framework is based around a suite of standard interfaces, and standard encodings for the message transferred between services. The SWE interfaces include: Sensor Observation Service (SOS)-parameterized observation requests (by observation time, feature of interest, property, sensor); Sensor Planning Service (SPS)-tasking a sensor- system to undertake future observations; Sensor Alert Service (SAS)-subscription to an alert, usually triggered by a sensor result exceeding some value. The interface design generally follows the pattern established in the OGC Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS) interfaces, where the interaction between a client and service follows a standard sequence of requests and responses. The first obtains a general description of the service capabilities, followed by obtaining detail required to formulate a data request, and finally a request for a data instance or stream. These may be implemented in a stateless "REST" idiom, or using conventional "web-services" (SOAP) messaging. In a deployed system, the SWE interfaces are supplemented by Catalogue, data (WFS) and portrayal (WMS) services, as well as authentication and rights management. The standard SWE data formats are Observations and Measurements (O&M) which encodes observation metadata and results, Sensor Model Language (SensorML) which describes sensor-systems, Transducer Model Language (TML) which covers low-level data streams, and domain-specific GML Application Schemas for definitions of the target feature types. The SWE framework has been demonstrated in several interoperability testbeds. These were based around emergency management, security, contamination and environmental monitoring scenarios.

Assessment and management of the communication difficulties of children with cerebral palsy: a UK survey of SLT practice

PubMed Central

Mary Watson, Rose; Pennington, Lindsay

2015-01-01

Background Communication difficulties are common in cerebral palsy (CP) and are frequently associated with motor, intellectual and sensory impairments. Speech and language therapy research comprises single-case experimental design and small group studies, limiting evidence-based intervention and possibly exacerbating variation in practice. Aims To describe the assessment and intervention practices of speech–language therapist (SLTs) in the UK in their management of communication difficulties associated with CP in childhood. Methods & Procedures An online survey of the assessments and interventions employed by UK SLTs working with children and young people with CP was conducted. The survey was publicized via NHS trusts, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and private practice associations using a variety of social media. The survey was open from 5 December 2011 to 30 January 2012. Outcomes & Results Two hundred and sixty-five UK SLTs who worked with children and young people with CP in England (n = 199), Wales (n = 13), Scotland (n = 36) and Northern Ireland (n = 17) completed the survey. SLTs reported using a wide variety of published, standardized tests, but most commonly reported assessing oromotor function, speech, receptive and expressive language, and communication skills by observation or using assessment schedules they had developed themselves. The most highly prioritized areas for intervention were: dysphagia, alternative and augmentative (AAC)/interaction and receptive language. SLTs reported using a wide variety of techniques to address difficulties in speech, language and communication. Some interventions used have no supporting evidence. Many SLTs felt unable to estimate the hours of therapy per year children and young people with CP and communication disorders received from their service. Conclusions & Implications The assessment and management of communication difficulties associated with CP in childhood varies widely in the UK. Lack of standard assessment practices prevents comparisons across time or services. The adoption of a standard set of agreed clinical measures would enable benchmarking of service provision, permit the development of large-scale research studies using routine clinical data and facilitate the identification of potential participants for research studies in the UK. Some interventions provided lack evidence. Recent systematic reviews could guide intervention, but robust evidence is needed in most areas addressed in clinical practice. PMID:25652139

Identifying Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching EFL and Their Potential Changes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suárez Flórez, Sergio Andrés; Basto Basto, Edwin Arley

2017-01-01

This study aims at identifying pre-service teachers' beliefs about teaching English as a foreign language and tracking their potential changes throughout the teaching practicum. Participants were two pre-service teachers in their fifth year of their Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Languages program in a public university in Colombia. Data were…

Home- and Community-Based Speech, Language, and Hearing Services for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friedman, Carli; McNamara, Ellyn

2018-01-01

Speech language and hearing (SLH) services can improve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities' (IDD) health, autonomy, and community participation. The aim of this study was to explore how SLH services are offered to people with IDD across the nation, particularly in fiscal year 2015 Medicaid Home and Community Based Services…

Ethical Issues in Providing Services in Schools to Children with Swallowing and Feeding Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huffman, Nancy P.; Owre, DeAnne W.

2008-01-01

Purpose: This article is a commentary and discussion of ethical issues in dysphagia services as related to school-based practice in speech-language pathology. Method: A review of the literature on ethical issues in the provision of speech-language pathology services to individuals with dysphagia was conducted, with particular emphasis on students…

Black, White, and Rainbow [of Desire]: The Colour of Race-Talk of Pre-Service World Language Educators in Boalian Theatre Workshops

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wooten, Jennifer; Cahnmann-Taylor, Melisa

2014-01-01

This article examines how Boalian Theatre of the Oppressed exercises helped instructors and pre-service teachers navigate the consequences of ventriloquized, racialized discourses in a pre-service world language teacher education classroom. Applying a critical and performative approach, we analyse the mostly White student-actors' varying…

Oral Academic Language by Design: Bilingual Pre-Service Teachers' Purposeful Infusion of Paired Strategies during Science Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arreguín-Anderson, María G.; Alanis, Iliana

2017-01-01

This study explores ways in which university science courses can be infused with opportunities for pre-service teachers to design student student interactions that promote language development and content mastery. Participants included bilingual pre-service teachers enrolled in an elementary science approaches course and its school-based fieldwork…

Democratic Values and Teacher Self-Efficacy Perceptions: A Case of Pre-Service English Language Teachers in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Topkaya, Ece Zehir; Yavu, Aysun

2011-01-01

This study investigated democratic values of pre-service English language teachers in relation to their teacher self-efficacy perceptions in a Turkish context. It also examined the possible relationships between gender, grade and democratic values and self-efficacy perceptions. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 294 pre-service teachers.…

Microteaching Writing on YouTube for Pre-Service Teacher Training: Lessons Learned

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Yu-Chih

2014-01-01

The purpose of the study is to investigate how pre-service teachers adopt YouTube technology into their microteaching as part of their assignments. The participants were twelve Taiwanese pre-service teachers in a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages graduate program. They enrolled in a Second Language Writing course and worked in groups…

Responding to the Challenge: Giving Pre-Service Classroom Teachers a Musical Language and Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munday, Jenni; Smith, Wyverne

2010-01-01

Pre-service teacher degree programs are increasingly crowded with subjects covering the wide gamut of knowledge a teacher requires. Ensuring musical knowledge and language for classroom teaching poses a difficult problem for teacher educators. This article examines the challenges of including in the pre-service classroom teaching program a music…

A survey of speech and language pathology services for Down syndrome: state of the art.

PubMed

Kumin, L

1986-01-01

This article summarizes current trends in speech and language pathology services to individuals with Down syndrome. Data was collected through the use of a questionnaire mailed to speech and language pathologists who regularly serve clients with Down syndrome. Most widely used assessment instruments, therapy materials, sources of information, and need for materials to be developed are presented as they relate to services for birth-3 year olds, 3-5 year olds, school-age-14 year olds, prevocational-18 year olds, and above-age-18 adult services. The discussion addresses specific needs for research and needed direction for evaluation and treatment with the Down syndrome population.

Effects of the teach-model-coach-review instructional approach on caregiver use of language support strategies and children's expressive language skills.

PubMed

Roberts, Megan Y; Kaiser, Ann P; Wolfe, Cathy E; Bryant, Julie D; Spidalieri, Alexandria M

2014-10-01

In this study, the authors examined the effects of the Teach-Model-Coach-Review instructional approach on caregivers' use of four enhanced milieu teaching (EMT) language support strategies and on their children's use of expressive language. Four caregiver-child dyads participated in a single-subject, multiple-baseline study. Children were between 24 and 42 months of age and had language impairment. Interventionists used the Teach-Model-Coach-Review instructional approach to teach caregivers to use matched turns, expansions, time delays, and milieu teaching prompts during 24 individualized clinic sessions. Caregiver use of each EMT language support strategy and child use of communication targets were the dependent variables. The caregivers demonstrated increases in their use of each EMT language support strategy after instruction. Generalization and maintenance of strategy use to the home was limited, indicating that teaching across routines is necessary to achieve maximal outcomes. All children demonstrated gains in their use of communication targets and in their performance on norm-referenced measures of language. The results indicate that the Teach-Model-Coach-Review instructional approach resulted in increased use of EMT language support strategies by caregivers. Caregiver use of these strategies was associated with positive changes in child language skills.

World Psychiatry and the WPA task force to promote dissemination of psychiatric research conducted in low and middle income countries.

PubMed

Maj, Mario

2010-01-01

World Psychiatry, the official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), is now published in five languages (English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French) and reaches more than 33,000 psychiatrists in 121 countries. It received recently its first impact factor, 3.896. The publication of the journal has two objectives. The first is to reach as many psychiatrists of the various countries of the world as possible, disseminating information on recent significant clinical, service and research developments in a language that can be assimilated by the vast majority of them. The second is to give voice to psychiatrists of all regions of the world, encouraging submission of research papers, commentaries and reports on innovative service modalities. Related to this second objective has been the establishment by the WPA of a task force aiming to promote dissemination of psychiatric research conducted in low and middle income countries. Among the objectives of this task force is to advise and support the editors of high quality journals produced in those countries in their efforts to achieve indexation.

EOS situational data shared service mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, L.; Xu, Q.; Lan, C. Z.; Shi, Q. S.; Lu, W. J.; Wu, W. Q.

2016-11-01

With the rapid development of aerospace and remote sensing technology, various high-resolution Earth Observation Systems (EOS) are widely used in economic, social, military and other fields and playing an increasingly prominent role in the construction of Digital Earth and national strategic planning. The normal operation of the system is the premise of high quality data acquisition. Compared with the ground observation mode, EOS itself and the surrounding environment are more complex, and its operation control mainly depends on all kinds of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) data acquisition and analysis. SSA data has more extensive sources, larger volume, stronger time-effectiveness and more complicated structure than traditional geographical spatial data. For effective data sharing and utilization, combined with the analysis of data types and structures, a SSA data sharing identity language SSDSML is designed based on the extensible mark-up language XML, which realizes a comprehensive description of satellites and their attributes, space environment, ground stations, etc. Then EOS situational data shared service mechanism is established and provides a powerful data support for the normal operation of the system.

A Case Study of Exploring Older Chinese Immigrants' Social Support within a Chinese Church Community in the United States.

PubMed

Liou, Chih-Ling; Shenk, Dena

2016-09-01

The number of older Chinese immigrants living in the United States is increasing steadily. They are faced with challenges to meet their needs for social support and are unlikely to turn to formal services. This case study utilizes an ecological framework to analyze social support among Chinese immigrants age 65 year and older within a Christian Chinese church community, and to explore the ways in which a Chinese church functions as the source of social support for older Chinese immigrants. Seven months of participant observation and ten face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted with 65+ Chinese adults who attended one Chinese church in the Southern United State and included questions concerning patterns of support and personal relationships within the church. Findings revealed that gender, living arrangements, working experiences, ability to drive, and English language skills were related to support the older Chinese immigrants sought, received, and provided. Although the Chinese church can be a viable source of supplementary support, some participants in this study felt the support they received from the church was insufficient, particularly in terms of emotional support. Therefore, suggestions are outlined that may assist Chinese churches to be more proactive in better understanding and providing services that meet the different needs and desires of older Chinese immigrants.

Inhibitory control and the speech patterns of second language users.

PubMed

Korko, Malgorzata; Williams, Simon A

2017-02-01

Inhibitory control (IC), an ability to suppress irrelevant and/or conflicting information, has been found to underlie performance on a variety of cognitive tasks, including bilingual language processing. This study examines the relationship between IC and the speech patterns of second language (L2) users from the perspective of individual differences. While the majority of studies have supported the role of IC in bilingual language processing using single-word production paradigms, this work looks at inhibitory processes in the context of extended speech, with a particular emphasis on disfluencies. We hypothesized that the speech of individuals with poorer IC would be characterized by reduced fluency. A series of regression analyses, in which we controlled for age and L2 proficiency, revealed that IC (in terms of accuracy on the Stroop task) could reliably predict the occurrence of reformulations and the frequency and duration of silent pauses in L2 speech. No statistically significant relationship was found between IC and other L2 spoken output measures, such as repetitions, filled pauses, and performance errors. Conclusions focus on IC as one out of a number of cognitive functions in the service of spoken language production. A more qualitative approach towards the question of whether L2 speakers rely on IC is advocated. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

Pyomo v5.0

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

Woodruff, David; Hackebeil, Gabe; Laird, Carl Damon

Pyomo supports the formulation and analysis of mathematical models for complex optimization applications. This capability is commonly associated with algebraic modeling languages (AMLs), which support the description and analysis of mathematical models with a high-level language. Although most AMLs are implemented in custom modeling languages, Pyomo's modeling objects are embedded within Python, a full- featured high-level programming language that contains a rich set of supporting libraries.

Short Message Service (SMS) Language and Written Language Skills: Educators' Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geertsema, Salomé; Hyman, Charene; van Deventer, Chantelle

2011-01-01

SMS language is English language slang, used as a means of mobile phone text messaging. This practice may impact on the written language skills of learners at school. The main aim of this study was to determine the perspectives of Grade 8 and 9 English (as Home Language) educators in Gauteng regarding the possible influence of SMS language on…

Parental satisfaction with health services provided to children with Down syndrome in north-west England: an ENT perspective.

PubMed

Hans, P S; Belloso, A; Sheehan, P Z

2007-04-01

To evaluate parents' satisfaction with medical and allied health services provided to children with Down syndrome in north-west England, comparing ENT and its allied services with other areas of health service provision. A questionnaire survey of parents attending a north-west England Down syndrome association conference. Demographic data, departments visited, satisfaction with each service (scored one to five), waiting times for each service (scored one to five), service need (scored one to three) and accessibility (scored one to three) were recorded. Otolaryngology had been used by 50 per cent of children, with a satisfaction of 2.63 (the second worst score). Speech and language therapy was used by 90 per cent of the children, with a satisfaction of 3.26 (the worst score). The service felt to be most needed and also most difficult to access was speech and language therapy. Otorhinolaryngology departments should assess how they can improve their service to this population with specific ENT needs. Speech and language services for children with Down syndrome should be expanded.

The Role of Relational and Instructional Classroom Supports in the Language Development of At-Risk Preschoolers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gosse, Carolyn S.; McGinty, Anita S.; Mashburn, Andrew J.; Invernizzi, Marcia

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the limited research base on the complex relationships between classroom supports and language development by addressing two research aims. The first aim is to determine the unique association between relational support and and instructional support and preschoolers' language development. The second…

The influence of hearing aids on the speech and language development of children with hearing loss.

PubMed

Tomblin, J Bruce; Oleson, Jacob J; Ambrose, Sophie E; Walker, Elizabeth; Moeller, Mary Pat

2014-05-01

IMPORTANCE Hearing loss (HL) in children can be deleterious to their speech and language development. The standard of practice has been early provision of hearing aids (HAs) to moderate these effects; however, there have been few empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of this practice on speech and language development among children with mild-to-severe HL. OBJECTIVE To investigate the contributions of aided hearing and duration of HA use to speech and language outcomes in children with mild-to-severe HL. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS An observational cross-sectional design was used to examine the association of aided hearing levels and length of HA use with levels of speech and language outcomes. One hundred eighty 3- and 5-year-old children with HL were recruited through records of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and referrals from clinical service providers in the general community in 6 US states. INTERVENTIONS All but 4 children had been fitted with HAs, and measures of aided hearing and the duration of HA use were obtained. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Standardized measures of speech and language ability were obtained. RESULTS Measures of the gain in hearing ability for speech provided by the HA were significantly correlated with levels of speech (ρ179 = 0.20; P = .008) and language: ρ155 = 0.21; P = .01) ability. These correlations were indicative of modest levels of association between aided hearing and speech and language outcomes. These benefits were found for children with mild and moderate-to-severe HL. In addition, the amount of benefit from aided hearing interacted with the duration of HA experience (Speech: F4,161 = 4.98; P < .001; Language: F4,138 = 2.91; P < .02). Longer duration of HA experience was most beneficial for children who had the best aided hearing. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The degree of improved hearing provided by HAs was associated with better speech and language development in children. In addition, the duration of HA experience interacted with the aided hearing to influence outcomes. These results provide support for the provision of well-fitted HAs to children with HL. In particular, the findings support early HA fitting and HA provision to children with mild HL.

Why Virtual, Why Environments? Implementing Virtual Reality Concepts in Computer-Assisted Language Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwienhorst, Klaus

2002-01-01

Discussion of computer-assisted language learning focuses on the benefits of virtual reality environments, particularly for foreign language contexts. Topics include three approaches to learner autonomy; supporting reflection, including self-awareness; supporting interaction, including collaboration; and supporting experimentation, including…

Barriers Accessing Mental Health Services Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Immigrant Women in Australia: Policy Implications.

PubMed

Wohler, Yvonne; Dantas, Jaya Ar

2017-06-01

Immigrant and refugee women from diverse ethnic backgrounds encounter multiple barriers in accessing mental healthcare in various settings. A systematic review on the prevalence of mental health disorders among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) women in Australia documented the following barriers: logistical, language and communication, dissonance between participants and care providers and preference for alternative interventions. This article proposes recommendations for policies to better address the mental health needs of immigrant and refugee women. Key policy recommendations include: support for gender specific research, implementation and evaluation of transcultural policies, cultural responsiveness in service delivery, review of immigration and refugee claims policies and social integration of immigrants.

Working With LGBT Baby Boomers and Older Adults: Factors That Signal a Welcoming Service Environment.

PubMed

Croghan, Catherine F; Moone, Rajean P; Olson, Andrea M

2015-01-01

Many providers recognize the importance of creating culturally competent services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults. Although multiple resources list steps to make professional practices more LGBT-welcoming, these resources provide no empirical data to support their recommendations. LGBT older adults (N = 327) were asked to describe what signals that a provider is LGBT-welcoming. Six of the top 10 signals related to provider behavior and suggest the importance of staff training; the balance included display of signage and rainbow flags, use of inclusive language on forms and the presence of LGBT-identified staff. Results provide evidence-based recommendations for working with LGBT older adults.

Using Primary Language Support via Computer to Improve Reading Comprehension Skills of First-Grade English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez, Cathi Draper; Filler, John; Higgins, Kyle

2012-01-01

Through this exploratory study the authors investigated the effects of primary language support delivered via computer on the English reading comprehension skills of English language learners. Participants were 28 First-grade students identified as Limited English Proficient. The primary language of all participants was Spanish. Students were…

The efficacy of a behavioral activation intervention among depressed US Latinos with limited English language proficiency: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Collado, Anahi; Long, Katherine E; MacPherson, Laura; Lejuez, Carl W

2014-06-18

Major depressive disorder is highly prevalent among Latinos with limited English language proficiency in the United States. Although major depressive disorder is highly treatable, barriers to depression treatment have historically prevented Latinos with limited English language proficiency from accessing effective interventions. The project seeks to evaluate the efficacy of behavioral activation treatment for depression, an empirically supported treatment for depression, as an intervention that may address some of the disparities surrounding the receipt of efficacious mental health care for this population. Following a pilot study of behavioral activation treatment for depression with 10 participants which yielded very promising results, the current study is a randomized control trial testing behavioral activation treatment for depression versus a supportive counseling treatment for depression. We are in the process of recruiting 60 Latinos with limited English language proficiency meeting criteria for major depressive disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th and 5th Edition for participation in a single-center efficacy trial. Participants are randomized to receive 10 sessions of behavioral activation treatment for depression (n = 30) or 10 sessions of supportive counseling (n = 30). Assessments occur prior to each session and at 1 month after completing treatment. Intervention targets include depressive symptomatology and the proposed mechanisms of behavioral activation treatment for depression: activity level and environmental reward. We will also examine other factors related to treatment outcome such as treatment adherence, treatment satisfaction, and therapeutic alliance. This randomized controlled trial will allow us to determine the efficacy of behavioral activation treatment for depression in a fast-growing, yet highly underserved population in US mental health services. The study is also among the first to examine the effect of the proposed mechanisms of change of behavioral activation treatment for depression (that is, activity level and environmental reward) on depression over time. To our knowledge, this is the first randomized controlled trial to compare an empirical-supported treatment to a control supportive counseling condition in a sample of depressed, Spanish-speaking Latinos in the United States. Clinical Trials Register: NCT01958840; registered 8 October 2013.

Cultural adaptation of a pediatric functional assessment for rehabilitation outcomes research.

PubMed

Arestad, Kristen E; MacPhee, David; Lim, Chun Y; Khetani, Mary A

2017-09-15

Significant racial and ethnic health care disparities experienced by Hispanic children with special health care needs (CSHCN) create barriers to enacting culturally competent rehabilitation services. One way to minimize the impact of disparities in rehabilitation is to equip practitioners with culturally relevant functional assessments to accurately determine service needs. Current approaches to culturally adapting assessments have three major limitations: use of inconsistent translation processes; current processes assess for some, but not all, elements of cultural equivalence; and limited evidence to guide decision making about whether to undertake cultural adaptation with and without language translation. The aims of this observational study are (a) to examine similarities and differences of culturally adapting a pediatric functional assessment with and without language translation, and (b) to examine the feasibility of cultural adaptation processes. The Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM), a pediatric functional assessment, underwent cultural adaptation (i.e., language translation and cognitive testing) to establish Spanish and English pilot versions for use by caregivers of young CSHCN of Mexican descent. Following language translation to develop a Spanish YC-PEM pilot version, 7 caregivers (4 Spanish-speaking; 3 English-speaking) completed cognitive testing to inform decisions regarding content revisions to English and Spanish YC-PEM versions. Participant responses were content coded to established cultural equivalencies. Coded data were summed to draw comparisons on the number of revisions needed to achieve cultural equivalence between the two versions. Feasibility was assessed according to process data and data quality. Results suggest more revisions are required to achieve cultural equivalence for the translated (Spanish) version of the YC-PEM. However, issues around how the participation outcome is conceptualized were identified in both versions. Feasibility results indicate that language translation processes require high resource investment, but may increase translation quality. However, use of questionnaires versus interview methods for cognitive testing may have limited data saturation. Results lend preliminary support to the need for and feasibility of cultural adaptation with and without language translation. Results inform decisions surrounding cultural adaptations with and without language translation and thereby enhance cultural competence and quality assessment of healthcare need within pediatric rehabilitation.

To Converse with Creation: Saving California Indian Languages.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whittemore, Katharine

1997-01-01

Describes the Master-Apprentice Language Learning Program, which seeks to save endangered Native Californian languages by pairing speakers and nonspeakers and providing the pairs with materials, technical support, and personal support. Briefly discusses the history of American Indian genocide and language extinction in California. Includes…

Language Growth in Children with Heterogeneous Language Disorders: A Population Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norbury, Courtenay Frazier; Vamvakas, George; Gooch, Debbie; Baird, Gillian; Charman, Tony; Simonoff, Emily; Pickles, Andrew

2017-01-01

Background: Language development has been characterised by significant individual stability from school entry. However, the extent to which trajectories of language growth vary in children with language disorder as a function of co-occurring developmental challenges is a question of theoretical import, with implications for service provision.…

Online Collaborative Communities of Learning for Pre-Service Teachers of Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Anne-Marie

2015-01-01

University programs for preparing preservice teachers of languages for teaching in schools generally involve generic pedagogy, methodology, curriculum, programming and issues foci, that provide a bridge between the study of languages (or recognition of existing language proficiency) and the teaching of languages. There is much territory to cover…

Executable medical guidelines with Arden Syntax-Applications in dermatology and obstetrics.

PubMed

Seitinger, Alexander; Rappelsberger, Andrea; Leitich, Harald; Binder, Michael; Adlassnig, Klaus-Peter

2016-08-12

Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) are being developed to assist physicians in processing extensive data and new knowledge based on recent scientific advances. Structured medical knowledge in the form of clinical alerts or reminder rules, decision trees or tables, clinical protocols or practice guidelines, score algorithms, and others, constitute the core of CDSSs. Several medical knowledge representation and guideline languages have been developed for the formal computerized definition of such knowledge. One of these languages is Arden Syntax for Medical Logic Systems, an International Health Level Seven (HL7) standard whose development started in 1989. Its latest version is 2.10, which was presented in 2014. In the present report we discuss Arden Syntax as a modern medical knowledge representation and processing language, and show that this language is not only well suited to define clinical alerts, reminders, and recommendations, but can also be used to implement and process computerized medical practice guidelines. This section describes how contemporary software such as Java, server software, web-services, XML, is used to implement CDSSs based on Arden Syntax. Special emphasis is given to clinical decision support (CDS) that employs practice guidelines as its clinical knowledge base. Two guideline-based applications using Arden Syntax for medical knowledge representation and processing were developed. The first is a software platform for implementing practice guidelines from dermatology. This application employs fuzzy set theory and logic to represent linguistic and propositional uncertainty in medical data, knowledge, and conclusions. The second application implements a reminder system based on clinically published standard operating procedures in obstetrics to prevent deviations from state-of-the-art care. A to-do list with necessary actions specifically tailored to the gestational week/labor/delivery is generated. Today, with the latest versions of Arden Syntax and the application of contemporary software development methods, Arden Syntax has become a powerful and versatile medical knowledge representation and processing language, well suited to implement a large range of CDSSs, including clinical-practice-guideline-based CDSSs. Moreover, such CDS is provided and can be shared as a service by different medical institutions, redefining the sharing of medical knowledge. Arden Syntax is also highly flexible and provides developers the freedom to use up-to-date software design and programming patterns for external patient data access. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A qualitative case study in the social capital of co-professional collaborative co-practice for children with speech, language and communication needs.

PubMed

McKean, Cristina; Law, James; Laing, Karen; Cockerill, Maria; Allon-Smith, Jan; McCartney, Elspeth; Forbes, Joan

2017-07-01

Effective co-practice is essential to deliver services for children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). The necessary skills, knowledge and resources are distributed amongst professionals and agencies. Co-practice is complex and a number of barriers, such as 'border disputes' and poor awareness of respective priorities, have been identified. However social-relational aspects of co-practice have not been explored in sufficient depth to make recommendations for improvements in policy and practice. Here we apply social capital theory to data from practitioners: an analytical framework with the potential to move beyond descriptions of socio-cultural phenomena to inform change. Co-practice in a local authority site was examined to understand: (1) the range of social capital relations extant in the site's co-practice; (2) how these relations affected the abilities of the network to collaborate; (3) whether previously identified barriers to co-practice remain; (4) the nature of any new complexities that may have emerged; and (5) how inter-professional social capital might be fostered. A qualitative case study of SLCN provision within one local authority in England and its linked NHS partner was completed through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with professionals working with children with SLCN across the authority. Interviews, exploring barriers and facilitators to interagency working and social capital themes, were transcribed, subjected to thematic analysis using iterative methods and a thematic framework derived. We identified a number of characteristics important for the effective development of trust, reciprocity and negotiated co-practice at different levels of social capital networks: macro-service governance and policy; meso-school sites; and micro-intra-practitioner knowledge and skills. Barriers to co-practice differed from those found in earlier studies. Some negative aspects of complexity were evident, but only where networked professionalism and trust was absent between professions. Where practitioners embraced and services and systems enabled more fluid forms of collaboration, then trust and reciprocity developed. Highly collaborative forms of co-practice, inherently more complex at the service governance, macro-level, bring benefits. At the meso-level of the school and support team network there was greater capacity to individualize co-practice to the needs of the child. Capacity was increased at the micro-level of knowledge and skills to harness the overall resource distributed amongst members of the inter-professional team. The development of social capital, networks of trust across SLCN support teams, should be a priority at all levels-for practitioners, services, commissioners and schools. © 2016 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Assessment and Intervention for English Language Learners with Primary Language Impairment: Research-Based Best Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pieretti, Robert A.; Roseberry-McKibbin, Celeste

2016-01-01

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are experiencing the exciting challenge of serving increasing numbers of English Language Learners (ELLs) in U.S. schools. When ELLs struggle in school, they may be overreferred for speech-language services. SLPs are routinely expected to differentiate a language difference based on cultural, linguistic, and…

Maternal Depressive Symptomatology, Social Support, and Language Development of Bilingual Preschoolers From Low-Income Households.

PubMed

Cycyk, Lauren M; Bitetti, Dana; Hammer, Carol Scheffner

2015-08-01

This study examined the impact of maternal depressive symptomatology and social support on the English and Spanish language growth of young bilingual children from low-income backgrounds. It was hypothesized that maternal depression would slow children's development in both languages but that social support would buffer the negative effect. Longitudinal data were collected from 83 mothers of Puerto Rican descent and their children who were attending Head Start preschool for 2 years. The effects of maternal depressive symptomatology and social support from family and friends on receptive vocabulary and oral comprehension development in both languages were examined. Growth curve modeling revealed that maternal depressive symptomatology negatively affected Spanish receptive vocabulary development only. Maternal depression did not affect children's English receptive vocabulary or their oral comprehension in either language. Social support was not related to maternal depressive symptomatology or child language. These findings suggest that maternal depression is 1 risk factor that contributes to less robust primary language development of bilingual children from low-income households. Speech-language pathologists must (a) increase their awareness of maternal depression in order to provide families with appropriate mental health referrals and (b) consider their roles as supportive adults for children whose mothers may be depressed.

Maternal Depressive Symptomatology, Social Support, and Language Development of Bilingual Preschoolers From Low-Income Households

PubMed Central

Bitetti, Dana; Hammer, Carol Scheffner

2015-01-01

Purpose This study examined the impact of maternal depressive symptomatology and social support on the English and Spanish language growth of young bilingual children from low-income backgrounds. It was hypothesized that maternal depression would slow children's development in both languages but that social support would buffer the negative effect. Method Longitudinal data were collected from 83 mothers of Puerto Rican descent and their children who were attending Head Start preschool for 2 years. The effects of maternal depressive symptomatology and social support from family and friends on receptive vocabulary and oral comprehension development in both languages were examined. Results Growth curve modeling revealed that maternal depressive symptomatology negatively affected Spanish receptive vocabulary development only. Maternal depression did not affect children's English receptive vocabulary or their oral comprehension in either language. Social support was not related to maternal depressive symptomatology or child language. Conclusions These findings suggest that maternal depression is 1 risk factor that contributes to less robust primary language development of bilingual children from low-income households. Speech-language pathologists must (a) increase their awareness of maternal depression in order to provide families with appropriate mental health referrals and (b) consider their roles as supportive adults for children whose mothers may be depressed. PMID:25863774

An Issue Hiding in Plain Sight: When Are Speech-Language Pathologists Special Educators Rather than Related Services Providers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giangreco, Michael F.; Prelock, Patricia A.; Turnbull, H. Rutherford, III

2010-01-01

Purpose: Under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; as amended, 2004), speech-language pathology services may be either special education or a related service. Given the absence of guidance documents or research on this issue, the purposes of this clinical exchange are to (a) present and analyze the IDEA definitions related to…

Non-Attendance and Utilization of a Speech and Language Therapy Service: A Retrospective Pilot Study of School-Aged Referrals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curran, Amy; Flynn, Catherine; Antonijevic-Elliott, Stanislava; Lyons, Rena

2015-01-01

Background: Non-attendance and inappropriate referrals affect the effective and efficient running of healthcare services. Non-engagement with speech and language therapy (SLT) services may lead to negative long-term consequences for children in need of SLT intervention. Currently there is a dearth of research on non-attendance and non-engagement…

The Multicultural Café: Enhancing Authentic Interaction for Adult English Language Learners through Service Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riley, Tracy; Douglas, Scott Roy

2016-01-01

While service learning platforms hold great potential for adult learners of English as an additional language (EAL), there has been little research to date related to the impact of these programs on adult newcomers' linguistic and social development. The Multicultural Café was a food service learning platform for adult EAL learners operated over a…

From Pre-Service to In-Service Teachers: A Longitudinal Investigation of the Professional Development of English Language Teachers in Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gu, Mingyue Michelle

2013-01-01

This study reports on a longitudinal inquiry into professional identity construction among six novice cross-border English language teachers from mainland China, who completed their pre-service teacher education in Hong Kong (HK) and began their teaching practice in local HK schools. The findings indicate that the participants navigated obstacles…

Language Services In Hospitals Vary By Ownership And Location.

PubMed

Schiaffino, Melody K; Nara, Atsushi; Mao, Liang

2016-08-01

Twenty-four million people in the United States have limited English proficiency. They experience barriers to health care because of their inability to communicate effectively with providers. Hospitals are required to provide language services that reflect the needs of people in their communities, but these services are not available systematically. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Progress Report, October, 1967, through April, 1968: Educational Component of the Public Service Careers Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

City Univ. of New York, NY. Office of Community Coll. Affairs.

Parallel with on-the-job training, this program provides remedial courses in High School Equivalency (HSE), Human Relations (HR), English as a Second Language (ESL) to help qualify candidates for public service careers in the Department of Hospitals and Department of Social Services, and Board of Education. HSE develops language, math, and reading…

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.

Special Education Services Received by Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders from Preschool through High School

PubMed Central

Wei, Xin; Wagner, Mary; Christiano, Elizabeth R.A.; Shattuck, Paul; Yu, Jennifer W.

2014-01-01

Little is known about how special education services received by students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) differ by age, disability severity, and demographic characteristics. Using three national datasets, the Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS), the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS), and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2), this study examined the age trends in special education services received by students with ASDs from preschool through high school. Elementary-school students with ASDs had higher odds of receiving adaptive physical education, specialized computer software or hardware, and special transportation, but lower odds of receiving learning strategies/study skills support than their preschool peers. Secondary-school students had lower odds of receiving speech/language or occupational therapy and of having a behavior management program, but higher odds of receiving mental health or social work services than their elementary-school peers. Both disability severity and demographic characteristics were associated with differences in special education service receipt rates. PMID:25419002

Special Education Services Received by Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders from Preschool through High School.

PubMed

Wei, Xin; Wagner, Mary; Christiano, Elizabeth R A; Shattuck, Paul; Yu, Jennifer W

2014-11-01

Little is known about how special education services received by students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) differ by age, disability severity, and demographic characteristics. Using three national datasets, the Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS), the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS), and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2), this study examined the age trends in special education services received by students with ASDs from preschool through high school. Elementary-school students with ASDs had higher odds of receiving adaptive physical education, specialized computer software or hardware, and special transportation, but lower odds of receiving learning strategies/study skills support than their preschool peers. Secondary-school students had lower odds of receiving speech/language or occupational therapy and of having a behavior management program, but higher odds of receiving mental health or social work services than their elementary-school peers. Both disability severity and demographic characteristics were associated with differences in special education service receipt rates.

Exercise for frail elders Exercise for frail elders Best-Martini Elizabeth Kim A Product Botenhagen-Di Genova Human Kinetics £24.50 0 73603 687 3 0736036873.

PubMed

2003-09-01

Department of Health Publications Free 208 pp This guide provides practical advice on how to obtain information, services and equipment. It is aimed at people who are older, disabled or who have mental health problems and those who support them. Copies are available in Braille, audio cassette, disk, large print and in a range of languages. Tel: 0800 555777. www.doh.gov.uk /disabledguide.

The development of an intelligent user interface for NASA's scientific databases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, William J.; Roelofs, Larry H.

1986-01-01

The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) has initiated an Intelligent Data Management (IDM) research effort which has as one of its components, the development of an Intelligent User Interface (IUI). The intent of the IUI effort is to develop a friendly and intelligent user interface service that is based on expert systems and natural language processing technologies. This paper presents the design concepts, development approach and evaluation of performance of a prototype Intelligent User Interface Subsystem (IUIS) supporting an operational database.

Developing a Coalition Battle Management Language to Facilitate Interoperability Between Operation CIS, and Simulations in Support of Training and Mission Rehearsal

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-06-01

virtualisation of distributed computing and data resources such as processing, network bandwidth, and storage capacity, to create a single system...and Simulation (M&S) will be integrated into this heterogeneous SOA. M&S functionality will be available in the form of operational M&S services. One...documents defining net centric warfare, the use of M&S functionality is a common theme. Alberts and Hayes give a good overview on net centric operations

Building asynchronous geospatial processing workflows with web services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Peisheng; Di, Liping; Yu, Genong

2012-02-01

Geoscience research and applications often involve a geospatial processing workflow. This workflow includes a sequence of operations that use a variety of tools to collect, translate, and analyze distributed heterogeneous geospatial data. Asynchronous mechanisms, by which clients initiate a request and then resume their processing without waiting for a response, are very useful for complicated workflows that take a long time to run. Geospatial contents and capabilities are increasingly becoming available online as interoperable Web services. This online availability significantly enhances the ability to use Web service chains to build distributed geospatial processing workflows. This paper focuses on how to orchestrate Web services for implementing asynchronous geospatial processing workflows. The theoretical bases for asynchronous Web services and workflows, including asynchrony patterns and message transmission, are examined to explore different asynchronous approaches to and architecture of workflow code for the support of asynchronous behavior. A sample geospatial processing workflow, issued by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Service, Phase 6 (OWS-6), is provided to illustrate the implementation of asynchronous geospatial processing workflows and the challenges in using Web Services Business Process Execution Language (WS-BPEL) to develop them.

Statistical Learning in a Natural Language by 8-Month-Old Infants

PubMed Central

Pelucchi, Bruna; Hay, Jessica F.; Saffran, Jenny R.

2013-01-01

Numerous studies over the past decade support the claim that infants are equipped with powerful statistical language learning mechanisms. The primary evidence for statistical language learning in word segmentation comes from studies using artificial languages, continuous streams of synthesized syllables that are highly simplified relative to real speech. To what extent can these conclusions be scaled up to natural language learning? In the current experiments, English-learning 8-month-old infants’ ability to track transitional probabilities in fluent infant-directed Italian speech was tested (N = 72). The results suggest that infants are sensitive to transitional probability cues in unfamiliar natural language stimuli, and support the claim that statistical learning is sufficiently robust to support aspects of real-world language acquisition. PMID:19489896

Statistical learning in a natural language by 8-month-old infants.

PubMed

Pelucchi, Bruna; Hay, Jessica F; Saffran, Jenny R

2009-01-01

Numerous studies over the past decade support the claim that infants are equipped with powerful statistical language learning mechanisms. The primary evidence for statistical language learning in word segmentation comes from studies using artificial languages, continuous streams of synthesized syllables that are highly simplified relative to real speech. To what extent can these conclusions be scaled up to natural language learning? In the current experiments, English-learning 8-month-old infants' ability to track transitional probabilities in fluent infant-directed Italian speech was tested (N = 72). The results suggest that infants are sensitive to transitional probability cues in unfamiliar natural language stimuli, and support the claim that statistical learning is sufficiently robust to support aspects of real-world language acquisition.

Supporting Children's Oral Language Development in the Preschool Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whorrall, Jennifer; Cabell, Sonia Q.

2016-01-01

Supporting children's oral language development during the preschool years is critical for later reading success. Research shows that preschool teachers may be missing opportunities to engage children in the kinds of conversations that foster the development of rich oral language skills. Teachers hoping to support these skills can provide children…

Speech-language pathology telehealth in rural and remote schools: the experience of school executive and therapy assistants.

PubMed

Fairweather, Glenn C; Lincoln, Michelle A; Ramsden, Robyn

2017-01-01

Difficulties in accessing allied health services, especially in rural and remote areas, appear to be driving the use of telehealth services to children in schools. The objectives of this study were to investigate the experiences and views of school executive staff and therapy assistants regarding the feasibility and acceptability of a speech-language pathology telehealth program for children attending schools in rural and remote New South Wales, Australia. The program, called Come N See, provided therapy interventions remotely via low-bandwidth videoconferencing, with email follow-up. Over a 12-week period, children were offered therapy blocks of six fortnightly sessions, each lasting a maximum of 30 minutes. School executives (n=5) and therapy assistants (n=6) described factors that promoted or threatened the program's feasibility and acceptability, during semistructured interviews. Thematic content analysis with constant comparison was applied to the transcribed interviews to identify relationships in the data. Emergent themes related to (a) unmet speech pathology needs, (b) building relationships, (c) telehealth's advantages, (d) telehealth's disadvantages, (e) anxiety replaced by joy and confidence in growing skills, and (f) supports. School executive staff and therapy assistants verified that the delivery of the school-based telehealth service was feasible and acceptable. However, the participants saw significant opportunities to enhance this acceptability through building into the program stronger working relationships and supports for stakeholders. These findings are important for the future development of allied health telehealth programs that are sustainable as well as effective and fit the needs of all crucial stakeholders. The results have significant implications for speech pathology clinical practice relating to technology, program planning and teamwork within telehealth programs.

It Takes Two to Talk--The Hanen Program and families of children with motor disorders: a UK perspective.

PubMed

Pennington, L; Thomson, K

2007-11-01

Speech and language therapy for young children who have motor disorders targets both the children themselves and their parents. Therapy for parents often involves training about communication and how to foster children's development. It Takes Two to Talk--The Hanen Program for Parents has become popular in the UK, but has not been specifically evaluated for this client group. This study, which was part of a larger investigation of the acceptability and potential effects of the programme on the communication patterns of mothers and their young children with motor disorders, investigated therapists' experiences of providing the training in the National Health Service (NHS) and their views on its effectiveness. Four focus groups, which involved 16 speech and language therapists who provide It Takes Two to Talk in NHS Trusts in England, were analysed using qualitative methods. The themes indicated that therapists perceived the training programme to be effective in helping parents to develop a facilitative communication style. Therapists reported secondary outcomes of positive changes in parents' confidence and in relationships between parents and their children and between parents and therapists. Barriers to the provision and success of the programme were thought to relate to resources, parents' apprehensions about the programme's content and delivery and support from key stakeholders. Barriers were seen to be minimized in services where other members of the healthcare teams actively supported the training programme and where the intervention was integrated as part of a care pathway. The information from this study may assist service providers in the marketing, planning and delivery of new intervention methods, to ensure that they are seen as valuable and acceptable by parents.

Indirect language therapy for children with persistent language impairment in mainstream primary schools: outcomes from a cohort intervention.

PubMed

McCartney, Elspeth; Boyle, James; Ellis, Sue; Bannatyne, Susan; Turnbull, Mary

2011-01-01

A manualized language therapy developed via a randomized controlled trial had proved efficacious in the short-term in developing expressive language for mainstream primary school children with persistent language impairment. This therapy had been delivered to a predetermined schedule by speech and language therapists or speech and language therapy assistants to children individually or in groups. However, this model of service delivery is no longer the most common model in UK schools, where indirect consultancy approaches with intervention delivered by school staff are often used. A cohort study was undertaken to investigate whether the therapy was equally efficacious when delivered to comparable children by school staff, rather than speech and language therapists or speech and language therapy assistants. Children in the cohort study were selected using the same criteria as in the randomized controlled trial, and the same manualized therapy was used, but delivered by mainstream school staff using a consultancy model common in the UK. Outcomes were compared with those of randomized controlled trial participants. The gains in expressive language measured in the randomized controlled trial were not replicated in the cohort study. Less language-learning activity was recorded than had been planned, and less than was delivered in the randomized controlled trial. Implications for 'consultancy' speech and language therapist service delivery models in mainstream schools are outlined. At present, the more efficacious therapy is that delivered by speech and language therapists or speech and language therapy assistants to children individually or in groups. This may be related to more faithful adherence to the interventions schedule, and to a probably greater amount of language-learning activity undertaken. Intervention delivered via school-based 'consultancy' approaches in schools will require to be carefully monitored by schools and SLT services. © 2010 Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists.

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

Perspectives of basic wheelchair users on improving their access to wheelchair services in Kenya and Philippines: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Williams, Emma; Hurwitz, Elizabeth; Obaga, Immaculate; Onguti, Brenda; Rivera, Adovich; Sy, Tyrone Reden L; Kirby, R Lee; Noon, Jamie; Tanuku, Deepti; Gichangi, Anthony; Bazant, Eva

2017-08-17

The United Nations has called for countries to improve access to mobility devices when needed. The World Health Organization has published guidelines on the provision of manual wheelchairs in less-resourced settings. Yet little is known about the extent to which appropriate wheelchairs are available and provided according to international guidelines. This study's purpose was to describe wheelchair users' experiences receiving services and acquiring wheelchair skills in urban and peri-urban areas of Kenya and the Philippines. Local researchers in Nairobi and Manila interviewed 48 adult basic wheelchair users, with even distribution of those who had and had not received wheelchair services along with their wheelchair. Recordings were transcribed in the local language and translated into English. The study team coded transcripts for predetermined and emergent themes, using Atlas-ti software. A qualitative content analysis approach was taken with the WHO service delivery process as an organizing framework. Wheelchair users frequently described past experiences with ill-fitting wheelchairs and little formal training to use wheelchairs effectively. Through exposure to multiple wheelchairs and self-advocacy, they learned to select wheelchairs suitable for their needs. Maintenance and repair services were often in short supply. Participants attributed shorter duration of wheelchair use to lack of repair. Peer support networks emerged as an important source of knowledge, resources and emotional support. Most participants acknowledged that they received wheelchairs that would have been difficult or impossible for them to pay for, and despite challenges, they were grateful to have some means of mobility. Four themes emerged as critical for understanding the implementation of wheelchair services: barriers in the physical environment, the need for having multiple chairs to improve access, perceived social stigma, and the importance of peer support. Interventions are needed to provide wheelchairs services efficiently, at scale, in an environment facilitating physical access and peer support, and reduced social stigma. Not applicable since this was a descriptive study.

Building effective service linkages in primary mental health care: a narrative review part 2

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Primary care services have not generally been effective in meeting mental health care needs. There is evidence that collaboration between primary care and specialist mental health services can improve clinical and organisational outcomes. It is not clear however what factors enable or hinder effective collaboration. The objective of this study was to examine the factors that enable effective collaboration between specialist mental health services and primary mental health care. Methods A narrative and thematic review of English language papers published between 1998 and 2009. An expert reference group helped formulate strategies for policy makers. Studies of descriptive and qualitative design from Australia, New Zealand, UK, Europe, USA and Canada were included. Data were extracted on factors reported as enablers or barriers to development of service linkages. These were tabulated by theme at clinical and organisational levels and the inter-relationship between themes was explored. Results A thematic analysis of 30 papers found the most frequently cited group of factors was "partnership formation", specifically role clarity between health care workers. Other factor groups supporting clinical partnership formation were staff support, clinician attributes, clinic physical features and evaluation and feedback. At the organisational level a supportive institutional environment of leadership and change management was important. The expert reference group then proposed strategies for collaboration that would be seen as important, acceptable and feasible. Because of the variability of study types we did not exclude on quality and findings are weighted by the number of studies. Variability in local service contexts limits the generalisation of findings. Conclusion The findings provide a framework for health planners to develop effective service linkages in primary mental health care. Our expert reference group proposed five areas of strategy for policy makers that address organisational level support, joint clinical problem solving, local joint care guidelines, staff training and supervision and feedback. PMID:21435273

Historical report account on the development of anesthesiology and medical services in Kingdom Saudi Arabia 1956-1987: M. I. Al-Khawashki's letter dated April 25(th) 1997.

PubMed

Takrouri, Mohamad Said Maani; Takrouri, Farah Maani

2011-01-01

In this historical report, a new light is spotting new details of the development of anesthesiology and medical services in Kingdom Saudi Arabia 1956-1987. The value of this letter written in Arabic language and cannot be accessible to non-Arabic speakers. The translation and verification of author publications to support its evidence would augment the current of scientific history writing. The time covered was since 1952 to the eighties. It reflects the ambition of various ministers of health in Saudi Arabia and international health body WHO that allowed many health care providers to build the services. It is first-hand experience of the writer Al Khawashki. The picture would be more complete when more research would follow this paper publication.

Associations between intensity of child welfare involvement and child development among young children in child welfare.

PubMed

Stahmer, Aubyn C; Hurlburt, Michael; Horwitz, Sarah McCue; Landsverk, John; Zhang, Jinjin; Leslie, Laurel K

2009-09-01

To examine developmental and behavioral status of children in child welfare (CW) over time, by intensity of CW involvement using a national probability sample. As part of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW), data were collected on 1,049 children 12-47 months old investigated by CW agencies for possible abuse or neglect. Analyses used descriptive statistics to characterize developmental and behavioral status across four domains (developmental/cognitive, language, adaptive functioning, and behavior) by intensity of CW involvement (in-home with CW services, in-home with no CW services or out-of-home care) over time. Multivariate analyses were used to examine the relationship between independent variables (age, gender, home environment, race/ethnicity, maltreatment history, intensity of CW involvement) and follow-up domain scores. On average, children improved in developmental/cognitive, communication/language status over time, but these improvements did not differ by intensity of CW involvement. Analyses revealed a positive relationship between the home environment and change in language and adaptive behavior standard scores over time, and few predictors of change in behavioral status. An interaction between intensity of CW involvement and initial developmental/cognitive status was present. Across domains, intensity of CW involvement does not appear to have a significant effect on change in developmental and behavioral status, although out-of-home care does have differential relationships with children's developmental/cognitive status for those with very low initial cognitive/developmental status. Facilitating development in children in CW may require supportive, enriched care environments both for children remaining at home and those in foster care. Toddler and preschool age children known to child welfare are likely to have difficulties with development whether they are removed from their homes or not. It would be helpful if child welfare workers were trained to screen for developmental, language, adaptive behavior and behavioral difficulties in children in foster care, and those remaining at home. Additional support for biological, foster, and kinship caregivers in encouraging development is important for the attainment of critical developmental skills, especially for children with developmental difficulties.

Language Ideologies and Literacy Achievement: Six Multilingual Countries and Two International Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arya, Diana J.; McClung, Nicola A.; Katznelson, Noah; Scott, Lyn

2016-01-01

Social psychologists have suggested that language-based ideologies related to "stereotype threat" (i.e. variations in performance-based on ability perceptions of language groups) may affect students' academic achievement regardless of school language support. However, it is unclear whether efforts to support students' first language…

A feasibility study for the provision of electronic healthcare tools and services in areas of Greece, Cyprus and Italy

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Through this paper, we present the initial steps for the creation of an integrated platform for the provision of a series of eHealth tools and services to both citizens and travelers in isolated areas of thesoutheast Mediterranean, and on board ships travelling across it. The platform was created through an INTERREG IIIB ARCHIMED project called INTERMED. Methods The support of primary healthcare, home care and the continuous education of physicians are the three major issues that the proposed platform is trying to facilitate. The proposed system is based on state-of-the-art telemedicine systems and is able to provide the following healthcare services: i) Telecollaboration and teleconsultation services between remotely located healthcare providers, ii) telemedicine services in emergencies, iii) home telecare services for "at risk" citizens such as the elderly and patients with chronic diseases, and iv) eLearning services for the continuous training through seminars of both healthcare personnel (physicians, nurses etc) and persons supporting "at risk" citizens. These systems support data transmission over simple phone lines, internet connections, integrated services digital network/digital subscriber lines, satellite links, mobile networks (GPRS/3G), and wireless local area networks. The data corresponds, among others, to voice, vital biosignals, still medical images, video, and data used by eLearning applications. The proposed platform comprises several systems, each supporting different services. These were integrated using a common data storage and exchange scheme in order to achieve system interoperability in terms of software, language and national characteristics. Results The platform has been installed and evaluated in different rural and urban sites in Greece, Cyprus and Italy. The evaluation was mainly related to technical issues and user satisfaction. The selected sites are, among others, rural health centers, ambulances, homes of "at-risk" citizens, and a ferry. Conclusions The results proved the functionality and utilization of the platform in various rural places in Greece, Cyprus and Italy. However, further actions are needed to enable the local healthcare systems and the different population groups to be familiarized with, and use in their everyday lives, mature technological solutions for the provision of healthcare services. PMID:21649924

"To Improve Language, You Have to Mix": Teachers' Perceptions of Language Learning in an Overseas Immersion Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roskvist, Annelies; Harvey, Sharon; Corder, Deborah; Stacey, Karen

2014-01-01

The overseas immersion environment has long been considered a superior context for language learning, supposedly providing unlimited exposure to target language (TL) input and countless opportunities for authentic interaction with expert users. This article focuses on immersion programmes (IPs) for in-service language teachers--a relatively…

Impact of Communication on Preventive Services Among Deaf American Sign Language Users

PubMed Central

McKee, Michael M.; Barnett, Steve L.; Block, Robert C.; Pearson, Thomas A.

2011-01-01

Background Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users face communication and language barriers that limit healthcare communication with their providers. Prior research has not examined preventive services with ASL-skilled clinicians. Purpose The goal of this study was to determine whether provider language concordance is associated with improved receipt of preventive services among deaf respondents. Methods This cross-sectional study included 89 deaf respondents aged 50–75 years from the Deaf Health Survey (2008), a BRFSS survey adapted for use with deaf ASL users. Association between the respondent's communication method with the provider (i.e., categorized as either concordant–doctor signs or discordant–other) and preventive services use was assessed using logistic regression adjusting for race, gender, income, health status, health insurance, and education. Analyses were conducted in 2010. Results Deaf respondents who reported having a concordant provider were more likely to report a greater number of preventive services (OR 3.42; 95% CI:1.31, 8.93; p=0.0122) when compared to deaf respondents who reported having a discordant provider even after adjusting for race, gender, income, health status, health insurance, and education. In unadjusted analyses, deaf respondents who reported having a concordant provider were more likely to receive an influenza vaccination in the past year (OR 4.55; p=0.016) when compared to respondents who had a discordant provider. Conclusions Language-concordant patient–provider communication is associated with higher appropriate use of preventive services by deaf ASL users. PMID:21665066

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.

Gauging the Effectiveness of Anti-Plagiarism Software: An Empirical Study of Second Language Graduate Writers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stapleton, Paul

2012-01-01

The use of anti-plagiarism services has grown very quickly in recent years to the point where over half of American universities now have a license. The most popular of these services, Turnitin, claims that it is licensed in 126 countries and available in 10 languages suggesting that the service is becoming widely used around the world. In order…

“You never know who are Sami or speak Sami” Clinicians’ experiences with language-appropriate care to Sami-speaking patients in outpatient mental health clinics in Northern Norway

PubMed Central

Dagsvold, Inger; Møllersen, Snefrid; Stordahl, Vigdis

2016-01-01

Background The Indigenous population in Norway, the Sami, have a statutory right to speak and be spoken to in the Sami language when receiving health services. There is, however, limited knowledge about how clinicians deal with this in clinical practice. This study explores how clinicians deal with language-appropriate care with Sami-speaking patients in specialist mental health services. Objectives This study aims to explore how clinicians identify and respond to Sami patients’ language data, as well as how they experience provision of therapy to Sami-speaking patients in outpatient mental health clinics in Sami language administrative districts. Method Data were collected using qualitative method, through individual interviews with 20 therapists working in outpatient mental health clinics serving Sami populations in northern Norway. A thematic analysis inspired by systematic text reduction was employed. Findings Two themes were identified: (a) identification of Sami patients’ language data and (b) experiences with provision of therapy to Sami-speaking patients. Conclusion Findings indicate that clinicians are not aware of patients’ language needs prior to admission and that they deal with identification of language data and offer of language-appropriate care ad hoc when patients arrive. Sami-speaking participants reported always offering language choice and found more profound understanding of patients’ experiences when Sami language was used. Whatever language Sami-speaking patients may choose, they are found to switch between languages during therapy. Most non-Sami-speaking participants reported offering Sami-speaking services, but the patients chose to speak Norwegian. However, a few of the participants maintained language awareness and could identify language needs despite a patient's refusal to speak Sami in therapy. Finally, some non-Sami-speaking participants were satisfied if they understood what the patients were saying. They left it to patients to address language problems, only to discover patients’ complaints in retrospect. Consequently, language-appropriate care depends on individual clinicians’ language assessment and offering of language choice. PMID:27836018

The challenge of linguistic and cultural diversity: Does length of experience affect South African speech-language therapists' management of children with language impairment?

PubMed

Southwood, Frenette; Van Dulm, Ondene

2015-02-10

South African speech-language therapists (SLTs) currently do not reflect the country's linguistic and cultural diversity. The question arises as to who might be better equipped currently to provide services to multilingual populations: SLTs with more clinical experience in such contexts, or recently trained SLTs who are themselves linguistically and culturally diverse and whose training programmes deliberately focused on multilingualism and multiculturalism? To investigate whether length of clinical experience influenced: number of bilingual children treated, languages spoken by these children, languages in which assessment and remediation can be offered, assessment instrument(s) favoured, and languages in which therapy material is required. From questionnaires completed by 243 Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)-registered SLTs who treat children with language problems, two groups were drawn:71 more experienced (ME) respondents (20+ years of experience) and 79 less experienced (LE) respondents (maximum 5 years of experience). The groups did not differ significantly with regard to (1) number of children(monolingual or bilingual) with language difficulties seen, (2) number of respondents seeing child clients who have Afrikaans or an African language as home language, (3) number of respondents who can offer intervention in Afrikaans or English and (4) number of respondents who reported needing therapy material in Afrikaans or English. However, significantly more ME than LE respondents reported seeing first language child speakers of English, whereas significantly more LE than ME respondents could provide services, and required therapy material, in African languages. More LE than ME SLTs could offer remediation in an African language, but there were few other significant differences between the two groups. There is still an absence of appropriate assessment and remediation material for Afrikaans and African languages, but the increased number of African language speakers entering the profession may contribute to better service delivery to the diverse South African population.

The challenge of linguistic and cultural diversity: Does length of experience affect South African speech-language therapists’ management of children with language impairment?

PubMed Central

Southwood, Frenette; van Dulm, Ondene

2015-01-01

Background South African speech-language therapists (SLTs) currently do not reflect the country's linguistic and cultural diversity. The question arises as to who might be better equipped currently to provide services to multilingual populations: SLTs with more clinical experience in such contexts, or recently trained SLTs who are themselves linguistically and culturally diverse and whose training programmes deliberately focused on multilingualism and multiculturalism? Aims To investigate whether length of clinical experience influenced: number of bilingual children treated, languages spoken by these children, languages in which assessment and remediation can be offered, assessment instrument(s) favoured, and languages in which therapy material is required. Method From questionnaires completed by 243 Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)-registered SLTs who treat children with language problems, two groups were drawn: 71 more experienced (ME) respondents (20+ years of experience) and 79 less experienced (LE) respondents (maximum 5 years of experience). Results The groups did not differ significantly with regard to (1) number of children (monolingual or bilingual) with language difficulties seen, (2) number of respondents seeing child clients who have Afrikaans or an African language as home language, (3) number of respondents who can offer intervention in Afrikaans or English and (4) number of respondents who reported needing therapy material in Afrikaans or English. However, significantly more ME than LE respondents reported seeing first language child speakers of English, whereas significantly more LE than ME respondents could provide services, and required therapy material, in African languages. Conclusion More LE than ME SLTs could offer remediation in an African language, but there were few other significant differences between the two groups. There is still an absence of appropriate assessment and remediation material for Afrikaans and African languages, but the increased number of African language speakers entering the profession may contribute to better service delivery to the diverse South African population. PMID:26304212

A Meta-Analysis of Effectiveness Studies on Computer Technology-Supported Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grgurovic, Maja; Chapelle, Carol A.; Shelley, Mack C.

2013-01-01

With the aim of summarizing years of research comparing pedagogies for second/foreign language teaching supported with computer technology and pedagogy not-supported by computer technology, a meta-analysis was conducted of empirical research investigating language outcomes. Thirty-seven studies yielding 52 effect sizes were included, following a…

Supporting Caregivers in Developing Responsive Communication Partnerships with Their Children: Extending a Caregiver-Led Interactive Language Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cologon, Kathy; Wicks, Lilly; Salvador, Aliza

2017-01-01

This study investigates whether extension of a caregiver-led interactive language program may enhance its effectiveness in supporting communication. Caregiver-led language programs, which focus on establishing responsive interaction patterns to support opportunities for communication between caregivers and young children within natural settings,…

Supporting Children with Speech and Language Difficulties. Supporting Children Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

David Fulton Publishers, 2004

2004-01-01

Off-the-shelf support containing all the vital information practitioners need to know about Speech and Language Difficulties, this book includes: (1) Strategies for developing attention control; (2) Guidance on how to improve language and listening skills; and (3) Ideas for teaching phonological awareness. Following a foreword and an introduction,…

Pathways from Mothers' Early Social Support to Children's Language Development at Age 3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Young Eun

2017-01-01

The relationships between early maternal social support, maternal psychological well-being, the home learning environment, and children's language skills at age 3 in Korean families were examined. We hypothesized that maternal social support would predict children's language development through its effect on maternal psychological well-being and…

An international perspective: supporting adolescents with speech, language, and communication needs in the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Joffe, Victoria

2015-02-01

This article provides an overview of the education system in the United Kingdom, with a particular focus on the secondary school context and supporting older children and young people with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCNs). Despite the pervasive nature of speech, language, and communication difficulties and their long-term impact on academic performance, mental health, and well-being, evidence suggests that there is limited support to older children and young people with SLCNs in the United Kingdom, relative to what is available in the early years. Focus in secondary schools is predominantly on literacy, with little attention to supporting oral language. The article provides a synopsis of the working practices of pediatric speech and language therapists working with adolescents in the United Kingdom and the type and level of speech and language therapy support provided for older children and young people with SLCNs in secondary and further education. Implications for the nature and type of specialist support to adolescents and adults with SLCNs are discussed. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.