What is available for potential deaf interpreting students? Obtaining a snapshot of colleges that offer a B.A. or B.S. in Interpreting Studies

In this thesis, the history of interpreter education pertaining to the education and training of Deaf Interpreters will be reviewed and summarized. While some research and examination of current training programs and curriculum for hearing interpreting students exists, there is little or no research on the educational or training needs of and opportunities for the deaf students who enroll in a college offering a Bachelor’s degree in interpretation and major in interpreting studies. The goal of this research is to gather information about existing colleges that offer a degree in interpreting studies by examining the course offerings required to graduate with a degree in interpreting. For this study, the information was gathered from colleges identified as offering an undergraduate degree in Interpreting Studies and also accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education (CCIE), an accreditation board for interpreter education programs that certifies programs meeting the educational standard requirements for interpreting studies degrees. In addition, Gallaudet University and California State University, Northridge, two universities with long histories of serving individuals who are Deaf and hard of hearing, were added to the research pool. The charts and diagrams in this study provide a snapshot of current options for deaf students interested in earning a degree in interpreting studies. The conclusions and results from examining the data and course offerings show that there are many more possible research avenues, including the need for additional research on curriculum design and development and research on the educational needs of interpreting students, especially deaf interpreting students’ needs

The perceptions of principal preparation programs from the perspectives of non-reappointed principals

Principal Preparation Programs are a one-year intensive program to develop aspiring school Principals with at least three years of Assistant Principal experience (Solodev,2022). The purpose of these programs is to prepare aspiring leaders for the role of school Principal adequately. This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to explore the perceptions of principal preparation programs from the perspectives of non-reappointed principals. Four non-reappointed principals participated in the study. Three themes emerged from the data analysis of this study. Non-reappointed principals perceived that the training lacked the hands-on experience they needed, the level of support they received needed to be improved, and that the reasons they were non-reappointed seemed politically motivated due to a lack of transparency. This study suggested that Principal Preparation Programs should incorporate more realistic experiences through internships, mentoring, and support during and after the completion of the program. As school districts work to refine their Principal Preparation Programs to align with the new Florida Leadership Standards, this study may aid in the retention rate of novice principals

Social Determinants of Smoke Exposure During Pregnancy: Findings From Waves 1 & 2 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study

Maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP) and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure are associated with a myriad of negative health effects for both mother and child. However, less is known regarding social determinants for SHS exposure, which may differ from those of maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP). To identify social determinants for SHS exposure only, MSDP only, and MSDP and SHS exposure, data were obtained from all pregnant women (18–54 years; N = 726) in waves 1 and 2 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study (2014–2015). Multiple logistic regressions were conducted using SAS 9.4. Smoke exposure during pregnancy was common; 23.0% reported SHS exposure only, 6.1% reported MSDP only, and 11.8% reported both SHS exposure and MSDP. Results demonstrate that relationships between smoke exposure during pregnancy and social determinants vary by type of exposure. Women at risk for any smoke exposure during pregnancy include those who are unmarried and allow the use of combustible tobacco products within the home. Those who are at higher risk for SHS exposure include those who are younger in age, and those who are earlier in their pregnancy. Those who are at higher risk for maternal smoking include those with fair/poor mental health status and those who believe that others\u27 view tobacco use more positively. These results suggest the need for implementing more comprehensive policies that promote smoke-free environments. Implementing these strategies have the potential to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes associated with tobacco smoke exposure

The effect of maternal health input behaviors on the incidence of pediatric asthma diagnosis and management

Asthma is the most commonly occurring chronic childhood disease in the United States and is the leading cause of hospitalization and missed school days. I examine whether socioeconomic disparities in asthma can be attributed to differences in low birthweight and maternal inputs, including smoking, breastfeeding and well-baby visits. I find that low birthweight is a major determinant of asthma at age three and that smoking is positively related to asthma attacks at age one. I find that when each of the inputs is modeled, low birthweight is the major determinant of an asthma diagnosis at age three and smoking is an important factor in asthma attacks at age two. Also, having had adequate well-baby visits at age one reduces the likelihood of an asthma-related hospital visit. Simulations of the effect of prenatal smoking on asthma suggest that the indirect effects of smoking are substantial and operate through low birthweight. Further policy simulations demonstrate the increasing the price of cigarettes is one potential mechanism for reducing prenatal smoking

A longitudinal study of infants' early speech production and later letter identification

Letter identification is an early metric of reading ability that can be reliability tested before a child can decode words. We test the hypothesis that early speech production will be associated with children's later letter identification. We examined longitudinal growth in early speech production in 9 typically developing children across eight occasions, every 3 months from 9 months to 30 months. At each occasion, participants and their caregivers engaged in a speech sample in a research lab. This speech sample was transcribed for a variety of vocalizations, which were then transformed to calculate consonant-vowel ratio. Consonantvowel ratio is a measure of phonetic complexity in speech production. At the age of 72 months, children's letter knowledge was measured. A multilevel model including fixed quadratic age change and a random intercept was estimated using letter identification as a predictor of the growth in early speech production from 9±30 months, measured by the outcome of consonant-vowel ratio. Results revealed that the relation between early speech production and letter identification differed over time. For each additional letter that a child identified, their consonant-vowel ratio at the age of 9 months increased. As such, these results confirmed our hypothesis: more robust early speech production is associated with more accurate letter identification.(R01 DC006463

The Role of Feature-Based Discrimination In Driving Health Disparities Among Black Americans

Objective: A growing body of research finds that darker skin tone is often associated with poorer physical and mental health in Blacks. However, the psychosocial mechanisms underlying the skin tone-health link remain elusive. The present study seeks to address this knowledge gap by investigating the direct and indirect (through perceived discrimination, socioeconomic status, and self-esteem) effects of skin tone on self-reported physical and mental health. Design: An urban sample of 130 Blacks aged 35 and above completed a self-administered computerized survey as a part of larger cross-sectional study. Results: Self-esteem played a particularly important role in mediating the associations between skin tone and self-reported physical and mental health. This suggests that self-esteem could be a point of intervention to help Blacks with darker skin tone achieve better health. Conclusion: The present study highlights the important role feature-based discrimination plays in determining mental and physical health outcomes among Blacks

Development and validation of a Food Preoccupation Questionnaire

Existing Food Preoccupation Questionnaires do not take account of food-related thoughts that have a positive emotional valence. We report on the development and validation of a questionnaire that provides independent assessments of thought frequency and emotional valence (positive, negative or neutral)

Evidence for the multiple hits genetic theory for inherited language impairment: a case study

Communication disorders have complex genetic origins, with constellations of relevant gene markers that vary across individuals. Some genetic variants are present in healthy individuals as well as those affected by developmental disorders. Growing evidence suggests that some variants may increase susceptibility to these disorders in the presence of other pathogenic gene mutations. In the current study, we describe eight children with specific language impairment and four of these children had a copy number variant in one of these potential susceptibility regions on chromosome 15. Three of these four children also had variants in other genes previously associated with language impairment. Our data support the theory that 15q11.2 is a susceptibility region for developmental disorders, specifically language impairment.University of Nebraska. Health Research ConsortiumBarkley Memorial Trus

Speech Inconsistency in Children With Childhood Apraxia of Speech, Language Impairment, and Speech Delay: Depends on the Stimuli

The current research sought to determine (a) if speech inconsistency is a core feature of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) or if it is driven by comorbid language impairment that affects a large subset of children with CAS and (b) if speech inconsistency is a sensitive and specific diagnostic marker that can differentiate between CAS and speech delay