Manual Communication System Research Articles

Testing a Novel Manual Communication System for Mechanically Ventilated ICU Patients

Testing a Novel Manual Communication System for Mechanically Ventilated ICU Patients

Evolving artificial sign languages in the lab: From improvised gesture to systematic sign

Recent work on emerging sign languages provides evidence for how key properties of linguistic systems are created. Here we use laboratory experiments to investigate the contribution of two specific mechanisms—interaction and transmission—to the emergence of a manual communication system in silent gesturers. We show that the combined effects of these mechanisms, rather than either alone, maintain communicative efficiency, and lead to a gradual increase of regularity and systematic structure. The gestures initially produced by participants are unsystematic and resemble pantomime, but come to develop key language-like properties similar to those documented in newly emerging sign systems.

Watching language grow in the manual modality: Nominals, predicates, and handshapes

All languages, both spoken and signed, make a formal distinction between two types of terms in a proposition – terms that identify what is to be talked about (nominals) and terms that say something about this topic (predicates). Here we explore conditions that could lead to this property by charting its development in a newly emerging language – Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL). We examine how handshape is used in nominals vs. predicates in three Nicaraguan groups: (1) homesigners who are not part of the Deaf community and use their own gestures, called homesigns, to communicate; (2) NSL cohort 1 signers who fashioned the first stage of NSL; (3) NSL cohort 2 signers who learned NSL from cohort 1. We compare these three groups to a fourth: (4) native signers of American Sign Language (ASL), an established sign language. We focus on handshape in predicates that are part of a productive classifier system in ASL; handshape in these predicates varies systematically across agent vs. no-agent contexts, unlike handshape in the nominals we study, which does not vary across these contexts. We found that all four groups, including homesigners, used handshape differently in nominals vs. predicates – they displayed variability in handshape form across agent vs. no-agent contexts in predicates, but not in nominals. Variability thus differed in predicates and nominals: (1) In predicates, the variability across grammatical contexts (agent vs. no-agent) was systematic in all four groups, suggesting that handshape functioned as a productive morphological marker on predicate signs, even in homesign. This grammatical use of handshape can thus appear in the earliest stages of an emerging language. (2) In nominals, there was no variability across grammatical contexts (agent vs. no-agent), but there was variability within- and across-individuals in the handshape used in the nominal for a particular object. This variability was striking in homesigners (an individual homesigner did not necessarily use the same handshape in every nominal he produced for a particular object), but decreased in the first cohort of NSL and remained relatively constant in the second cohort. Stability in the lexical use of handshape in nominals thus does not seem to emerge unless there is pressure from a peer linguistic community. Taken together, our findings argue that a community of users is essential to arrive at a stable nominal lexicon, but not to establish a productive morphological marker in predicates. Examining the steps a manual communication system takes as it moves toward becoming a fully-fledged language offers a unique window onto factors that have made human language what it is.

Moving from hand to mouth: echo phonology and the origins of language.

Although the sign languages in use today are full human languages, certain of the features they share with gestures have been suggested to provide information about possible origins of human language. These features include sharing common articulators with gestures, and exhibiting substantial iconicity in comparison to spoken languages. If human proto-language was gestural, the question remains of how a highly iconic manual communication system might have been transformed into a primarily vocal communication system in which the links between symbol and referent are for the most part arbitrary. The hypothesis presented here focuses on a class of signs which exhibit: “echo phonology,” a repertoire of mouth actions which are characterized by “echoing” on the mouth certain of the articulatory actions of the hands. The basic features of echo phonology are introduced, and discussed in relation to various types of data. Echo phonology provides naturalistic examples of a possible mechanism accounting for part of the evolution of language, with evidence both of the transfer of manual actions to oral ones and the conversion of units of an iconic manual communication system into a largely arbitrary vocal communication system.

Innovation in Information Technology: Theoretical and Empirical Study in SMQR Section of Export Import in Automotive Industry

This paper has the objective to provide the innovation in information technology in both theoretical and empirical study. Precisely, both aspects relate to the Shortage Mispacking Quality Report (SMQR) Claims in Export and Import in Automotive Industry. This paper discusses the major aspects of Innovation, Information Technology, Performance and Competitive Advantage. Furthermore, In the empirical study of PT. Astra Honda Motor (AHM) refers to SMQR Claims, Communication Systems, Analysis and Design Systems. Briefly both aspects of the major aspects and its empirical study are discussed in the Introduction Session. Furthermore, the more detail discussion is conducted in the related aspects in other sessions of this paper, in particular in Literature Review in term classical and updated reference of current research. The increases of SMQR claim and communication problem at PT. Astra Daihatsu Motor (PT. ADM) which still using the email cause the time of claim settlement become longer and finally it causes the rejected of SMQR claim by supplier. With presence of this problem then performed to design the integrated communication system to manage the communication process of SMQR claim between PT. ADM with supplier. The systems was analyzed and designed is expected to facilitate the claim communication process so that can be run in accordance with the procedure and fulfill the target of claim settlement time and also eliminate the difficulties and problems on the previous manual communication system with the email. The design process of the system using the approach of system development life cycle method by Kendall & Kendall (2006)which design process covers the SMQR problem communication process, judgment process by the supplier, claim process, claim payment process and claim monitoring process. After getting the appropriate system designs for managing the SMQR claim, furthermore performed the system implementation and can be seen the improvement in claim communication process and settlement time become faster and achieve the target. The conclusion in this paper comprises two major aspects. The first one refers to the conclusion in term of theory and concept. The second one refers to the conclusion in term of the empirical study of one of automotive industries in Indonesia. Both of them are expected to have contribution in current and future research of related aspects that are discussed in this paper.

Prosody as an intermediary evolutionary stage between a manual communication system and a fully developed language faculty

Based on the motor theory of language, which asserts an evolution from gestures along several stages to today's speech and language, we suggest that speech ontogeny may partly reflect speech phylogeny, in that perception of prosodic contours is an intermediary stage between a manual communication system and a fully developed language faculty.

Signs and manual communication systems: selection, standardization, and development. 1978.

Selection, Standardization, and Development Frank Caccamise' Robert Ayers Karen Finch Marilyn Mitchell NATIONAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE FOR THE DEAF, ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY The trend toward the inclusion of manual communication as part of a approach to the education of hearing impaired persons has been documented by Jordan, Gustason, and Rosen (1976). These authors sent a survey form to all 970 educational programs for the hearing impaired on the Office of Demographic Studies mailing list. The total number of responses was 796 (82%). Table 1 gives the number of programs and classes reporting the use of manual communication as part of their Total Communication Approach,2 and shows that over 50% of all classes at all educational levels are using manual communication. Further data reported by Jordan et al. showed that of 343 programs reporting a recent change in communication modes used, 333 of these reported a change to include the use of manual communication. When major decisions such as this are made, more often than not new major decisions need to be confronted. In this case, the decision to include the use of manual communication in the education of hearing impaired children has led to discussions, and sometimes confrontations, relative to the question, How should we sign or manually communicate? The purpose of this paper is to provide information that should assist the reader in responding to this question. In practice, the above question has become two questions: 1) Which signs should be used?, and 2) Which manual communication system(s) (or languages) should be used? The first question involves the selection of individual lexical units, that is, the selection of signs. (The lexicon of a language consists of all the signs, or words, that the language employs. A single member of a lexicon is a lexical term, i.e., a single sign or a single word.) Most books and standardization projects have addressed this question. The second question involves selection of an entire language, including how the lexical units (signs) selected are to be combined into phrases and sentences. In this paper, sign selection will first be discussed, and then selection of manual communication systems. The general goal of this paper is to provide a rational, objective basis for the process used in selection, standardization, and development of signs and manual communication systems. is hoped that this base will assist others in establishing policies on usage of signs and manual communication systems on an equally objective basis, rather than depending on any one sign or manual communication book (or books). The Need for Sign Selection, Standardization, and Development (SSSD) Regardless of the mode of communication or language used, is recognized as a critical factor for efficient, effective communication and language development. This is the basic premise upon which the need for sign standardization rests. As Gustason (1973, pp. 38-48) has stated, It is less important that one adhere faithfully to a given book than that consistency be attempted in a specific program (p. 46). The fact that many educational programs have identified sign standardization as a need is evident from the data reported by Jordan et al. (1976). Responses to their survey indicated that among the 565 programs reporting the use of Total Communication, 340 had attempted sign standardization and 87 more would possibly do so in the future. Support from the deaf community for sign standardization has been stated by the editor of The Deaf American, Jess Smith (1975): We still hold that some kind of standardization is overdue.... Too many people and organizations are riding off in all directions (p. 2). Rosen (Reference Note 3), in discussing sign selection and standardization, stated: People have expressed concerns to Gallaudet College and asked about the possibility of standardization of signs. …

Sign acquisition in two aphasic subjects with limb apraxia

Abstract Two aphasic subjects with moderate-severe limb apraxia were enrolled in a sign/gesture training programme to investigate the effect of limb apraxia on the acquisition of manual signals. Both subjects were able to acquire all of the single signs/gestures and some or all of the sign combinations (e.g. agent-action-object; action-object) presented during the training programme. Results indicate that limb apraxia does not appear to be a significant impediment in the acquisition of signs/gestures by aphasic subjects. Severity of aphasia would seem to be a more important factor in predicting success in the development of a manual communication system.

An Exploratory Investigation of the Comprehension of English Through Sign English (Siglish) and Seeing Essential English (SEE 1 )

The purpose of this paper was to explore comprehension levels of deaf children for English stories via Seeing Essential English (SEE 1 ) and Sign English (Siglish). Eleven children using SEE 1 and 11 children using Siglish were utilized as the experimental subjects. Each child received visually the first three narrative passages and accompanying questions in manual form from the Listening Comprehension subtest of the Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty. Correct responses were then tabulated. Although the data indicated that the deaf children trained in SEE 1 were generally superior to those trained in Siglish regarding comprehension of these English narratives, generalizations appeared tenuous. Thus, an hypothesis that a manual communication system representative of English morphology, vocabulary, and syntax provides more efficient comprehension of English than signing systems not employing a similar English base deserves further investigation.

Sign language, pantomime, and gestural processing in aphasic persons: A review

Many aphasic individuals who fail to reacquire spoken language skills may retain the ability to acquire aspects of a manual communication system. This conclusion is reached after reviewing the results of studies of pantomime recognition and production, spontaneous gestural production, and manual language training in a wide range of aphasic subjects. Overall, the aphasic subjects appeared to be less impaired in their visuomotor processing than in their auditory-vocal processing. The results, however, are not definitive enough to resolve the long-standing debate as to whether or not a central symbolic deficit is present in aphasia.