If you have an immediate negative reaction to the idea of unionizing sign language interpreters, then I would like to ask you—politely, please—to pause for a moment and recognize bias. https://vimeo.com/346498324 Most of us have no idea what it could mean to become a Union. In fact, I am still learning. I’m eager to find … Continue reading “RID Denies Members Opportunity to Vote on Motion”
Read MoreInterpreting
by Steph • October 4th, 2014
My dissertation is available through Scholarworks at the University of Massachusetts. “Language is the medium and progenitor of discourse.” ~ Evangelina Holvino ~ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation began twenty-five years ago, long before I entered graduate school, with the Deaf and Hearing members of the Bilingual-Bicultural Committee at the Indiana School for the Deaf. […]
Read MoreThe Deaf World is Watching. Will we respond?
by Steph • December 12th, 2013
Click here for a related vlog (in American Sign Language) The second day after Mandela’s Memorial we were greeted the news that the so-called fake interpreter Thamsanqa Dyantyi/Jyantie is schizophrenic. (His claim and apology is being met with a mixture of belief and doubt.) Whatever sympathy he gleans should be suitable to his illness. This does not […]
Read MoreSign Language Interpreting and Emergency Management
by Steph • November 2nd, 2012
Language for the Eyes It has only taken decades of advocacy and complaints to the FCC, FEMA, and State governments for public officials to respond to Deaf Americans who rely on sign language for communication. The outburst of public response to professional simultaneous interpretation of a signed language during Hurricane Sandy reveals an astonishing range of […]
Read MoreA Deaf CERT to Serve DC
by Steph • June 29th, 2012
In two weeks, a training for Deaf individuals to create or join a Community Emergency Response Team will occur at Gallaudet University in the District of Colombia. There are still some slots available for deaf and hard-of-hearing people associated with Gallaudet or in the larger DC Deaf community. Sign-up now through the Preparedness for All webblog: Gallaudet Hosts CERT training.
Read MoreEurope: Amazing and Disturbing
by Steph • February 14th, 2012
One of the miracles of Europe is the amazing way communication is made possible among users of different languages in the European Parliament. While I do critique some of the outcomes of the transmission model of interpreting, particularly how the success of simultaneous interpretation generates the illusion of speaking in one shared language (which means erasing the differences of separate and unique languages and the worldviews they inspire), the fact that the system works is testimony to what humans can achieve with intercultural cooperation.
Read MoreEmergency Warning and Community Response: The Edge of Technology and Culture
by Steph • January 27th, 2012
It was a tiny pop quiz in the midst of a comprehensive examination.
During last November’s nationwide test of FEMA’s public warning system, an action research study (#DEMX) was conducted to assess the communication potential of social media. The goal was to find a way to bridge the longstanding divide between “people of the eye” who […]
Emergency Communication and the Deaf
by Steph • November 9th, 2011
“In all of the years of researching and taking courses / training in crisis communications – one group has not been mentioned as much as others. This audience group is the deaf community. How do we go about in making sure that this audience group gets the same information about an […]
Read MoreDeaf Tweet-to-Teach Emergency Responders
by Steph • November 3rd, 2011
The #demx research project of the November 9, 2011 national test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) uses Twitter to investigate whether emergency warnings reach the Deaf community in a timely and understandable manner.
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