Gallaudet University

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SCIENCE OF LEARNING CENTER: VISUAL LANGUAGE AND VISUAL LEARNING (VL2)

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SCIENCE OF LEARNING CENTER: VISUAL LANGUAGE AND VISUAL LEARNING (VL2)

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY CONSTRUCTION

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY CONSTRUCTION

APPLICATION FOR GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY'S SHARE OF THE INSTITUTIONAL PORTION OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND.

NRT-IPP: UNIVERSAL AI -ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) IS INCREASINGLY INTEGRATED INTO DAILY LIFE WITH SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ON BOTH INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY. AS SUCH, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT AI IS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL USERS. HOWEVER, ENSURING THAT EVERYONE CAN UTILIZE AI SYSTEMS PRESENTS RESEARCH CHALLENGES AND REQUIRES NEW WAYS OF TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF AI DEVELOPERS AND RESEARCHERS. THIS NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RESEARCH TRAINEESHIP INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIP PILOT (NRT-IPP) AWARD, LED BY GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY AND ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (RIT), WILL CREATE AN INTEGRATED AND INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING CURRICULUM FOR A NEW MASTER?S PROGRAM TRACK TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE SKILLS FOR CREATING BROADLY ACCESSIBLE AI. IT WILL ADDRESS GAPS IN GRADUATE TRAINING TO ENSURE THAT FUTURE AI DEVELOPERS CONSIDER THE FULL RANGE OF USERS? SENSORY ABILITIES. THE PROJECT ANTICIPATES TRAINING 100 MASTER OF SCIENCE (MS) STUDENTS, INCLUDING 25 FUNDED TRAINEES, FROM ACCESSIBLE HUMAN-CENTERED COMPUTING, NEUROSCIENCE, EDUCATION, COGNITIVE SCIENCE, AND RELATED STEM DISCIPLINES. THIS PROJECT WILL ESTABLISH A NEW MASTER OF SCIENCE (MS) IN ACCESSIBLE AI AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY (GU). GU WILL PARTNER WITH RIT IN HUMAN-CENTERED AI RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER, IN ADDITION TO EXPANDING COLLABORATIONS WITH INDUSTRY. GRADUATE TRAINEES WILL PURSUE RESEARCH TO SOLVE COMPLEX PROBLEMS FOR ACHIEVING ACCESSIBLE AI ACROSS SOCIETAL DOMAINS AND REALIZING TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. THE GU-RIT PARTNERSHIP WILL LAUNCH AN IMPACTFUL AND RESILIENT GRADUATE RESEARCH TRAINING FRAMEWORK THAT PREPARES FUTURE AI DEVELOPERS WITH COMPETENCIES TO CREATE THE NEXT GENERATION OF RESPONSIBLE AI SYSTEMS, WHILE PROMOTING A PROGRESSIVELY EXPANDING AI WORKFORCE PIPELINE. OVERALL, THE PROJECT AIMS TO GENERATE AND DISSEMINATE NEW KNOWLEDGE, PRODUCE OPEN-ACCESS RESEARCH MENTORING AND GRADUATE TRAINING RESOURCES, AND PREPARE VERSATILE PROFESSIONALS AND SCIENTISTS CAPABLE OF ADVANCING AI, ENHANCING U.S. INDUSTRIAL COMPETITIVENESS, AND PROMOTING PARTICIPATION FOR PEOPLE ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF SENSORY ABILITIES. THE NRT INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIP PILOT (NRT-IPP) IS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN THE DIRECTORATES FOR STEM EDUCATION (EDU) AND TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION, AND PARTNERSHIPS (TIP) TO SUPPORT RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PROJECTS WITH HIGH INDUSTRY RELEVANCE IN EMERGING FIELDS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

REHABILITATION ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTERS

REHABILITATION ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTERS: IMPROVING THE ACCESSIBILITY, USABILITY, AND PERFORMANCE OF TECHNOLOGY FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DEAF OR H

RERC ON TECHNOLOGY FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY CONSTRUCTION

APPLICATION FOR GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY'S SHARE OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND.

USING TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED APPROACHES TO ADVANCE CANCER HEALTH EQUITY AMONG DIVERSE DEAF, DEAFBLIND, AND HARD OF HEARING POPULATIONS. - ABOUT 500,000 USE AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL). AMONG DDBHH PEOPLE WHO USE ASL, THERE ARE DOCUMENTED REPORTS OF DIFFICULTIES IN UNDERSTANDING CANCER HEALTH INFORMATION IN PRINT, ACCESSING CLINICAL SERVICES FOR SCREENINGS, AND UNDERSTANDING AND FOLLOWING TREATMENT-RELATED DIRECTIVES IF THE SCREENING RESULTS WARRANT A CANCER DIAGNOSIS. THESE DIFFICULTIES CONTRIBUTE TO THE HEALTH INEQUITY THAT WE OBSERVED IN THE DDBHH POPULATIONS. COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS HAVE PROVEN THEIR VALUE WITH HEARING PATIENTS, SO IT IS REASONABLE TO EXPECT THAT ASLPROFICIENT COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS (CHW) WILL HAVE THE SAME POTENTIAL TO IDENTIFY AND RESOLVE DDBHH PEOPLE’S BARRIERS TO RECEIVING OPTIMAL CARE FOR CANCER PREVENTION AND SCREENING. WE ENVISION AN ASL-PROFICIENT CHW, FUNCTIONING AS A CANCER HEALTH NAVIGATOR, WHO IS ABLE TO PROMOTE CANCER SCREENING ADHERENCE AND REDUCE HEALTH DISPARITY AMONG DDBHH PEOPLE. THIS RESEARCH WILL BUILD ON THE TEAM’S CURRENT NIH-FUNDED RESEARCH AND RECENTLY DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM, SPECIFICALLY SNAP (THE SYSTEM FOR NAVIGATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR PATIENTS), A TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT CANCER PATIENT NAVIGATORS, AND REPEAT (REALIZING ENHANCED PRACTICE THROUGH ADAPTIVE TUTORING), A TOOL TO BUILD VIRTUAL GUIDED PRACTICE ENVIRONMENTS FOR DEVELOPING SKILLS IN CLINICAL COMMUNICATION DOMAINS. USE OF SNAP AND REPEAT WILL PROVIDE AN ADVANCED STARTING POINT THAT ALLOWS US TO FOCUS ON THE SPECIFIC TRAINING AND COMMUNITY APPLICATION NEEDS OF THE DDBHH COMMUNITY, RATHER THAN NEW TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT. OUR ABILITY TO ADDRESS THESE SPECIFIC NEEDS AND TO APPROPRIATELY DELIVER AND EVALUATE THE INTERVENTIONS IS SUPPORTED BY A HIGHLY INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM, SPANNING EXPERTISE IN DDBHH HEALTH DISPARITY, DISABILITY STUDIES, PUBLIC HEALTH, HEALTH INFORMATICS, CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING, AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

DEAF IN MOTION: A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT PIONEERS IN EARLY SPACE STUDIES -AS DEAF PEOPLE TODAY CONTINUE TO BE UNDERREPRESENTED IN PROFESSIONAL STEM SETTINGS, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO OPEN THE PUBLIC?S EYES TO HOW DIVERSE PEOPLES CONTRIBUTE TO SCIENCE IN UNIQUE AND EXTRAORDINARY WAYS AND, IN DOING SO, CHANGE HOW THEY VIEW DEAFNESS AND DISABILITY. THE PROJECT WILL CREATE A BILINGUAL AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL) AND ENGLISH DOCUMENTARY FILM THAT FEATURES THE DEAF INDIVIDUALS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH THAT ENABLED THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE U.S. SPACE PROGRAM IN THE 1950S AND 1960S. THESE BRAVE VOLUNTEERS WERE ABLE TO ENDURE EXTREME MOTION TESTS, ALLOWING SCIENTISTS TO STUDY THE ORIGINS OF MOTION SICKNESS. THE FILM WILL EXPLORE WHY THEY DID IT, WHAT THEY ENDURED, AND WHAT SCIENCE LEARNED THROUGH THEIR HELP. BY WATCHING THE FILM, DEAF YOUTH MAY LEARN THAT MEMBERS OF THEIR LINGUISTIC COMMUNITY ARE NEEDED IN STEM RESEARCH AND SUBSEQUENTLY ENVISION THEMSELVES AS SCIENTISTS. NOTABLY, THE PI, FILM DIRECTOR, AND MOST OF THE PRODUCTION CREW ARE DEAF . THE FILM WILL BE ACCESSIBLE BY DEAF, HEARING, AND BLIND AUDIENCES, AND EMPLOY FILMMAKING TECHNIQUES THAT ADVANCE NEW MODELS FOR PRESENTING CONTENT IN WAYS THAT ARE CULTURALLY RESPECTFUL AND TECHNICALLY ACCESSIBLE BY ALL. IN ADDITION TO THE FILM?S NATIONAL BROADCAST BY PBS STATIONS, THE INTREPID MUSEUM IN NEW YORK CITY WILL HOST A SCREENING AND DISCUSSION WITH SURVIVING TEST SUBJECTS. A COMPANION WEBSITE AND VIEWER GUIDES WILL ALSO BE CREATED TO SUPPORT VIEWER ENGAGEMENT. THIS RESEARCH ON WIDE-REACHING PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WITH STEM PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE ADVANCING INFORMAL STEM LEARNING (AISL) PROGRAM, WHICH SEEKS TO ADVANCE NEW APPROACHES TO, AND EVIDENCE-BASED UNDERSTANDING OF, THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF STEM LEARNING IN INFORMAL ENVIRONMENTS. THIS INCLUDES PROVIDING MULTIPLE PATHWAYS FOR BROADENING ACCESS TO AND ENGAGEMENT IN STEM LEARNING EXPERIENCES. THE DOCUMENTARY FILM, WHICH TARGETS LEARNERS AGES 11 AND UP, WILL TELL A STORY THAT REVEALS NOT ONLY A HIDDEN COMPONENT OF EARLY SPACE HISTORY, BUT ALSO HOW DIVERSE PEOPLES CONTRIBUTE TO SCIENCE IN UNIQUE AND EXTRAORDINARY WAYS. RATHER THAN BEING BASED ON THEMES OF PITY OR OVERCOMING, THE FILM WILL SHOW HOW DIVERSITY OF THE HUMAN CONDITION MADE THIS PARTICULAR RESEARCH POSSIBLE. AS SUCH, THE FILM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CHANGE ATTITUDES ABOUT DISABILITY. THE DEAF IN MOTION PROJECT WILL ALSO ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT INFORMAL STEM LEARNING BY CONDUCTING RESEARCH AND EVALUATION STUDIES THAT INVESTIGATE: HOW THE FILM CAN BUILD A SENSE OF BELONGING IN THE STEM FIELDS FOR DEAF YOUTH AND ADULTS; HOW THE THEORY OF DEAF GAIN (I.E., PERCEIVED LOSS AS ASSET) CAN BE APPLIED TO EFFORTS IN INFORMAL LEARNING SETTINGS TO ENCOURAGE DEEPER THINKING ON ABILITY VERSUS DISABILITY; AND THE ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES/DECISIONS THAT FILMMAKERS AND OTHER INFORMAL STEM PRACTITIONERS CAN USE TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO REEXAMINE THEIR BIASES ABOUT NORMALCY AND VALUE HUMAN DIVERSITY. A MIX OF DEAF AND HEARING INVESTIGATORS WILL CONDUCT THIS RESEARCH USING INTERVIEW AND SURVEY METHODS WITH FILM VIEWERS. THROUGH SCREENINGS AND DISCUSSIONS, THE PROJECT WILL FURTHER ENHANCE THE PUBLIC?S ENGAGEMENT WITH IMPORTANT STEM CONCEPTS AND BROADENING PARTICIPATION AIMS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

CENTER FOR ADVANCING TRAUMA INFORMED CARE FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN - THIS PROPOSAL INTENDS TO SUPPORT THE CREATION OF A TREATMENT AND SERVICE ADAPTATION CENTER FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING YOUTH AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY TO ADAPT TRAUMA-FOCUSED MEASURES AND INTERVENTIONS FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN AND YOUTH, DEVELOP NEW RESOURCES AND TOOLS FOR THEIR CAREGIVERS AND PROVIDERS, AND TRAIN DEAF MENTAL HEALTH EXPERTS. DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN AND YOUTH, LIKE OTHER CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES, ARE AT A GREATER RISK THAN THE GENERAL POPULATION OF CHILDREN FOR TRAUMA EXPOSURE. THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 150,000 DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN THE UNITED STATES, WITH SIMILAR DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN THE GENERAL POPULATION. WELL OVER HALF OF DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN HAVE EXPERIENCED AT LEAST ONE TYPE OF TRAUMA, WITH SOME ESTIMATES INDICATING THAT THIS NUMBER GREATLY UNDERESTIMATES THE PREVALENCE OF TRAUMA IN THIS POPULATION. ADDITIONALLY, DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN ARE AT RISK OF UNIQUE TRAUMA EXPERIENCES DUE TO EVERYDAY COMMUNICATION BARRIERS. A COMMON CHILDHOOD TRAUMA REPORTED BY DEAF ADULTS IS A LACK OF COMMUNICATION WITH THEIR FAMILIES, KNOWN AS LANGUAGE DEPRIVATION. THIS OCCURS BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN ARE BORN INTO FAMILIES THAT DO NOT KNOW A NATURAL SIGN LANGUAGE, AND GIVEN THE LIMITATIONS OF HEARING LOSS TECHNOLOGY, THEY GROW UP UNABLE TO FULLY ACCESS THEIR EVERYDAY ENVIRONMENTS. THERE IS CURRENTLY A SHORTAGE OF MEASURES AND INTERVENTIONS TO APPROPRIATELY ASSESS AND TREAT TRAUMATIC STRESS IN DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN AND YOUTH, AS WELL AS A SHORTAGE OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDERS WITH THE CULTURAL AND LANGUAGE EXPERTISE TO PROVIDE APPROPRIATE INTERVENTION. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE CURRENT PROJECT ARE TO: 1) TO CREATE CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY ACCESSIBLE TOOLS TO ASSESS TRAUMA SYMPTOMS AND TRAUMA-RELATED BEHAVIORS IN DEAF CHILDREN AND YOUTH, 2) TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF EVIDENCE-BASED TRAUMA FOCUSED INTERVENTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ADAPTED FOR DEAF CHILDREN AND YOUTH, 3) TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE APPROPRIATELY TRAINED IN CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY ACCESSIBLE EVIDENCE-BASED TRAUMA-FOCUSED INTERVENTIONS, AND 4) TO DEVELOP NEW TRAINING, RESOURCES, AND SCREENING MATERIALS TO EDUCATE PROVIDERS AND FAMILIES ABOUT THE UNIQUE CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC NEEDS DEAF CHILDREN. GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY IS THE WORLD’S ONLY INSTITUTION DEDICATED TO LEARNING, TEACHING, AND RESEARCH FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING PEOPLE AND HAS BEEN ADAPTING, TRAINING, AND PROVIDING TRAUMA-FOCUSED INTERVENTION FOR THE LOCAL DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING COMMUNITY. GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY, IN COLLABORATION WITH RESEARCHERS AND CLINICIANS SPECIALIZING IN MENTAL HEALTH AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT WITH DEAF PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, IS WELL POSITIONED TO BECOME A LEADER IN IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR DEAF CHILDREN AND YOUTH. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT APPROXIMATELY 1,000 DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN AND YOUTH WILL BE SERVED ANNUALLY THROUGH THIS PROJECT, REACHING OVER 5,000 DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN AND YOUTH UPON COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO MEET THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVE: USAID/NIGERIA E3 ACTIVITY WILL STRENGTHENING EDUCATION SYSTEMS AND LOCAL CAPACITY TO REDUCE EDUCATIONAL DISPARITIES FACED BY DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS IN NIGERIA. USAID/NIGERIA EXPECTS THAT THIS PARTNERSHIP WILL ATTRACT ADDITIONAL NIGERIAN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR STAKEHOLDERS WITH AN INTEREST IN IMPROVING EDUCATIONAL AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEAF/HARD OF HEARING/DEAF-BLIND (D/HH/DB) TO CONTINUE THE WORK SEEDED BY THIS USAID INVESTMENT. THIS WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GAIN CONCEPT IN NIGERIA AND SERVE AS A MODEL FOR INCLUSIVE TERTIARY EDUCATION ACROSS AFRICA.

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CAPTIONING TECHNOLOGY, METRICS AND USABILITY

PROMIS-DEAF PROFILE: INCLUSION OF DEAF PATIENTS IN DISABILITY AND OUTCOMES RESEARCH

UNIVERSAL NEWBORN HEARING SCREENING - COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

EVALUATING THE REHABILITATIVE POTENTIAL OF TACTILE NUMBER EXPRESSIONS FOR MULTISENSORY VISION AND HEARING LOSS USING WEARABLE HAPTICS - PROJECT SUMMARY: CONGENITALLY BLIND CHILDREN WITH CO-MORBID HEARING LOSS (DEAFBLIND CHILDREN) OFTEN EXPERIENCE SEVERE LANGUAGE DELAYS DUE TO THEIR MULTISENSORY LOSSES. THESE DELAYS OFTEN LEAD TO MISIDENTIFICATION OF THESE CHILDREN AS DEVELOPMENTALLY DELAYED AND SUBSEQUENTLY NEGATIVELY IMPACT INTERVENTION, REHABILITATION, AND EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS. PROVIDING EARLY, ACCESSIBLE LANGUAGE MAY ADDRESS THIS ISSUE BY SCAFFOLDING EARLY COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT. HOWEVER, CURRENT REHABILITATION APPROACHES HAVE EXTREMELY LIMITED SUCCESS. EXISTING INTERVENTIONS RELY ON ESTABLISHING ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN AN OBJECT THE CHILD TOUCHES (E.G., SHOES), AND A SPECIFIC FUNCTIONAL ACTIVITY (E.G., GOING OUTSIDE). THIS APPROACH LACKS THE LINGUISTIC STRUCTURES NEEDED FOR EARLY COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT. ONLY IN LATER CHILDHOOD DO INTERVENTIONS BEGIN TO USE VISUAL SIGN LANGUAGE AND/OR SPOKEN LANGUAGE. THIS APPROACH POSES TWO MAJOR PROBLEMS: FIRST, NEITHER OF THESE LANGUAGES IS FULLY ACCESSIBLE FOR DEAFBLIND CHILDREN. SECOND, BY THE TIME LANGUAGE IS INTRODUCED, MANY CHILDREN ARE PAST THE AGE AT WHICH LANGUAGE CAN BE EFFECTIVELY ACQUIRED (I.E., THE CRITICAL PERIOD FOR LANGUAGE). CONSEQUENTLY, ONLY A SMALL NUMBER OF DEAFBLIND CHILDREN ACQUIRE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND ACHIEVE AGE- APPROPRIATE COGNITIVE, AND DAILY LIFE MILESTONES. UNTIL RECENTLY, NO FULLY ACCESSIBLE LANGUAGE FOR DEAFBLIND CHILDREN EXISTED. PROTACTILE IS A FULLY TACTILE LANGUAGE THAT HAS RECENTLY DEVELOPED AMONG DEAFBLIND ADULTS. THIS RESEARCH ENDEAVOR FOCUSES ON MEASURING HOW WELL PROTACTILE CAN SERVE AS AN EARLY LANGUAGE FOR DEAFBLIND CHILDREN. ADULT PROTACTILE EXPERTS WHO ARE DEAFBLIND WILL PLAY WITH DEAFBLIND CHILDREN USING PROTACTILE MULTIPLE TIMES PER WEEK IN A LONGITUDINAL STUDY. WE WILL USE NUMBER LANGUAGE TO INDEX THE EFFICACY OF THE INTERVENTION. NUMBER LANGUAGE SERVES AS AN EXCELLENT INDEX BECAUSE IT PROVIDES A TARGETED SET OF VOCABULARY ITEMS TO MEASURE, IS DIRECTLY LINKED TO COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT, AND HAS NON-LINGUISTIC PERCEPTION-BASED ABILITIES THAT HAVE BEEN FOUND IN TYPICALLY DEVELOPING INFANTS. THE SPECIFIC AIMS OF THIS STUDY ARE: (1) INTERVENTION: IDENTIFY WHICH TACTILE NUMBER EXPRESSIONS PRODUCED BY DEAFBLIND ADULTS ARE LEARNED BY DEAFBLIND CHILDREN, (2) PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT: DEVELOP A HAPTIC DEVICE TO BE WORN BY DEAFBLIND CHILDREN THAT DELIVERS TAPS AND SQUEEZES AND ALSO MEASURES HEART RATE PATTERNS, AND (3) NON-LINGUISTIC ASSESSMENT: USING THE WEARABLE DEVICE AND HEART RATE PATTERNS, WE WILL DEMONSTRATE WHETHER DEAFBLIND CHILDREN PERCEIVE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIFFERENT NUMBERS OF TAPS OR SQUEEZES PRODUCED BY THE DEVICE. WE EXPECT THAT DEAFBLIND CHILDREN WILL EXPRESS PROTACTILE NUMBER LANGUAGE, AND THAT OUR HAPTIC MEASURE WILL REVEAL NON-LINGUISTIC ABILITIES SIMILAR TO TYPICALLY DEVELOPING CHILDREN. THIS PROJECT WILL GENERATE EVIDENCE REGARDING THE USE OF PROTACTILE IN EARLY INTERVENTION, SUPPORTING THE ACHIEVEMENT OF EARLY DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES IN DEAFBLIND CHILDREN AND CONTRIBUTING TO THEIR LONG-TERM QUALITY OF LIFE. FURTHER, SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NONLINGUISTIC MEASURES OF COGNITION IN DEAFBLIND CHILDREN AND OTHER CHILDREN WITH WHOM VISUAL MEASURES ARE NOT SUITABLE.

REHABILITATION ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER ON TECHNOLOGY FOR THE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING - PLEASE REVIEW ABSTRACT SUMMARY UNDER ATTACHMENTS FORM.

INTERPRETER TRAINING: REGIONAL GRANTS

USING TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED APPROACHES TO ADVANCE CANCER HEALTH EQUITY AMONG DIVERSE DEAF, DEAFBLIND, AND HARD OF HEARING POPULATIONS. - ABOUT 500,000 USE AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL). AMONG DDBHH PEOPLE WHO USE ASL, THERE ARE DOCUMENTED REPORTS OF DIFFICULTIES IN UNDERSTANDING CANCER HEALTH INFORMATION IN PRINT, ACCESSING CLINICAL SERVICES FOR SCREENINGS, AND UNDERSTANDING AND FOLLOWING TREATMENT-RELATED DIRECTIVES IF THE SCREENING RESULTS WARRANT A CANCER DIAGNOSIS. THESE DIFFICULTIES CONTRIBUTE TO THE HEALTH INEQUITY THAT WE OBSERVED IN THE DDBHH POPULATIONS. COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS HAVE PROVEN THEIR VALUE WITH HEARING PATIENTS, SO IT IS REASONABLE TO EXPECT THAT ASL- PROFICIENT COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS (CHW) WILL HAVE THE SAME POTENTIAL TO IDENTIFY AND RESOLVE DDBHH PEOPLE’S BARRIERS TO RECEIVING OPTIMAL CARE FOR CANCER PREVENTION AND SCREENING. WE ENVISION AN ASL-PROFICIENT CHW, FUNCTIONING AS A CANCER HEALTH NAVIGATOR, WHO IS ABLE TO PROMOTE CANCER SCREENING ADHERENCE AND REDUCE HEALTH DISPARITY AMONG DDBHH PEOPLE. THIS RESEARCH WILL BUILD ON THE TEAM’S CURRENT NIH-FUNDED RESEARCH AND RECENTLY DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM, SPECIFICALLY SNAP (THE SYSTEM FOR NAVIGATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR PATIENTS), A TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT CANCER PATIENT NAVIGATORS, AND REPEAT (REALIZING ENHANCED PRACTICE THROUGH ADAPTIVE TUTORING), A TOOL TO BUILD VIRTUAL GUIDED PRACTICE ENVIRONMENTS FOR DEVELOPING SKILLS IN CLINICAL COMMUNICATION DOMAINS. USE OF SNAP AND REPEAT WILL PROVIDE AN ADVANCED STARTING POINT THAT ALLOWS US TO FOCUS ON THE SPECIFIC TRAINING AND COMMUNITY APPLICATION NEEDS OF THE DDBHH COMMUNITY, RATHER THAN NEW TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT. OUR ABILITY TO ADDRESS THESE SPECIFIC NEEDS AND TO APPROPRIATELY DELIVER AND EVALUATE THE INTERVENTIONS IS SUPPORTED BY A HIGHLY INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM, SPANNING EXPERTISE IN DDBHH HEALTH DISPARITY, DISABILITY STUDIES, PUBLIC HEALTH, HEALTH INFORMATICS, CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING, AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

TRAINING INTERPRETERS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DEAF AND INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DEAF-BLIND - INTERPRETER TRAINING: REGIONAL GRANTS

DEAF SIGNERS AND MATHEMATICAL COGNITION: HOW LANGUAGE MODALITY AND TIME OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AFFECT THE NEURAL CORRELATES OF ARITHMETIC PROCESSING -RESEARCH IN ARITHMETIC REASONING HAS LARGELY NEGLECTED TO INVESTIGATE THE IMPACT OF LANGUAGE MODALITY (I.E., SPOKEN VS. SIGNED) ON ITS COGNITIVE AND NEURAL FOUNDATIONS. CURRENT THEORIES AND MODELS IGNORE THE UNIQUE LANGUAGE AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES OF DEAF SIGNERS. TO ADDRESS THIS NEED, THE CURRENT PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE AND PROVIDE THE BLUEPRINTS OF THE NEUROCOGNITIVE MODEL FOR ARITHMETIC REASONING IN DEAF SIGNERS. THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL INVESTIGATE THE NEUROCOGNITIVE BASIS OF ARITHMETIC PROCESSING IN ADULT DEAF ASL SIGNERS AND NON-SIGNING ENGLISH SPEAKING ADULTS. THEY COMPARE THE NEUROCOGNITIVE BASIS OF SUBTRACTION AND MULTIPLICATION IN EARLY SIGNERS (ACQUIRED ASL BEFORE AGE 2) AND NON-SIGNERS; AND INVESTIGATE THE NEUROCOGNITIVE BASIS OF SUBTRACTION AND MULTIPLICATION IN A GROUP OF LATE LEARNERS OF SIGN (ACQUIRED ASL LATER THAN AGE 2). THIS WORK WILL PROVIDE A NOVEL UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACT OF SIGN LANGUAGE, OR VARIATIONS IN LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY, ON THE PROCESSES SUPPORTING ARITHMETICAL REASONING AND, MORE BROADLY, CONTRIBUTE TO THE LONG-STANDING QUESTION OF THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN SHAPING HUMAN COGNITION. IT WILL EXPAND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNIQUELY HUMAN ABILITY TO CALCULATE. IT WILL ALSO PROVIDE NOVEL INSIGHT INTO THE PLASTICITY AND RESILIENCE OF THE HUMAN BRAIN, SETTING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR FUTURE WORK INVESTIGATING MATH LEARNING DISABILITY IN DEAF SIGNERS OR ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL APPROACHES FOR CHILDREN WITH DIFFERENT LEARNING ABILITIES. THE RESULTS FROM THIS PROJECT ARE POISED TO INFLUENCE THE FIELDS OF EDUCATION, PSYCHOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE, AND LINGUISTICS. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO HELP TO INCREASE DIVERSITY IN STEM BY TACKLING AN UNDER-INVESTIGATED AREA OF HUMAN COGNITION, WITH AN UNDER-RESEARCHED POPULATION, WHILE PROVIDING RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES TO DEAF TRAINEES. THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE COGNITIVE PROCESSES AND UNDERLYING BRAIN ACTIVATIONS OF ADULT DEAF EARLY AND LATE SIGNERS AND HEARING NON-SIGNERS SOLVING SINGLE-DIGIT PROBLEMS. ARITHMETIC REASONING RELIES IN PART ON LANGUAGE, PROVIDING THE OPPORTUNITY TO INVESTIGATE THE IMPACT OF LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE. THE INVESTIGATORS WILL TEST THE TWO OPERATIONS MOST DISTINCTLY REPRESENTED IN THE BRAIN, MULTIPLICATION AND SUBTRACTION PROBLEMS, AS THEY PROVIDE THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY TO IDENTIFY DIFFERENCES ACROSS LINGUISTIC GROUPS. TO TEST AND EXPAND THE NEUROCOGNITIVE MODEL OF ARITHMETIC REASONING, THE PROJECT WILL RELY ON THEORETICALLY SUPPORTED BRAIN REGIONS OF INTEREST. USING BEHAVIORAL AND FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (FMRI), THE PROJECT WILL SPECIFICALLY INVESTIGATE ACTIVATIONS WITHIN INDEPENDENTLY IDENTIFIED PHONOLOGICAL, SPATIAL-NUMERICAL, AND NOVEL SENSORIMOTOR PROCESSING AREAS. THESE AREAS WILL ALLOW A COMPARISON BETWEEN SIGNERS AND NON-SIGNERS. FURTHER, AFTER ESTABLISHING THE NEUROCOGNITIVE MODEL FOR ARITHMETIC PROCESSING IN EARLY SIGNERS, THE TEAM WILL INVESTIGATE THE IMPACT OF DELAYED EXPOSURE TO LANGUAGE IN DEAF LATE SIGNERS. STUDYING DEAF SIGNERS OFFERS A UNIQUE WINDOW INTO UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARITHMETIC PROFICIENCY AND IN COGNITION MORE BROADLY. THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE EDU CORE RESEARCH (ECR) PROGRAM. ECR EMPHASIZES FUNDAMENTAL STEM EDUCATION RESEARCH THAT GENERATES FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE FIELD. INVESTMENTS ARE MADE IN CRITICAL AREAS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL, BROAD, AND ENDURING: STEM LEARNING AND STEM LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS, BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN STEM, AND STEM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE SUCCESS OF DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING STEM MAJORS

INSPIRE: THE RAVE REVOLUTION FOR CHILDREN WITH MINIMAL LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE DURING SENSITIVE PERIODS OF BRAIN AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

IMPACT OF LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE ON EARLY NUMERICAL COGNITION

SPECIAL EDUCATION-PERSONNEL PREPARATION TO IMPROVE SERVICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES - COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL PREPARATION

NEW DIMENSIONS OF ASL LEARNING: IMPLEMENTING AND TESTING SIGNING AVATARS & IMMERSIVE LEARNING (SAIL 2)

COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT

15.929 SAVE AMERICAS TREASURESOPPORTUNITY P24AS00544 SAVE AMERICAS TREASURES GRANTS FROM THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND PROVIDE PRESERVATION AND OR CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE TO NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT HISTORIC PROPERTIES AND COLLECTIONS. GRANTS ARE AWARDED THROUGH A COMPETITIVE PROCESS AND REQUIRE A DOLLAR-FOR-DOLLAR, NON-FEDERAL MATCH, WHICH CAN BE CASH OR DOCUMENTED IN-KIND. THE GRANT PROGRAM IS ADMINISTERED BY THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (NPS) IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS (NEA), THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES (NEH), AND THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES (IMLS). BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE STATES, TRIBES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. THIS PHYSICAL PRESERVATION PROJECT IS AWARDED TO THE GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY TO REPAIR THE ROOF, STABILIZE THE STRUCTURE, AND PERFORM INTERIOR REPAIRS TO THE HISTORIC SITE OF CIRCLE OF SIGNERS BUILDING.

REHABILITATION LONG-TERM TRAINING - REHABILITATION OF THE DEAF

PREPARATION OF LEADERSHIP PERSONNEL

COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT

SPECIAL EDUCATION-PERSONNEL PREPARATION TO IMPROVE SERVICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES - LOW INCIDENCE

COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT

COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT

NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH - DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH PROJECTS

SPECIAL EDUCATION-PERSONNEL PREPARATION TO IMPROVE SERVICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES - COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL PREPARATION

OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO STEM SUCCESS FOR DEAF UNDERGRADUATES

BEHAVIORAL AND NEUROIMAGING STUDIES OF BILINGUAL READING

REU SITE: ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES -THE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES (REU) SITE ON ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (AICT) SITE ENGAGES A GROUP OF STUDENTS WITH DIVERSE AUDITORY ABILITIES (DEAF, HARD OF HEARING OR HEARING) IN HUMAN-CENTERED RESEARCH EXPERIENCES THAT INVESTIGATE ACCESSIBILITY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES (ICT). AS ICT BECOMES MORE PERVASIVE, A CRUCIAL CHALLENGE IS TO PROVIDE AN EQUAL USER EXPERIENCE TO PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF THEIR AUDITORY ABILITIES, BY TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIVERSE AUDITORY ABILITIES. THIS PROGRAM WILL TRAIN A COHORT OF DEAF, HARD OF HEARING AND HEARING STUDENT TO BE FUTURE ICT ACCESSIBILITY LEADERS. STUDENTS WILL LEARN ABOUT ACCESSIBLE ICT, ENGAGE IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS FROM IDEATION TO PRESENTATIONS, AND JOIN A COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS AND PRACTITIONERS WHO WILL PROVIDE CAREER ADVICE AND MENTORSHIP. THE REU PROJECTS WILL FORM THE BASIS FOR NEW COLLABORATIONS AMONG THE INVESTIGATORS AND OTHER COLLABORATORS AT THE STUDENTS' HOME INSTITUTIONS. THE INCLUSION OF UNDERGRADUATE AND FACULTY/STAFF RESEARCHERS WHO HAVE DIVERSE AUDITORY ABILITIES INCREASES RECOGNITION OF THE RANGE AND COMPLEXITY OF NEEDS BY USERS WITH DIVERSE AUDITORY ABILITIES AND THE RANGE OF POSSIBLE ICT SOLUTIONS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

REU ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES -THE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES (REU) SITE ON ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (AICT) AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY ENGAGES A GROUP OF STUDENTS WITH A RANGE OF AUDITORY ABILITIES IN HUMAN-CENTERED RESEARCH EXPERIENCES THAT INVESTIGATE THE ACCESSIBILITY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES (ICT). AS ICT BECOMES MORE PERVASIVE, A CRUCIAL CHALLENGE IS TO PROVIDE A HIGH QUALITY USER EXPERIENCE TO PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF THEIR AUDITORY ABILITIES, BY TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIVERSE AUDITORY ABILITIES. STUDENTS WILL LEARN ABOUT ACCESSIBLE ICT, ENGAGE IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS FROM IDEATION TO PRESENTATIONS, AND JOIN A COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS AND PRACTITIONERS WHO WILL PROVIDE CAREER ADVICE AND MENTORSHIP. THE REU PROJECTS WILL FORM THE BASIS FOR NEW COLLABORATIONS AMONG THE INVESTIGATORS AND OTHER COLLABORATORS AT THE STUDENTS' HOME INSTITUTIONS. THE TEAMS OF UNDERGRADUATE AND FACULTY/STAFF RESEARCHERS WITH DIVERSE AUDITORY ABILITIES INCREASES RECOGNITION OF THE RANGE AND COMPLEXITY OF NEEDS BY USERS WITH DIVERSE AUDITORY ABILITIES AND POSSIBLE ICT SOLUTIONS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

REU SITE: ASL-ENGLISH BILINGUAL COGNITIVE AND EDUCATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE TRAINING AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE (ASL-ENGLISH BILINGUAL CENTRE) -THE ASL-ENGLISH BILINGUAL CENTRE IS AN EIGHT-WEEK INTENSIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAM. UNDERGRADUATE TRAINEES WILL RECEIVE HANDS-ON TRAINING IN COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING FROM EXPERTS IN EDUCATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE WORKING ON TOPICS RELATED TO SIGN LANGUAGE AND DEAFNESS. THIS INTERDISCIPLINARY REU SITE WILL PROMOTE THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE BY PROVIDING HIGH-END TRAINING AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN SEVERAL NEUROIMAGING TECHNIQUES FOR INVESTIGATING THE MIND AND BRAIN, ALL WITHIN A FULLY ACCESSIBLE BILINGUAL ASL-ENGLISH ENVIRONMENT. THIS INTENSIVE TRAINING AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO SUPPORT DIVERSITY IN RESEARCH AND SCIENCE BY TRAINING DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING STUDENTS WHO ARE TYPICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN STEM FIELDS DUE TO SYSTEMATIC LANGUAGE BARRIERS. THE SCHOOL WILL BE TAILORED FOR STUDENTS EARLY IN THEIR EDUCATIONAL TRAINING TO MAXIMIZE THE BENEFIT FOR THEIR FUTURE ACADEMIC PATHS. THIS PROPOSAL HAS THE UNIQUE POTENTIAL TO SHAPE STUDENTS? ACADEMIC CHOICES, PROMOTE SUCCESS IN STEM, AND ENSURE SUCCESS FOR TOMORROW'S GENERATION OF DIVERSE RESEARCHERS AND LEADERS IN SCIENCE. THE ASL-ENGLISH BILINGUAL CENTRE AIMS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH CRITICAL EARLY-STAGE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES THAT WILL SHAPE THEIR ACADEMIC AND CAREER DECISIONS. PROVIDING UNIQUE AND SUPPORTIVE TRAINING IN COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE WILL INCREASE TRAINEES' COMPETITIVENESS IN SECURING MORE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AT THEIR HOME INSTITUTION, INCREASE THEIR LIKELIHOOD OF SELECTING STEM-RELATED COURSES, AND FOSTER A PEER AND MENTOR NETWORK ESSENTIAL FOR RETENTION IN ACADEMIA AND RESEARCH. TRAINEES WILL GAIN KNOWLEDGE AND TRAINING IN STATE-OF-THE-ART NEUROIMAGING TECHNIQUES, INVESTIGATE GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH QUESTIONS, EXPERIENCE DAY-TO-DAY PROGRESS IN A RESEARCH LAB, EXPLORE RESEARCH ETHICS, AND PARTICIPATE IN CAREER-BUILDING ACTIVITIES. THROUGH SEVERAL MULTI-DAY WORKSHOPS, STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE HANDS-ON TRAINING IN FOUR NEUROIMAGING TECHNIQUES: FNIRS, FMRI, EEG, AND PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY. ACTIVITIES WILL RANGE FROM LEARNING THE PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF DATA COLLECTION TO THE BASIC SKILLS NEEDED FOR DATA ANALYSES. STUDENTS WILL BE GUIDED IN PROCESSING NEUROIMAGING DATASETS. IMPORTANTLY, ALONG WITH EACH WORKSHOP, STUDENTS WILL BE GUIDED THROUGH ETHICAL REFLECTIONS RELATED TO CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN NEUROSCIENCE WITH HISTORICALLY EXCLUDED POPULATIONS, SUCH AS DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING PARTICIPANTS. BEYOND THE WORKSHOPS, STUDENTS WILL FURTHER HONE THEIR SKILLS THROUGH HANDS-ON RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN ONE OF THE COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE LABS IN THE PH.D. IN EDUCATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE (PEN) PROGRAM BY CONTRIBUTING TO ONGOING RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. THEIR WORK WILL CULMINATE IN A FINAL SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION. TO ENSURE CONTINUED SUCCESS IN ACADEMIA, STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE INDIVIDUALIZED MENTORING FROM A PI AND A PEER GRADUATE STUDENT DURING AND BEYOND THE SUMMER SCHOOL. FINALLY, THANKS TO THE ASL-ENGLISH BILINGUAL CENTRE, STUDENTS WILL BECOME PART OF A LARGER NETWORK OF RESEARCHERS, ALL MEMBERS OF THE VISUAL LANGUAGE AND VISUAL LEARNING (VL2), AN NSF SCIENCE OF LEARNING CENTER, PROVIDING AN ENDURING NETWORK OF PEERS WITHIN A FULLY ACCESSIBLE ASL-ENGLISH BILINGUAL ENVIRONMENT. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

REHABILITATION LONG-TERM TRAINING - REHABILITATION OF THE DEAF

DEAF SIGN LANGUAGE USERS' EXPERIENCES IN SEEKING HEALTH INFORMATION

CONSENT-ASL TOOLKIT FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING PEOPLE - THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED FOR A USER-CENTERED, ACCESSIBLE INFORMED CONSENT TOOLKIT. THE PURPOSE OF THIS G08 APPLICATION IS TO DEVELOP AND DEPLOY AN ACCESSIBLE INFORMED CONSENT APP- BASED TOOLKIT TO SUPPORT TWO TARGET AUDIENCES: 1) DEAF PATIENTS WHO WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH STUDIES AND 2) CLINICAL RESEARCH COORDINATORS (CRCS) AND PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS (PIS) WHO DO NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO MAKE THEIR INFORMED CONSENT MATERIALS ACCESSIBLE TO PROSPECTIVE PARTICIPANTS WHO ARE DEAF. THIS PROJECT IS LOW-RISK AND HIGH IN IMPACT BECAUSE IT BUILDS ON THE LEADERSHIP TEAM’S RESEARCH WITH THE MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED DEAF COMMUNITY. KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM THE PROPOSED ACTIVITIES WILL THEREFORE HAVE GREAT POTENTIAL TO BRING USEFUL, USABLE RESOURCES TO DEAF SIGNERS AND WHO WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH OR CLINICAL TRIALS. FINALLY, THE RESULTING RESOURCES WILL FILL A GAP PRIORITIZED IN GOALS 1&2 OF NLM'S STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS BECAUSE THE PROPOSED WORK WILL SUPPORT RESEARCH THROUGH INFORMATION DISSEMINATION STRATEGIES THAT ENHANCE INFORMATION DELIVERY OF RESEARCH PARTICIPATION AND INFORMED CONSENT TO UNDERSERVED, OVERLOOKED GROUPS SUCH AS DEAF PEOPLE WHO USE ASL.

REU SITE: ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

REHABILITATION LONG-TERM TRAINING - REHABILITATION LONG-TERM TRAINING - REHABILITATION OF THE DEAF

FALL PREVENTION IN ASL-USING DEAF OLDER ADULTS - TITLE: FALL PREVENTION IN ASL-USING DEAF OLDER ADULTS THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE THE SAFETY, INDEPENDENCE, AND ABILITY OF THE OLDER ADULTS WHO ARE DEAF, DEAF BLIND, DEAF DISABLED, AND HARD OF HEARING (DDBHH) AND USE AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL), TO PARTICIPATE IN DAILY LIFE, THROUGH FALL PREVENTION PROGRAMS THAT ARE EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING FALL INCIDENCES AMONG OLDER DDBHH ADULTS. THE INCIDENCE OF FALLS AMONG OLDER ADULTS WHO REPORT BEING DEAF IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN AMONG THOSE WHO DENY BEING DEAF (CDC 2020). DDBHH ADULTS WHO USE ASL ARE DIVERSE, YET UNIQUE IN THAT MOST OF THEM HAVE BEEN DEAF CONGENITALLY OR SINCE CHILDHOOD, AND THAT THEY DO NOT SHARE THE VALUE OF HEARING SENSITIVITY AND SPOKEN COMMUNICATION ABILITIES IN THE SAME WAY THE REST OF THE SOCIETY, PARTICULARLY THE HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS, DOES. WE LACK UNDERSTANDING OF HOW CULTURAL, LINGUISTIC, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES IMPACT ACCESS TO AND RELEVANCE OF RESOURCES, INFORMATION, AND SUPPORT NETWORK; NOR OF THE IMPACT OF LIFE-LONG OR NEAR LIFE-LONG VESTIBULAR DEFICIT ON BALANCE CONTROL AND FALL RISK. THE POTENTIAL INEQUITY FOR ASL USING ADULTS CANNOT BE ADDRESSED WITHOUT GAINING FURTHER UNDERSTANDING OF THESE FACTORS. AN EFFECTIVE FALL PREVENTION PROGRAM DESIGN MUST CONSIDER BOTH THE PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS AS WELL AS THE CULTURAL AND BEHAVIORAL FACTORS IMPACTING DEAF ADULTS’ FALL INCIDENCES; AND BE ABLE TO REACH THEM AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF FALL PREVENTION, INCLUDING ENGAGING OLDER DDBHH ADULTS IN REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES. THEREFORE, THE SPECIFIC AIMS OF THIS PROJECT ARE (1) TO IDENTIFY BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR A SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF A FALL PREVENTION WELLNESS PROGRAM TARGETING COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER DDBHH ADULTS; AND (2) TO DETERMINE FEASIBILITY AND POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF A BALANCE EXERCISE PROGRAM DELIVERED IN ASL. FOR THE FIRST AIM, QUALITATIVE DATA FROM ELIGIBLE OLDER DDBHH ADULTS WILL BE COLLECTED, THROUGH (A) INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS WHICH WILL BE ANALYZED FOR THEMES RE: INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES WITH FALL INCIDENCES, FALL-RELATED RESOURCES, AND ACCESS TO SERVICES; AND (B) FOCUS GROUPS TO GENERATE IDEAS AND STRATEGIES TO MITIGATE FALL RISKS IN THIS POPULATION. FOR THE SECOND AIM, WE WILL DELIVER FOUR 8-WEEK EXERCISE PROGRAMS OVER A COURSE, EACH ENROLLING 10 COMMUNITY-DWELLING DDBHH ADULTS 60 YEARS AND OLDER. WE WILL DESCRIBE THE VESTIBULAR AND PHYSICAL BALANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PARTICIPANTS, ADHERENCE RATE, PERCEIVED BENEFITS, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN PHYSICAL FITNESS AMONG THE PARTICIPANTS. THE RESULTS OF THIS CULTURALLY INFORMED INVESTIGATION WILL INFORM FUTURE DESIGN OF FALL PREVENTATIVE CARE FOR OLDER DDBHH PERSONS, SUCCESS OF WHICH WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON OLDER DDBHH ADULTS’ FALL INCIDENCES, HEALTH, AND QUALITY OF LIFE. THE PI, CHIZUKO TAMAKI, AUD, PHD, IS A CLINICIAN-RESEARCHER-EDUCATOR WHO HAS MENTORED MULTIPLE STUDENT RESEARCHERS IN VESTIBULAR SCIENCE AND SERVING THE DDBHH COMMUNITY AS AUDIOLOGIST. DR. TAMAKI WILL WORK WITH JANIS COLE, PHD, A DEAF RESEARCHER WITH BACKGROUND IN SOCIAL WORK AND STUDIES IN CULTURAL AND GENDER IMPACT ON LANGUAGE USE; AND CAROL RIDDICK, PHD, PROFESSOR OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION & RECREATION PROGRAM WITH EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH OLDER ADULTS AND CONDUCTING GERONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: BUILDING REAL-TIME INTELLIGENT GROUNDING IN DEAF EDUCATION -A MAJOR CHALLENGE IN DEAF SCIENCE EDUCATION IS THE LACK OF STANDARD SIGNS IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL) FOR MANY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS. FOR EXAMPLE, ONE STUDENT MIGHT FINGERSPELL A TERM, ANOTHER MIGHT USE A SIGN THEY CREATED, AND A THIRD MIGHT USE A DIFFERENT SIGN ALTOGETHER. THIS VARIATION CAN MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR STUDENTS TO ENGAGE EFFECTIVELY IN CLASS WITHOUT A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENTIFIC TERMINOLOGY. COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING ACTIVITIES ARE KNOWN TO IMPROVE THE UNDERSTANDING OF COMPLEX CONCEPTS, BUT TRADITIONAL SUPPORT METHODS MAINLY BENEFIT HEARING STUDENTS. THIS MAKES IT MORE CHALLENGING FOR DEAF STUDENTS WHO USE SIGN LANGUAGE TO PARTICIPATE FULLY. ADDITIONALLY, DEAF INDIVIDUALS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN SCIENTIFIC FIELDS, WHICH ADDS TO THEIR MARGINALIZATION. TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES, THE PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A NEW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL DESIGNED TO REVOLUTIONIZE COLLABORATIVE LEARNING FOR DEAF STUDENTS IN SCIENCE, HELPING THEM TO BETTER UNDERSTAND AND COMMUNICATE IN UNIVERSITY BIOLOGY CLASSES. THE TOOL WILL USE AUGMENTED REALITY, SIGNED ANIMATIONS, AND SIGN RECOGNITION TO PROVIDE REAL-TIME INFORMATION ABOUT THE SIGNS USED IN CLASSROOM CONVERSATIONS. THE PRIMARY HYPOTHESIS OF THE RESEARCH IS THAT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY CAN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE COLLABORATIVE EXPERIENCE AND LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR DEAF STUDENTS. THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON ESTABLISHING COMMON GROUND, WHICH IS PARTICULARLY CHALLENGING IN SCIENCE COURSES WHERE STANDARD ASL SIGNS ARE LACKING. THE TEAM USES AUGMENTED REALITY TO VISUALIZE SCIENTIFIC LEXICON REPRESENTATIONS, INCLUDING SIGNING AVATARS AND ENGLISH CAPTIONS. THESE AIDS COMPLEMENT EXISTING LEARNING STRATEGIES, SUCH AS PARALLEL VISUAL PROCESSING AND THE CREATION OF NEW TERMS. THIS PROJECT WILL ASSIST STUDENTS IN LEARNING NEW TERMINOLOGY INTRODUCED BY TEACHERS OR EMERGING FROM CLASSROOM CONVERSATIONS. IT CATERS TO THE DIVERSE NEEDS OF THE DEAF COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF LANGUAGE FLUENCY, HEARING ABILITY, AND USE OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES BY PROVIDING FLEXIBLE, NON-INVASIVE LEARNING SUPPORTS. IN SUPPORT OF THE PROJECT GOALS, THE TEAM WILL CONVENE CO-DESIGN SESSIONS, CONDUCT PROTOTYPE TESTING, AND IMPLEMENT AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF THE TOOL. THE PROJECT TEAM INCLUDES EXPERTS IN ASL SCIENTIFIC LEXICONS, LEARNING SCIENCES, HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. THE GOAL IS TO IMPROVE INCLUSIVE EDUCATION STRATEGIES, FOCUSING ON COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN SCIENCE. THE PROJECT CONTRIBUTES TO HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION BY IDENTIFYING DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR INTELLIGENT SUPPORT TO SIGNING LEARNERS. IT ADVANCES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THROUGH STATE-OF-THE-ART SIGN RECOGNITION AND GENERATION SYSTEMS, ADAPTIVE TO LEARNER VARIABILITY, AND INCORPORATING FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND PROSODIC FEATURES. IN LEARNING SCIENCE, THE PROJECT EXPLORES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADAPTIVE SCAFFOLDS FOR LEXICAL ALIGNMENT, COLLABORATIVE PROCESSES, AND LEARNING OUTCOMES. IN TERMS OF DEAF EDUCATION, THE PROJECT DEVELOPS INTERVENTIONS SUPPORTING COLLABORATIVE LEARNING AMONG DEAF STUDENTS. ACKNOWLEDGING THE DIVERSE EXPERIENCES WITHIN NORTH AMERICAN DEAF COMMUNITIES, THE INITIATIVE WORKS TO UNDERSTAND THESE NUANCES. IF SUCCESSFUL, THE TECHNOLOGY COULD GENERALIZE TO OTHER LEARNING SCENARIOS INVOLVING COLLABORATING DEAF STUDENTS. THIS WORK WILL ALSO SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEAF SCIENTISTS, STUDENTS, AND TRAINEES. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE RESEARCH ON INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR ENHANCED LEARNING (RITEL) PROGRAM THAT SUPPORTS EARLY-STAGE EXPLORATORY RESEARCH IN EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

DASS: DESIGNING ACCOUNTABLE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH DIVERSE SENSORY ABILITIES

DESIGNING PLK1 INHIBITORS THROUGH MULTISCALE COMPUTATIONAL AND EXPERIMENTAL METHODS - IDENTIFICATION OF NOVEL, SELECTIVE PLK1 INHIBITORS THROUGH MOLECULAR MODELING AND FLUORESCENCE POLARIZATION EXPERIMENTS THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THE PROPOSED STUDY IS TO IDENTIFY NOVEL NONPEPTIDE-BASED SELECTIVE INHIBITORS FOR POLO-BOX DOMAIN (PBD) OF POLO-LIKE KINASE 1 (PLK1) THAT CAN BE USED FOR TARGETED CANCER THERAPIES. GIVEN ITS MAJOR ROLE IN MITOTIC EVENTS, PLK1 IS A MARKER FOR CELLULAR PROLIFERATION WITH A PROGNOSTIC POTENTIAL IN SOME TYPES OF CANCERS. A HIGH LEVEL OF PLK1 EXPRESSION IS ASSOCIATED WITH A POOR PROGNOSIS. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT THE LOSS OF PLK1 EXPRESSION CAN INDUCE APOPTOSIS AND INHIBIT GROWTH IN MANY CANCER CELLS WHILE SHOWING AN INSIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON NORMAL CELLS IN MOUSE MODELS. ON THE OTHER HAND, PLK2 AND PLK3 HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS TUMOR SUPPRESSORS. THEREFORE, SELECTIVE AND SPECIFIC INHIBITION OF PLK1 IS A PROMISING THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY FOR A RANGE OF CANCER TYPES. IN OUR STUDY, THE RATIONALE FOR TARGETING THE PBD AS OPPOSED TO THE KINASE CATALYTIC DOMAIN (KCD) IS THAT THE KCD IS CONSERVED AMONG KINASES AND THEREFORE POSES SELECTIVITY AND TOXICITY PROBLEMS. PLK1 INHIBITORS WILL BE IDENTIFIED IN SEVERAL STEPS. (1) SMALL MOLECULES WITH KNOWN BINDING PROFILES TO PLK1-3 WILL BE STUDIED THROUGH MOLECULAR DYNAMICS (MD) SIMULATIONS TO GAIN ATOMISTIC INSIGHTS FOR THE KEY INTERACTIONS NEEDED FOR STRONG BINDING PROFILE FOR PLK1 BUT NOT FOR PLK2-3. (2) COCONUT NATURAL PRODUCTS DATABASE AND ATOMWISE COMPANY SMALL MOLECULE DATABASE WILL BE SCREENED TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL INHIBITORS. THE TOP HIT CANDIDATES WILL BE STUDIES THROUGH MD AND ADMETS (ABSORPTION, DISTRIBUTION, METABOLISM, EXCRETION, TOXICITY AND STABILITY) SIMULATIONS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF CANDIDATES AND FINALLY THE TOP MOLECULES WILL BE STUDIES THROUGH STEERED MD AND FLUORESCENCE POLARIZATION EXPERIMENTS. THE PROPOSED STUDY IS INNOVATIVE IN MANY ASPECTS BUT PARTICULARLY ITS UNIQUE DESIGN FOR ALLOWING MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION OF DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING UNDERGRADUATE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. MAJOR OUTCOME OF THE STUDY IS THAT IT IS EXPECTED TO PROVIDE A STARTING POINT FOR A DRUG DESIGN PIPELINE FOR THE PBD OF PLK1 AND FURTHER GUIDE THE IN VIVO EXPERIMENTS AND/OR CLINICAL CONSIDERATIONS.

EXPOSING THE BORDERS OF ACADEMIA: SIGN LANGUAGE AS A MEDIUM OF KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION, PRESERVATION, AND DISSEMINATION

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY''S PROGRAM TO REDUCE SEXUAL ASSAULT, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, AND STALKING ON CAMPUS

SIGNING AVATARS & IMMERSIVE LEARNING (SAIL): DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF A NOVEL EMBODIED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

HCC:EAGER:PANOPTIC STUDIO: A MULTIVIEW SYSTEM FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, SIGN LANGUAGES, LINGUISTICS, EDUCATION, AND SOCIAL INTERACTIONS FOR DEAF AND DEAFBLIND COMMUNITY MEMBERS -THIS EAGER PROJECT EXPLORES THE USE OF MULTIPLE CAMERAS TO RECORD THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3D) VIDEOS OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND DIALOGUES IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL). ASL IS THE THIRD MOST USED LANGUAGE IN THE UNITED STATES, AFTER ENGLISH AND SPANISH. THERE ARE 500,000 DEAF, DEAFBLIND, AND HARD OF HEARING (DDBHH) SIGNERS, AND FAR MORE WHO LEARN ASL AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN SCHOOL OR COLLEGE. DDBHH PEOPLE EXPERIENCE MANY EDUCATIONAL, WORKPLACE, LINGUISTIC, HEALTH, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DISPARITIES. THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED NOT ONLY FOR MORE DATA BUT ALSO BETTER DATA ABOUT USE OF AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE BY INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES ACROSS DIVERSE COMMUNICATION SETTINGS SUCH AS HOME, HEALTH OR THE WORKPLACE. COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL INTERACTION AMONG PEOPLE WHO USE ASL IS HINDERED BY A LACK OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL VIDEO ABOUT DDBHH SIGNERS? COMMUNICATION AND INTERACTION IN THESE SETTINGS. THIS RESEARCH IS EXPECTED TO HAVE STRONG BENEFITS AND IMPACT HOW PEOPLE COMMUNICATE WITH DDBHH SIGNERS. THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO POOL INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCES FOR BOTH EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL TO CREATE LARGER, MORE SYSTEMATIC 3D VIDEO DATASETS OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS FOR COLLECTIVE USE BY RESEARCHERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS. THIS RESEARCH ESTABLISHES AN INFRASTRUCTURE TO COLLECT THIS CRITICAL DATA THAT CAN BE SHARED. THIS CONSOLIDATION OF RESOURCES, INCLUDING POOLING OF RESOURCES AND PERSONNEL, CAN ELIMINATE THE TIME AND RESOURCES THAT INDIVIDUAL RESEARCHERS SPEND ON COMPILING SMALL, IDIOSYNCRATIC, ONE-OFF DATASETS FOR THEIR PERSONAL USE. THE POOLED DATA WILL BE HIGHER QUALITY AND MORE DURABLE, AND FACILITATE REPRODUCIBILITY AND REPLICATION OF KEY RESEARCH RESULTS, LEADING TO BETTER, MORE RELIABLE SCIENCE AND TO LEVERAGE THESE DATASETS TO BUILD THE INTELLECTUAL, SOCIAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL CAPITAL FOR THE DDBHH COMMUNITIES AND AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM FOR U.S. UNDERGRADUTE STUDY ABROAD

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP) -THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP) IS A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE, FEDERAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. GRFP HELPS ENSURE THE VITALITY AND DIVERSITY OF THE SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING WORKFORCE OF THE UNITED STATES. THE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES AND SUPPORTS OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO ARE PURSUING RESEARCH-BASED MASTER'S AND DOCTORAL DEGREES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) AND IN STEM EDUCATION. THE GRFP PROVIDES THREE YEARS OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE GRADUATE EDUCATION OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE DEMONSTRATED THEIR POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENTS IN STEM AND STEM EDUCATION. THIS AWARD SUPPORTS THE NSF GRADUATE FELLOWS PURSUING GRADUATE EDUCATION AT THIS GRFP INSTITUTION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

RIG: BROADENING PARTICIPATION OF DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING SCIENTISTS THROUGH LABORATORY STUDIES OF A HARMFUL ALGAL SPECIES

CRII: HCC: AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE-ENABLED DIGITAL ASSISTANTS: MODELS AND METRICS FOR USER SATISFACTION -INTELLIGENT PERSONAL ASSISTANTS (IPAS) THAT ALLOW PEOPLE TO INTERACT WITH COMPUTERS USING NATURAL LANGUAGE ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE COMMON. THESE ARE TYPICALLY CONTROLLED BY VOICE INTERACTION; HOWEVER, NOT EVERYONE USES THEIR VOICE FOR REAL-TIME COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING MANY DEAF PEOPLE WHO USE AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL) AS THEIR PRIMARY LANGUAGE FOR COMMUNICATING WITH OTHERS. THIS PROJECT'S GOAL IS TO DEVELOP PRINCIPLED METHODS FOR STUDYING AND DESIGNING ASL-BASED IPAS THAT ALLOW DEAF ASL USERS TO INTERACT WITH THEM THROUGH SIGN. BECAUSE COMPUTERS HAVE TROUBLE RECOGNIZING UNCONSTRAINED ASL COMMUNICATION, THE PROJECT TEAM WILL CONDUCT A SET OF EXPERIMENTS WITH DEAF USERS TO UNDERSTAND HOW WELL INTERFACES THAT RECOGNIZE SMALLER SUBSETS OF ASL CAN SERVE THEIR NEEDS, AND HOW MUCH RECOGNITION ERRORS AFFECT THEIR UTILITY. THE EXPERIMENTS WILL RESULT IN A SET OF GUIDELINES FOR HOW ASL-BASED IPAS MIGHT BE DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED, REDUCING ACCESSIBILITY BARRIERS FOR THOSE WHO USE ASL. THE PROJECT WILL USE A WIZARD-OF-OZ METHODOLOGY, IN WHICH THE EXPERIMENTAL TEAM CRAFTS RESPONSES TO SIMULATE COMPUTATIONAL TASKS THAT ARE HARD TO IMPLEMENT, TO STUDY DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SIGN LANGUAGE UNDERSTANDING ABILITIES IN AN IPA. THE FIRST RESEARCH AIM WILL INVESTIGATE THE POTENTIAL OF AN IPA INTERFACE THAT USES ONLY SINGLE-SIGN RECOGNITION, WITH A VOCABULARY OF APPROXIMATELY 100 SIGNS THAT ARE SYNECDOCHES OF COMMON IPA VOICE QUERY PHRASES. THE SECOND RESEARCH AIM WILL INVESTIGATE USER SATISFACTION WHEN USING A LARGER, BUT STILL LIMITED, ASL VOCABULARY SET TO QUERY IPAS. IN THIS EXPERIMENT, USERS WILL USE MORE NATURAL ASL PHRASES INSTEAD OF SINGLE SIGNS, BUT THE SIMULATED IPA WILL HAVE A LIMITED UNDERSTANDING AND PERFORM ACCORDINGLY. A THIRD RESEARCH AIM WILL VARY THE LEVEL OF SIMULATED ASL RECOGNITION ACCURACY IN THE IPA AND INVESTIGATE THE LEVEL OF ACCURACY NEEDED FOR USER SATISFACTION IN THE CONTEXT OF IPAS THAT UNDERSTAND ASL BUT MAKE ERRORS. TOGETHER, THESE DEAF-LED HUMAN-CENTERED EXPERIMENTS WILL ENGAGE WITH THE DEAF COMMUNITY, EMPIRICALLY INVESTIGATE CRITERIA FOR SUCCESSFUL ASL IPA INTERACTION AND PROVIDE FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH FOR FUTURE ASL-BASED SYSTEMS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

CONFERENCE: STEM-APWD: LANGDIV: SBP: STRENGTHENING THE PIPELINE FOR DEAF SCIENTISTS IN SIGNED LANGUAGE RESEARCH -THIS PROJECT STRENGTHENS THE PIPELINE FOR DEAF SCIENTISTS AND ACTIVELY SUPPORTS THE DIVERSIFICATION OF RESEARCHERS WHO WORK WITH SIGNED LANGUAGE COMMUNITIES. HISTORICALLY, THE MAJORITY OF SIGNED LANGUAGE RESEARCHERS HAVE BEEN HEARING PEOPLE, MOST OF WHOM ARE ADULT LEARNERS OF A SIGNED LANGUAGE AND DO NOT USE IT AS THEIR PRIMARY LANGUAGE. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE FEW DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING (HEREAFTER DEAF) SIGNERS AMONG THE RANKS OF SIGNED LANGUAGE RESEARCHERS. THIS PROJECT USES A MENTORSHIP AND ACCESS MODEL TO PROVIDE A SMALL GROUP OF DEAF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WITH PROFESSIONAL-DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES AND SUPPORT FOR AN INTERNATIONAL AND LEADING SIGN LANGUAGE CONFERENCE. CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION OFFERS RICH NETWORKING ACTIVITIES FOR THE STUDENTS. THE AIM IS TO PROVIDE KEY OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEAF STUDENTS THAT SUPPORT THEIR PROGRESSION IN GRADUATE WORK AND FUTURE INVOLVEMENT IN THE FIELD OF SIGNED LANGUAGE RESEARCH, THUS EXPANDING THE NUMBERS OF DEAF SIGN LANGUAGE RESEARCHERS. THE PROJECT ACCOMPLISHES ITS GOALS IN TWO KEY WAYS. FIRST, DEAF STUDENTS ARE CHOSEN VIA A RIGOROUS APPLICATION PROCESS TO BE PART OF PRE- AND POST-CONFERENCE MENTORSHIP ACTIVITIES THAT INCLUDE MEETING WITH CURRENT DEAF RESEARCHERS TO DISCUSS METHODS FOR ENGAGING IN ACADEMIC RESEARCH, PRESENTING ONE?S WORK AT CONFERENCES, DISSEMINATING THE RESULTS WITH SIGNED LANGUAGE COMMUNITIES IN MIND, AND ENGAGING WITH THE SIGNING COMMUNITIES IN ORDER TO SHARE RESEARCH FINDINGS AND PROMOTE FUTURE RECRUITMENT OF DEAF STUDENTS TO THE FIELD. MENTORSHIP AND TRAINING MEETINGS OCCUR VIRTUALLY AND IN-PERSON, BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE CONFERENCE. THESE MEETINGS ARE ACCESSIBLE AND ATTENDED BY DEAF RESEARCHERS AND STUDENTS. SECOND, DEAF STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE (EITHER IN PERSON OR VIRTUALLY), SUPPORTED BY INTERPRETATION AND CAPTIONING SERVICES. THE ACCESS SERVICES ARE CRUCIAL TO AFFORD FULL PARTICIPATION IN CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AND ACTIVITIES. INTERPRETATION AND CAPTIONING SUPPORT ALLOWS THE DEAF CANDIDATES SUPPORTED BY THE PROJECT TO ACCESS SPOKEN LANGUAGE CONTENT AND ENGAGE FULLY WITH THE CONFERENCE PROGRAM AND WITH OTHER RESEARCHERS IN THE FIELD, AGAIN STRENGTHENING THE PIPELINE FOR DEAF SCIENTISTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM(GRFP)

EXAMINING ICONICITY WITH EEG: THE ROLE OF MOTORIC ICONICITY AND EMBODIED COGNITION IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE - PROJECT ABSTRACT MOST DEAF/HARD-OF-HEARING (DHH) CHILDREN ARE BORN TO HEARING PARENTS WHO DO NOT KNOW SIGN LANGUAGE. CURRENT METHODS FOR AUDITORY AMPLIFICATION ARE UNPREDICTABLE, WITH SOME CHILDREN SUCCEEDING AND MANY OTHERS STRUGGLING TO ACCESS LANGUAGE THROUGH AMPLIFICATION. IF L1ACQUISITION IS DELAYED, THIS CASCADES TO NEGATIVE LIFE- LONG ACADEMIC AND HEALTH EFFECTS. PER EARLY INTERVENTION APPROACHES, CAREGIVERS ARE IDEAL SOURCES OF PROTECTIVE INPUT. HOWEVER, CAREGIVERS REQUIRE SUPPORT TO QUICKLY LEARN SIGN LANGUAGE (USING AN ENTIRELY NEW MODALITY) TO PROVIDE LANGUAGE EXPOSURE TO THEIR CHILD. SIGNS ARE PRODUCED IN THE VISUAL-MOTOR MODALITY, WITH ARTICULATORS THAT CAN MAP ONTO VISUAL ELEMENTS OF THE WORLD. THIS MAPPING BETWEEN FORM AND MEANING IS CALLED ICONICITY. STUDIES SUGGEST ICONICITY MAY FACILITATE BOTH FIRST AND SECOND-LANGUAGE VOCABULARY ACQUISITION. BOTH CHILD AND ADULT LANGUAGE PROCESSING INVOLVES KNOWLEDGE FROM SENSORY-MOTORIC EXPERIENCES (E.G., IMPLIED OBJECT ORIENTATION OR MANNER OF GRIP). THIS EMBODIED COGNITION SCAFFOLDS INTO LANGUAGE PROCESSING. MOTORICALLY-ICONIC SIGNS DEPICT THE SIGNER MANIPULATING THE REFERENT. THIS VISUAL-MOTORIC MAPPING PROVIDES A PLACE FOR INTEGRATING SIGN LANGUAGE WITH THE CAREGIVERS’ EXISTING EMBODIED COGNITION, AS WELL AS A CHANCE TO LEARN THE VISUAL-MOTOR MODALITY. IF LEARNING MOTORICALLY-ICONIC SIGNS IS FACILITATED BY EMBODIED COGNITION, THESE SIGNS MAY BE A GOOD STARTING PLACE FOR CAREGIVER INTERVENTIONS. THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO ASSESS THE ROLE OF EMBODIED COGNITION IN THE PROCESSING AND ACQUISITION OF MOTORICALLY-ICONIC ASL SIGNS. AIM 1 ASSESSES THE ROLE OF EMBODIED COGNITION IN SIGN PRODUCTION (STUDY 1A) AND COMPREHENSION (STUDY 1B) IN NATIVE SIGNERS. BEHAVIORAL AND EEG RESULTS WILL BE COMPARED BETWEEN MOTORICALLY-ICONIC AND NON-ICONIC SIGNS. EEG WILL BE USED FOR EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL (N400 COMPONENT) AND MU RHYTHM ANALYSIS. THE N400 INDEXES SEMANTIC PROCESSING. DESYNCHRONIZATION OF THE MU RHYTHM INDEXES EMBODIED ENGAGEMENT OF THE SENSORIMOTOR CORTEX. AIM 2 USES THESE MEASURES TO ASSESS THE ROLE OF EMBODIED COGNITION IN PRODUCTION (STUDY 2A) AND COMPREHENSION (STUDY 2B) FOR HEARING CAREGIVERS OF DHH CHILDREN. THE RESULTS OF STUDY 1/2 WILL LEAD TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLES OF EMBODIED COGNITION IN SIGN LEARNING. IF STUDY 2 FINDS EVIDENCE OF FACILITATION FOR MOTORICALLY-ICONIC SIGNS, IT SUGGESTS THAT HEARING CAREGIVERS INTEGRATED ICONICITY AND EMBODIED COGNITION TO AID THEIR LEARNING. SIGN ACQUISITION IS THE BEST DEFENSE AGAINST LINGUISTIC DEPRIVATION FOR DHH CHILDREN, BUT THESE CHILDREN NEED RICH, ACCESSIBLE LANGUAGE INPUT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IN ORDER TO SET THE FOUNDATION FOR HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT, REQUIRING THEIR CAREGIVERS TO LEARN TO SIGN EARLY IN THEIR LIVES. INTERVENTIONS THAT CAPITALIZE ON EXISTING EMBODIED COGNITION MAY SUPPORT CAREGIVER LEARNING. AS CAREGIVER SIGNING IMPROVES, SO DOES COMMUNICATION WITH THE DHH CHILD, PROVIDING A FOUNDATION FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND PROTECTION AGAINST THE LIFELONG EFFECTS OF LINGUISTIC DEPRIVATION.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FUNCTION AND FORM IN THE 'WHAT' FAMILY OF SIGNS IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE -THIS COLLABORATIVE PROJECT STUDIES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN USAGE AND GRAMMAR IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL) IN A RELATIVELY NEW GENRE: ASL VIDEOS POSTED TO PUBLIC SPACES ONLINE. UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXTS IN WHICH ASL SIGNERS TEND TO USE PARTICULAR SIGNS IS CRITICAL TO THE LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION OF ASL AND TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF COGNITIVE, PSYCHOLINGUISTIC, AND SOCIOLINGUISTIC THEORIES OF HUMAN LANGUAGE, MORE GENERALLY. IN ADDITION TO THIS, EVALUATING THE ACCESSIBILITY AND AVAILABILITY OF ONLINE VIDEOS REQUIRES THAT RESEARCHERS UNDERSTAND AND RESPECT THE EXPECTATIONS OF PRIVACY THAT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE POSTED THEM MAY HAVE. THROUGH SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF ASL USAGE IN VIDEOS ONLINE, THE PROJECT ALSO FORMALIZES A PIPELINE FOR THE MENTORING AND INCREASED PARTICIPATION OF DEAF AND SIGNING RESEARCHERS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH. THE GOALS FOR THIS PROJECT ARE 1) TO CONTRIBUTE TO UNDERSTANDING OF ASL GRAMMAR THROUGH THE STUDY OF ASL SIGNING FROM A VARIETY OF INDIVIDUALS, 2) TO ESTABLISH A PIPELINE FOR TRANSFORMING INTERNET DATA INTO REPRODUCIBLE RESEARCH, AND 3) TO INCREASE THE PARTICIPATION OF DEAF LINGUISTS IN LINGUISTIC RESEARCH ON ASL. IN THE SERVICE OF THESE GOALS, THE PROJECT SINGLES OUT ONE CLASS OF GRAMMATICAL CONSTRUCTIONS INVOLVING ASL SIGNS THAT CAN BE TRANSLATED AS ?WHAT? IN ENGLISH (AS IN ?WHAT DID YOU SAY?? OR ?THAT?S WHAT THEY TOLD ME.?). A FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION IS HOW SIGNERS USE THESE DIFFERENT SIGNS IN ASL DISCOURSE: DO PARTICULAR SIGNS CONSISTENTLY APPEAR WITH PARTICULAR GRAMMATICAL FUNCTIONS, SUCH AS FORMING A DIRECT OR INDIRECT QUESTION, OR IS THERE VARIATION IN THE USE OF THESE FORMS CONDITIONED BY THE GRAMMATICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT? THE PROJECT ADDRESSES THIS QUESTION BY COLLECTING AND ANNOTATING A LARGE SAMPLE OF INSTANCES OF THESE SPECIFIC SIGNS IN CONTEXT FROM A VARIETY OF ASL VIDEOS ONLINE. THESE VIDEOS ARE PRIMARILY FROM AGGREGATE-TYPE WEBSITES SUCH AS ASL NEWS OUTLETS, RECORDINGS OF PUBLIC LECTURES AND MESSAGES, AND COMMERCIAL VIDEOS. AT THE SAME TIME, THE PROJECT SEEKS TO IDENTIFY THE BEST PRACTICES FOR WORKING WITH ONLINE VIDEOS AND MAKING THE RESULTING ANNOTATIONS ACCESSIBLE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH. THIS INVOLVES MAKING NOT ONLY THE RESULTING ANNOTATIONS AVAILABLE IN A DIGITAL REPOSITORY, BUT ALSO CONTACTING A SUBSET OF INDIVIDUALS WHO POST VIDEOS ONLINE TO SURVEY THEIR PERCEPTION AND INTEREST IN THIS ENDEAVOR. FINALLY, THIS IS A DEAF-LED PROJECT; DEAF AMERICANS ARE THE PRIMARY USERS OF ASL, YET DEAF PEOPLE OFTEN EXPERIENCE SYSTEMIC BARRIERS TO PURSUING RESEARCH CAREERS. THIS PROJECT ALLOWS FOR COLLABORATION BETWEEN DEAF AND HEARING RESEARCHERS TO STUDY THE LINGUISTIC STRUCTURE OF ASL, PROVIDING ACCESSIBLE ENVIRONMENTS FOR MENTORSHIP AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

US-BRAZIL HIGHER EDUCATION CONSORTIA PROGRAM

REVITALIZING DEAF STUDIES, THEORIZING THE CONTEMPORARY [WE PROPOSE TO FURTHER DEVELOP DEAF STUDIES THROUGH CURRICULAR CHANGE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTERDISCIPLINARY DOCTORAL PROGRAM. CURRICULAR CHANGE, INCORPORATING INNOVATIVE METHODOLOGIES RELEVANT TO THE DIGITAL LANDSCAPE, WILL LEAD TO MORE ENGAGED FACULTY AND STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY AS THEY SEE THEMSELVES IN THE MATERIAL. THROUGH THE LIFECYCLE OF THE GRANT, WE WILL DEVELOP A SET OF FIVE CORE COURSES FOR AN INTERDISCIPLINARY DOCTORAL PROGRAM THAT FOCUSES ON THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF DEAF PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. THOSE COURSES ARE: DEAF QUEER STUDIES, DEAF STUDIES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH, DIGITAL HUMANITIES, DEAF ETHNOGRAPHIES, AND SENSING WASHINGTON, DC. THE CURRICULUM CENTERS ISSUES OF POWER, HISTORY, RACISM, AND VIOLENCE AND THE WAYS IN WHICH THEY MANIFEST IN THE LIVES OF DEAF PEOPLE.]

THE STRUCTURE AND HISTORY OF BLACK AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ADVANCING STEM ONLINE LEARNING BY AUGMENTING ACCESSIBILITY WITH EXPLANATORY CAPTIONS AND AI

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EAGER: VISUAL PROSODY ANNOTATION IN A SIGN LANGUAGE CORPUS -LINGUISTS STUDYING SIGN LANGUAGES EXPERIENCE AN IMMENSE RESOURCE GAP. RESOURCES FOR STUDYING VISUAL PROSODY IN SIGN LANGUAGES, AND ITS GRAMMATICAL AND EMOTIONAL FUNCTIONS, ARE SCARCE. THIS PROJECT CONTRIBUTES TOWARDS CLOSING THIS GAP AND PROMOTES DATA-DRIVEN SIGN LANGUAGE RESEARCH. HOUSED IN IDEAL RESEARCH ENVIRONMENTS, THE PROJECT AIMS TO CREATE A LARGE SIGN LANGUAGE CORPUS, INCLUSIVE OF DIALOGUES, WITH ANNOTATIONS. THE PROJECT PLANS TO RELEASE THIS RESOURCE FOR LINGUISTIC AND SIGN LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND PROVIDE OPEN ACCESS TEACHING MODULES AND ASSIGNMENTS WITH INSTRUCTOR GUIDES FOR USE WITH THE CORPUS. THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON UNDERSTUDIED CHARACTERISTICS IN SIGN LANGUAGES, WHOSE STUDY NECESSITATES A NEW CORPUS RESOURCE, AND ON THEIR REPRODUCIBLE ANNOTATION REPRESENTATIONS, USING AN ITERATIVE PROCESS OF QUALITY MEASUREMENT OF INTER-ANNOTATOR AND INTRA-ANNOTATOR AGREEMENT. THE ANTICIPATED PROJECT OUTCOMES INCLUDE: (1) A SIGN LANGUAGE CORPUS THAT CAPTURES CURRENTLY UNDERSTUDIED CHARACTERISTICS, (2) A TESTED METHOD FOR REPRESENTING THOSE CHARACTERISTICS IN THE CORPUS, (3) BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR CONTINUED USE, AND (4) RESEARCH DISSEMINATION IN WRITTEN MANUSCRIPTS AND VIDEO-RECORDED RESEARCH PRODUCTS. ADDITIONALLY, THE TEAM AIMS TO TRAIN STUDENTS AND OPEN PATHWAYS TO INCREASE THE STUDY OF SIGN LANGUAGES IN THE RESEARCH WORKFORCE, PREPARING DEAF SCIENTISTS WITH LINGUISTIC RESEARCH SKILLS, AND ALSO TO RELEASE A LEARNING MODULE FOR RESEARCHERS. THE NEW ANNOTATED CORPUS CAN HELP DEVELOP PREDICTIVE MODELS TO REDUCE THE TIME AND RESOURCES REQUIRED TO CARRY OUT ANNOTATION AND ACCELERATE SCIENTIFIC INSIGHTS, WHILE PROMOTING IMPROVEMENTS TO THE STATE OF THE ART IN SIGN LANGUAGE ANALYSIS TECHNOLOGY. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

PARTNERSHIPS FOR ADAPTATION, IMPLEMENTATION, AND DISSEMINATION (PAID): COLLABORATIVE AWARD - PAY IT FORWARD

CHS: MEDIUM: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: WEARABLE SOUND SENSING AND FEEDBACK TECHNIQUES FOR PERSONS WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY PRESS: SHARING KNOWLEDGE BY AND ABOUT DEAF PEOPLE AND SIGNING COMMUNITIES THROUGH SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING

REU SITE: ASL-ENGLISH BILINGUAL SUMMER SCHOOL IN COGNITIVE AND EDUCATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE -THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED FROM THE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES (REU) SITES PROGRAM IN THE SBE DIRECTORATE. AS SUCH, IT HAS BOTH SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIETAL BENEFITS, AND IT INTEGRATES RESEARCH AND EDUCATION. THE BILINGUAL ASL-ENGLISH SUMMER SCHOOL IN COGNITIVE AND EDUCATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE IS A SIX-WEEK INTENSIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAM. UNDERGRADUATE TRAINEES WILL RECEIVE HANDS-ON TRAINING IN COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING FROM EXPERTS IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE. THIS INTERDISCIPLINARY REU SITE WILL PROMOTE THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE BY PROVIDING HIGH-END TRAINING AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN SEVERAL NEUROIMAGING TECHNIQUES FOR INVESTIGATING THE MIND AND BRAIN, ALL WITHIN A FULLY ACCESSIBLE BILINGUAL ASL-ENGLISH ENVIRONMENT. THIS SUMMER SCHOOL AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO SUPPORT DIVERSITY IN RESEARCH AND SCIENCE BY PROVIDING TRAINING TO DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING STUDENTS WHO ARE TYPICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN STEM FIELDS DUE TO SYSTEMATIC LANGUAGE BARRIERS. THE SCHOOL WILL BE TAILORED FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE AT AN EARLY STAGE IN THEIR EDUCATIONAL TRAINING TO MAXIMIZE THE BENEFIT FOR THEIR FUTURE ACADEMIC PATHS. THIS PROPOSAL HAS THE UNIQUE POTENTIAL TO SHAPE STUDENTS? ACADEMIC CHOICES, PROMOTE SUCCESS IN STEM, AND ENSURE SUCCESS FOR TOMORROW?S GENERATION OF DIVERSE RESEARCHERS AND LEADERS IN SCIENCE. THE GOAL OF THE SUMMER SCHOOL IS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH CRITICAL EARLY-STAGE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES THAT WILL SHAPE THEIR ACADEMIC AND CAREER DECISIONS. PROVIDING UNIQUE AND SUPPORTIVE TRAINING IN COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE WILL INCREASE TRAINEES? COMPETITIVENESS IN SECURING MORE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AT THEIR HOME INSTITUTION, INCREASE THEIR LIKELIHOOD OF SELECTING STEM-RELATED COURSES, AND FOSTER A PEER AND MENTOR NETWORK ESSENTIAL FOR RETENTION IN ACADEMIA AND RESEARCH. TRAINEES WILL GAIN KNOWLEDGE AND TRAINING IN STATE-OF-THE-ART NEUROIMAGING TECHNIQUES, INVESTIGATE GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH QUESTIONS, EXPERIENCE DAY-TO-DAY PROGRESS IN A RESEARCH LAB, EXPLORE RESEARCH ETHICS, AND PARTICIPATE IN CAREER-BUILDING ACTIVITIES. THROUGH SEVERAL MULTI-DAY WORKSHOPS, STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE HANDS-ON TRAINING IN FOUR NEUROIMAGING TECHNIQUES: FNIRS, FMRI, EEG, AND PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY. ACTIVITIES WILL RANGE FROM LEARNING THE PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF DATA COLLECTION TO THE BASIC SKILLS NEEDED FOR DATA ANALYSES. STUDENTS WILL BE GUIDED IN PROCESSING FMRI, FNIRS, AND EEG DATASETS. IMPORTANTLY, ALONG WITH EACH WORKSHOP, STUDENTS WILL BE GUIDED THROUGH ETHICAL REFLECTIONS RELATED TO CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN NEUROSCIENCE WITH HISTORICALLY EXCLUDED POPULATIONS, SUCH AS DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING PARTICIPANTS. BEYOND THE WORKSHOPS, STUDENTS WILL FURTHER HONE THEIR SKILLS THROUGH HANDS-ON RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN ONE OF THE COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE LABS IN THE PH.D. IN EDUCATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE (PEN) PROGRAM BY CONTRIBUTING TO ONGOING RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. THEIR WORK WILL CULMINATE IN AN END-OF-SCHOOL SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION. TO ENSURE CONTINUED SUCCESS IN ACADEMIA, STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE INDIVIDUALIZED MENTORING FROM A PI AND A PEER GRADUATE STUDENT DURING AND BEYOND THE SUMMER SCHOOL. FINALLY, THANKS TO THE SUMMER SCHOOL, STUDENTS WILL BECOME PART OF A LARGER NETWORK OF RESEARCHERS, ALL MEMBERS OF THE VISUAL LANGUAGE AND VISUAL LEARNING (VL2), AN NSF SCIENCE OF LEARNING CENTER, PROVIDING AN ENDURING NETWORK OF PEERS WITHIN A FULLY ACCESSIBLE ASL-ENGLISH BILINGUAL ENVIRONMENT. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

NSF INCLUDES PLANNING GRANT: CULTIVATING RESEARCH AND EQUITY IN SIGN-RELATED TECHNOLOGY

RESEARCHING COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNICATING RESEARCH

NEUROPLASTICITY OF SPATIAL WORKING MEMORY IN SIGNED LANGUAGE PROCESSING

CONFERENCE: CREATING AN ACCESSIBLE CONFERENCE TO SUPPORT INCLUSIVE RESEARCH IN MATHEMATICAL COGNITION AND LEARNING -THE MATHEMATICAL COGNITION AND LEARNING SOCIETY?S (MCLS) MISSION IS TO PROMOTE THE COMMUNICATION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON MATHEMATICAL COGNITION AND LEARNING AND ADVANCE THE STUDY OF ITS TYPICAL AND ATYPICAL DEVELOPMENT, NEURAL SUBSTRATES, GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES, CULTURAL VARIATION, AND MALLEABILITY. THE MCLS IS ALSO COMMITTED TO FOSTERING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION WITHIN ITS ACTIVITIES TO BROADEN THE PARTICIPATION OF UNDERREPRESENTED RESEARCHERS AND ENSURE DISCOVERIES ARE ACCESSIBLE AND REPRESENTATIVE OF THE BROAD RANGE OF HUMAN EXPERIENCES. INDEED, DIVERSE EXPERIENCES AND PERSPECTIVES ARE NEEDED TO PROMOTE NOVEL RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND EXPAND OUR FIELD BEYOND THE TRADITIONALLY INVESTIGATED TOPICS. HUMAN ABILITIES MAY ONLY BE TRULY UNDERSTOOD BY INVESTIGATING THE FULL DIVERSITY OF EXPERIENCES AND ABILITIES, AND INDIVIDUALS WITH DIVERSE EXPERIENCES ARE UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO ASK QUESTIONS THAT WOULD NOT OTHERWISE BE ASKED. THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO FACILITATE THE CONTRIBUTION OF RESEARCHERS AND RESEARCH FINDINGS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN SCIENCE, BROADLY DEFINED, BY ENSURING A FULLY ACCESSIBLE CONFERENCE AND SETTING THE GUIDELINES FOR CONTINUED FUTURE ACCESSIBILITY BOTH WITHIN MCLS ACTIVITIES AND IN THE FIELD. DISABLED RESEARCHERS CONTINUE TO BE UNDERREPRESENTED IN ACADEMIA, AND REMOVING ACCESS BARRIERS WILL MAKE THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY AND EDUCATION MORE DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE. BY HOSTING A FULLY ACCESSIBLE CONFERENCE, FOLLOWING THE PRINCIPLES OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY IN JUNE 2024, THE MCLS AIMS TO BROADEN PARTICIPATION IN STEM AND INCREASE STEM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. THE MOST COMMON ACCOMMODATIONS WILL BE PROACTIVELY PROVIDED (E.G., ASL INTERPRETATION, PROFESSIONAL CAPTIONS, WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBILITY, ADVANCED AVAILABILITY OF MATERIALS) TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL ATTENDANCE EXPERIENCE FOR ALL ATTENDEES WHILE REMOVING THE BURDEN FROM DISABLED INDIVIDUALS FOR MAKING REQUESTS. THROUGH DIRECT EXPERIENCE, ALL ATTENDEES WILL BENEFIT FROM A MORE INCLUSIVE CONFERENCE WHILE CHALLENGING ANY EXISTING PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS ABOUT DISABILITY. CONFERENCES ARE A CRITICAL MEANS FOR SHARING INFORMATION AND ADVANCING DISCOVERY AND UNDERSTANDING. BY EMPLOYING PRINCIPLES OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN TO ENHANCE ACCESSIBILITY, THIS CONFERENCE WILL DIRECTLY BENEFIT THE DIVERSE AUDIENCE IN ATTENDANCE. THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY NSF'S EDU CORE RESEARCH (ECR) PROGRAM. THE ECR PROGRAM EMPHASIZES FUNDAMENTAL STEM EDUCATION RESEARCH THAT GENERATES FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE FIELD. INVESTMENTS ARE MADE IN CRITICAL AREAS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL, BROAD AND ENDURING: STEM LEARNING AND STEM LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS, BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN STEM, AND STEM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

CONFERENCE: A REVIEW OF THE CURRENT STATE OF STEM SIGN LANGUAGE LEXICONS -DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING INDIVIDUALS (DHH) IN STEM REMAIN A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF BOTH THE DISABILITY AND GENERAL COMMUNITY LEADING TO A SEVERE UNDERREPRESENTATION IN STEM. MANY DHH STUDENTS ARE IN K-12 CLASSES AND OFTEN ARE THE ONLY DHH STUDENT OR ONE OF FEW DHH STUDENTS WITH A SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER. DESPITE THE SURGE OF STEM SIGN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND ITS POPULARITY IN THE MEDIA, TECHNICAL TERMINOLOGY IN SIGN LANGUAGES FOR STEM TERMS AND CONCEPTS IS STILL LACKING, AND WHAT DOES EXIST IS NOT WIDELY KNOWN. MOST CURRENT STEM SIGN LANGUAGE LEXICONS FOCUS PRIMARILY ON CREATING A COLLECTION OF SINGLE-WORD, SINGLE-SIGN VIDEOS WITHIN A SMALL COHORT OF INDIVIDUALS. HOWEVER, THIS CURRENT FRAMEWORK PREVENTS WIDESPREAD DISSEMINATION AND CONCEPTUALLY ACCURATE SHARING OF INFORMATION TO K-12 SCHOOLS, K-12 INTERPRETERS, AND DHH STEM PROFESSIONALS. TO SOLVE THESE ISSUES, THIS PROJECT WILL ORGANIZE A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS THAT WILL CULMINATE WITH A SUMMIT TO DISCUSS THE CURRENT STATE OF STEM SIGN LEXICONS AROUND THE WORLD. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ASSESS AND EVALUATE THE USE AND SUCCESS OF STEM SIGN LANGUAGE LEXICONS IN THREE CRITICAL AREAS. FIRST, THE TEAM WILL EVALUATE THE ETHICAL AND LINGUISTIC IMPLICATIONS OF ROBUST STEM SIGN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT BY RESEARCHERS AND THE DOWNSTREAM IMPACT ON THE EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY. SECOND, PARTICIPANTS AND ORGANIZERS WILL DEVELOP ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION TOOLS FOR THE K-12 CLASSROOM AND EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES. FINALLY, THE PARTICIPANTS WILL FORMULATE NEW RESEARCH DIRECTIONS TO ENSURE SUSTAINABILITY OF STEM SIGN LANGUAGE LEXICONS IN THE DIGITAL WORLD. THE PROJECT INCLUDES A SERIES OF CONVENINGS TO BRING TOGETHER STEM EDUCATION, LINGUISTICS, AND ANTHROPOLOGY EXPERTS ALONG WITH THE DEVELOPERS AND LEADERS OF CURRENT STEM SIGN LANGUAGE LEXICONS TO LEAD NEW RESEARCH THAT IMPROVES STEM EDUCATION FOR DHH STUDENTS IN K-12 SETTINGS. THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY NSF'S EHR CORE RESEARCH (ECR) PROGRAM. THE ECR PROGRAM EMPHASIZES FUNDAMENTAL STEM EDUCATION RESEARCH THAT GENERATES FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE FIELD. INVESTMENTS ARE MADE IN CRITICAL AREAS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL, BROAD AND ENDURING: STEM LEARNING AND STEM LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS, BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN STEM, AND STEM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. THE PROGRAM SUPPORTS THE ACCUMULATION OF ROBUST EVIDENCE TO INFORM EFFORTS TO UNDERSTAND, BUILD THEORY TO EXPLAIN, AND SUGGEST INTERVENTION AND INNOVATIONS TO ADDRESS PERSISTENT CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CI-ADDO-EN: DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, EASILY SEARCHABLE, LINGUISTICALLY ANALYZED, VIDEO CORPORA FOR SIGN LANGUAGE

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE AND SPATIAL COGNITION SKILLS: A NEUROCOGNITIVE STUDY USING EEG AND STANDARDIZED NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THIS RESEARCH PROPOSAL FOCUSES ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL) FLUENCY AND SPATIAL COGNITION, AN AREA ENCOMPASSING SKILLS LIKE PERSPECTIVE-TAKING, SPATIAL NAVIGATION, AND ORIENTATION.SPATIAL COGNITION IS FUNDAMENTAL TO EVERYDAY LIFE, INFLUENCING HOW INDIVIDUALS INTERACT WITH AND UNDERSTAND THEIR ENVIRONMENT. ASL, A LANGUAGE RICH IN SPATIAL-LINGUISTIC ELEMENTS SUCH AS HANDSHAPES, MOVEMENT, ORIENTATION, AND FACIAL EXPRESSIONS, OFFERS A UNIQUE MEDIUM TO STUDY THIS RELATIONSHIP. THIS PROPOSAL POSITS THAT ASL'S SPATIAL-LINGUISTIC FEATURES, PARTICULARLY ITS CLASSIFIER CONSTRUCTIONS, WHICH DEPICT OBJECTS, THEIR ORIENTATION, AND MOVEMENT THROUGH SPACE, MAY ENHANCE VISUAL-SPATIAL ABILITIES IN ITS USERS. BY EXPLORING THESE CONNECTIONS, WE SEEK TO UNCOVER INSIGHTS INTO THE COGNITIVE IMPACTS OF ASL USE AND ITS POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR PROMOTING BETTER HEALTH, WELL-BEING, AND HEALTHY AGING IN DEAF INDIVIDUALS. TO INVESTIGATE THIS, THE STUDY WILL EMPLOY ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY (EEG) FOR ITS HIGH TEMPORAL RESOLUTION, FOCUSING ON THE MU RHYTHM OVER THE SENSORIMOTOR CORTEX. THIS APPROACH AIMS TO UNCOVER HOW SIGNERS PROCESS SPATIAL AND MOTOR INFORMATION DURING COMMUNICATION AND HOW THIS TRANSLATES TO SKILLS LIKE NAVIGATION AND PERSPECTIVE-TAKING. THE PROPOSAL SETS FORTH TWO PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: 1. EXAMINE THE LINK BETWEEN ASL PROFICIENCY AND NON-LINGUISTIC SPATIAL TASKS: THIS AIM ADDRESSES HOW PROFICIENCY IN ASL, CHARACTERIZED BY SPATIAL EXPRESSIONS THAT REQUIRE FREQUENT PERSPECTIVE SHIFTS, SHAPES SPATIAL COGNITIVE ABILITIES. IT HYPOTHESIZES THAT FLUENT ASL USERS WILL DEMONSTRATE SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE IN PERSPECTIVE-TAKING, NAVIGATION, AND ORIENTATION TASKS, MARKED BY GREATER ACCURACY AND EFFICIENCY. 2. EXPLORE NEURAL RESPONSES IN SPATIAL COGNITIVE TASKS AMONG ASL AND NON-ASL USERS: THIS OBJECTIVE SEEKS TO UNDERSTAND THE NEURAL MECHANISMS BEHIND SPATIAL COGNITION IN RELATION TO ASL PROFICIENCY. IT HYPOTHESIZES THAT PROFICIENT ASL USERS WILL EXHIBIT DISTINCT NEURAL PATTERNS, PARTICULARLY REDUCED SENSORIMOTOR CORTEX ACTIVITY DURING SPATIAL TASKS, SUGGESTING MORE EFFICIENT PROCESSING OF SPATIAL INFORMATION. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS RESEARCH LIES IN ITS POTENTIAL TO RESHAPE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE COGNITIVE STRENGTHS OF ASL USERS, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH. INSIGHTS COULD INFORM EDUCATIONAL AND THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES, LEVERAGING ASL TO ENHANCE SPATIAL COGNITION IN BOTH DEAF AND HEARING POPULATIONS. THIS STUDY NOT ONLY AIMS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE ACADEMIC UNDERSTANDING OF SPATIAL COGNITION AND LANGUAGE PROCESSING BUT ALSO SEEKS TO INFLUENCE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS IN COGNITIVE HEALTH CARE FOR DIVERSE POPULATIONS.

BILINGUAL ASSESSMENT AND SUPERVISED INTERVENTION OF COLLABORATIVE SERVICES (BASICS) FOR SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS AND INTERPRETERS WORKING WITH STUDENTS WHO ARE DEAF, DEAF, AND HARD-OF-HEARING

CONFERENCE: ADVANCING RESEARCH ON THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE -THIS PROJECT SUPPORTS A CONFERENCE THAT ADVANCES A SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE BRAIN PROCESSES LANGUAGE, KNOWLEDGE THAT IS CRITICAL FOR DEVELOPING BRAIN-INSPIRED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TECHNOLOGIES. THE CONFERENCE SERVES AS A MODEL FOR INCLUSIVE PRACTICES, MAKING PARTICIPATION POSSIBLE FOR ALL INTERESTED ATTENDEES. THE PROJECT'S GOAL IS TO ENSURE THAT A MAJOR CONFERENCE IN THE LANGUAGE AND BRAIN SCIENCES IS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL AMERICANS. THESE PRACTICES ARE DESIGNED TO MAKE THE CONFERENCE MORE ACCESSIBLE TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE. IN DOING SO, MORE PEOPLE CONTRIBUTE TO RESEARCH THAT SUPPORTS BRAIN-INSPIRED AI AND OTHER IMPORTANT TECHNOLOGIES. OTHER BENEFITS TO SOCIETY INCLUDE CREATING AND SHARING RESOURCES TO HELP FUTURE CONFERENCES ADOPT SIMILAR STANDARDS TO SUPPORT INVOLVEMENT FROM ALL AMERICANS IN RESEARCH COMMUNITIES. THE PROJECT CENTERS ON A SCIENTIFIC MEETING THAT EXPLORES THE NEURAL AND COGNITIVE FOUNDATIONS OF LANGUAGE, DRAWING PARTICIPANTS FROM A WIDE RANGE OF DISCIPLINES SUCH AS LINGUISTICS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND NEUROLOGY. THE CONFERENCE FEATURES EMPIRICAL RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS, THEORETICAL DISCUSSIONS, AND METHODOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF LANGUAGE AND THE BRAIN. THIS AWARD SUPPORTS INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIRED TO MAKE THE MEETING ACCESSIBLE TO ALL AMERICANS, INCLUDING PROFESSIONAL INTERPRETING AND CAPTIONING SERVICES, ACCESSIBLE PHYSICAL SPACES, AND MENTORING FOR ATTENDEES. POST-CONFERENCE SURVEYS AND PLANNING DOCUMENTATION INFORM BEST PRACTICES FOR ORGANIZING SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS. THESE OUTCOMES ARE WIDELY DISSEMINATED AND ARCHIVED TO PROMOTE LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING LANGUAGE AND COGNITIVE SCIENCE STUDIES AVAILABLE TO ALL. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

THE HISTORY AND THE STRUCTURE OF BLACK AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL): MATERIALS FOR BUILDING COMMUNITY AWARENESS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ADVANCING LANGUAGE RESEARCH AND OUTREACH IN A LANGUAGE MUSEUM

SIGNING CREATURES WORKSHOP

NEURAL SYSTEMS FOR INFANT SENSITIVITY TO PHONOLOGICAL RHYTHMIC-TEMPORAL PATTERNING

REHABILITATION ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTERS

PURPOSE: TO SUPPORT ARTIST FEES FOR THE CREATION OF BRONZE SCULPTURES FOR A MEMORIAL COMMEMORATING GALLAUDET'S BLACK DEAF HISTORY AND CULTURE.

PROGRAMMING SUPPORTS A COMPREHENSIVE NETWORK OF COOPERATIVE STUDY UNITS TO FACILITATE COOPERATIVE RESEARCH, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING TO INFORM SCIENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM. THE STUDY UNITS FACILITATE MULTI-DISCIPLINARY SCIENCE AND INTEGRATED INFORMATION PRODUCTS ACROSS MULTIPLE GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM. THE PROJECT GOALS ARE TO INVESTIGATE THE SOURCE(S) OF E.COLI CONTAMINATION AT THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL FOUNTAINS THROUGH FIELDWORK AND LABORATORY ANALYSIS. THIS WATER IMPAIRMENT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO IMPACT SURROUNDING WATERS, DUE TO THE DISCHARGE OF THESE WATERS TO THE TIDAL BASIN UNDER AN ACTIVE NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION PERMIT. IN ADDITION, THIS TYPE OF WATER IMPAIRMENT CAN IMPACT THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE OF THIS MEMORIAL, BY NEGATIVELY AFFECTING ITS INTENDED USE BY VISITORS. THE STUDENT INTERN WILL COLLECT SAMPLES, MONITOR, AND PRESENT CONTROL MEASURES THAT CAN BE INSTITUTED TO MITIGATE THE CONTAMINATION OBSERVED AT THE OUTFALL AND AVOID FURTHER IMPACTS TO THE IMPAIRED RECEIVING WATERS AND TO OUR VISITORS EXPERIENCE AT THIS MEMORIAL. THE SUGGESTED MITIGATIONS WILL BE SUPPORTED BY THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH CONDUCTED OVER THE COURSE OF THEIR INTERNSHIP. BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE THE PUBLIC, WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THE IMPROVED WATER QUALITY THAT WILL RESULT FROM MITIGATING THE E.COLI CONTAMINATION PRESENT IN THE WATER.

TO SUPPORT A DEAF-BLIND THEATER INSTITUTE.

CONFERENCE: WORKSHOP FOR EMERGING DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING SCIENTISTS, GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, DC

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION RESEARCH: EFFECTS OF NON-VERBAL WORKING MEMORY AND SPOKEN FIRST LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY ON SIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION BY DEAF SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS -DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING (DHH) INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCE SUBSTANTIAL VARIABILITY IN EXPOSURE TO A SIGN LANGUAGE. FOR EXAMPLE, MORE THAN 90% OF DHH CHILDREN IN THE US HAVE HEARING PARENTS WHO DO NOT KNOW A SIGN LANGUAGE AT THE TIME OF THEIR DHH CHILD?S BIRTH. BY THE TIME THESE CHILDREN ARE SCHOOL-AGE, ONLY 26% ARE USING SIGN LANGUAGE REGULARLY WITH THEIR FAMILIES AT HOME AND 53% ARE USING SOME SIGN LANGUAGE AT SCHOOL. CONSEQUENTLY, A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF DHH PEOPLE ARE LEARNING A SIGN LANGUAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME AS YOUNG ADULTS. DESPITE BEING ONE OF THE MOST COMMON WAYS FOR DHH PEOPLE TO LEARN A SIGN LANGUAGE, RESEARCHERS KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE FACTORS THAT SUPPORT SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING SUCCESS IN THIS LEARNING CONTEXT. FOR EXAMPLE, PROFICIENCY IN THE FIRST LANGUAGE AND WORKING MEMORY ARE PREDICTORS OF SECOND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY IN OTHER LANGUAGE LEARNING CONTEXTS--ARE THESE PREDICTORS ALSO IMPORTANT FOR DHH LEARNERS? ADDITIONALLY, THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF EARLY LANGUAGE INPUT THAT DHH PEOPLE RECEIVE IS HIGHLY VARIABLE--DOES THIS VARIATION AFFECT SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING OF A SIGN LANGUAGE? THIS DOCTORAL DISSERTATION STUDY AIMS TO (1) EXTEND EXISTING RESEARCH ON PREDICTORS OF SECOND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TO A NEW LEARNING CONTEXT, DHH SECOND LANGUAGE SIGNERS, AND (2) INVESTIGATE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SPOKEN FIRST LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY, NON-VERBAL WORKING MEMORY, AND SIGNED SECOND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY. THIS RESEARCH CONDUCTS A MEDIATION MODELING STUDY ASSESSING SPOKEN LANGUAGE READING COMPREHENSION AND NON-VERBAL WORKING MEMORY IN DHH PEOPLE WHO GREW UP USING A SPOKEN LANGUAGE AS A PRIMARY LANGUAGE AND STARTED LEARNING A SIGN LANGUAGE AS YOUNG ADULTS AND INVESTIGATE HOW THESE VARIABLES RELATE TO SIGN LANGUAGE RECEPTIVE COMPREHENSION. THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY WILL LEAD TO MORE GENERALIZABLE THEORIES OF SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING THAT ACCOUNT FOR VARIABILITY IN THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF EARLY FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION. THE RESULTS ALSO INFORM FAMILY AND SCHOOL LANGUAGE POLICY FOR DHH CHILDREN AS WELL AS SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING CURRICULUM AND INTERPRETING STRATEGIES FOR ADULT DHH SECOND LANGUAGE SIGNERS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

PROGRAMMING SUPPORTS A COMPREHENSIVE NETWORK OF COOPERATIVE STUDY UNITS TO FACILITATE COOPERATIVE RESEARCH, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING TO INFORM SCIENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM. THE STUDY UNITS FACILITATE MULTI-DISCIPLINARY SCIENCE AND INTEGRATED INFORMATION PRODUCTS ACROSS MULTIPLE GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM. THE PROJECT GOALS INCLUDE ORGANIZING AND HOSTING A FAMILY FISHING EVENT AT THE NATIONAL MALL AND MEMORIAL PARKS. THE PROPOSED LOCATION AT THE TIDAL BASIN IS ICONIC IN THE D.C. METRO AREA, MAKING THIS LOCATION CONVENIENT AND WELL-KNOWN TO THE PUBLIC. FUNDING WILL SUPPORT A STUDENT INTERN FOR ONE SEMESTER WHO WILL PLAN AND HOLD ONE LARGE EVENT THAT WOULD FOCUS ON OFFERING FISHING INSTRUCTION TO THE PUBLIC, BUILDING FROM THE FORMAT OF THE JUNIOR RANGER ANGLER PROGRAM. THIS SPECIALTY EVENT WILL BE OPEN TO ALL AGES AND NOT ONLY FULLY ACCESSIBLE, BUT PLANNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE LOCAL D DEAF COMMUNITY. BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE THE D DEAF COMMUNITY OF WASHINGTON D.C. AND SURROUNDING AREAS. THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE IS PROVIDING THESE POTENTIAL PARK USERS WITH RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, REMOVING BARRIERS HISTORICALLY PREVENTING THIS COMMUNITY FROM ENJOYING THEIR OUTDOOR SPACES AND ASSOCIATED RESOURCES.

CAPTURING DEAF HERITAGE

5-DAY WORKSHOP SERIES FOR TUNISIAN TEACHERS ON TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND CONDUCT A FOLLOW UP ONLINE BOOK DISCUSSION ON DIFFERENTIATION

EDUCATIONAL GRANT

EDUCATIONAL GRANT

EDUCATIONAL GRANT

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION RESEARCH: NEUROBIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS AND READING OUTCOMES

DEAF NYC: SIGNS OF CHANGE