[Maybe needs a better title!]
1. Introduction
My theme in the second semester was understanding and researching people who are deaf or hard of hearing. This is an area I had not known about area I had not known before the seminar and my choice came from my experiences in the seminar. The process of choosing this topic comes when I researched about "minority groups". I thought the area gives new perspective for me and I chose intuitively. Then, I have started @@ questions: Where do the deaf or hard of hearing feel discrimination? @@@@? [Mike: I think it would be helpful here to indicate briefly some of the questions and issues that came up for you in your research that you look at in your report. And also mention that as well as doing online research, you visited the Human Library and met a hard of hearing person there who talked about....] In this area, there are two major issues: physical barriers and communication issues. This time I have mainly researched communication issues because solving physical barrier issues needs improving communication issues. At this researching, I mainly used academic articles, sometimes using organisation websites.
2. Deaf and Hard of Hearing People's Experiences of Discrimination
According to "全日本ろうあ連盟” , deaf and hard of hearing (HOH) people tend to feel discrimination mainly in following situations: education, work, medical institutions and public transportation. Other research says more than half of deaf and hard of hearing people feel discrimination in the workplace, and more then half of the them are discriminated against by colleagues. So it can be said the issues at work are mainly about communication [I'm not clear why the issue is communication here not discrimination? Is it because it is about relations with colleagues and how they communicate with you? Can you explain a little?] . Tokyo University's Barrier-free Support Office says that being hard-of-hearing is nearly the same as having a handicap of communication.
3. Definitions of Deaf and Hard of Hearing
The word "hard of hearing" means "not able to hear well" and the word "deaf" means "unable to hear, either completely or partly" [Have you got this definition right? It sounds strange!] (from Cambridge 英英 Dictionary). But according to Jamie Berke, who is totally deaf and worked at National Information Center on Deafness, the definition of these words "depends on who you ask and what perspective you're looking at it from. The medical community, for instance, has a strict definition, but people within the deaf or HOH community can have an entirely different opinion". In Japan, 聴覚障害 defines people who are difficult to hear ~25db sounds and handicap certification starts from 70db hearing level, which is near noises in the car with high-speed driving, or noises of vacuum cleaner. Jamie Berke also says small "d" (deaf) and big "D" (Deaf) have different meanings. Big "D " especially means "Deaf people identify themselves as culturally deaf and have a strong deaf identity. They're often quite proud to be deaf". In other words, "the Deaf" has cultural anthropological（文化人類学的） meanings. While, small "d" (deaf) includes wider area than "D", indicates people who has hearing disability, so "the deaf" means m more medical expression.
4. Differences of Communication Between Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Hearing People [Is it okay to use the term 'hearing people' here. You use 'not people' sometimes but I think 'hearing people' is okay]
[Great to include this video. Please refer to it in the paragraph below and explain a little what it shows and how it relates to your discussion in this section. E.g. 'As the video shows, deaf people.....]
Being deaf or hard of hearing has various levels, and this causes several different ways of communicating. 神奈川聴覚障害者福祉センター says 聴覚障害 is people who are difficult to hear or cannot hear, and it comes from their nature ; they are born deaf or hard of hearing, or accidents and illnesses, and increasing age. In addition, hearing ability tends to influence their background. Most importantly, deaf or hard of hearing people and hearing people have different ways of communication and these also lead to a different culture between deaf or hard of hearing people and hearing people. For example, deaf or HOH people always watch your faces when talking. They depend on face's expression and gestures instead of sounds. People who do not have a hearing disability often talk without making eye contact or using gestures, but for deaf or HOH people, they cannot understand your feelings in that way. When I talked with a HOH person at the Human Library in Gakugei University, though there was no sounds, the atmosphere was not quiet because he was always expressive and used a lot of gestures. However, one HOH person says, expressions or gestures sometimes are sometimes not permitted in hearing society because it can seem too friendly for hearing people. It is important to solve misunderstanding both culture [ Good point - can you just explain this briefly].
5. Deaf Culture
Like above [Does this mean as explained above by you, or as in the video here? Again please refer to and explain the video in your text a little], deaf or HOH people have their unique culture based on visual orientation, and it is called "deaf culture". Aussie Deaf Kids, which is an NPO in Australia, mentions [explains?] "deaf culture". The characteristics of deaf culture include: language, values, behavior, customs, history, technology/material things, art and humor. In Japan, there are three types of hand sign: 日本手話, 日本語対応手話、and 中間手話. 日本手話 is the most cultural and linguistic hand sign in Japan and it is called Japanese Sign Language (JSL). It is difficult to understand JSL if we are not a native user. In Japan there is the opinion that JSL is not an alternative way of communication, but a language in its own right. In fact Kansai-Gakuin University has had lectures in JSL as second second language from 2008 (information resource). DeafHear.ie says "Deaf community" is a unique linguistic minority that uses sign language as its primary mode of communication. At the same time, there are opinion that JSL is part of the Japanese language, and not isolated from Japanese language. [Can you say something more or give your view on whether it is part of the Japanese language or separate?] Behaviors includes eye contact, touch, physical proximity, directness, and thumping on tables or floors [What is the significance of this?]. There are examples of this in the video above.
6. Living in Two Cultures: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Identity
So deaf or hard of hearing people live in at least two cultures: hearing and deaf culture. Because of cultural differences, Deaf or hard of hearing people tend to be worried about their identity. They also share common points with other minority groups. Some hard-of-hearing people want to conceal their handicap. Other hard of hearing people don't understand or don't want to use hand-sign language. According to Shimane and Inoue, 32% of people who have hearing handicap surveyed have experienced hearing education, and all people who learned in both deaf education and hearing education have experienced a conflict of their identity. People who have learned in only hearing education and have a conflict of identity is 66.7%. It can be said life within two or more culture tends to cause conflicted identities. For deaf or hard of hearing people to establish a sense of identity needs positive sense of belonging to deaf or HOH groups and hearing groups, according to weinbarg & sterrih in 1986. Also, Grickman & Carey said there are 4 stages for developing identity: 1. feel worth to be able to hearing (feel the value of being able to hear) 2. conflict, 3. only focus hand signs or deaf community, 4 .accept both culture; deaf culture and hearing culture, and the last stage is the best for mental [well-being?]. This indicates the necessity of cultural integration. [This process is very interesting. Can you explain it a bit more? Also, there seem to be two views in the paragraph above: one that life in two or more cultures causes conflicts of identity and one that the integration of cultures is beneficial for well-being. can you explain this a bit too?]
In order to integrate different cultures, improvements in communication ability and environment around a person's life are important. According to Uematsu, who studies relationships between self-identity and group-identity when coming into contact with different cultures, communication ability, staying longer in the culture, affirming a clear consciousness of their own ethnicity, well refreshing [what is this?] and some relaxation improve the adoption of a different culture by Japanese students studying abroad. Other research on the process of adopting difference culture for Chinese international student in Japan by ZHAO Weiguo, Chinese students adjusted to differences between themselves and others with their parents value or thinking, friends or important person for them [I can't understand this. Please explain a bit more]. In other words, vitality for communicating with people within other cultures, supporting people such as friends and parents' well understanding of deaf or hard of hearing is effective to adopt difference culture [This is also difficult to understand but I think it is one of your most important points so please try to make it clearer and/or give examples for the integration of and understanding between deaf and hearing cultures.] [Please also explain how the discussion in the video above relates to your discussion. Its seems like support for the view that integration, and crossing boundaries between deaf and hearing culture is beneficial.]
[In your cycle 3 (and 4?) presentation you talked about 'reasonable accommodation - and that was a very interesting issue I thought. Is that relevant to this question of integration and support, or in the section on discrimination above?'
Also you discussed the merits and demerits of integrated education in hearing schools and separate education in hard of hearing schools - that was also interesting. Would it be good to include that - maybe the table in your slide - somewhere in this report?]
＋手話というものがより魅力的なものになるには、手話が世界で共通であることも考えられる。これは手話に限った話ではないが、世界で共通である言語というのは、手話を使用したことのない人から見ても魅力的に映るだろうし、それが手話使用者のアイデンティティの安定につながることが考えられる。ただし、我々の話す言語が統一できるわけないのに、なぜ手話だけ統一したほうがいいと言われなくてはいけないのか、といわれると答えられない。
7. Conclusion
Deaf or hard of hearing worlds have their own unique culture for comfortable life, but people within the worlds tend to suffer from cultural differences [and/or discrimination around communication?]. Deaf culture is different to hearing culture, but both the cultures always coexist in this society. To overcome the misunderstandings/conflict/discrimination needs the ability of cultural integration ability and supporting system for their mental aspects [what does this mean? a system of support for the mental well-being of deaf and hard of hearing people?]. For example, orientation with several neighbor school for long term is good for experiencing getting over difference cultures with enough support [Can you explain this a bit more clearly?]. In this way, while the issues for deaf or hard of hearing people have several distinctive characteristics, the fundamental problem is common to other minority groups such as Buraku, sexual minorities and so on. In particular, deaf or hard of hearing people often don't look different to from hearing people, so it is difficult for us to notice their inconvenience or suffering. But our concern and understanding can improve the relationships between deaf or hard of hearing society and hearing society.
8. References
[Mike: please add a list of references here with links]