Dec. 23, 2012 ? Some 40 million people depend on the Colorado River Basin for water but warmer weather from rising greenhouse gas levels and a growing population may signal water shortages ahead. In a new study in Nature Climate Change, climate modelers at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory predict a 10 percent drop in the Colorado River's flow in the next few decades, enough to disrupt longtime water-sharing agreements between farms and cities across the American Southwest, from Denver to Los Angeles to Tucson, and through California's Imperial Valley.
"It may not sound like a phenomenally large amount except the water and the river is already over-allocated," said Richard Seager, a climate scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and lead author of the new study.
The study expands on findings published in 2007 in the journal Science that the American Southwest is becoming more arid as temperatures rise and rainfall patterns shift from human-caused climate change. It also comes on the heels of a major study of the Colorado River Basin by the U.S. Department of Interior that projected longer and more severe droughts by 2060, and a 9 percent decline in the Colorado's flows.
"The projections are spot on," said Bradley Udall, an expert on hydrology and policy of the American West, at the University of Colorado, Boulder. "Everyone wondered what the next generation of models would say. Now we have a study that suggests we better take seriously the drying projections ahead."
The present study narrows in on three key regions for water managers -- the Colorado River headwaters, the greater California-Nevada region and Texas, which gets nearly all of its water from within state borders. The study makes use of the latest models (those used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its Fifth Assessment Report due out next fall), to estimate seasonal changes in precipitation, evaporation, water runoff and soil moisture in the near future, 2021-2040. "It's a much finer grain picture than the one we had in 2007," said Seager.
Drying is expected in all three regions, as warmer temperatures trigger more evaporation, even in places that may see greater seasonal rain or snowfall, the study found. The models project that temperatures in 2021-2040 will be 1 to 2 degrees Celsius warmer than now. The Colorado headwaters are expected to see more precipitation on average, but annual stream flow is expected to decline by 10 percent, and as much as 25 percent during springtime, as warmer temperatures boost evaporation, the study found. California and Nevada will also see big changes in spring, with a projected 20 percent drop in spring runoff; Texas will overall become drier with a 10 percent decline in annual runoff. For Texas the models predict that precipitation will decrease and evaporation rates will also go down in spring and summer, but only because "there is no moisture to evaporate," said study co-author Mingfang Ting, a climate scientist at Lamont-Doherty.
Population growth in the Southwest is putting added pressure on regional water resources. To put the Colorado flow projections in context, a 10 percent decline is about five times the amount of water that Las Vegas uses in a year, said Udall. With alternate water sources tapped out, the West will likely have to meet the decline by cutting back on water use. "You can't go build another water project," he said. "That's what makes this problem so difficult."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by The Earth Institute at Columbia University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Richard Seager, Mingfang Ting, Cuihua Li, Naomi Naik, Ben Cook, Jennifer Nakamura, Haibo Liu. Projections of declining surface-water availability for the southwestern United States. Nature Climate Change, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1787
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Posted on: 5:44 pm, December 18, 2012, by Angie Sharp, updated on: 09:17pm, December 18, 2012
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is ?on board? with saving the Moline Train Depot, sending a letter on Tuesday, December 18th to the Moline Preservation Society saying the state will help pay to move the historic landmark.
Diann Moore, President of the Moline Preservation Society says the news is ?a wish granted.? More than 400 people have pledged more $73,000 of the $155,000 needed to move the Depot near Western Illinois University?s Quad Cities Riverfront Campus on River Drive in Moline.
?I?m as giddy as a little child,? says Diann. ?It?s just like Santa Claus has come and brought the biggest present. It is so exciting.?
News 8 obtained a letter from the Governor?s Office at 4:30pm on Tuesday, December 18th, which states ? ?I have directed the Illinois Department of Transportation to help you accomplish your mission, and cover the remaining Moline portion of the costs associated with moving the depot to its new home on the WIU Quad Cities campus.? Later on, it reads ? ?IDOT will cover the local remaining portion up to $82,000.?
The Depot has to get out of the way for a new I-74 Bridge, and was going to be torn down.
Some, though, may not be on board. Illinois? budget deficit is reportedly one of the worst in the nation. So, where this money is coming from, is still unknown.
?I?m not sure exactly where they?re going to come up with the money, but you?re only talking roughly $80,000 on a $1.2 million budget item to relocate the Depot that?s in the transportation budget so if you look at it the whole pie, $75-80,000 is pretty small,? says Moline Mayor Don Welvaert.
?All I know is we?ve got the money and that we?re going to be able to save that building,? says Diann. ?Preservation so many times is on the losing end and you don?t have very many victories. This is one of them.?
Yesterday, in Part One of our look at this 2013 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, I gave my thoughts on the PED question. Steroids and PEDs are a part of the conversation for many of these guys, which is why I felt the need to explain myself on that subject before continuing.
Also, directly copied from last year?s Hall of Fame post, here are my general guidelines for this:
1.)??? I tend to be statistically inclined, and base my arguments on them. I'll try not to give you a players? WAR, but don?t expect the word ?RBI? to show up here.
2.)??? I have no problem with the 15 year rule. I find the calls for the vote to be one and done incredibly shortsighted, especially now. The time frame for balloting allows for new information to come out, and for the electorate to argue amongst themselves and the fans. It allows minds to change, or at least think about the candidates more than a knee jerk response. If it helps a guy I wanted to see get in, like Bert Blyleven, great. If it helps a guy I didn?t want to see get in, like Jim Rice, so be it.
3.)??? I don?t try to think of the Hall all encompassing. I try to keep it to each player individually. As Joe Posnanski documented, the Hall ?standards? have changed so much that there really aren?t any standards. I also don?t label myself as a Big or Small Hall guy, but I?m guessing once you see my picks, you?ll say Big.
Adding to this is the rule that a voter can only vote for 10 players, a rule at which I follow. With all the big names joining the ballot, as well as the 5 I would?ve voted for last year that weren?t elected, that rule is going to come into effect. When I first looked through things, I found 16 names worth close consideration. Today, we?re look at the first half of the 24 new names on the Hall of Fame ballot.
Sandy Alomar: NO
Alomar played in the bigs for 20 seasons, but only played more than 97 games four of those seasons. He was the quintessential backup catcher, but clearly not a Hall of Famer.
Craig Biggio: YES
Craig Biggio has 3060 career hits. This matters because it?s that round number that makes him a good possibility to get elected at some point, if not this time around. However, getting to that number pulled his career slash line down and didn't let him leave the game in a positive light, as he was below replacement level those final years as he chased 3000. It?s unfortunate because in his prime Biggio was excellent, especially at getting on base, the most important offensive skill. This was despite playing most of that prime in the cavernous Astrodome. After breaking in as a catcher, Biggio moved to second base full time in 1992. His year-by-year OBP from that year until 1999, the last year in the Dome: .378, .373, .411, .406, .386, .415, .403, .386. Not many noticed because he got on base in subtle ways, by walks and getting hit by the pitch (he?s 2nd in career HBP by a hitter), but it added up. Biggio is 18th all time in Times on Base. Every other player in the top 25? is in the Hall except Jeter (who will be) and Rafael Palmeiro (who is a special case). As a result of getting on base often, Biggio scored a lot of runs, good enough for 15th all-time. It?s not a case that pops out immediately, but take a closer look and Craig Biggio?s credentials are clear, even without the 3000 hits.
Barry Bonds: YES
We don?t know exactly when Barry Bonds started using enough PEDs to take down an elephant, but if we look at his career and for sake of argument say it started in 2000, when his numbers started to hit video game levels, then here are his home run totals each year from 1986-1999: 16, 25, 24, 19, 33, 25, 34, 46, 37, 33, 42, 40, 37, 34. That run goes from his age 21 season to his age 34 season. The totals ascend at normal levels for his improving player and stay high through his prime. After that of course is when things got ridiculous, but even prior to that he was a three-time MVP.
The general consensus is that Bonds was a Hall of Fame caliber player before he started using drugs. Given that and my beliefs over how to judge this era, Bonds is an obvious yes. We all know that not everyone feels that way at all, and certainly enough of the BBWAA voting electorate to keep Bonds out of the Hall this year, and likely a very long time.
Jeff Cirillo: NO
Looking at Cirillo?s numbers, the thing that stood out for me in his 2000 season in Colorado. He hit .326/.392/.477 that year. Impressive, right? Well, his OPS+ for the year was only 100. That means that after adjusting for the era and especially Coors Field, it was only a league average season. I found that fascinating. It was that kind of era and it's that kind of ballpark.
Royce Clayton: NO
Royce Clayton played Miguel Tejada in Moneyball. That?s infinitely more interesting than his playing career.
Turn to the next page for more, including the other very controversial figure on this ballot.
Here at Maclean's, we appreciate the written word. And we appreciate you, the reader. We are always looking for ways to create a better user experience for you and wanted to try out a new functionality that provides you with a reading experience in which the words and fonts take centre stage. We believe you'll appreciate the clean, white layout as you read our feature articles. But we don't want to force it on you and it's completely optional. Click "View in Clean Reading Mode" on any article if you want to try it out. Once there, you can click "Go back to regular view" at the top or bottom of the article to return to the regular layout.
OTTAWA ? The Canadian Real Estate Association cut its sales forecast for this year and next on Monday as it said slower sales in the wake of tighter lending rules this summer have remained.
The industry association said now expects home sales this year to slip 0.5 per cent compared with 2011 to about 456,300.
That compared with a forecast in September that called for sales this year to rise 1.9 per cent to 466,900 units.
CREA also said it now expects sales next year to drop two per cent to 447,400 compared with earlier expectations for a drop of 1.9 per cent to 457,800 in 2013.
?Annual sales in 2012 reflect a stronger profile prior to recent mortgage rule changes followed by weaker activity following their implementation,? said Gregory Klump, CREA?s chief economist.
?By contrast, forecast sales in 2013 reflect an improvement from levels this summer in the immediate wake of mortgage rule changes. Even so, sales in most provinces next year are expected to remain down from levels posted prior to the most recent changes to mortgage regulations.?
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty moved in July to tighten mortgage rules for the fourth time in as many years in order to discourage those most at risk of becoming over-leveraged. Flaherty made mortgage payments more expensive by dropping the maximum amortization period to 25 years.
CREA said the average price for 2012 is expected to be $363,900, up 0.3 per cent compared with a September forecast of $365,000, up 0.6 per cent.
For 2013, CREA said it expects prices to gain 0.3 per cent to average $365,100. That compared with earlier expectations of a drop of one tenth of one per cent to $364,500 in 2013.
The downgrade for the outlook for the year came as home sales edged down 1.7 per cent month over month in November and were back where they stood in August.
The decrease followed a drop of about one-tenth of a per cent in September.
Actual, or non-seasonally adjusted sales, were down 11.9 per cent from November 2011 while the national average home price in November was $356,687, off 0.8 per cent from November 2011.
Sales were down on a year-over-year basis in three of every four of all local markets in November, including most large urban centres. Calgary stood out as an exception, with sales up 10.6 per cent from a year ago.
Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver contributed most to the small decline at the national level.
A total of 432,861 homes have traded hands over the MLS system so far this year, down 0.2 per cent from levels reported over the first 11 months of 2011 and 0.8 per cent below the 10-year average for the period.
The MLS Home Price Index, which is not affected changes in the mix of sales, showed prices up 3.5 per cent nationally on a year-over-year basis in November.
However, it was the seventh consecutive month in which the year-over-year gain shrank and marked the slowest rate of increase since May 2011.
The MLS HPI rose fastest in Regina, up 11.6 per cent year over year in November, though down from 13 per cent in November.
Among other markets, the HPI was up 4.6 per cent year over year in Toronto, 1.9 per cent in Montreal and 7.1 per cent in Calgary. In Greater Vancouver, the HPI was down 1.7 per cent year over year.
FRIANT, Calif. ? Two cowboys on horses pushed cattle across an expanse of golden hills overgrown with tall grasses and oak trees, up an unpaved road toward another pasture.
From the Sierra Nevada foothills, the cattle will be sent for processing into beef, prized by consumers looking for locally raised, grass-fed meat in California's Central Valley.
But this isn't a ranch. It's a nature preserve managed by the Sierra Foothill Conservancy, a Fresno-area land trust that protects ecosystems. The Conservancy says it is breaking new ground by raising its own beef herd, using cattle to benefit the environment and to improve its bottom line.
The beef operation is one of several novel approaches ? cost-effective, though paradoxical ? that marry conservation work with industries often held in low esteem by environmentalists.
Across the nation, conservation groups in partnership with ranchers are using cattle to restore native plant species by grazing invasive grasses. Other groups are working with fishermen to fish sustainably, and using logging and mining profits to pave way for forest and salmon restoration.
"There's been a shift to working more with industries," said Lynn Huntsinger, professor of rangeland ecology at the University of California, Berkeley. "This is a human landscape. We need food, we need wood, people are crazy about eating salmon. Working closely with those who produce on the land offers opportunities for ... teaching them about conservation."
In the past, conservationists relied on purchasing land and setting it aside, away from human activity. Logging, ranching or mining were seen as harmful and incompatible with preservation.
But in recent years, the use of conservation easements to retire development rights on private land has exploded. The easements, which cost a fraction of what it would cost to buy the property, allow landowners to continue working the land.
In areas where nearby urban development has pushed up land values, conservation easements can provide an alternative solution to ranchers who might be tempted to sell their holdings, said Daniel Press, a professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Conservationists "have found that allowing, or even encouraging or designing some way of making money off of properties is the only way to keep them from being degraded further or developed outright," Press said.
At the Conservancy ? which owns about 6,500 acres of land in Fresno, Madera, Merced and Mariposa counties and manages another 20,000 acres for ranchers with easements and for public agencies ? allowing ranching on its land was once controversial.
But over the past decade, studies have shown that cattle grazing can help the land, especially vernal pools, temporary collections of water that provide crucial habitat for native plants and invertebrates, said executive director Jeannette Tuitele-Lewis.
"If we don't graze the foothills, then the European grasses end up choking out a lot of the native plants and it really decreases the biodiversity of the habitat," Tuitele-Lewis said.
So-called conservation grazing is increasingly used by land trusts and public agencies on preserves and on private ranches throughout the U.S., she said. Most lease land to ranchers, but the Conservancy took the practice a step further. Two years ago, it started its own beef herd under the label Sierra Lands Beef.
The group now runs about 300 cows on 1,800 acres of land. The beef operation provides an additional revenue stream, Tuitele-Lewis said, and allows greater control over grazing management.
The conservancy's herdsmen transport the cattle, five head at a time, to Fresno State University's slaughterhouse to be butchered, processed and boxed. They then deliver the grass-fed beef to customers.
"We're creating a bridge between conservation and the local economy," Tuitele-Lewis said.
Other conservationists are teaming up with private timber investors such as the Lyme Timber Company based in New Hampshire. The company acquires quality habitat that doubles as timberland, gives up development rights by selling conservation easements to land trusts and public agencies throughout the U.S., then logs the land in a sustainable way to generate an income.
Timber is harvested at or below the annual rate of growth, said Peter Stein, the company's managing director, and harvesting methods are third party certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
The approach is key, Stein said, as conservationists aim to preserve larger tracts of land ? in the hundreds of acres ? which are too expensive to buy outright.
The Nature Conservancy is also partnering with the timber industry in California and Alaska to restore salmon by felling trees to create stream habitat.
The group has also partnered with the fishing industry. It bought out fishing permits in California and in Maine to protect millions of acres of ocean habitat, then leased the permits back to fishermen who agreed to fish sustainably.
"We've come to the realization that you don't try to do everything yourself. You catalyze the adoption of practices by having ranchers, fishermen and logging companies adopt them, so that you can have widespread impact," said the group's North and Central Coast Director Brian Stranko.
But ecologist George Wuerthner says such approaches do more harm than good.
"Given all the impacts associated with these operations, it's troubling to call it conservation," said Wuerthner, who works for the California non-profit Foundation for Deep Ecology.
Wuerthner said using terms such as "conservation grazing" gives people the false impression that the practices lack negative costs or impacts. These include damage to riparian areas and to soil, ranchers killing predators, and water pollution from animal waste, he said.
Grazing, logging and other human activities also destroy wild, undisturbed habitat that some species need to survive, Wuerthner said.
The Sierra Foothill Conservancy says it manages grazing to minimize impact on species, leaves some areas ungrazed, and keeps cattle out of riparian habitat. The group hopes to bring other ranchers under its beef label ? and in line with its conservation efforts. If these ranchers can get higher premiums for grass-fed meat, it translates into less pressure to sell land to developers.
"Any bit that we can do to help keep the local ranching economy viable is a good thing for us, because it keeps those lands undeveloped," Tuitele-Lewis said. "The end goal is conservation, not becoming a large land baron."
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The new slow loris species is found in the highlands of the island of Borneo and has been named Nycticebus kayan, after a major river, the Kayan, flowing through the region. The trio of scientists also found that two species previously considered sub-species in the Nycticebus genus are officially unique species.
"Historically, many species went unrecognized as they were falsely lumped together as one species," researcher Rachel Munds, of the University of Missouri Columbia, said in a statement.
Closely related to lemurs, the slow loris is found across Southeast Asia, from Bangladesh and China's Yunnan province to Borneo. To distinguish between species, the researchers focused on the seeming face masks of Borneo's slow lorises; fur patches cover their eyes, while their heads are covered with differently shaped caps. The examined photographs and museum samples for eight face mask features, finding there were four species of Bornean lorises. [See Photos of the Slow Loris Primates]
The new species to science, N. kayan, showed a dark, highly contrasting face mask, with dark patches around its eyes. From the specimen examined, the species is about 10.8 inches (273 millimeters) long and weighs about 14.5 ounces (411 grams). The other species include: N. menagensis, N. bancanus and N. borneanus. (N. menagensis had already been recognized as a species.)
The newly identified species illustrate the breadth of biodiversity yet to be discovered in the jungles of Borneo and nearby islands, the researchers noted. The slow lorises, as with other animals on these islands, face threats from human activity.
"The pet trade is a serious threat for slow lorises in Indonesia, and recognition of these new species raises issues regarding where to release confiscated Bornean slow lorises, as recognition by nonexperts can be difficult," said study researcher Anna Nekaris, of Oxford Brookes University in England, in a statement.
Munds, Nekaris and co-author Susan Ford of Southern Illinois University also note this week in the American Journal of Primatology that their results confirm the use of fur color and pattern as a valid way of distinguishing between species of small primates. Some researchers, they wrote, had claimed that because Bornean slow lorises are not a diverse group because they share similar cranial features and all are lacking an upper second incisor. The new study suggests otherwise, the team added.
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Speaking skills crucial for hearing impaired children in the classroomPublic release date: 17-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: George Hunka ghunka@aftau.org 212-742-9070 American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Intelligible speech closes the gap between hearing-impaired children and their normal-hearing peers, Tel Aviv University researcher says
Current special education laws are geared towards integrating special-needs children into the general classroom environment from a young age, starting as early as preschool. Prof. Tova Most of Tel Aviv University's Jaime and Joan Constantiner School of Education and the Department of Communications Disorders at the Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions says that these laws present a unique set of challenges for children with hearing loss, and that a sense of isolation may inhibit a successful education.
While studies show that many children with hearing loss are academically comparable to their peers with normal hearing, active participation in classroom and group activities, as well as social integration, is more complex. Even with advanced sensory devices such as hearing aids and cochear implants, it can be difficult for children to pick up on all the necessary information in a busy atmosphere, leaving them with a sense that they're being "left out" by hearing classmates.
In a study designed to explore the social competence and the perceived sense of loneliness of children with hearing loss in a regular classroom with normal hearing children, Prof. Most and her fellow researchers discovered that successful integration is dependent on a child's level of speech intelligibility. The results have been reported in the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education.
Closing the gap
Modern technology has allowed children with hearing loss to access more auditory information and develop better spoken language than ever before. And because advanced screening for hearing loss is now performed at birth, children can receive intervention from a young age. "In the regular classroom, the more they are intelligible, the more their social skills and competence rise, and it's easier for them to make hearing friends," Prof. Most reports.
In their study, the researchers measured social competence and perceived sense of loneliness in children with hearing loss in two educational settings: individual inclusion where one child with hearing loss joined a regular classroom, and group inclusion, where a number of children with hearing loss joined a regular classroom. Sixty-four children between the ages of 4-7 participated, 22 in the individual inclusion and 42 in the group inclusion. All results were analyzed in light of the child's speech intelligibility.
Researchers discovered that individually integrated children had a higher social competence with the children with normal hearing than those in the group inclusion scenario. Speaking abilities played an important role in both groups, and had specific importance for children who were individually integrated. The poorer their speech intelligibility, the more likely they were to feel lonely in the classroom, something that the group inclusion children did not experience as part of an hearing loss enclave.
These findings suggest that development of intelligible spoken language has the power to close the gap between children with hearing loss and their hearing peers, resulting in increased social interaction, an improvement in group work, and a change in the teachers' and students' perception of the child with hearing loss, adds Prof. Most.
Meeting the needs of each child
Taking her years of research and in-field experience into account, Prof. Most says that there is an advantage to integrating children with hearing loss with hearing children, provided that their special needs are met. Each child must be assessed on whether to be integrated individually or in a group, she counsels, noting that a "one size fits all" strategy could be harmful for some students.
"I prefer to see kids integrated into the regular school system, allowing them to be closer to home and interact with children in their neighborhood. They would then have access to broader programming and activities," she says. But if a child's spoken language and cognitive abilities indicate that a regular classroom would be difficult for him or her, pushing integration could result in failure.
Children with hearing loss, parents and specialists can aid successful integration by focusing on speech development, advises Prof. Most. And teachers can also do their part to create a more welcoming environment by creating small work groups and setting up meeting points in advance so the child won't be left out. The more children with normal hearing are exposed to those with hearing loss, the more understanding and accepting they will become, she says.
###
American Friends of Tel Aviv University supports Israel's leading, most comprehensive and most sought-after center of higher learning. Independently ranked 94th among the world's top universities for the impact of its research, TAU's innovations and discoveries are cited more often by the global scientific community than all but 10 other universities.
Internationally recognized for the scope and groundbreaking nature of its research and scholarship, Tel Aviv University consistently produces work with profound implications for the future.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Speaking skills crucial for hearing impaired children in the classroomPublic release date: 17-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: George Hunka ghunka@aftau.org 212-742-9070 American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Intelligible speech closes the gap between hearing-impaired children and their normal-hearing peers, Tel Aviv University researcher says
Current special education laws are geared towards integrating special-needs children into the general classroom environment from a young age, starting as early as preschool. Prof. Tova Most of Tel Aviv University's Jaime and Joan Constantiner School of Education and the Department of Communications Disorders at the Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions says that these laws present a unique set of challenges for children with hearing loss, and that a sense of isolation may inhibit a successful education.
While studies show that many children with hearing loss are academically comparable to their peers with normal hearing, active participation in classroom and group activities, as well as social integration, is more complex. Even with advanced sensory devices such as hearing aids and cochear implants, it can be difficult for children to pick up on all the necessary information in a busy atmosphere, leaving them with a sense that they're being "left out" by hearing classmates.
In a study designed to explore the social competence and the perceived sense of loneliness of children with hearing loss in a regular classroom with normal hearing children, Prof. Most and her fellow researchers discovered that successful integration is dependent on a child's level of speech intelligibility. The results have been reported in the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education.
Closing the gap
Modern technology has allowed children with hearing loss to access more auditory information and develop better spoken language than ever before. And because advanced screening for hearing loss is now performed at birth, children can receive intervention from a young age. "In the regular classroom, the more they are intelligible, the more their social skills and competence rise, and it's easier for them to make hearing friends," Prof. Most reports.
In their study, the researchers measured social competence and perceived sense of loneliness in children with hearing loss in two educational settings: individual inclusion where one child with hearing loss joined a regular classroom, and group inclusion, where a number of children with hearing loss joined a regular classroom. Sixty-four children between the ages of 4-7 participated, 22 in the individual inclusion and 42 in the group inclusion. All results were analyzed in light of the child's speech intelligibility.
Researchers discovered that individually integrated children had a higher social competence with the children with normal hearing than those in the group inclusion scenario. Speaking abilities played an important role in both groups, and had specific importance for children who were individually integrated. The poorer their speech intelligibility, the more likely they were to feel lonely in the classroom, something that the group inclusion children did not experience as part of an hearing loss enclave.
These findings suggest that development of intelligible spoken language has the power to close the gap between children with hearing loss and their hearing peers, resulting in increased social interaction, an improvement in group work, and a change in the teachers' and students' perception of the child with hearing loss, adds Prof. Most.
Meeting the needs of each child
Taking her years of research and in-field experience into account, Prof. Most says that there is an advantage to integrating children with hearing loss with hearing children, provided that their special needs are met. Each child must be assessed on whether to be integrated individually or in a group, she counsels, noting that a "one size fits all" strategy could be harmful for some students.
"I prefer to see kids integrated into the regular school system, allowing them to be closer to home and interact with children in their neighborhood. They would then have access to broader programming and activities," she says. But if a child's spoken language and cognitive abilities indicate that a regular classroom would be difficult for him or her, pushing integration could result in failure.
Children with hearing loss, parents and specialists can aid successful integration by focusing on speech development, advises Prof. Most. And teachers can also do their part to create a more welcoming environment by creating small work groups and setting up meeting points in advance so the child won't be left out. The more children with normal hearing are exposed to those with hearing loss, the more understanding and accepting they will become, she says.
###
American Friends of Tel Aviv University supports Israel's leading, most comprehensive and most sought-after center of higher learning. Independently ranked 94th among the world's top universities for the impact of its research, TAU's innovations and discoveries are cited more often by the global scientific community than all but 10 other universities.
Internationally recognized for the scope and groundbreaking nature of its research and scholarship, Tel Aviv University consistently produces work with profound implications for the future.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Yesterday, in Part One of our look at this 2013 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, I gave my thoughts on the PED question. Steroids and PEDs are a part of the conversation for many of these guys, which is why I felt the need to explain myself on that subject before continuing.![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uy7sNS6MnFgwUpX-V4x4nqGQn7rFrflBlmpdbClsOBAgFUeaZLo_bO9-upN_Ah5aJ3UKlcgE23Ulj2-a8GLc_clAIU8okuU7WUlbcRck8=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 17-Dec-2012
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