Despite the expansion of Deaf people's use of communication technology little is published about how they use electronic communication in their social and working lives and the implications for their concepts of identity and community. Australia is an ideal research base because the use of a range of technologies is widespread there. To gain…

This article reports on the experiences of a group of deaf and hard-of-hearing alumni of Griffith University in south-east Queensland, Australia. Participants completed a survey answering questions about their communication patterns and preferences, working lives, career barriers or difficulties anticipated and encountered, and workplace…

A major source of controversy between Deaf people and those who support a "social/cultural" view of Deafness as "a life to be lived" and those who see deafness within a "medical model" as a "condition to be cured" has been over the cochlear implantation of young deaf children. Recent research has shown that there are noticeable inequities in…

This article examined a database of Australian daily newspapers on the terms cochlear implant and deaf children to investigate how journalists and columnists report competing models of deafness: as either "medical" (deafness is a condition to be cured) or "sociocultural" (deafness provides a way of life to be lived). The results from the cochlear…

This article examines the extent to which Short Message Service (SMS) messages are breaking down communication barriers among deaf people and between deaf and hearing people. It is predicted that deaf texters will use SMS to increase the bonds between themselves in deaf communities, creating new opportunities to develop relationships,…

A survey of 143 teachers of students with hearing impairments found that 22% of the students were from an indigenous Australian background, 81% spent more than three-quarters of their time in the regular class, and two-thirds were regarded as fully integrated into a regular classroom for the entire school day. (Contains references.) (CR)

Interviews with 46 adults with deafness or hearing impairments found that three discursive positions were evident in relation to deafness (disability, logistic complexity, and community/culture). Life stories produced in the interviews entailed variations on the theme of fragmentation: the losing, missing, and finding of viable life circumstances.…