Navigating the Labyrinth Through A Cultural Advocacy Perspective: Exploring a Staff Sign Language Interpreter’s Role in a California Prison
Item
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Title
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Navigating the Labyrinth Through A Cultural Advocacy Perspective: Exploring a Staff Sign Language Interpreter’s Role in a California Prison
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Creator
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Stefanie O'Brien, MS, ADAC
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degree
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Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies
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Type
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Action Research Project
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Date
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6/14/2025
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Abstract
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Within the field of penology, research providing firsthand accounts of correctional staff and prisoners remains insufficient, with no identifiable research focusing specifically on interactions between correctional staff and Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) prisoners. This action research project examines the evolving roles and responsibilities of a staff sign language interpreter (SLI), who is also a certified Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator (ADAC), over a three-year period within a Level 1-4 women’s correctional institution in California. Guided the frameworks of Cultural Appropriate Advocacy (CAA) (Salla et al., 2023), Discriminatory Epistemic Injustice (Fricker, 2007), and Moral Agency (MA) (Peter, 2011), this research explores the dynamic interplay between legal mandates, institutional realities, and the staff SLI’s advocacy efforts to bridge the communication gap and empower D/HH inmates facing ADA rights violations. These mandates include, but are not limited to, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and relevant case law, such as Armstrong v. Newsom (1994). Qualitative data collection and analysis are used to uncover the underexplored area of prison interpreting and contributes to a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities encountered by a staff SLI in this non-traditional setting.
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note
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Amanda Smith
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Elisa Maroney
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Rights
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Western Oregon University Library has determined, as of 04/16/2025, this item is in copyright, which is held by the author. Users may use the item in accordance with copyright limitations and exceptions, including fair use. For other uses, please ask permission from the author.
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https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en
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Language
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eng
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Type
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text
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Identifier
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arp_20250416g
