Staff
| Personal Information | ||
| Name | Conama, John Bosco | |
| College Address | Centre for Deaf Studies, Trinity Centre, S J H |
|
| Main Department | CLCS | |
| College Title | Project Manager | |
| comamaj@tcd.ie | ||
| College Tel | ; | |
| Biography | |
| (Ph.D, M. Litt, BA in social policy) was the former chairperson of the Irish Deaf Society, and is Higher Executive Officer in the Training Branch of the Revenue Commissioners (now on a study leave). He has been involved in many committees and working groups within the Civil Service and other Government bodies to monitor the progress of Deaf and disabled people in society. His recent publications have focused on Deaf people in society, for instance the level of poverty within the Deaf community. He was also on the board of the Sign Language Interpreting Service agency (SLIS). He also chaired the accreditation process for ISL/English interpreters twice in 2006 and 2009. He graduated with a doctorate from University College Dublin and his thesis focused on a comparative policy analysis of signed langauges in two countries – Finland and Ireland. John Bosco lectures at the Centre for Deaf Studies, Trinity College, University of Dublin. | |
| Teaching interests and responsibilities | |
| Coordinator for the Bachelor in Deaf Studies degree programme and also a coordinator for the following modules in Deaf Studies: Deaf Education Perspectives on Deafness Ethics Practical Placement Deaf People and the Media Working with the Deaf Community Research Methods | |
| Professional Qualifications | |
| Qualification | Institution | Class of Degree | Title of Dissertation | Date Conferred |
| Ph.D | University College Dublin | Finnish and Irish Sign Languages: An egalitarian analysis of language policies and their effects. | 2010 | |
| Master in Letters by Research Degree (M.Litt) | Trinity College, Dublin | Social Policy and the Deaf Community | 2002 | |
| National Certificate in Library and Information Science (Level 7 - a correspondence course) | Telford College, Edinburgh, Scotland | 2002 | ||
| BA Degree (Modular) on Social Policy and Economics. (Minors in Greek & Roman Civilization and History) | University College Dublin | 1997 |
| Representations |
| Details | Date |
| Committee member on Irish Sign Language Academy - a representative body of ISL teachers and researchers under the aegis of Irish Deaf Society. Responsibility in the ISL recognition. | 2005 to present |
| Board member of the Sign Language Interpreting Service (SLIS). SLIS is the interpreting agency that is supported with funds by the statutory agency: Citizens Information Board (CIB) | 2007 - 2009 |
| Acting Chairperson of the Model School for the Deaf Project | 2000 - current |
| Member of the Partnership Group on Deaf Education (CIDP-IDS-DeafHear-Schools for the Deaf-CDS) | 2009 - oresent |
| Member of advisory group to Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) with a responsibility of organising a conference and a written response to the issue of Deaf applicants for primary teaching training | 2012 |
| Administrative Functions | |
| Details | Level | Date From | Date To |
| Academic Committee, SIGN6 Conference, Goa, India. Evaluate all abstracts submitted for this conference | Member | February 5, 2013 | February 7, 2012 |
| Coordinating the Bachelor in Deaf Studies degree programme at this Centre | Coordinator | November 2008 | current |
| Acting Director of Centre for Deaf Studies | June 2010 | December 2010 | |
| The Accreditation Panel for the Irish Sign Language / English interpreters under the aegis of the Sign Language Interpreting Service agency | Chair | 2008 | 2009 |
| The Accreditation Panel for the Irish Sign Language / English interpreters under the aegis of the Irish Sign Link, the interpreting agency | Coordinator | January 2006 | September 2006 |
| Membership of Professional Institutions, Associations, Societies |
| Details | Date From | Date To |
| Member of ISL Academy | 2006 | present |
| Awards and Honours | |
| Award | Date |
| Media Award by Hidden Hearing - Media Award – Award for a campaigner / journalist / celebrity who has highlighted topics related to those who are Deaf or hard of hearing. | September 2011 |
| Doctoral scholarship from National Disability Authority | 2002-07 |
| Dr Ciaran Barry Scholarship for Masters research | 1997 |
| Supporter of the Year by Kerry Deaf Rsources Centre | December 17, 2010 |
| Languages |
| Language | Skill Reading | Skill Writing | Skill Speaking |
| American Sign Language | Medium | Basic | Medium |
| British Sign Language | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| English | Fluent | Fluent | Basic |
| Irish Sign Language | Fluent | Fluent | Fluent |
| Research Institutes / Centres / Groups | |
| Research Institutes / Centres / Groups | Description of Role | Date From | Date To |
| Centre for Deaf Studies | Coordinator of Bachelor in Deaf Studies degree programme | 01-OCT-08 | 31-OCT-11 |
| Employment Details | |
| Position Held | Job Description | Where | Date From | Date To |
| HIGHER EXECUTIVE OFFICER | Set up databases on evaluation and library catalogues. Organise courses on ISL. Prepare reports for senior managements on certain issues relevant to Training Branch | Revenue Training Branch | 1999 | on a study leave |
| Description of Research Interests |
| Deaf Cultural Studies, Equality Studies, Media Studies, Social Policy, Deaf Education, All relating to the Deaf communities in Ireland and beyond |
| Research Interests | |||
| Education and minority language | Equality law | Globalisation | Health policy |
| Identity politics and social change | Irish economy, problems | Irish politics, election study, electoral behaviour | Politics of the welfare state |
| Public Policy | Social work with minorities |
| Research Projects | |
| Project title | Hidden Histories (Irish coordinator) |
| Summary | The University of Sussex leads this, with partners in Ireland (Centre for Deaf Studies, TCD), Austria and Finland. The project focuses on the creation of digital archives of community experiences in rural, nomadic, and Deaf communities. A key objective of this project is to increase the participation in lifelong learning of marginalised and disadvantaged groups and, as a result of this participation to increase their engagement with civic society and learning. It fosters learning opportunities based on participation in local community activities, developing alternative and innovative ways of learning, and sharing good practice on intercultural education, learning by marginalized citizens and their linguistic, social and cultural inclusion. |
| Funding Agency | This project is funded by the EU (Grundtvig programme). |
| Programme | |
| Type of Project | European-wide archive training project |
| Date from | November 2010 |
| Date to | October 2012 |
| Person Months | 24 |
| Project title | Poverty in the Irish Deaf Community |
| Summary | The research aimed to determine the level of poverty within the Deaf community. The concept of poverty was determined by the National Anti-Poverty Strategy which makes a distinction between absolute and relative poverty. A report was published. The co-author was Carmel Grehan. |
| Funding Agency | Combat Poverty Agency |
| Programme | |
| Type of Project | Community level |
| Date from | 2000 |
| Date to | 2002 |
| Person Months | 10 |
| Project title | Signing In / Signing Out |
| Summary | As a co-ordinator of this project, this research was a follow-up to the former research on poverty. The professional researcher was employed in this regard and we cosnulted on several occasions. The report was launched by the Minister of Labour, Mr. Killen in April 2006 |
| Funding Agency | Combat Poverty Agency and the Department of Socail & Family Affairs |
| Programme | |
| Type of Project | Community |
| Date from | 2004 |
| Date to | 2006 |
| Person Months | |
| Project title | SIF II Deaf Studies in Ireland Programme |
| Summary | Working in partnership with the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown, CDS has developed and introduced a Bachelor in Deaf Studies with significant digital content. Original aims to roll out the programme in collaboration with the Tipperary Institute, the Limerick Institute of Technology and NUI Cork have had to be put on hold due to funding cuts. Despite this setback, the core aims of increasing accessibility for Deaf, hard of hearing and mature students; maximising the application of new technologies to the delivery of signed language and Deaf Studies courses; analysing the success of these ventures; and increasing collaboration across higher educational institutions with respect to the field of Deaf Studies remain. Work as the project manager |
| Funding Agency | Higher Education Authority |
| Programme | Strategic Innovation Funds, Cycle II (SIF II) |
| Type of Project | Educational, New Technologies |
| Date from | September 2008 |
| Date to | 2011 |
| Person Months | |
| Project title | SIGNALL II |
| Summary | CDS is work with Interesource (Ire.) to develop a digital multi-media course on Deaf Culture and Deaf history for employers across the European Union. The project Promoter is Interesource Group (Ireland) Ltd. Project partners are from Finland, Czech Republic, Poland and the UK. www.signallproject.com. Work as a team member. |
| Funding Agency | European Commission |
| Programme | Leonardo da Vinci |
| Type of Project | Digital learning, course development |
| Date from | November 2007 |
| Date to | October 2009 |
| Person Months | |
| Publications and Other Research Outputs |
| Peer Reviewed |
| Who decides? Language education policies for Deaf children - Selected findings from a comparative analysis of Finnish and Irish policies on signed languages. in, editor(s)Lorraine Leeson and Myriam Vermeerbergen , Lorraine Leeson and Myriam Vermeerbergen (eds), Working with the Deaf Community: Education, Mental Health and Interpreting , Dublin, Interesource Group (Ireland) Limited, [Dr. John Bosco Conama\] Notes: [To be published ] |
| Non Peer Reviewed | |
| Dr. John Bosco Conama, Who decides? Language education policies for Deaf children - Selected findings from a comparative analysis of Finnish and Irish policies on signed languages. , DCAL Lunchtime Seminar, University College of London, London, UK, May 31, 2012, Deafness Cognition and Language (DCAL) Research Centre, | |
| Conama, Dr. John Bosco, Affective equality and Deaf education , National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology New York, Rochester Institute of Technology New York, April 21, 2011 | |
| Conama, Dr. John Bosco, Can an Equality of Condition for Signed Languages Advance Equality for Deaf Communities?, Gallaudet University, Washington DC, USA, April 26, 2011 | |
| More Publications and Other Research Outputs >>> | |
| References |
| Name | Address | Telephone | Details | |
| Ms. Carmel Grehan | Chairperson Irish Deaf Society 30 Blessington Street, Dublin 7 | info@irishdeafsociety.ie | ||
| Prof. Kathleen Lynch | Equality Studies Centre University College Dublin Belfield Dublin 4 | klynch@ucd.ie | ||
| Dr. Patrick McDonnell | Equality Studies Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4 |
| ; |
Last updated 16 November 2010 by .