Keskusteluavustimen kehittäminen kuulovammaisia varten automaattista puheentunnistusta käyttäen

Understanding and participating in conversations has been reported as one of the biggest challenges hearing impaired people face in their daily lives. These communication problems have been shown to have wide-ranging negative consequences, affecting their quality of life and the opportunities available to them in education and employment. A conversational assistance application was investigated to alleviate these problems. The application uses automatic speech recognition technology to provide real-time speech-to-text transcriptions to the user, with the goal of helping deaf and hard of hearing persons in conversational situations. To validate the method and investigate its usefulness, a prototype application was developed for testing purposes using open-source software. A user test was designed and performed with test participants representing the target user group. The results indicate that the Conversation Assistant method is valid, meaning it can help the hearing impaired to follow and participate in conversational situations. Speech recognition accuracy, especially in noisy environments, was identified as the primary target for further development for increased usefulness of the application. Conversely, recognition speed was deemed to be sufficient and already surpass the transcription speed of human transcribers.Keskustelupuheen ymmärtäminen ja keskusteluihin osallistuminen on raportoitu yhdeksi suurimmista haasteista, joita kuulovammaiset kohtaavat jokapäiväisessä elämässään. Näillä viestintäongelmilla on osoitettu olevan laaja-alaisia negatiivisia vaikutuksia, jotka heijastuvat elämänlaatuun ja heikentävät kuulovammaisten yhdenvertaisia osallistumismahdollisuuksia opiskeluun ja työelämään. Työssä kehitettiin ja arvioitiin apusovellusta keskustelupuheen ymmärtämisen ja keskusteluihin osallistumisen helpottamiseksi. Sovellus käyttää automaattista puheentunnistusta reaaliaikaiseen puheen tekstittämiseen kuuroja ja huonokuuloisia varten. Menetelmän toimivuuden vahvistamiseksi ja sen hyödyllisyyden tutkimiseksi siitä kehitettiin prototyyppisovellus käyttäjätestausta varten avointa lähdekoodia hyödyntäen. Testaamista varten suunniteltiin ja toteutettiin käyttäjäkoe sovelluksen kohderyhmää edustavilla koekäyttäjillä. Saadut tulokset viittaavat siihen, että työssä esitetty Keskusteluavustin on toimiva ja hyödyllinen apuväline huonokuuloisille ja kuuroille. Puheentunnistustarkkuus erityisesti meluisissa olosuhteissa osoittautui ensisijaiseksi kehityskohteeksi apusovelluksen hyödyllisyyden lisäämiseksi. Puheentunnistuksen nopeus arvioitiin puolestaan jo riittävän nopeaksi, ylittäen selkeästi kirjoitustulkkien kirjoitusnopeuden

The listening talker: A review of human and algorithmic context-induced modifications of speech

International audienceSpeech output technology is finding widespread application, including in scenarios where intelligibility might be compromised - at least for some listeners - by adverse conditions. Unlike most current algorithms, talkers continually adapt their speech patterns as a response to the immediate context of spoken communication, where the type of interlocutor and the environment are the dominant situational factors influencing speech production. Observations of talker behaviour can motivate the design of more robust speech output algorithms. Starting with a listener-oriented categorisation of possible goals for speech modification, this review article summarises the extensive set of behavioural findings related to human speech modification, identifies which factors appear to be beneficial, and goes on to examine previous computational attempts to improve intelligibility in noise. The review concludes by tabulating 46 speech modifications, many of which have yet to be perceptually or algorithmically evaluated. Consequently, the review provides a roadmap for future work in improving the robustness of speech output

The Hands with Eyes and Nose in the Palm: As Effective Communication Alternatives for Profoundly Deaf People in Zimbabwe

Drawing from the experiences and testimonies of people with profound deafness, the study qualitatively explored the use of the hands with eyes and nose in the palm as communication alternatives in the field of deafness. The study was prompted by the 27 year old lady, Leah Katz-Hernandez who is deaf who got engaged in March 2015 as the 2016 outgoing President Obama’s new receptionist at the White House in the United States of America (USA). Further prompts were influenced by the July 2015 paper which was presented at the USA Offices at Eastgate in Harare by Professor Thomas K. Holcomb of Ohlone College from California who is profoundly deaf. The paper emphasized on appropriate provisions as instrumental in enhancing academic performance and productiveness of people with profound hearing impairment (HI), a term used interchangeably with deaf. Point of saturation determined the sample size after no-more new data could be obtained from participants who were purposively selected on the criterion of having succeeded in their academic and professional life despite being profoundly deaf and experience in teaching people who are deaf. Semi-structured open-ended interviews were used to explore the communication experiences of people with HI while guided by the ubuntu and person first philosophy; the Symbolic Interaction Theory (SIT) and Cognitive Dissonance Theory (CDT). Patterns and themes emerging from the collected data were sought through the thematic analysis approach. The findings revealed that, the majority of people with profound deafness considered visual cues as central to successful communication despite the level of hearing loss because vision and touch enabled interaction. The study considered the hands with eyes nose in the palm as effective communication alternatives for people with HI since what was smelt, tasted and seen could be interpreted through hand signing. However, use of Sign Language interpreters was proposed for meaningful inclusive practices rather than skill every lecturer in deaf education. Further studies were proposed on policies mandating the use of talking hands and all other alternatives. Keywords: hands with eyes, mouth, nose, palm, communication alternatives, dea

Deaf children's mental health difficulties: exploring experience and factors associated with the difficulties experienced by deaf children

Background and aims: Several studies have established that deaf children are more likely to experience mental health difficulties compared to their hearing peers. The most recent review on the mental health needs of deaf children was conducted in 2013. Some risk factors were identified, but these were largely rehabilitation-related. This review aims to build on the 2013 review and identify other potential risk factors and their pathways. Methods: A systematic search found 25 studies from PsycInfo, PubMed, ASSIA, MEDLINE, and Web of Science. Findings were synthesised and grouped under parents and deaf children to explore their differing perspectives. Several themes were identified under each group. Synthesis and discussion: Deaf children demonstrated higher levels of difficulties when compared to hearing peers, although with greater variations in the deaf sample. Rehabilitation-related factors emerged as the main theme for parents whereas, for deaf children, risk factors related to relationship difficulties emerged. Only one paper explored the possible underlying reasons for the individual differences in the deaf sample. Limitations, clinical and research implications are discussed. Conclusions: The findings have shifted slightly from the previous review in relation to the variables used to measure mental health difficulties in deaf children. The underlying mechanisms are still lacking and these need to be to be investigated to understand individual differences in the deaf samples

Future bathroom: A study of user-centred design principles affecting usability, safety and satisfaction in bathrooms for people living with disabilities

Research and development work relating to assistive technology 2010-11 (Department of Health) Presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 22 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 197

Joint Attention in Hearing Parent-Deaf Child and Hearing Parent-Hearing Child Dyads.

Here we characterize establishment of joint attention in hearing parent-deaf child dyads and hearing parent-hearing child dyads. Deaf children were candidates for cochlear implantation who had not yet been implanted and who had no exposure to formal manual communication (e.g., American Sign Language). Because many parents whose deaf children go through early cochlear implant surgery do not themselves know a visual language, these dyads do not share a formal communication system based in a common sensory modality prior to the child's implantation. Joint attention episodes were identified during free play between hearing parents and their hearing children (N = 4) and hearing parents and their deaf children (N = 4). Attentional episode types included successful parent-initiated joint attention, unsuccessful parent-initiated joint attention, passive attention, successful child-initiated joint attention, and unsuccessful child-initiated joint attention. Group differences emerged in both successful and unsuccessful parent-initiated attempts at joint attention, parent passive attention, and successful child-initiated attempts at joint attention based on proportion of time spent in each. These findings highlight joint attention as an indicator of early communicative efficacy in parent-child interaction for different child populations. We discuss the active role parents and children play in communication, regardless of their hearing status

Assistive technologies for severe and profound hearing loss: beyond hearing aids and implants

Assistive technologies offer capabilities that were previously inaccessible to individuals with severe and profound hearing loss who have no or limited access to hearing aids and implants. This literature review aims to explore existing assistive technologies and identify what still needs to be done. It is found that there is a lack of focus on the overall objectives of assistive technologies. In addition, several other issues are identified i.e. only a very small number of assistive technologies developed within a research context have led to commercial devices, there is a predisposition to use the latest expensive technologies and a tendency to avoid designing products universally. Finally, the further development of plug-ins that translate the text content of a website to various sign languages is needed to make information on the internet more accessible