User Experiences When Testing a Messaging App for Communication Between Individuals who are Hearing and Deaf or Hard of Hearing

This study investigated user experiences of participants testing a prototype messaging app with automatic speech recognition (ASR). Twelve pairs of participants, where one individual was deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH), and the other one was hearing used the app, with the hearing individual using speech and ASR and the DHH one using typing. Participants completed a standardized decision making task to test the app. Regardless of hearing status of the participants or the type of device used, participants were generally satisfied with the app. These findings indicate that ASR has potential to facilitate communication between DHH and hearing individuals in small groups and that the technology merits further investigation

Influences of new media communication on the deaf/hard of hearing as reflected in interaction design

In recent years different forms of media communication have increased in popularity and brought new technology into our daily lives, such as social media and smartphones. It has brought new opportunities for communication. However, there has traditionally been a communication gap between the deaf/hard of hearing (D/HoH) and hearing people. The question therefore arises: Are the new communication opportunities able to bridge this communication gap? This research aims to explore new communication opportunities for D/HoH people by the use of social networking services (SNS) and the new communication applications (apps). It will provide an innovative communication solution, via interaction design, for bridging the aforementioned communication gap between D/HoH and hearing people. This study is divided into two parts: a. Preliminary study; b. Primary research and creative practice. The preliminary study shows that new media communication technologies (SNS and communication apps) can open new communication opportunities and bridge the communication gap between D/HoH and hearing people. This study argues it is possible because there are three specific features provided by SNS and communication apps. However, it also shows there is a further communication gap in face-to-face (FTF) communication even when using SNS and communication apps. This is because the physical interaction with nonverbal messages is absent in the use of SNS and communication apps. The primary research provides a communication solution (a smartphone app 'Talk2Me') that has been developed through interaction design creative practice and specifically a user-centred design (UCD) development process. The resulting app can be used to bridge the FTF communication gap between D/HoH and hearing people. This innovative communication solution provides a specific way to communicate between D/HoH and hearing people in FTF communication. This study contributes new knowledge in the understanding of SNS and communication apps as used by the D/HoH, which are not studied in detail in existing literature. In addition, this research contributes an innovative communication solution for the D/HoH that has been specifically developed from an interaction design perspective

Living with Hearing Loss in a Connected Home: White Paper

This paper provides insights into the requirements and expectations of people with hearing loss in engagement with connected devices at home, derived from a questionnaire and a stakeholder workshop, and supported by relevant literature. The paper details challenges facing people with hearing loss in engagement with connected technologies and identifies priority areas for technology intervention and development. The workshop was organised by the PETRAS National Centre of Excellence for IoT Systems Cybersecurity. It was attended by representatives from technology companies and various UK groups for people with hearing loss (both profoundly deaf and hard-of-hearing, as well as cochlear implant users), some individual end-users with various types of hearing loss, and researchers. Whether they like it or not, people with hearing loss may depend on a hearing person or technologies (e.g. hearing aid and voice recognition to text) to communicate and interact with the hearing world. While technology intervention can reduce needs for help from hearing people, it inevitably increases dependency on technologies. This can lead to people with hearing loss feeling out of control, especially when communication technologies do not function as expected, often without any back-up, failsafe or contingency plans. Without reliable technologies – mainstream and/or specialist – to bridge the gap between visual- and voice-based (oral) communications, people with hearing loss are at risk of isolation and exclusion

Designing a mobile interface for a deaf user

My MA thesis is a collaborative research and design project about designing a mobile application to bridge the communication gap between Deaf people and healthcare professionals in South Africa. It explores health knowledge transfer problems faced by the Deaf community during a health consultation and aims to solve them by the means of a mobile application interface designed to aid communication. Healthcare, a basic human right, is violated when healthcare professionals don't find the means to communicate health information to Deaf people in a medium that they understand. This communication problem is due to a language barrier between the Deaf and the hearing world. A Deaf person uses sign language as his or her primary form of communication, yet there is a lack of sign language interpreters at healthcare centers. Sign language is the first language of Deaf people because of which a number of Deaf communities all over the world are only able to use a very basic level of written or spoken language. Moreover, medical information is complex and the factors mentioned above make it difficult to transfer health knowledge between healthcare professionals and Deaf patients, leading to poor health conditions of the latter. In order to solve this problem, my thesis explores ways of transferring medical knowledge using visual methods of communication as opposed to text based communication, via a mobile application. Since health knowledge is a vast topic, for my project I focus on only one medical condition, Diabetes type 2. This choice is determined by the fact that Diabetes is a lifelong condition that requires regular hospital visits and timely communication and treatment. A core aspect of my research is finding ways to design interactive interfaces that better suit the requirements of the Deaf user than they do at present, using a process of benchmarking, co-creation, interviews and usability testing. My project documents insights from desk and field research which are used to design and test a prototype of the mobile application with Deaf users in South Africa

Social Isolation, Fear of Missing Out, and Social Media Use in Deaf and Hearing College Students

This study investigated the relationships between social isolation, fear of missing out, self-esteem, and social media usage, and whether these relationships are different in deaf and hearing college students. Data were collected from 191 individuals (46 Deaf/Hard of Hearing, 145 hearing) via an online survey. Variables included number of social media accounts, time spent (in hours) on social media, number of times per day social media is accessed, FOMO, social media use, hearing status/identity, self-esteem, social isolation, and social media disorder. Correlational tests were conducted separately for hearing and for Deaf/HH participants. The groups had an unequal distribution of gender, which was evaluated via chi-square tests and determined to be statistically significant. A two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to investigate whether the gender or hearing identity of participants influenced the results. Gender was not significant in the distribution, but hearing identity was significant. With the exception of the number of social media accounts, the hearing identity groups did not differ on social media use. However, the DHH participants scored higher on the social media disorder scale and lower in self-esteem. Neither scale was normed for the DHH community, so these findings should be interpreted with caution. There was not a relationship between social media use and FOMO in Deaf/HH participants but a relationship between FOMO and number of accounts and hours per day was seen in the hearing group. Overall, the quantity of social media use was not correlated with social isolation, self-esteem, or FOMO, with two exceptions (number of accounts and hours per day in hearing). There was a relationship between social media use and social media disorder, which was expected. These results indicated that how individuals interact with social media might be more meaningful to examine than how frequently they use it

Perceiving the Communication Methods between Deaf Pilots and Air Traffic Control

Many people are often inspired when finding out that I, a Deaf pilot, can fly. The general population assumes that pilots must be able to communicate via radio to fly, thus resulting in the belief that deaf people cannot be pilots. Yet, there are Deaf pilots in the United States and in other countries. As Deaf pilots, we use communication methods other than the radio to communicate with air traffic controllers. The most common communication method used by Deaf pilots may be the light gun signals, but it may not be enough to support Deaf pilots in a career as a pilot. My research is to improve communications between Deaf pilots and air traffic control. The purpose of this study is to answer the research question: “What are the existing communication methods between air traffic control and Deaf pilots?” For this qualitative research, I interviewed approximately 15 Deaf pilots to explore communication methods they use with air traffic control along with their opinions and suggestions for a better air traffic control communication. This thesis discovered that many Deaf pilots still use the light gun signals method. Not only that, some pilots have a plan of action to aid with the coordination between them and air traffic controllers. Some participants from this research discussed a lot about text-based communication system that the Deaf pilots need to have full communication access with ATC. This use-inspired basic research study is to develop knowledge and processes that will increase the communication for Deaf pilots and the air traffic controllers to use. This thesis research is the beginning of my overall research on improving the communication between Deaf pilots and air traffic control

Using Information Communications Technologies to Implement Universal Design for Learning

The purpose of this paper is to assist Ministries of Education, their donors and partners, Disabled Persons Organizations (DPOs), and the practitioner community funded by and working with USAID to select, pilot, and (as appropriate) scale up ICT4E solutions to facilitate the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), with a particular emphasis on supporting students with disabilities to acquire literacy and numeracy skills. The paper focuses primarily on how technology can support foundational skills acquisition for students with disabilities, while also explaining when, why, and how technologies that assist students with disabilities can, in some applications, have positive impacts on all students’ basic skills development. In 2018, USAID released the Toolkit for Universal Design for Learning to Help All Children Read, section 3.1 of which provides basic information on the role of technologies to support UDL principles and classroom learning. This paper expands upon that work and offers more extensive advice on using ICT4E1 to advance equitable access to high quality learning. Like the UDL toolkit, the audience for this guide is mainly Ministries of Education and development agencies working in the area of education, but this resource can also be helpful for DPOs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) wishing to pilot or spearhead ICT initiatives. Content for this paper was informed by expert interviews and reviews of field reports during 2018. These included programs associated with United Nations, Zero Project, World Innovation Summit, UNESCO Mobile Learning Awards, and USAID’s All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development. Relevant case studies of select education programs integrating technology to improve learning outcomes for students with disabilities were summarized for this document