Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Title:
Author:
Victor Diacono
Date:
January 2015
MA in Technical Communication
Sheffield Hallam University
January 2015
Acknowledgments
There are many people I am indebted to for their support during this Master's
programme. My heartfelt gratitude goes out, in particular, to my partner Lu. She has
made this all possible with her selflessness in gladly being the homemaker, and in
allowing everything and anything to come second to my studies and itinerary.
Special thanks also go to the survey respondents whose collaboration went into the
findings that have sustained the analysis upon which much of the discussion and
recommendations has revolved.
Another thank you goes to the staff at Sheffield Hallam University whose feedback
and support has always been meaningful and strong. Geff Green and Hilary CunliffeCharlesworth for their invaluable support in the dissertation, as well as Claire Rayner
and all the rest I have had the pleasure of being tutored or assisted by in the First and
Second years.
I am also indebted to those at work who have had a role in enabling contact with the
initial handful of visually impaired questionnaire respondents who in turn referred me
to others. And I am equally thankful to those who have made time for the dissertation
available at the time most needed, even during the busiest periods.
But finally, an acknowledgment and dedication entwined: to Mum and Dad! They
have been off for a better place for many, many years now. But one of the most
precious lessons they left behind was that aspirations are a fine thing, but only
application and hard work brings them to fruition. For your example and much more,
this study is dedicated to you.
Contents
Abstract
1. Introduction
1.1 Overview
1.2 The workplace context
1.3 Aims and objectives
1.4 The dissertation's structure
1.5 Review
2. Literature Review
2.1 Overview
2.2 Is Braille being eclipsed by electronic speech?
2.3 Transfer of technology
2.4 Incentivisation for equal access
2.5 A one-size-fits-all information structure
2.6 Risk of emargination
2.7 Review
3. Methodology
3.1 Overview
3.2 The paradigm
3.3 Research approach and method
3.4 Ethics
3.5 Data analysis
3.6 Review
4. Findings and Discussion
4.1 Overview
4.2 The findings
Question 1: Respondent particulars
Question 2: Visual disability
Question 3: Age of impairment
Question 4: Level of education
Question 5: Training in reading media
Question 6: Use of reading aids
Question 7: Use of computer software
Question 8: Internet connection ratio
Question 9: Reasons for no Internet connection
Question 10: Internet usage, user proficiency, and its effects
Question 11: Learning to use the Internet
Question 12: Support in using the Internet
Question 13: Hardware for connecting to the Internet
Question 14: Choice of Internet browsers
Question 15: Activities pursued on the Internet
Question 16: Why is no social networking, information seeking
or other activity pursued?
Question 17: Which social media do you use?
4.3 Review
5. Conclusion
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6. Recommendations
Bibliography
Appendices
Appendix 1: Survey Information Sheet
Appendix 2: Survey Consent Form
Appendix 3: Ethics Form
Appendix 4: The Questionnaire
Appendix 5: The survey response coding
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List of Tables
Question 1.1
Question 1.2
Question 1.3
Question 1.4
Question 1.5
Question 2
Question 3
Question 4
Question 5
Question 6.1
Question 6.2
Question 6.3
Question 6.4
Question 6.5
Question 6.6
Question 6.7
Question 7.1
Question 7.2
Question 7.3
Question 7.4
Question 8
Question 9
Question 10.1
Question 10.2
Question 10.3
Question 10.4
Question 11
Question 12
Question 13
Question 14
Question 15
Question 16
Question 17
Sex
Age
Location
Occupation
Accompanying disabilities
Visual disability
Age of onset of impairment
Level of education
Training in reading media
Braille
Large Print
Videos
CCTV
Computers
Phone Apps
Others
Screen-reader
Speech-to-text
Scanner-to-speech
Screen-magnifier
Internet connection ratio
If no Internet connection, why
How many hours weekly on Internet
Are you a proficient Internet user
Any negative effects from Internet usage
If yes, what are they
How have you learned to use the Internet
Where do you find support when stuck on the Internet
How do you connect to the Internet
With which browser do you connect to the Internet
Do you use the Internet for any of the following activities
If you pursue none of the above activities, why not
Which of the following social media services do you use
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Abstract
This study sets out to discover the extent to which online participation and access to
information for the visually disadvantaged is comparable to that enjoyed by the ablesighted. It treats access to information of whatever nature or origin as a universal
right.
1. Introduction
1.1
Overview
This is an age when both public and commercial services are migrating to online
media. As a result, accessible online communication has become a critical need if the
functional independence of the blind and visually impaired is not to fall even further
behind the levels borne prior to digital dissemination. This study considers the extent
to which Internet access to information and online participation is accessible to the
visually impaired. Inquiry will not distinguish between governmental and commercial
diffusion of information but will view access to information, of whatever nature or
origin, as a universal right.
1.2
Little technological attention had been given to the accessibility of printed knowledge
and information for the visually disadvantaged until the early 19th century. In 1829,
Louis Braille developed a tactile means of reading that came to carry his name. It
opened up a world of print to the blind and visually impaired, but it cannot be
considered a universal solution for a number of reasons. Converting the printed word
to Braille is costly in terms of both expense and time, with the number of available
texts consequently limited. There is a steep learning curve, and it is inaccessible to
those also suffering from diseases that diminish the sense of touch.
A third human sense, hearing, was harnessed for reading with the arrival of
inexpensive sound recording in the form of the Koninklijke Philips N.V. companys
audio cassette in 1962. The audio cassette significantly reduced the cost and time of
text conversion. It also eliminated the need for learning a communication medium
such as Braille by the blind or visually impaired reader not wishing or unable to
engage with it. Drawbacks however persist insofar as spontaneity of communication
is concerned, with time-sensitive information becoming obsolete or less relevant by
time of dissemination.
In 1976, the Kurzweil Reading Machine, brainchild of inventor and scientist Raymond
Kurzweil, employed digital technology in the scanning of the printed word for
conversion into synthetic speech for aural assimilation by the reader. Audio cassette
1
mode thereby gained the benefit of potentially instantaneous turnaround time for textto-speech conversion as it was no longer necessary to have text converted to sound
by human readers. But the disadvantage with speech synthesis per se lies in current
technology sounding unnatural. And, for the English-speaking world outside the North
American continent, also in the American twang of the converted text (Hersh and
Johnson. 2008, p.418).
Apart from computer software that speaks out screen content or enlarges text, this is
partly where the current state of assistive reading technology for the blind and visually
impaired lies. The technology, being electronically driven, will indubitably go through
further refinement and tweaking in the short term, as it is in the nature of computer
science to advance in leaps and bounds. However, a fuller emancipation of the
visually impaired in the reading world will only occur if aural reading can become a
reading option alongside the default visual mode on Internet sites and pages.
Online participation is essential also because it allows access to vital real world
services which are increasingly migrating to the Internet. Gerber (2003. In: Goudiras
et al. 2009, p.112) believes that computer use and AT [Assistive Technology] can
make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals with visual impairments
improving educational and employment opportunities, enhancing social networks, and
facilitating independence of education, healthcare and purchasing which are
increasingly going online.
A dearth of study appears to exist on how the visually impaired can be thoroughly
assimilated into online social media usage. There is however a sufficiently sizable
2
body of literature on the access for the visually impaired to other online activities. This
corpus has formed the literary resource from where observation of Internet usage and
academic thought on the topic is being considered for its relevance to this study.
This work attempts to establish the extent to which the barriers of sight have come
down for the ocularly disadvantaged part of humanity that aspires and is capable of
partaking fully in the receipt and impartation of information. It recommends the
adoption of ocular assistive technology and digital speech-to-text conversion by
governments and commerce in a new reading mode residing in parallel to the default
visual mode. The rationale behind this recommendation is that access to virtual sites
hosting the published word and online participation is to be considered a right. In the
same way that access to bricks-and-mortar sites is a now universally accepted right
of those suffering from physical immobility.
In the commercial sphere, accessibility can either to be mandated or, as this study
strongly suggests, incentivised. One incentive towards the construction of disabilitycompliant information structures can come about through the promise of new
advertising niches. The strongest incentivisation may however lie in the potential for
assistive implementations for the visually impaired being marketed as a convenient
and time-saving software application for the able-sighted. Speech-to-text and text-tosound technology are two particularly promising spheres in this regard as the
emergence of a dual reading mode (ocular and aural) can serve as an enjoyable
reading experience for the able-sighted. It also offers benefits in resting one sense by
engaging the other, thereby leading to a reduction of cognitive fatigue. If this dual
reading mode materialises, the visually impaired will gain through social inclusion,
increased educational and employment opportunities and access to information and
services. And the profit of commerce lies in more revenue coming in from higher
Internet traffic, through increased advertising income or sales.
Limitations ensuing from time and cost constraints limit the scope of this study.
Moreover, no study can claim focus if not narrowly directed. Limitations that arise in
this paper include geographical ones as the findings will present a picture of Internet
usage patterns and accessibility limitations as experienced by the blind and visually
impaired in Malta. However, the possibility is discussed in Chapter 4 (Findings and
Discussion) of extrapolating the findings to the United Kingdom and possibly other
Commonwealth countries too.
The sample size is also a small one, as is in the nature of a small-scale study. And
both Internet usage per se and the survey questions' orientation towards social media
and assistive software denote a bias towards the technologically adept. The topic of
study inherently excludes those without the financial means to afford computer
hardware or the recurrent cost of Internet service. Those falling outside these
boundaries are, therefore, not represented in the study when they are at greater risk
of being left behind in the online migration of essential information. Additionally, the
sample excludes minors and those incapable of giving informed consent.
The Introduction establishes the general field of study, its workplace context, and
The Methodology chapter explains the research paradigm and survey design, also
describing the approach and method employed in the collection of the data and its
analysis.
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The Findings and Discussion chapter analyses the data collected from the survey
and relates it to the topic under review. It presents the findings in a number of views
categorised by fundamental demographic characteristics, principal strains of theory
stemming from the literature, and the resulting differences within categories. The
chapter also discusses the dissertations strengths and constraints, and it examines
issues of validity and reliability.
-
The Conclusion weighs the degree and adequacy to which the findings have
accessible to all, irrespective of sight ability. It also delves into areas deriving from the
topic under examination that merit further investigation, possibly even as a dedicated
research question.
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1.5 Review
This introduction has reviewed the studys sphere of research, its context, and the
aims and objectives. It outlines the breadth of the investigation and discloses its
limitations. It also introduces recommendations on accessibility design strategy
discussed in more depth in Chapter 4 (Findings and Discussion).
2. Literature Review
2.1 Overview
This chapter establishes the background to the question under investigation by
means of an evaluation of the relevant literature regarding Internet access for the
blind and visually impaired, the barriers in its way, and how inaccessibility may be
surmounted. It assesses the bibliographic content in this regard and weighs its
relevance to the aims of this study and the problem under review.
Braille was the first reading method to make text readable by the blind. It stood alone
and unchallenged for close to a century and a half between its inception in 1829 and
the arrival of the Kurzweil Reading Machine. It has since been increasingly eclipsed
by text-to-speech technology and enhanced display (Goudiras et al. May 2009,
pp.124-125; Stein et al. 2011, p.462). The advent of the microchip computer enabled
optical character recognition (OCR), which in turn made possible the reading out
aloud of OCR-scanned text by a computer once the KRMs technology coupled OCR
with text-to-speech technology. Goudiras et al. (May 2009, p.112) in fact find
computer enhancement of the information that is displayed is a promising area for
improvement in low vision reading devices.
This new technology has a number of notable advantages over Braille, which is
burdened with a steep learning curve (Hersh and Johnson. 2008, pp.143, p.498). The
principal advantage lies in the user needing only to listen, but Braille also suffers from
inaccessibility to users suffering from particular medical conditions. Diabetes, for
instance, reduces the sufferers sense of touch as Braille is a tactile form of
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communication. Moreover, tactile acuity is also in itself a sense that diminishes with
the onset of age irrespective of prevailing health conditions (Stevens, Folke and
Patterson. 1996). And, unlike Braille, listening to speech-synthesised text suffers from
no learning curve or limitations of accompanying tactility-reducing disability.
Additionally, it does not become harder to follow with the onset of age when learning
curves get steeper and disease, including the ocular, is more likely to set in.
The aural reading mode is being boosted further with video increasingly becoming a
predominant medium in home entertainment and the pursuit of personal enrichment.
YouTube alone claims to enjoy 6 billion viewing hours monthly with traffic from 61
countries, 80% of which originating from outside the United States (YouTube. 2014).
Most video comes accompanied by an analogue soundtrack and analogue enjoys the
advantage of sounding more natural than digital sound. It does not suffer from poor
quality synthesis or the North American twang presently predominant in digital
synthesis, and there are initiatives being pursued which enrich video content (albeit
by digital means) through additional soundtracks.
Lyon Universitys ACAV project (Collaborative Annotation for Video Accessibility) has
for the past few years been working on the development of free Web applications for
the hosting of accessible video for the blind. ACAV seeks to enrich video content
through the additional parallel tracks of speech synthesis and the non-verbal audio
medium known as earcons. Earcons are an aural message on computer software
interfaces for the recognition of objects and interaction and are an example of how
transfer of technology can benefit the visually impaired while being of benefit to all the
reading public. Earcons do however have to be learned and memorised with the
result of an increased cognitive load (Putz. Oct 2004, p.27).
Braille text is also costly to produce (Stein et al. 2011, p.462; Hersh and Johnson.
2008, pp.478, 537). And the value of news-oriented texts is obsolete by the time it is
transferred to Braille-readable form: The information may often be out-of-date by the
time it is made available and by the time a news bulletin is brailled, its yesterdays
news (Williamson et al. 2006). Text-to-speech technology and enhanced display
enjoy the benefits of making information available to the visually impaired
concurrently with dissemination to the able-sighted. However, the biggest advantage
of text-to-speech technology is possibly that, unlike Braille, its benefits are
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Hersh and Johnson (2008, p.497) place emphasis on the multi-modality of human
communication. They state that people use a number of different types of
communication, including images, text, gestures, oral speech, sign languages, touch,
mime, body language, facial expressions and music, to communicate with each
other. The able-sighted mainly employ three of these modes of assimilation when
reading information, with text and image the predominant ones but aided by sound
when watching video or documentary. The introduction of a text-to-speech tier in
websites and social media would thereby not be an alien concept for the able-sighted.
It is an added function with the potential of rapid development into a mainstream
mode of online communication for both the impaired and the sighted, with the user
toggling between read, hear or read and hear modes. Speech technology has, in
fact, already found its way into everyday commercial activity, albeit in areas
previously reserved for phone communication in the call centre and telephone
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banking industries. Such has been the impact of speech input/output systems that it is
likely they will find adoption in other media and industries and keep growing. G. Sohn
(2004) estimates the turnover in business applications of speech technology will
grow from $ 540 millions currently worldwide to $ 1600 millions in the year 2007.
Hazan and Hunt (1990, p.46) claim that there are very few instances especially in
the field of computer technology where a device which was originally conceived and
developed for the disabled has been used as the template to create a commercially
viable product for general use by individuals or organisations. One such instance
was the Kurzweil DISCOVER application which found widespread use as a faster
means of data entry by the sighted user, through reading (rather than typing)
information into computer databases (ibid, p.47). The Kurzweil Reading Machine was
the first breakthrough in the transfer of technology from applications for the blind in
the direction of the able-sighted. With the exponential growth Sohns figures (2004)
must have registered since 2007, it will, hopefully, not be long before the quest for
profit identifies a sufficiently strong mainstream consumer need for text-to-speech
converter formats to become standard fixtures in documents and other text.
Text-to-speech can also be a reading mode physically benefitting the sighted in that it
rests the tired eye of avid readers, or of those who read for pleasure after having to
read and write throughout their working day. One can thus extrapolate a further
benefit to the sighted, namely that of preserving their eyesight and consequently
reducing the potential of their progressively coming in need of assistive reading
technology themselves in future years.
If this argument can gain widespread recognition and acceptance in the Internet
industry, social networking and the dissemination of information will have reached a
new plane of participation. The barriers of visual impairment will be felt less acutely by
the impaired, and it is also of relevance that their handicap will become less
noticeable. At present, accessibility solutions for the visually impaired can often be
obtrusive. Williamson et al. (June 2006) found in a survey that adaptive technology is
usually conspicuous and users feel embarrassed, particularly in the workplace. The
helpful equipment has the unintended side effect of accentuating difference. And I
don't like to broadcast the fact that I can't see very well was how one participant felt
in their survey.
This concept of universal accessibility finds support in the reviewed literature and
Jennifer Sutton (2002) recommends that site designers apply the concepts of
universal design so that pages will be accessible to everyone, regardless of whether
site visitors have a disability. She even makes the point that the aural rendering of
text is a form the visually impaired may be familiar with from cassette-based
publications, and that this medium may be the best one size fits all choice.
Goudiras et al. (2009) go a step further in unequivocally attributing the popularity of
cassettes to the participants view that cassettes are perceived through the auditory
sense, without much effort or training being required. We will have gone a long way
towards assimilation of the visually impaired into the reading universe when the
barriers of learning curves and technology-specific training, and the cognitive
distraction accompanying them, can be pulled down. And a much wider definition of
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reading will have been attained when information can be widely accessed not only
visually both also aurally, or in a combination of both modes.
Jaeger, Bertot and Shilton (2012, p.219) also argue in favour of the validity of
providing a universal design accessible across levels of ability, and having its roots in
making commercial products and architecture more inclusive, taking focus away from
the traditional design approach of creating things for an imagined average user. A
cross-ability information product is also more attractive to developers on the strength
of the larger market it reaches. It will consequently reach that market at a price
affordable to the many, not the few (Hersh and Johnson. 2008, p.548).
One-size-fits-all will naturally also impose a common model among the visually
impaired, as against accessibility solutions catering for varying degrees of visual
impairment. In a comment on assistive devices that is equally applicable to assistive
software technology, Hersh and Johnson (2008, p.83) state that there may be
benefits in developing sets of related devices... having [different] features that are
appropriate for particular groups of blind and visually impaired people. In an ideal
world without economic barriers there certainly would be a greater benefit to a more
finely targeted approach. However, with the accessibility market already being a niche
rendering dedicated products unaffordable to most, a universal solution will in any
case have to be one targeted to the average user. While acknowledging this
necessary limitation the authors (ibid, p.392) conclude that a compromise has to be
struck even if visually impaired readers have different requirements. Adoption of the
one-size-fits-all approach emerging from this compromise is the principal
recommendation of this study.
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Yet there are a number of user groups which still cannot be drawn into the information
world by this universal accessibility model by nature of their physical disability,
economic circumstances, digital ineptitude or illiteracy, among other conditions and
circumstances (Knobel and Bowker. 2011. In: Jaeger, Bertot and Shilton. 2012,
p.219). Disabilities or inability of participation outside the barrier of visual impairment
is however beyond the scope of this study, even if it may be a challenge of far greater
dimensions for universal accessibility. This study concentrates solely on how barriers
to information and social networking can be brought down for the visually impaired
even if this user set does share risks and barriers with other disadvantaged groups.
The risk of the Internet inflicting further emargination is mitigated by the emergence of
sound synthesis as Braille, particularly when applied to the Internet, isolates the
visually impaired community even further. Apart from the disadvantages of a learning
curve, accompanying diseases, and the onset of old age, the cost of Braille computer
hardware is also prohibitive for most blind and visually impaired. The community
suffers from low employability, and it will suffice to note that the entry level cost for a
Braille computer display and printer is a combined $5300 (American Foundation for
the Blind. 2014).
2.7 Review
This chapter has appraised and discussed the literature pertinent to the focus of
study. It has examined the matter of how transfer of technology can further open up
reading to the blind and partially sighted in ways that add value for the able-sighted
reader, as a means of incentivising the world of commerce towards dissemination
frameworks supportive of equal access. A solution put forward is a one-size-fits-all
website framework with default able-sighted mode, switchable to an assistive read12
and-hear structure at the press of a key. It has also looked into whether the electronic
nature of present-day assistive-ware is driving the Braille reading code into
obsolescence. The final section considers the risk of further emargination posed by
the increasingly digital nature of information diffusion for those deprived of sight.
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3. Methodology
3.1 Overview
This chapter describes the theory, instruments, rules and procedures followed in
testing the research question. Research can prove meaningful, or fail, on the
soundness of its methodology, and this section of the study presents a
comprehensive description of the methodology employed. The approach has been an
exploratory one owing to a dearth of extant literature on the subject. It however still
provides an independently valid picture of how blind and visually impaired Internet
users access it for their everyday needs. It also sets the framework for possible
replication in a more exhaustive investigation of accessibility, online participation, and
the state of current assistive technology.
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Dills and Romiszowski (1997, p.11) describe one of the paradigms functions as
defining how the world works, how knowledge is extracted from this world, and how
one is to think, write, and talk about this knowledge. This study presents a
generalized explanation, derived from the questionnaire response, of how the
participants pursue Internet usage. The categorization of questionnaire replies by
personal attributes such as age, education and occupation adds a causal view to this
description, with usage patterns identifiable as belonging to particular demographic
groups. The focus of interest is in the extraction of an Internet usage pattern by the
blind and visually impaired that is general, average, and representative, and free of
researcher-applied values or context. This focus is a positivist one assuming that
"there are patterns and regularities, causes and consequences in the social world...
having their own existence they are real (Denscombe 2003, p.299).
The study is a primarily quantitative one and findings consequently do not claim to be
a thoroughly in-depth and detailed study. Their value lies in the insight generated,
possibly even serving as a platform for a second more detailed qualitative
investigation built upon a more representative sample of the blind and sight-impaired
community. The data collection process has however sought a limited qualitative
input where the opportunity and relevance have arisen.
The sample base is the product of the pragmatic approach often inherent in smallscale study, and while the target was a minimum response rate of 15, the response
achieved was of 18 participants. It is an exploratory sample built upon a very small
convenience sampling method and the snowball effect of respondents inviting
members of their community to participate and spread the word among visually
impaired acquaintances of their own. The resulting findings are more at risk of bias
than those of larger scale investigations as a consequence of the small participant
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The opening contact with respondents was made by phone to introduce the
researcher and the motivation behind this study. Most respondents took the survey
upon initial phone contact whereupon the survey's Information Sheet and Consent
Form (Appendices 1 and 2) were read out. The researcher then read out each survey
question, marking the answers according to the interviewees' response. Interviewees
were however still offered the option of having all the survey documentation emailed
to them for them to read at their convenience prior to marking of the questionnaire. An
appointment was set for the actual phone interview with those preferring this option.
The Consent Form, filled in by the interviewer on the interviewees behalf, was later
mailed to the respondents for signing and return. Follow-up ensued by a second
phone call where qualitative input obtained in the form of comments pointing the
researcher towards new fields for reflection, was not immediately evident during the
phone interview.
The questionnaire method was also deemed the most practical to implement because
of the limited resources available to this study, like in any small-scale research
project. It tends to provide a data load sufficiently large to produce meaningful results
and conclusions, and in a reasonably short time-span. Coupling the questionnaire
with snowball sampling (even though this sampling technique can occasionally fall
victim to unpredictable completion timeframes) produced most of the response within
a fortnight. This rapid turnaround was achieved through a number of factors. A
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The survey questions principally derive from the literature reviewed in Chapter 2. The
examined theory contributed to a mental formulation of what everyday life can be like
for the blind and partially sighted, with their information-seeking needs and the
complementary barriers consequently emerging in harsher clarity. In addition to
questions on needs and barriers prompted by this mental portrait, querying was
necessary on demographics such as age, occupation and severity of sight impairment
to enable a categorisation of the data collected. Other sets of questions were
motivated by the extraction of what assistive tools the sufferers and their
demographic sub-groups employ in attaining Internet accessibility.
The questionnaire combines a variety of means for the collection of data. One
recording method is a three-point Likert scale (e.g. for the scoring of how often the
respondent uses reading aids, on a scale of a little, a lot or not at all). Another elicits
single-line entry for qualitative input such as for establishing which negative effects
the contributor encounters with Internet usage. A third provides for one or more
answers to a question (such as for which Internet browser or browsers used), with a
final method providing for mutually exclusive answer options such as with the
contributors gender (either male or female).
A limited release of the questionnaire among the first four recruited respondents, the
ones also responsible for setting in motion the snowball sampling technique, served
to check the questions appropriateness and effectiveness. The questionnaires
distribution was planned as an email attachment for the response to be taken over the
phone as already explained earlier in this section. Tweaking of the questionnaire was
intended as an iterative process with these four respondents upon identification of
need of improvement, but no such necessity arose. Questionnaire design was given
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sufficient consideration both from the literature perused as well as in the form of
suggestions emerging from an email discussion with Natalie Swiderska at Action for
Blind People (www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk). As a result, the questionnaire was
sufficiently clear and of a holistic form upon the first iteration.
Surveys are an efficient tool both in terms of time and in the volume of data they
generate. This productive efficiency shows in this study in the wealth of data
produced by just 18 respondents. However, while the survey does create a rich
picture of the sphere under investigation, prudence has to be exercised when reading
deeper into the findings. It is in the quantitative surveys nature to veer in the direction
of numerics to the expense of the theory in which the core field of study is grounded.
So while the data collected has been described comprehensively, attention has also
been paid to the extraction of the meaning lying hidden between the rows and
columns of the raw data set.
3.4 Ethics
Ethical consideration is a crucial component of any study, particularly so when the
subjects are more vulnerable such as by reason of disability. This study being an
investigation of Internet usage by a disabled community, conduction of the
questionnaire and reporting of its findings necessitated a thorough ethical check to
ensure observation of the community's interests. The richness that can come out of
the questionnaires raw data set has consequently undergone balancing against the
rights, feelings and dignity of the participants. As researchers have no privileged
position in society that justifies them pursuing their interests at the expense of those
they are studying no matter how valuable they hope the findings might be
(Denscombe 2003, p.135). The Ethics Form approved by the Chair at the supervisory
body (Sheffield Hallam University) appears as Appendix 3.
The beneficence of this study lies in establishing the extent to which the Internet,
complemented by assistive implementations such as screen magnifiers and text-tosound conversion, is enabling the emancipation of the blind and visually impaired into
the world of the visually able reader and writer. It also offers a vision of an assistive
implementation that will enable the blind and visually impaired user to participate fully
in communication.
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Consideration has been taken of the potential of negative consequences for the
respondents at an early stage. However, no particular issues arise in this regard,
other than respect for anonymity as, with anonymity ensured, no risk of physical
vulnerability through disclosure of identity, location, or both can ensue. Anonymity
also ensures against the risk of psychological harm as a result of stress or
embarrassment emanating from matching of respondent identity with the appertaining
disability. And the subjects identity has been protected as it will rest solely with the
investigator. Where individual replies have had to be referred to in the study,
reference has taken the form of Respondent 1, Respondent 2, etc.
Participants' consent has been obtained by means of a Consent Form emailed prior
to the phone interview. It was read out again to the respondent at the start of the
interview, filled in as per participant's instructions, and signed by the respondent at a
later date. The sample has excluded minors or others incapable of providing informed
consent. The respondents right of withdrawal has been granted on both the
Information Sheet and Consent Form (see Appendices 1 and 2 respectively),
accompanied by a withdrawal deadline of 31 December 2014 as a result of the study
planned for closure by the following week. Moreover, unnecessary contact details
have not been recorded anywhere in the documentation. Contact details have been
restricted to email address and phone number for use by the author only, and solely
for the purposes authorised by the subjects on the Form.
Where individual replies to the numeric content or individual qualitative input are
being communicated, respondent identity has been disguised as Respondent N.
Participant identity will rest solely with the author of this study and questionnaire
replies will be held by him until such time as this study has been marked by the
supervisory body. An anonymised summary of the participants' responses will be
retained for record purposes and also for future use, with the latter purpose enjoying
respondents approval on the Consent Form.
No survey questions have been set which are redundant to the topic of investigation
or its complementary angles. Moreover, attention has been paid to reporting of the
individual respondents data elements where they produce a risk of identification
through the matching of two or more individually-reported items such as age, sex or
occupation.
19
Data collection employs a quantitative method because of its numeric nature, as the
aim of the study is a result based on a firm numeric foundation for a generalisation as
objective as possible of Internet usage by the sight impaired and the accessibility
barriers encountered. This approach contributes to the reliability of the research even
if Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2007, p.133) do hold that quantitative research
possesses a degree of inbuilt error. And quantitativitys numeric nature presents a
solid basis for an objective analysis and description of the studys aims and questions
in spite of a measure of subjectivity inevitably setting in, both during formulation of the
questionnaire and upon categorization of the raw data. The rigid pigeon-holing of the
data elements however enhances the consistency and dependability of the survey,
thus augmenting its potential replicability for future investigations. If reliability is
present in sufficient measure, an acceptable degree of validity ensues through
careful sampling, appropriate instrumentation and statistical treatments of the data
(ibid).
The respondent anonymity discussed earlier has dictated that their occupations are
broadly categorized for reasons of non-identification of participant. The first five
occupational categories below have been adopted from the ISCO-08 standard
classification of economic occupations (International Labour Organization. 2008). The
last two have been added by the author to label respondents outside of economic
activity.
20
So while ethical constraint may have contributed to a generalization broader than the
study topic would have otherwise enjoyed, a hazier view is the price of the ethical
integrity governing modern research. This study can however still be considered a top
level view of a paradigm a more in-depth inspection of which is achievable by the
examination of a larger sample of the sight-impaired community. Higher respondent
numbers will allow for a narrowed-down description that does not compromise on
ethical concern.
3.6 Review
This section has described the paradigm governing the study, the research approach
and the instruments employed in the gathering of the raw data. It has discussed how
this data is analysed and presented in the next chapter (Findings and Discussion),
and also considered issues of reliability and validity, and considerations of research
ethics.
21
22
Question 1.1:
Sex
Respondent
Male
10
R2
R3
R4
R5
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
< Occurrences
R6
R13
R1
R7
Female
23
1.2: Age
Participant age has been collected as at date of survey completion but subsequently
grouped into the four age brackets in the table below. Actual age was requested in
the questionnaire so as to leave open the possibility of emergence of any particular
age grouping of particular significance. However, the respondents ages did not
produce results meriting specific or unexpected attention and categorisation has been
established upon a 4-point rating scale starting from 18 as minors have been
excluded from this study. The exclusion of minors has contributed to no occurrence of
respondents in the 18- to 24-year-old age bracket as it has reduced further what
would already have been an age band narrower than the two twenty-year intervals
that follow.
Question 1.2:
Age
Respondent
18 - 24
25 - 44
45 - 64
65 +
11
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
24
< Occurrences
1.3: Town/City
This table provides a summary of participants location in Malta. The town or city of
residence is of no real demographic importance to this study, so the data collected
has been restricted to the island of residence, i.e. either the mainland or the second
island of Gozo. Interisland distinction has however not been deemed of any
significance to this study. In fact, the high percentage of Gozitan respondents (22%)
in relation to their 7.5% share of the total Maltese population (National Statistics
Office. 2014, p.xiii) has not been considered a relevant bias.
Question 1.3:
Location
Respondent
Malta
Gozo
14
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
< Occurrences
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
25
1.4: Occupation
Participant occupation is classified across seven labels. The first five in Table 1.4
below are selected from the ISCO-08 classification of economic activity (International
Labour Organization. 2008). The last two have been added to classify the noneconomic activity arising from the sample base.
The unemployed account for a third of respondents, predictably so given the barriers
or lack of sight they are burdened with when conducting even mundane routines, let
alone in employment. However, the 2:1 ratio of respondents in employment (or having
been until retirement) denotes a reasonable level of emancipation of the blind and
visually impaired in the labour market. But it can also be construed that the level of
educational opportunity and preparedness for employment are still largely directed
towards the clerical job markets, when considering that 27% of all participants fall
under the employment category of General & Keyboard Clerks.
Question 1.4:
Occupation
Respondent
General &
Keyboard
Clerks
Cleaners &
Helpers
Unemployed
Retired
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
26
< Occurrences
Add to this the decline in the sense of touch that comes as a result of age itself
(Stevens, Folke and Patterson. 1996) , discussed earlier in the Literature Review
chapter, and the long-term non-feasibility of learning Braille for 67% of the
respondents becomes apparent. This 67% comprises the 45-year and older age
bracket whose tactile sense has already started, or will start, diminishing in a number
of years.
Question 1.5:
Accompanying
disabilities
None
Diabetes
Arthritis
Hand Deformity
Respondent
14
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
27
< Occurrences
Question 2:
Visual disability
Respondent
Sight Impaired
Severely Sight
Impaired
Blind
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
< Occurrences
R1
28
Question 3:
Age of onset of
impairment
Respondent
R1
R2
Birth
0 - 14
15 - 24
25 - 44
45 - 64
65 +
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
29
< Occurrences
Question 4:
Level of education
None
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Respondent
11
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
30
< Occurrences
Question 5:
Training in
reading media
Respondent
Yes
No
12
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
< Occurrences
R15
R16
R17
R18
31
32
Question 6.1:
Braille
Respondent
A Lot
A Little
Not At All
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
< Occurrences
33
With enlarged text of no help for the eight respondents who have no sight at all, the
maximum number from the sample for whom large print is helpful is reduced to 10.
Deducting from that number the four respondents using computers a little or not at all
(see Table 6.5: Computers)
Computers leaves six non-blind users using computers regularly. Of
these six, four read in large print A Lot, with the remaining two populating the A
Little and Not At All bands (Respondents 6 and 17 respectively). No amplification
emerges from the data for non-usage
non usage of the simplest form of computer-based
computer
reading
assistance by these two participants.
Question 6.2:
Large Print
Respondent
R1
A Lot
A Little
Not At All
13
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
< Occurrences
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
34
6.3: Videos
The video tutorial can be a very effective instrument for the acquisition of knowledge,
or of instruction on anything from vocational training to the use of domestic
appliances. For
or the blind and visually impaired it replaces reading text with aural
assimilation and visual enactment of actions, at times even complemented with a
track of large text.
It is a result meriting further examination that the majority of respondents (56%) only
o
reported A Little use of video, with a further 22% on Not At All.
Question 6.3:
Videos
Respondent
A Lot
A Little
Not At All
10
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
< Occurrences
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
35
6.4: CCTV
CCTV has resulted to be by far the least popular reading tool with only Respondent 1
reporting using it at all. This may be attributable to the price of the hardware that may
cost up to USD 3,000 on the price list of one supplier (The Visual-Tech Connection.
2014). With a number of other assistive needs requiring attention from a community
largely in no or lowly-paid employment, this can be a considerable outlay unless
funded by the employer for office use.
Question 6.4:
CCTV
Respondent
R1
A Lot
A Little
Not At All
17
< Occurrences
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
36
6.5: Computers
The computer is the platform for the assistive software technology discussed in this
study, so this band is a critical component of the survey. Seventy-two percent report
using computers a lot and 17% a little.
The two respondents reporting no computer use at all are effectively cut off from all
assistive technology bar Braille (which they cannot use anyway owing to
complementary illnesses affecting tactility) but, representing 11% of the sample, their
presence cannot be discarded as insignificant. Respondent 5 is a 67-year-old male
pensioner with severe sight impediment setting in at age 62, while Respondent 16 is
an unemployed female of 49 with sight impairment having set in at the age of 22. So
while one has suffered sight impairment for the last five years, the other has already
lived with it for over half her lifetime. These two participants histories are very
different so there are no common factors that can identify an explanation of their not
being computer users, particularly since none indicated that obtaining one would be
too large a financial burden.
Having said the above, keeping the world of reading open may not be the be-all and
end-all of a happy life for all who suffer blindness or visual impairment. There may
very well be the one-in-ten who find acceptance of their reduced senses and
fulfilment nonetheless in the limited activity they can pursue. Respondent 16 did in
fact remark, when being asked upon the reading aids she uses (none at all, as
recorded in this sections tables below), that my biggest concern is mobility, more
than reading. The priorities the visually impaired make in adjusting to a life of sight
deprivation, and the extent to which the printed word forms part of that prioritisation, is
a field of enquiry that can merit dedicated research in its own right.
37
Question 6.5:
Computers
Respondent
A Lot
A Little
Not At All
13
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
< Occurrences
R15
R16
R17
R18
38
Four of the respondents however reported using phone apps a lot, with another two
A Little. All of these six also report using from six to eight
eigh of the 10 reading media
and technologies listed in Questions 6 and 7. This technological aptitude and
exposure, possibly a result of five of the respondents being in employment in
professional and white collar occupations, may explain their confidence in employing
a technological layer in addition to the average assistive portfolio in use by the survey
respondents.
Question 6.6:
Phone Apps
Respondent
A Lot
A Little
Not At All
12
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
< Occurrences
R1
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
39
6.7: Others
No use of software aids or hardware other than the five specifically listed in Question
6 has been reported.
Question 6.7:
Others
Respondent
A Lot
A Little
Not At All
< Occurrences
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
40
Question 7.1:
Screen-reader
Respondent
A Lot
A Little
Not At All
10
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
< Occurrences
R1
41
7.2: Speech-to-text
This technology does not enjoy a high take-up
take up rate among the survey sample with
78% not utilising it at all. Those employing it are in employment, two in the role of a
clerk and one as a disability trainer.
Question 7.2:
Speech-to-text
Respondent
A Lot
A Little
Not At All
14
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
< Occurrences
R1
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
42
7.3: Scanner-to-speech
speech
Scanner-to-speech
speech also suffers from low usage with only 33% indicating any level of
use. The two participants reporting much usage are a solicitor and a disability trainer,
with the four users using the technology a little working as a clerk, phone operator
operato or
in ICT.
Question 7.3:
Scanner-tospeech
Respondent
A Lot
A Little
Not At All
12
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
< Occurrences
R1
R15
R16
R17
R18
43
7.4: Screen-magnifier
As with the technologies in the two previous tables (Speech-to-text
(Speech text and Scanner-toScanner
speech), screen magnification has not resulted in a high take-up
take up rate with only 28% of
respondents reporting utilising
utilising it at all. There however seems to be a correlation
between screen magnification and use of large print technology with four in five users
of the former not having reported any use of the latter in Table 6.2 (Large
(Large Print).
Print
Question 7.4:
Screen-magnifier
Respondent
R1
A Lot
A Little
Not At All
13
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
< Occurrences
44
Yes
No
15
R1
R2
R3
R4
< Occurrences
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
45
Question 9:
If no Internet
connection, why
Respondent
I don't
need it
Cost
Difficulty in
finding
training
Difficulty in
using
technology
Fear of
technology
Other
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
46
< Occurrences
Question 10.1:
How many hours Less than 7
weekly on Internet
Respondent
7 - 14
15 - 28
29 - 42
43 - 56
57 - 64
65 +
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
-
R15
R16
R18
R14
R17
R7
R13
R6
47
< Occurrences
Yes
No
10
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
-
R17
R18
R9
R16
< Occurrences
48
The following table shows that two (13%) of the 15 respondents with access to the
Internet have indicated
icated deleterious effects. Table 10.4 (If
(If yes, what are they)
they on the
next page describes the identified effects.
Question 10.3:
Any negative
effects from
Internet usage
Respondent
Yes
No
13
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
< Occurrences
R1
R17
R18
49
Question 10.4:
If yes, what
are they
Respondent
Effects
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
50
Other
Question 11:
How have you
learned to use
the Internet
Respondent
R1
11
Family help
10
Through friends
R2
R3
Training
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
51
< Occurrences
Other
Question 12:
Where do you find
support when
stuck on the
Internet
Respondent
A friend
A sighted
colleague
The wife
Visually
impaired
friends
By trial
and error
I have no
support
On the
Internet
Family
help
Support
group
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
52
< Occurrences
Question 13:
How do you
connect to the
Internet
Desktop
computer
Laptop
computer
Tablet
computer
Respondent
11
10
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
Smart TV
Smartphone
Games
console
Other
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
53
< Occurrences
Other
Question 14:
With which
browser do you
connect to the
Internet
Respondent
Internet
Explorer
Mozilla
Firefox
Google
Chrome
Don't know
Safari
11
10
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R14
R16
R17
R15
R18
R13
R12
54
< Occurrences
Social
networking
Respondent
R1
R2
Making new
Making job
Contributing
or finding
seeking
to a blog
contacts
past friends
Teleworking
Reading the
news
Information
and
knowledge
Training
needs
Shopping
Banking or
online
payments
Other
12
14
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R12
R13
R10
R11
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
55
< Occurrences
Other
Question 16:
If you pursue none
of the above
activities, why not
Cost of
training
Privacy
worries
Respondent
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
I am new to
Not confident I do not have
computer
I can learn
assistance
use
R15
R16
R17
R18
56
< Occurrences
57
Other
Question 17:
Which of the
following social
media sevices do
you use
Respondent
YouTube
Second Life
Google+
Tumblr
12
Skype
Viber
MSN
Messenger
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14
R15
R16
R17
R18
58
< Occurrences
4.3 Review
This chapter has displayed the studys findings in tabulated form, described them,
and entered into a discussion tying them in with the theory of the topic as well as with
points emerging from the same findings.
59
5. Conclusion
This study shows that speech technology has the potential not only of being a
learning curve-free purveyor of the published word, but also of spawning a
dual reading mode on the Internet. In the parallel reading mode being
recommended, the text pages are accompanied by a synthetic speech
rendering, or substitutable with one at the press of a key.
The enquiry also finds five of every six respondents connected to the Internet.
This is a share higher than Maltas broadband ratio per household of 4:1
(Eurostat. 2014) and an indicator of how much store the majority of the visually
disabled set by independent access to information. The study did, however,
uncover one unexpected fact in this regard: there will still be the few who have
come to terms with their isolation and do not yearn for a return to the lost world
of print. They have adjusted to their ocular condition and live a contented life
regardless.
60
It has also been found that excessive time spent on the Internet may be a
matter of concern for the visually disadvantaged too. It may indeed be of
higher gravity given the more critical need the visually disadvantaged find for
the Internet, and the lack of ease of mobility that may most times drive them
towards activity restricted to the home.
The study also takes a look at the access barriers encountered on the Net,
and it is to social medias credit that it is among the most accessibilityconscious segments of the Internet industry. Facebook, in particular, hosts an
Accessibility for People with Disabilities page (https://www.facebook.com/help/
141636465971794/) providing the user with advice on how best to apply
extant assistive technology in reading and navigating it.
The surveys employment question also brings up the fact of just one
respondent being engaged in blue-collar work. Here, one has to keep in mind
the almost negligible job prospects suffered by those respondents unable of
obtaining white collar employment. Unskilled work can often be unsafe or
undoable for the blind and severely sight impaired. But it can at times be
achievable as seen with Respondent 10, employed as a cleaner. This
participant's occupation was a surprising find of the survey, but not all cleaning
jobs require full mobility or are unsafe for the blind to perform. Respondent
10s case illustrates that niches of possibility can also be found where least
expected.
This conclusion has reviewed the most salient reflection and findings from the
preceding chapters. These raise derivative matter justifying further enquiry and
also the most central question of all: is there a solution? The next chapter,
Recommendations, proposes parallel assistive-ware driven website structures
and issues meriting further research.
62
6. Recommendations
This study, with the time resource available to it, cannot do full justice to the
wealth of hidden meaning that lies across the tabulated results in Chapter 4
(Findings and Discussion). Nor to the offshoot branches of enquiry that have
emerged from the findings and reflection. In this chapter, the author
summarises the derived areas of study worth further investigation and puts
forward his proposals on how the reading barriers can be pushed back further
for the blind and visually impaired.
There is legislation providing for the right of accessibility, but as one in the
spectrum of disabilities requiring legislative support. The UKs Equality Act
2010 (Government Equalities Office. July 2010) and its forerunner the
Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (legislation.gov.uk. 1995) which it replaced,
are one case. The Equality Act applies to all service providers and those
providing goods and facilities... for example, those providing information
(Government Equalities Office. July 2010). In Australia, the Disability
Discrimination Act 1992 (Australian Government, ComLaw. 1992) lays down
that websites and web content be made accessible. The provider is held as
discriminating if it does not make, or proposes not to make, reasonable
adjustments for the person upon request by a complainant.
63
A second matter for further enquiry is how excessive use of the Internet by the
blind and visually impaired may exacerbate their isolation. Those deprived of
sight are much more prone to excessive time online as a result of the lack of
sufficiently accessible structures, and of the Internet being of a bigger
necessity to them.
64
Another matter for study and in part related to the above issue, insofar as a
large share of excessive Internet usage is often credited to it, is the social
media preferences of the blind and visually impaired. Table 17 (Which social
media do you use? In Chapter 4, Findings and Discussion) illustrates the
contributors preferences, but the question did not go into the why of the
respondents choice. Is it a result of joining the medium of choice of the
acquaintances the respondent wishes to make contact with? How much do
accessibility issues influence the choice and what are the barriers
encountered?
A final suggestion concerns the potential of extrapolating these findings to
Britain, and possibly other Commonwealth countries too. In Britain and its
former colonies with a shared level of educational standards and Internet
penetration, the cultural glue born from the colonial past is likely also to
produce a sharing of concomitant deficiencies such as inequality of online
access. The point being made is that a common language of reading and
shared news diffusion portals, home entertainment sources, and political and
cultural worldviews may produce common Internet sources and usage
patterns for the sight-impaired in these countries.
There is thus the potential for this studys findings and reflection to be
extendable, both in method and results, to the visually disadvantaged in all
countries sharing these cultural characteristics.
65
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Please turn to the next page for the tabulated raw data emerging from the surveys
questionnaire.
83
Respondent:-
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Female
Male
Male
Male
Male
Female
Male
Female
Female
Male
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Female
Male
59
45
Q.1 Particulars
Sex
Age
44
31
50
42
67
34
42
52
50
54
36
Malta
Clerk
Malta
ICT Officer
Malta
Phone Oper/
Receptionist
Malta
Pensioner
Malta
Clerk
Malta
Trainer & Coordinator for
Visually
Impaired
Gozo
Gozo
Gozo
Gozo
Occupation
Malta
Clerk
Disability
Coordinator
Unemployed
Cleaner
Solicitor
Accompanying disabilities
None
None
None
None
Diabetes
Diabetes
None
None
None
None
None
None
SSI
Blind
Blind
Blind (Remark
2)
SSI
SSI
Blind
SSI
SI
Blind
Blind
Town/City
48
50
49
57
62
Malta
Clerk
Malta
Unemployed
Malta
Unemployed
Malta
Unemployed
Malta
Pensioner
(Remark 1)
None
None
None
Arthritis
None
SSI
SI
Blind
SSI
SI
SSI
Blind
Malta
Malta
Unemployed Unemployed
Birth
12
23
20
62
20
12
40
13
50
30
32
30
22
50
17
Sec (Remark
3)
Ter
Ter
Ter
Sec
Ter
Ter
Sec
Sec
Sec
Ter
Ter
Sec
Sec
Sec
Sec
Sec
Sec
No
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
(Remark 4)
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
Braille
Large print
Videos
CCTV
Computers
3
3
(Remark 5)
Phone apps
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
Screen-reader
Speech-to-text
3
(Remark 6)
Other
Q.7 How often do you use the following
on a scale of:
A Lot (1), A Little (2), Not At All (3)
Scanner-to-speech
Screen magnifier
Q.8
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
N/app
N/app
N/app
N/app
I don't
need it
(Remark 7)
N/app
N/app
N/app
N/app
N/app
N/app
N/app
Difficulty
using
technology
N/app
N/app
Difficulty in
finding training
but I don't
need it
N/app
N/app
Respondent:-
10
11
12
N/app
13
14
15
N/app
16
17
18
N/app
40
15
70
60
50
60
40
20
15
50
20
10
40
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
"A tendency
to further
isolate me
from
humans"
N/app
Family help
Training
N/app
Through friends
N/app
A friend
A sighted
colleague
A sighted
colleague or
the wife
By trial and
error
Visually
impaired
friends
I have no support
Laptop computer
Tablet computer
A friend
A friend
N/app
N/app
Smart TV
N/app
Family help
Desktop computer
Through
friends
Other
Other
Support gropup
N/app
N/app
N/app
Smartphone
Games console
Other
Q.14 With which browser do you
connect to the Internet?
(Remark 8)
(Remark 9)
N/app
N/app
Internet Explorer
Mozilla Firefox
Google Chrome
Don't know
Other
Safari
N/app
Respondent:-
Social networking
Contributing to a blog
(Remark 10)
Tele-working
5
N/app
10
Training needs
Shopping
13
N/app
14
15
16
N/app
17
18
12
11
Other
Research for a
religious
organisation
she forms part
of
N/app
N/app
N/app
Cost of training
Privacy worries
Not confident I can learn
I do not have assistance
Other
"because I
have only just
started using
the computer"
N/app
N/app
Twitter
YouTube
N/app
Second Life
Google+
Tumblr
Other
Skype
Skype,
Viber,
Whatsapp,
MSN
Messenger
Skype
Skype,
Viber
Skype
Social
contact
achieved by
email
Skype