Telecommunications bridging between deaf and hearing users in South Africa

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Date

2004

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Abstract

This paper presents a description of telecommunications for Deaf people in South Africa by contrasting the situation in the developed world. We explain the main motivations for providing a locally appropriate solution. Research activity began with a community-based field trial of TTYs. The recommendations of the trial motivated an innovative approach to provide synchronous and accessible relay services. Drawing from international technological developments, we designed a software solution called the SoftBridge. We employ iterative Action Research cycles to drive technological modifications to the SoftBridge and to encourage adoption by the end-user community.

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Keywords

Deaf telephony, Voice relay, Action research

Citation

Glaser, M. & Tucker, W. D. (2004). Telecommunications bridging between deaf and hearing users in South Africa. Conference and Workshop on Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impairment (CVHI), Granada, Spain