Understanding and Enhancing The Role of Speechreading in Online d/DHH Communication Accessibility

Caluã de Lacerda Pataca Matthew Watkins Matt Huenerfauth + 2 lainnya

19 April 2023

Speech is expressive in ways that caption text does not capture, with emotion or emphasis information not conveyed. We interviewed eight Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (dhh) individuals to understand if and how captions’ inexpressiveness impacts them in online meetings with hearing peers. Automatically captioned speech, we found, lacks affective depth, lending it a hard-to-parse ambiguity and general dullness. Interviewees regularly feel excluded, which some understand is an inherent quality of these types of meetings rather than a consequence of current caption text design. Next, we developed three novel captioning models that depicted, beyond words, features from prosody, emotions, and a mix of both. In an empirical study, 16 dhh participants compared these models with conventional captions. The emotion-based model outperformed traditional captions in depicting emotions and emphasis, with only a moderate loss in legibility, suggesting its potential as a more inclusive design for captions.

R. Kushalnagar Dawson Franz Christian Vogler + 2 lainnya

26 Oktober 2022

Few VR applications and games implement captioning of speech and audio cues, which either inhibits or prevents access of their application by deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) users, new language learners, and other caption users. Additionally, little to no guidelines exist on how to implement live captioning on VR headsets and how it may differ from traditional television captioning. To help fill the void of information behind user preferences of different VR captioning styles, we conducted a study with eight DHH participants to test three caption movement behaviors (headlocked, lag, and appear) while watching live-captioned, single-speaker presentations in VR. Participants answered a series of Likert scale and open-ended questions about their experience. Participant preferences were split, but the majority of participants reported feeling comfortable with using live captions in VR and enjoyed the experience. When participants ranked the caption behaviors, there was almost an equal divide between the three types tested. IPQ results indicated each behavior had similar immersion ratings, however participants found headlocked and lag captions more user-friendly than appear captions. We suggest that participants may vary in caption preference depending on how they use captions, and that providing opportunities for caption customization is best.

Akhter Al Amin Sooyeon Lee Lisa B. Elliot + 3 lainnya

9 Maret 2022

Automatic Text Simplification (ATS) software aims at automatically rewrite complex text to make it simpler to read. Prior research has explored the use of ATS as a reading assistance technology, identifying benefits from providing these technologies to different groups of users, including Deaf and Hard-of-hearing (DHH) adults. However, little work has investigated the interests and requirements of specific groups of potential users of this technology. Considering prior work establishing that computing professionals often need to read about new technologies in order to stay current in their profession, in this study, we investigated the reading experiences and interests of DHH individuals with work experience in the computing industry in ATS-based reading assistance tools, as well as their perspective on the social accessibility of those tools. Through a survey and two sets of interviews, we found that these users read relatively often, especially in support of their work, and were interested in tools to assist them with complicated texts; but misperceptions arising from public use of these tools may conflict with participants’ desired image in a professional context. This empirical contribution motivates further research into ATS-based reading assistance tools for these users, prioritizing which reading activities users are most interested in seeing the application of this technology, and highlighting design considerations for creating ATS tools for DHH adults, including considerations for social accessibility.

Xin Tong Xiang Chang Yingjie (MaoMao) Ni + 3 lainnya

19 April 2023

Information access is one of the most significant challenges faced by d/Deaf signers due to a lack of sign language information. Given the challenges in machine-driven solutions, we seek to understand how d/Deaf communities can support the growth of sign language content. Based on interviews with 12 d/Deaf people in China, we found that d/Deaf videos, i.e., sign language videos created by and for d/Deaf people, can be crucial information sources and educational materials. Combining content analysis of 360 d/Deaf videos to better understand this type of video, we show how d/Deaf communities co-create information accessibility through collaboration in content creation online. We uncover two major challenges that creators need to address, e.g., difficulties in interpretation and inconsistent content qualities. We propose potential design opportunities and future research directions to support d/Deaf people’s needs for sign language content through collaboration within d/Deaf communities.

Darren Gergle Anne Marie Piper T. B. McHugh + 1 lainnya

29 April 2022

Collaborative writing is an integral part of academic and professional work. Although some prior research has focused on accessibility in collaborative writing, we know little about how visually impaired writers work in real-time with sighted collaborators or how online editing tools could better support their work. Grounded in formative interviews and observations with eight screen reader users, we built Co11ab, a Google Docs extension that provides configurable audio cues to facilitate understanding who is editing (or edited) what and where in a shared document. Results from a design exploration with fifteen screen reader users, including three naturalistic sessions of use with sighted colleagues, reveal how screen reader users understand various auditory representations and use them to coordinate real-time collaborative writing. We revisit what collaboration awareness means for screen reader users and discuss design considerations for future systems.