DOCSLIB.ORG

Emergency Communication for Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Emergency Communication for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Emergency Communication Effectiveness for Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Victoria, Australia An Interactive Qualifying Project proposal to be submitted to the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science Submitted by: Timothy Flynn Samantha Kingsley Jeffrey Marrion Kelly Roberge Submitted to: Project Advisors: Prof. Peter Christopher Prof. Lauren Mathews Project Liaison: Graeme Kelly, Victorian Deaf Society April 30th 2010 ABSTRACT This project, motivated partly by the recent bushfires, was prepared in cooperation with the Victorian Deaf Society in Melbourne, Australia to evaluate the effectiveness of Victoria’s emergency communication system for the Deaf and hard of hearing. The project team compared emergency communication systems in Australia with those of other countries, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. We conducted onsite interviews and surveys with the Deaf and hard of hearing of Victoria and contacted other important stakeholders. Then, we proposed recommendations to the Victorian Deaf Society aimed to help implement changes that would better alert the Deaf and hard of hearing during emergencies. i ACKNOWLEGEMENTS The team would like to acknowledge the individuals who have helped and guided us through our work, both before and during our time in Melbourne. It is with their assistance that we are able to present this finished report to the Victorian Deaf Society (Vicdeaf) and to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Firstly, we would like to thank the CEO of Vicdeaf, Graeme Kelly, for giving us the opportunity to work for this organization. He provided us with the problem statement and suggested areas of research in order to have a thorough report. In addition, Mr. Kelly provided us with helpful feedback on our proposal as well as suggestions for valuable contacts. We would also like to thank David Peters for his help with our project. Mr. Peters is an Information Officer for Vicdeaf as well as a respected and well known member of the Deaf community. He was able to give us useful feedback on our project and played a significant role in contacting the Deaf and hard of hearing in Victoria. His help was monumental in obtaining the opinions and suggestions of this Deaf community. We want thank our advisors, Professors Peter Christopher and Lauren Mathews, for their feedback through both our proposal and our report. Their guidance has helped to make this report a detailed and comprehensive document. We would also like to thank Professor Stephen McCauley who directed us through our initial research and in the preliminary stages of our project; his assistance gave us a strong foundation for the rest of our work. We also appreciate the work of Professor Holly Ault, the Project Center Director, for providing us with the opportunity to come to Melbourne to do this work with Vicdeaf, as well as introducing us to Australia‟s history and culture. We would also like to thank Dr. Prapaipit C. Ternai, our Local Coordinator. We want to thank Heesun Lee of Vicdeaf for all of her assistance throughout our time in Melbourne. She was a valuable resource in helping us to arrange interpreters and rooms for all of our meetings and interviews. She was always available for guidance whenever when we had a concern. She provided us with helpful information, useful contacts, and even served as an interpreter when necessary. Her help significantly contributed to the success of our report. Michael Parremore, a Vicdeaf employee, also made a noteworthy impact on our project. Mr. Parremore was an invaluable resource in the creation of the online version of our survey; he ii provided us with the Auslan videos of our questions, put the survey online, and created a link on the Vicdeaf website. He also helped to spread the word about our survey through Vicdeaf‟s newsletter. In addition, Mr. Parremore participated in an interview and provided us with helpful suggestions and potential contacts. We would also like to thank Sasha Hough for her help in the creation of the videos. We want to thank the follow organizations for their support of our survey; their cooperation was vital to the amount of response our online survey received: Australian Federation of Deaf Societies, Better Hearing Australia, Deaf Australia, Deaf Society of New South Wales, Deafness Forum of Australia, Deafness Foundation of Victoria, National Relay Service, Queensland Deaf Sports and Recreation, Victorian Council of Deaf People, and Western Australia Deaf Society Inc. In addition, there were numerous individuals from other organizations that provided us with helpful information for our report. We want to thank Geoff Cousins, the Captioning and Compliance Coordinator for ABC, Eliza Lamens, the Project Manager for Platypus, and Audrey Dropsy, the Senior Project Officer of Community Development of the Department of Human Services. We also want to thank the Victorian Government Department of Justice for their help, and, more specifically, Heather Lakin, the Stakeholder and Community Relations Coordinator, Anne Leadbeater, Manager for Community Engagement, Nathan Maddock, Online Communications Officer, and Melanie Mills, the Deputy Director for Communities and Media Relations. These individuals helped to better our understanding of Victoria‟s emergency warnings and the Department of Justice‟s role in the system. Furthermore, we would like to thank Julie Harris and Pat Pereira from the Metropolitan Fire Brigade for providing us with a tour and helpful information about both MFB and the current emergency response system. We would also like to thank Christine Elliot, Manager for Programs for Diverse Populations from the Country Fire Authority. She provided us with information about the CFA‟s programs as well as what they do to make their information and programs accessible for all groups. We would also like to thank Gavin Balharrie and Lidia Murone from Vicdeaf‟s Information Department for helping to better our understanding of Vicdeaf‟s work with the CFA as well as Vicdeaf‟s role in bushfire preparedness for the Deaf and hard of hearing community in Victoria. iii In addition, we want to thank Janet Richardson, Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Life at WPI. She provided us with information about WPI‟s Emergency Alerting System which allowed us to have a better understanding of what the capabilities of an emergency warning system are in the United States. We would like to thank Louisa Willoughby for her feedback on our proposal as well as for sharing her expertise on Victoria‟s Fire Alarm Subsidy. We would also like to thank Marc Curtis for sharing his knowledge of the Video Relay Service that was recently implemented in Victoria. Both are Vicdeaf employees and their help was essential in our case studies. Also from Vicdeaf, we would like to thank Helen Kennedy and Lyn DeHoedt for the suggestions, support and encouragement they provided throughout our project. In addition, we want to thank all of the Vicdeaf interpreters for their help in communicating with the Deaf community; their assistance was critical for the success of all our interviews and meetings. Finally, we would like to thank Erin DeSilva and Laura Hanlan from WPI who provided us with the knowledge we needed to use SharePoint and Refworks in order to manage our information and documents as we worked on our project. These resources were critical tools in allowing us to write a thorough report. The assistance of all of these individuals and organizations was monumental in the success of our Interactive Qualifying Project. We want to sincerely thank all of them for the resources and guidance that they provided us with that allowed us to produce this finished report. iv AUTHORSHIP Section Author Reviewer Abstract SK ALL Acknowledgements KR SK Executive Summary TF KR 1. Introduction SK ALL 2. Background SK ALL 2.1 Disasters and warning systems SK ALL 2.2 The Deaf and hard of hearing KR, JM ALL 2.2.1 The needs of the hearing impaired KR ALL 2.3 Natural disasters and communication systems in Australia TF ALL 2.3.1 Bushfires TF ALL 2.3.2 National emergency system TF ALL 2.3.3 National emergency system for the Deaf TF ALL 2.3.4 New South Wales TF ALL 2.3.5 South Australia TF ALL 2.3.6 Victoria TF SK 2.3.7 Potential systems for the Deaf KR ALL 2.4 Current emergency systems around the world JM ALL 2.4.1 United Kingdom JM ALL 2.4.2 United States JM ALL 2.4.3 Canada JM ALL 2.4.4 South Africa TF ALL 2.4.5 Spain SK ALL 2.4.6 Greece KR ALL 2.4.7 Worldwide SK ALL 2.5 Vicdeaf SK ALL 3. Methodology TF ALL 3.1 Comparison of foreign countries‟ emergency communication JM ALL systems 3.2 The Deaf and hard of hearing community‟s level of TF ALL satisfaction with the current warning system 3.2.1 Survey JM ALL 3.2.2 Interviews JM ALL 3.3 Investigate potential challenges to implementation of changes SK ALL 3.3.1 Stakeholders other than the Deaf and hard of hearing SK ALL 3.3.2 Fire Alarm Subsidy case study KR SK 3.3.3 Video Relay Interpreting case study KR SK 3.3.4 United States emergency warning system case study JM JM 3.4 Propose changes to the current system JM TF 3.4.1 What changes should be implemented JM SK 3.4.2 Why the proposed changes should be implemented JM SK 4. Results and Analysis JM SK, TF v 4.1 Comparison of emergency communication systems in foreign JM SK countries 4.1.1 Disability rights and laws JM SK 4.1.2 Structure of emergency warning systems JM SK 4.1.3 Accessibility for the Deaf and hard of hearing JM SK 4.2 Deaf
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Congress 105Th;* Education of the Deaf Act 1986; Reauthorization
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 429 380 EC 307 114 TITLE Reauthorization of the Education of the Deaf Act. Hearing of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources on Examining Proposed Legislation Authorizing Funds for Gallaudet University and the National Technical Institute for Deaf as Contained in the Education of the Deaf Act. United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, Second Session. INSTITUTION Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. REPORT NO Senate-Hrg-105-414 ISBN ISBN-0-16-056365-8 PUB DATE 1998-02-12 NOTE 61p. AVAILABLE FROM U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402. PUB TYPE Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials (090) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Deafness; *Educational Legislation; Elementary Secondary Education; Federal Aid; *Federal Legislation; Hearings; *Special Education IDENTIFIERS Congress 105th; *Education of the Deaf Act 1986; Reauthorization Legislation ABSTRACT This transcript reports on a Senate hearing concerning the reauthorization of the Education of the Deaf Act. As well as statements by committee members, the transcript presents statements by and answers to questions of the following: students at Gallaudet University (Washington, DC), students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (New York), Jordan I. King, president of Gallaudet University; Robert R. DaVila, vice president of National Technical Institute for the Deaf; Judith Heumann, Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education; Carol Cichowski, Director, Special Education, Rehabilitation and Research Analysis Division, Department of Education; Ramone Rodriguez, Liaison Office for Special Institutions, Department of Education; Sarah E. Snyder, Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf; and Nancy J.
    [Show full text]
  • EC 061 769 Proceedings of the Meeting of the Conference
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 090 727 EC 061 769 TITLE Proceedings of the Meeting of the Conference of Executives of American schools for the Deaf,Inc. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April 1972). INSTITUTION Conference of Executives of American Schools for the Deaf. PUB DATE 72 NOTE 460p.; Conference Themo "Challenge and Change ",Hotel Royal York, Toronto, Ontario Canada (April 30-May 5, 1972) EDRS PRICE MF-$0.75 HC-$22.20 PLUS POSTAGE DESCRIPTORS Administration; *Aurally Handicapped; Career Education; Communication Skills; *ConferenceReports; *Deaf; *Exceptional Child Education; Government Role; Graduate Study; Interdisciplinary Approach; Post Secondary Education; Research and Development Centers; *Special Schools; Undergraduate Study IDENTIFIERS American Schools for the Deaf ABSTRACT Presented in the proceedings of the 44th meeting (1972) of the conference of executives of American Schoolsfor the Deaf are the program schedule, papers, presentations, and committee reports. Given are addresses such as a welcome anda response on behalf of Canadian schools. Papers included focuson preparatory programs for deaf students in postsecondary education, .instructional and research programs of the National Technical Institutefor the Deaf, preparation for careers, verbotonal instruction foryoung deaf children, employment opportunities, hereditary deafness,the emotionally deaf child, student characteristics, and developmentsin the Rehabilitation Services Administration and theBureau of Education for the HandiCapped that relate to the deaf.Presentations featured center on a medical team approach to education in Saint Mary's School for the Deaf (Buffalo), undergraduate and graduate programs at Gallaudet College, and the Kendall Demonstration Elementary and Model Secondary Schools. Special reports offereddeal with education of the multihandicapped child, postsecondaryeducation of the deaf in Canada, and houseparents in residential schools.
    [Show full text]
  • A PRACTITIONER's PERSPECTIVE Bill Moody, New York International
    2002JOI 9/23/02 11:49 AM Page 1 INTERNATIONAL SIGN: A PRACTITIONER’S PERSPECTIVE Bill Moody, New York “For centuries, scholars from every country have searched for a universal language and failed. Well, it exists all around you, and it is Sign Language!” Ferdinand Berthier, Paris, 1850 INTRODUCTION International Sign, the international communication used among deaf people, has been in use for at least the past 150 years. It has gone by various names throughout history: uni- versal sign language, international gestures, Gestuno, or International Sign. But what is it, exactly? Today, of course, we know that each deaf community has its own sign language, and those languages are more or less mutually incomprehensible (depending on their historical relations). Then how do we explain the fact that signers fluent in at least one sign language can manage to communicate with signers in a completely dif- ferent and mutually unintelligible sign language? Is International Sign a language? Is it even international? Where did it come from? When did it appear? How does it work?1 With the rapid increase in the number of international con- ferences such as the recent Deaf Way II festival and the World Symposium of Sign Language Interpreters this year in Washington, and the XIV World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf next year in Montreal, interest in International Sign in the US is growing. Now with over 20 years of research on international communication among sign lan- guages, it is time to take another look at what we know about International Sign: its history, its use, and what we as inter- preters can learn from it.
    [Show full text]
  • Gallaudet Funds List
    Gallaudet Funds List 3.0 GPA or Endowed Fund Name Description above Category UG/Graduate/Both Residency Type KEY WORDS The purpose of the fund is to provide scholarship support to a current R. Steven Ackley Memorial 3.0 GPA or Hearing, Speech, student within the Department of Hearing, Speech, and Language above Language Sciences Both Anywhere Scholarship Scholarship Fund Sciences who is in good academic standing. Edna Paananen Adler, '37 Scholarships for deaf and hard of hearing students majoring in social Counseling or Social Both Anywhere Scholarship Memorial Scholarship Fund work or counseling. Work Gerald Adler, '35, Memorial Scholarship Assistance Both Anywhere Scholarship Scholarship Assistance Fund Each year, deserving students are awarded scholarships. George I. Alden Endowed Counseling Graduate/Doctoral Anywhere Scholarship Fund The fund provides scholarships for graduate students in counseling. Alpha Sigma Pi Fellowship The fund provides financial assistance to deaf or hard of hearing persons pursuing a doctoral degree with preference given to Alpha Sigma Pi Greek Organization Graduate/Doctoral Anywhere Scholarship Fund members. The purpose of this fund is to provide financial support to the Alpha Alpha Sigma Pi Fraternity Sigma Pi Fraternity to cover general expenses including but not limited Greek Organization N/A N/A Program Greek Members,Student Fund to the publication of the Fraternity newsletter. At Fraternity's discretion, Support Organization it may designate income to assist and support Gallaudet University. Female Alpha Zeta Beta Scholarship The fund provides scholarship assistance to deserving young women at Scholarship Assistance/ Students,Graduate Financial Need Both Anywhere Scholarship Students,Scholarship Fund Gallaudet. Assistance,Undergradu ate Students Alumni House Maintenance The income used from this fund is used to maintain Peikoff Alumni University Support N/A N/A Program GUAA Fund House, "Ole Jim", which houses the GUAA.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Keatley
    Deaf People in Western Region, Kenya: Language, Community and HIV/AIDS Robert Keatley Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Epidemiology and Public Health University College London 2016 1 Declaration of authorship I, Robert Keatley confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signature: Robert Keatley Date: 27th April 2016 2 Abstract Kenya is contending with a very serious and shifting HIV/AIDS epidemic with marginalized communities, like the Deaf community, traditionally beyond the reach of public health campaigns remaining very much at risk of infection. Whilst some research has considered the sexual and reproductive health needs of the Deaf community, there is a paucity of information about the various subgroups within the deaf population, particularly those marginalized deaf individuals who are on the fringes of the community. This study explored how much deaf Kenyans know about HIV/AIDS compared to their hearing compatriots in Western Region, Kenya. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected by means of a survey questionnaire administered through semi-structured interviews from a total sample of 160 people, including 82 deaf and 78 hearing people from five counties in Western Region. Data was analysed by means of theme content analysis (qualitative data) and descriptive statistics (quantitative data). The results showed that there are generally lower levels of awareness and uncertainty of knowledge about HIV transmission and HIV prevention in the deaf population as compared to the hearing community with isolated deaf individuals having less awareness and knowledge compared to their deaf compatriots living in urban areas or as part of a Deaf community.
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter Dec Final.Pmd
    Bobbie Beth’s Tidbits... English / ASL...Hand in Hand the same… i.e., the words “ate” and “eight” and lead to misunderstanding. Lip-readers become experts at filling in the blanks and far too much is left to guesswork. There is good reason that not EVERYONE in the Deaf community should be expected to learn how to lip-read and 24th Year, 4th Issue, December 2006 Year, 24th speak. Not everyone is a great candidate to be lip-read either. Imagine the stuffy types that talk through their teeth and barely move their lips at all. Speech is also a skill that not EVERYONE can master. It’s almost like n light of the Gallaudet Protest resulting asking a hearing person to become verbally in the termination of Jane Fernandes as fluent in a foreign language through the Ithe President-Designate and the recent exclusive use of printed text. If you can’t announcement of the Interim President, Dr. hear it, then it is nearly impossible to know if Robert R. Davila, this article will be you are producing it correctly. addressing common myths concerning deaf It is also a myth that hearing aids and and hard of hearing people. cochlear implants completely correct hearing In our community, leaders and loss. In reality, the most powerful device stakeholders alike are now beginning to available will never result in normal hearing. discuss among themselves exactly what it Hearing aids and cochlear implants are tools means to be deaf. Myths about what it means used to augment sound; they are not cures for to be deaf persist.
    [Show full text]
  • Deafweekly June 21, 2006 Deafweekly
    Deafweekly June 21, 2006 deafweekly June 21, 2006 Vol. 2 No. 33 Editor: Tom Willard Deafweekly is an independent news report for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community that is mailed to subscribers every Wednesday and available to read at www.deafweekly.com. Please visit our website to read current and back issues, sign up for a subscription and advertise. Deafweekly is copyrighted 2006 and any unauthorized use, including reprinting of news, is prohibited. Please support our advertisers; they make it possible for you to receive Deafweekly at no charge. ++++ADV+++++ADV+++++ADV++++ Do You Use VP-100? Yes? More VRS Choices For You Soon! FCC requires ALL videophones to be accessible to ANY VRS provider. Soon you will no longer be limited to one VRS provider. You will be free to use any VRS. When your VP-100 opens up to allow calling to any VRS, try using IP-VRS. Dial tv.ipvrs.com and make a phone call. And if you really like IP-VRS, make it your first choice VRS provider all the time! You will see why many choose IP-VRS as their preferred VRS provider. IP-VRS: We’re Working for You ++++ADV+++++ADV+++++ADV++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NATIONAL +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ABANDONED IN NEW JERSEY, FLORIDA MAN HELPED BY POLICE A 21-year-old deaf Florida man who was abandoned in New Jersey by “friends” is back home thanks to Seaside Heights, N.J. police, reported the Asbury Park Press. Timothy Beck left for New Jersey recently with a couple who persuaded him to go with them against his mother’s wishes.
    [Show full text]
  • 5 ¡Ñ¹âòâ¹ 2009
    Bhibulbhanuvat, S. Ph.D. (Communication Arts), November 2005, Graduate School, Bangkok University Establishing Identity: Narratives of Deaf Thai (268 pp.) Advisor of dissertation: Assoc. Prof. Anita C. James, Ph. D. ABSTRACT Deaf identity in Thai society is stigmatized. Most Thai people know the meaning of being deaf from the folktales that condemned deafness as a disease to be cured and a person with deafness as dependent. Academic studies relating to the issue of deafness in Thailand are mostly conducted in medical and educational contexts which confirm the assumption that deafness is a problem to be fixed. This assumption is also in the mind of most deaf people, who feel inferior to the hearing world. The new theory of identity and communication presented by E. Eisenberg suggested that a person’s identity does not have to conform to the majority consensus. A person can build his or her identity on the uncertainties in life. It is the matter of how an individual interprets his or her surrounding which is reflected in the story he or she tells. Due to the lack of presenting other aspects of the deaf life in Thai society, this study has a strong determination to empower deaf people in Thailand by conveying the stories of ‘living the deaf life’ to the readers. Thirty-four deaf participants in four regions of Thailand were interviewed in order to answer the three research questions: (1) How is deaf identity constructed in Thai society? (2) How do deaf Thai handle deafness in their interaction with others? v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to many people who have contributed much to bringing this dissertation to light.
    [Show full text]