Pakistan sign language translation tool in educational setting: teachers perspective

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Abbas ◽  
Summaira Sarfraz ◽  
Umbreen Tariq
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Language Translation ◽  
Private University ◽  
Deaf People ◽  
Educational Setting ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Deaf Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Group Interviews

PurposeThe current study aims to determine the viability of the tool developed by Abbas and Sarfraz (2018) to translate English speech and text to Pakistan Sign Language (PSL) with bilingual subtitles.Design/methodology/approachFocus group interviews of 30 teachers of a Pakistani private university were conducted; who used the PSL translation tool in their classrooms for lecture delivery and communication with the deaf students.FindingsThe findings of the study determined the viability of the developed tool and showed that it is helpful in teaching deaf students efficiently. With the availability of this tool, teachers are not dependent on human sign language (SL) interpreters in their classrooms.Originality/valueOverall, this tool is an effective addition to educational technology for special education. Due to the lack of Sign Language (SL) understanding, learning resources and availability of human SL interpreters in Pakistan, institutions feel dependency and scarcity to educate deaf students in a classroom. Unimpaired people and especially teachers face problems communicating with deaf people to arrange one interpreter for a student(s) in multiple classes at the same time which creates a communication gap between a teacher and a deaf student.

scholarly journals A community arts programme for older people: an evaluation

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore Stickley ◽  
Ada Hui ◽  
Gary Souter ◽  
Danielle Mills
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Older People ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Community Arts ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Stereotypes ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Group Interviews

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an evaluation of a community-based arts programme for older people in Nottinghamshire. Design/methodology/approach – The evaluation was conducted using a combination of pre- and post-initiative quantitative questionnaires and qualitative focus group interviews. This paper focuses upon the findings from the focus groups. Findings – Participants reported feeling more positively about ageing and being more motivated to pursue new opportunities at the end of the programme. Five themes emerged from the focus group interviews, namely age and ageing, the finished product, new opportunities, aspirations and the future and personal benefits. These related to increased confidence, having greater creative expression, meaningful occupation and opportunities for socialisation. Social implications – The programme was found to be successful in helping individuals feel more positive about their age, to feel more confident and motivated, to engage with others through mutual creativity, as well as to challenge negative social stereotypes of older people. Originality/value – The paper will be of relevance and value to those working with older people and those with an interest in the arts. This evaluation demonstrates the diversity of the older population with older citizen’s voices being at the heart of the programme.

Talking bodies – an embodied approach of service employees’ work

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiina-Kaisa Kuuru ◽  
Elina Närvänen
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
The Body ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Interpretive Approach ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Practice Bundles ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to study the embodied nature of service employees’ work in human touch contexts. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts the practice theory as its interpretive approach, using focus group interviews with service employees from different industries. Findings The study identifies four practice bundles related to the embodied dimension of service employees’ work: orienting, attuning, connecting and wrapping up. The findings illustrate how employees’ knowledge, skills and capabilities are used via the body. Practical implications The study provides guidance for managers to use an embodied perspective in the management of service employees. Originality/value This study contributes to the discussion on embodiment in service encounters by highlighting the embodied nature of service employees’ work.

Perception of customer retail experiences in Poland

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Kacprzak ◽  
Katarzyna Dziewanowska
Keyword(s):  
Generational Differences ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Economic Transition ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Cultural Trauma ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
New Perspective

Purpose Poland’s political and economic transition of 1989 resulted in a cultural trauma experienced by consumers, which has influenced their perception of the retail experience. However, younger Polish consumers can remember neither communism nor the transition period. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the differences in perception of customer experiences in retail between Poland’s pre- and post-transitional generations. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey is first conducted with a sample of 1,045 Polish consumers measuring their perception of utilitarian and hedonic customer experiences in retail environments. Then, five qualitative focus group interviews with 29 participants provide an in-depth understanding of the survey results. Findings The quantitative study suggests that the pre-transitional generation is focused on utilitarian experiences, whereas the post-transitional generation is attracted to hedonic experiences in retail environments. The qualitative study provides an understanding of how the utilitarian and hedonic aspects of customer retail experiences are perceived and how the cultural trauma manifests in consumers’ values. Originality/value The study provides a new perspective on the customer experience in retail contexts from a society that has undergone a cultural trauma. The findings focus on generational differences in consumer attitudes toward hedonic and utilitarian experiences in a post-transition society and expand the theory of cultural trauma into the field of customer retail experience.

scholarly journals Intellectual disabilities and offending behaviour: the awareness and concerns of the police, district attorneys and judges

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Søndenaa ◽  
Terje Olsen ◽  
Patrick Stefan Kermit ◽  
Nina Christine Dahl ◽  
Robert Envik
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
District Attorneys ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Offending Behaviour ◽  
Regular Contact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the awareness of intellectual disabilities (ID) amongst professionals in the criminal justice system (CJS) and their knowledge of those persons, either as victims, witnesses, suspects, accused or defendants. Design/methodology/approach A survey of the professionals in the CJS (n=388), combined with a series of focus group interviews with experienced professionals (n=20), was conducted. Findings One out of three respondents (police, district attorneys and judges) reported that they have regular contact with suspects who have an ID. Differences in knowledge of ID amongst professionals in the CJS can explain awareness and detection of persons with ID. Research limitations/implications Non-responders may represent professionals with no knowledge or less interest in these issues. Originality/value Reflections on ID have not previously been studied in the Norwegian CJS. The findings serve as a basis and status quo for further research.

scholarly journals Diversity and health strategies for newly resettled refugees

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-252
Author(s):  
Linda Vikdahl ◽  
Göran Ståhle ◽  
David Gunnarsson ◽  
Fredrik Saboonchi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Different Levels

Purpose In general, newly resettled refugees have poorer physical and mental health than native-born Swedes. This indicates that the society must make special efforts to enable refugees to attain health that is on a par with the rest of the population. The challenges rest primarily with employees in the public sector. But what resources do professionals need to meet the refugees’ health needs? This paper is about the need to develop strategies for professionals working with diversity and health, with a focus on the establishment of newly resettled refugees in Sweden. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to identify the needs and obstacles in working with diversity and health for the newly resettled. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on focus group interviews with 40 professionals working in three large municipalities and one County Administrative Board, all of whom work with challenges related to migration and health on a daily basis. Findings The needs expressed by the interviewees are primarily about developing and improving communications. Three important areas of communication were expressed: how information can be transferred from sender to receiver, institutionalization and interactions at different levels. Originality/value This paper identifies important needs and obstacles when working with diversity and health in Sweden, with a focus on the establishment of newly resettled refugees. It is an important contribution because refugees in general have poorer physical and mental health than native-born Swedes and strategies to improve their health, therefore, need to be further developed.

Using, spending, wasting and killing time in airports

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 392-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bodil Stilling Blichfeldt ◽  
Aurimas Pumputis ◽  
Kiya Ebba
Keyword(s):  
Waiting Time ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
Airport Terminals ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Travelers are both surrounded by and perform places, thus making places ambiguous sites that “come alive” when travelers use them and engage in various performances. A place many travelers pass through is the airport. Airports are places where travelers’ performances are restricted in many ways and waiting is a key element of the airport experience. This paper contributes with knowledge on what airport terminals “are”, not as designs or material objects but as places enacted by travelers. In doing so, the paper aims to emphasize on both how travelers “see” airports and how they use them. Design/methodology/approach The study uses different qualitative methods and notions of time and waiting. Sources of data are small-scale netnography, focus group interviews, observations done at airports and qualitative interviews. Findings The study shows that airport terminals are heterogeneously enacted environments that are heavily inscribed with the mundane act of waiting and travelers use a series of different strategies to “use”, “spend” and “kill” time. Furthermore, whereas more affluent travelers spend waiting time using airports’ commercial offerings (shopping, restaurants, bars, etc.), less affluent travelers do not have the same options. Research limitations/implications The research points to airport terminals as not only “places of movement and mobility” but also “places of waiting” inscribed with boredom and travelers actively fight boredom by spending, using and killing time in a variety of ways. Furthermore, the study points to significant differences between affluent travelers and other travelers and differences between people travelling alone and in groups. Therefore, a call is made for research focusing on less affluent travelers, people traveling in groups and on waiting and waiting time. Practical implications The study suggests that airports are more than consumerscapes and places of movement, hereby questioning the current focus on commercial revenues. Social implications The study points to airport space as space “inhabited” not only by travelers willingly taking on the roles as consumers but also by travelers that kill, spend and use waiting time in other ways, hereby questioning the idea that airports are places for the “elite”. Originality/value Travelers associate airports with boredom and inscribe them with waiting. However, travelers “fight” boredom and waiting with performances and acts designed to use, spend, pass and “kill” time. Hereby, travelers not only accept but also construct the seemingly mundane act of waiting as restricted, negotiated and confined, but nevertheless meaningful performances.

scholarly journals Reassessing the LIS approach to traditional knowledge: learning from Xochimilco, Mexico city

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 981-997
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Cox ◽  
Jorge Tiago Martins ◽  
Gibrán Rivera González
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Heritage Tourism ◽  
Farming Practices ◽  
Field Site ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Face ◽  
Group Interviews

PurposeThe study aims to understand the nature of traditional knowledge by examining how it is used and reinvented in the context of Xochimilco in Mexico City.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on field site visits and focus group interviews.FindingsTraditional knowledge was being reinvented in two contrasting ways. One was based on heritage tourism drawing on syncretism between Aztec and Spanish culture in the formation of Xochimilco. The other was agro-ecological focussed on traditional farming practices on the chinampas, their productivity, their ability to sustain biodiversity and their link to social justice. There were some common elements, such as a passionate concern with retaining a valued past in the face of growing threat.Research limitations/implicationsTraditional knowledge is often seen as a static heritage, under threat. But it also has the potential to be a fertile source of strong identities and sustainable practices.Originality/valueThe paper helps to conceptualise the dynamic character of traditional knowledge.

Wellness branding: insights into how American and Finnish consumers use wellness as a means of self-branding

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 462-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miia Grénman ◽  
Ulla Hakala ◽  
Barbara Mueller
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Consumer Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
The Self ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Care Culture

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine wellness as a means of self-branding. The phenomenon is addressed through the introduction of a new concept – wellness branding – and by identifying those wellness practices that are currently most valued. Design/methodology/approach A series of focus group interviews were conducted in the USA and Finland. Altogether, 12 discussion sessions (N = 57) were carried out, 6 in each country. Findings Both wellness and self-branding represent current forms of identity and lifestyle construction and self-promotion. Moreover, they represent an entrepreneurial view of the self, which emphasizes self-governance. The findings indicate that wellness has moved beyond the merely physical dimension, to significantly involve emotional/mental, spiritual, social and intellectual aspects. This further strengthens the transformational nature of wellness and the increasing need for balancing one’s life in order to reach one’s optimal self. The logic of wellness branding involves the creation of one’s optimal, balanced self while communicating it to others. Research limitations/implications This paper makes insightful contributions to the branding literature by broadening the scope of self-branding to a new and timely context. The paper further adds to the consumer research literature by addressing wellness as a form of transformative consumption and an essential part of the current self-care culture. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to discuss self-branding in the context of wellness, introducing a new concept of wellness branding, thus offering a novel area for research.

scholarly journals Application for Iraqi sign language translation on Android system

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 5227
Author(s):  
Miaad Ahmed Alobaidy ◽  
Sundus Khaleel Ebraheem
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Social Communication ◽  
Language Translation ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Deaf People ◽  
Deaf Students ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Java Language ◽  
E Learning

Deaf people suffer from difficulty in social communication, especially those who have been denied the blessing of hearing before the acquisition of spoken language and before learning to read and write. For the purpose of employing mobile devices for the benefit of these people, their teachers and everyone who has contact with them, this research aims to design an application for social communication and learning by translating Iraqi sign language into text in Arabic and vice versa. Iraqi sign language has been chosen because of a lack of applications for this field. The current research, to the best of our knowledge, is the first of its kind in Iraq. The application is open source; words that are not found in the application database can be processed by translating them into letters alphabetically. The importance of the application lies in the fact that it is a means of communication and e-learning through Iraqi sign language, reading and writing in Arabic. Similarly, it is regarded as a means of social communication between deaf people and those with normal hearing. This application is designed by using JAVA language and it was tested on several deaf students at Al-Amal Institute for Special Needs Care in Mosul, Iraq. It was well comprehended and accepted.

Sports brand positioning

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 450-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Lucy Lee ◽  
Yukyoum Kim ◽  
June Won
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Method ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Position ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Data Collections ◽  
Consumer's Perception ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the location of sport brands in sport consumers’ minds using a perceptual map of multiple positions; and examine whether there is congruence between the sport brands’ purported images and the targeted consumers’ perception of the brands’ images. Design/methodology/approach A mixed method was used. Four steps of data collections (i.e. face-to-face, focus group interviews, and questionnaires) and analyses (i.e. content analysis, MDS analysis, PROXSCAL analysis, multiple regressions analysis, frequency analysis, and congruence score) were performed. Findings Four positioning typologies (i.e. great quality equipment, equipment for professionals, innovation, and tradition) were identified; each brand’s positions in consumers’ minds were distinctly portrayed in the perceptual map; and the congruence between intended and perceived positions was found in two brands – Titleist and Ping – implying they established a high position-congruity and providing evidence of positioning effectiveness. Practical implications The findings will aid practitioners and scholars in positioning and its effectiveness: the results provide information for managers to select, implement, and manage effective positioning strategies and the study provides initial evidence about whether companies and their brands are well-positioned in the sport consumer’s perception. Originality/value The authors attempt to examine how consumers perceive brands and how effectively brand positions are portrayed in consumers’ minds. The effectiveness and competitiveness of positioning strategies were examined via a perceptional map.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document