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[Editor's note: This article was written in 2004 and has since been archived. Some content may be outdated.]
[Editor's note: This article was written in 2002 before the author's death in August 2007 and before the Captioned Media Program became the Described and Captioned Media Program. To see the National Association of the Deaf's tribute to Dr. Bowe, please refer to the end of this article.]
[Editor's note: Ms. McCann wrote this article in 2002. For a recent biography of the author, please refer to the end of this post.]
Captioning is a vitally important way of making information available to people with a hearing loss. Another method of providing access that can also be used with captioning is assistive listening technology.
An estimated 28 million deaf and hard of hearing Americans need access to television programming and daily activities now more than ever. How else would someone with hearing loss find out about the newest developments in a conflict overseas or a heightened terror alert? How would they participate in a town hall meeting or a religious service? For 90% of these Americans who don't know sign language, the answers are broadcast captioning and CART (Communication Access Real-time Translation).
Parenting a deaf or hard of hearing child was never simple, but rearing the child with a hearing loss today presents a dizzying array of choices, settings, communication methods, philosophies, and regulatory procedures.
Written by Dr. Carl Jensema and Ralph McCann in 1995, this paper addresses concerns regarding broadcast captioning, such as whether programs are captioned verbatim, how much editing is done, and what the presentation rate is. One hundred eighty-three prerecorded programs were selected for research. Includes tables that show the original script, words removed, words added, and the final captioned script of various programs. Also includes a list of the most frequently used words, with percentages, from the combination of the television programs used.
From the Deafness Forum of Australia Web site. Although this captioning manual grants permission to use American- and British-style captioning with like programs, Australian programs are required to follow Australian captioning guidelines. Covers basic issues of captioning, such as editing, presentation speed, and punctuation. Notes the use of "colour" to identify speakers and sound effects. Also addresses error rates and live captioning.
A study conducted by Carol J. LaSasso and Cynthia M. King in July of 1994. Presented in question/answer format. States that "it is important that deaf people have early input into decisions made by television manufactures and caption providers to ensure that captions meet the needs of the primary group for which they were developed." Addresses the desire of persons who are deaf and hard of hearing to have the option of placing captions anywhere on the screen, as well as being able to choose from a variety of colors for the captions. Includes comments from deaf and hard of hearing participants.
This article, written in 1996 by Frank Thorn and Sondra Thorn, addresses the concern that some viewers are not receiving the benefits of captioning because the captions are too small or too fast for them to read. The authors designed a series of experiments to test this theory, focusing on (1) optical blur, (2) presentation speed, and (3) the acquisition of English as a first or second language. (Observers received eye exams before taking part in the study.) The results revealed that "both blur and fast presentation rate dramatically reduced reading accuracy," and those with English as a first language performed better than those who have English as a second language. Suggests simultaneous captioning as a solution to these problems.
Project funded in 1996 by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs and Gallaudet University. Studies the variations in captioning conventions for conveying non-speech information (NSI). NSI includes: identification of speaker, sound effects, music, manner of speaking, audience reaction, and indication of a title (book, film, newspaper, play, etc.). A total of 189 deaf and hard of hearing consumers in the study confirmed the importance of consistent presentation of this information. One implication that pertains to presentation rate is that while NSI is crucial in conveying information about plot, humor, mood, or meaning of a spoken passage, it does add more written language for the viewer to process. Pictures of the captioned clips used in the study are included.
Prepared in 1995 by Judith E. Harkins, Ph.D; Ellie Korres; Beth Singer, M.S., CCC-A; and Barbara M. Virvan, M.S.W., with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Education and Gallaudet University. "In television programs and movies, not all information is conveyed through dialogue." That is what is at the heart of this paper: the importance of identifying sound effects, including music, mood, and an explanation of puns, to provide an inclusive and comprehensive viewing experience for persons who are deaf and hard of hearing. Includes findings and recommendations. Appendices include a questionnaire on the awareness of features and another on the demographic characteristics of the sample; a list of companies and organizations that responded to the draft guidelines; and a list of the advisors, consultants, and staff who participated in this study.
Elementary school deaf students were selected as participants in this 1998 study by Margaret S. Jelinek Lewis and Dorothy W. Jackson. They found that the time constraint of captions further compounded the literacy problem for deaf readers as captions move quickly off the screen. Deaf readers also exhibited a lack of fluent word reading, which adversely affects comprehension; word-reading fluency depended on the ability to recognize (effortlessly and automatically) letters, spelling patterns, and whole words. In addition, students who viewed captions at a slower pace of 78 wpm retained significantly more information than students who viewed captions at an average rate of 116 wpm.
This 1998 report, prepared by the National Center for Accessible Data (NCAD) and the WGBH Research Department, discusses Advanced Television (ATV), a product which would allow the utilization of captioning features, such as flexibility of caption placement, color choices, and controlled reading rates. Fonts chosen for this study include: Helvetica, Times, and Monaco, with Helvetica being the clear choice of participants. Also includes reactions to the mix of an upper- and lowercase character format as opposed to all caps, and presents feedback on the two types of character spacing: mono and proportional. Photos of television clips that show various captioning styles are included, although difficult to read. Lots of participant feedback.
This paper, written in 1995 by Martha J. Meyer and Yung-bin Benjamin Lee, examines a study in which 140 reading-deficient students (from fourth, fifth, and sixth grades) were randomly assigned each to either: (a) an average-paced closed-captioned video, (b) a slow-paced closed-captioned video, or (c) printed text with no video. Results indicated significantly more learning occurs for those students using captioned video as compared to those utilizing only traditional print materials. Additionally, students assigned to the slow-paced prompt rate retained significantly more information than those viewing the average-paced captioning. (Causing them to conclude that prompt rates should be designed so that children with various reading speeds have enough time to read and process the information.)
