nicole kotras masters thesis

In making a distinction between a spoken concept (e.g., the word "hill") and a
graphically depicted concept (e.g., a picture or sign of a "hill") one can note that in
the former (i.e. in a verbal utterance) the hill is referred to, whereas in the picture the
hill is visually presented. The visual presentation is the communication channel used
in this study. It must be kept in mind that pictorial communication' does not appear
out of nowhere, but meets certain social needs, and that it will itself affect social
communication. The use of pictures in communication must thus be studied in the
broad context of our civilisation (Kramer, Koff & Fowles, 1980).
1.1 A literature study of the development and administration of the 20 small pictures and
large picture of the Hearing and Speech Scale (CQ) was conducted.
1.2 A local artist specializing in child art was familiarized with the parameters of the
research study and international literature was consulted. Variables including the
age, cultural groups, language and gender of the target population, as well as the aim
of the study were discussed at length with the artist. Working from the original 20
pictures and the large picture, a contemporary version was hand painted.
Photographs were not utilized as young children may have difficulty in processing
information due to a lack of experience with photographs and cameras that transform
3-dimensional data to 2-dimensional representations. Furthermore, it was suggested
that photographs may contain too much perceptual information, in contrast to line
drawings. The increased detail may confuse rather than enhance performance
(Kose, Beilin & O'Connor, 1983).
1.3 The hand painted pictures was used as a basis for further development. Modern
computer technology was used in this developmental phase. This decision was
made for a number of reasons, namely: (i) the separate elements of the composition
(e.g., the colour, size, position & proportion) are easily adjusted; (ii) numerous
options can be presented in a small space of time; and (iii) the production of small
volumes is more cost effective than manual methods. A graphic designer * was
included in the process. He was familiarized with the parameters of the study. He
was given both the original set of pictures, and the hand painted set. Furthermore,
* The graphic designer holds a National Diploma in Graphic Design (N.Dip. Graphic Design) obtained at the Port Elizabeth Technikon in South Africa.
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