Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service ...

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The use of videophones and webcams for remote interpreting and/orcommunication between sign language users has been increasing over the pastnumber of years. The impetus for these developments has come from two sides.On the one hand there are hearing users of interpreting services, agenciesproviding interpreters and governments promoting the use of these technologies.On the other, there are Deaf people themselves, and their wish to take advantageof the opportunities presented by new technology.However, one should not overestimate the responsiveness of Deaf people tothese new opportunities. Allsop et al (2005), were commissioned by the ScottishExecutive to investigate the extent of Deaf people's access to public services inScotland. They concluded that although videophones have been available invarious locations around the country for six years now, video communications“have made little impact on the Deaf Community”. Of those questioned, over 92%had rarely or never used a webcam and over 98% had never used a videophone.However, there is no analysis available on why this figure is so high.One reason may be that videophones are not currently seen or available asmainstream equipment, so there are barriers to be overcome in order to train theuser so that it becomes the norm (in the way that so many people now use theubiquitous mobile phone and SMS each day).However, more research needs to be carried out in this area to ensure that theDeaf community will make use of any new technologies through whichinterpreting services are provided. Research is beginning to emerge, debatinghow these technologies will affect sign language interpreters working conditions,e.g. Sharon Lee, 'How will we define our future as online interpreters' paper to theSupporting Deaf People, online conference, 2001.Video-relay/videophonesAn example of a video relay system can be found in England where the RNIDplans to develop their Typetalk relay system (whereby conventionally an operatorrelays a message between a Deaf person using a text phone and a hearing personusing a conventional phone). The RNID plans to use an interpreter in place of theoperator and a videophone instead of a textphone. This will enable a Deaf personusing BSL to communicate with a hearing person using a telephone, via theinterpreter who would be using a videophone.Another example of a video relay interpreting system in England is the serviceprovided by Significant UK Ltd., a private company operating out of London.The company has a pool of freelance interpreters working on a rota basis in avideo relay call centre. They currently have eight work stations, but are planningto have a virtual call centre, which will expand to incorporate interpreters workingfrom home.The British government has been very supportive of the 'Significant' initiative andhas provided funding to cover the first year of the service, with a total investmentin the region of £500,000 (approximately €700,000). Significant has beencontracted to provide remote interpreting services to local authorities in England.It is the intention that videophones will be installed in each of the local authoritiesin time, to facilitate Deaf people accessing public services.page 96 • Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service Requirements in Ireland
Significant, has also been contracted to provide remote interpreting services forNHS Direct, which provides information in response to medical queries via thetelephone. Funding for this initiative has come from the Department of Health.This project only began on 1st January 2005 and there has, to date, been noevaluation of the service. The intention is for BSL/English interpreters to beavailable via videophone or videoconference to interpret between NHS Directstaff and Deaf people within an hour of a request being made. The scheme alsopromotes the purchase of videophone equipment by Deaf people, beginning at acost of approximately €293, although the user also needs to have a subscriptionto broadband (at approximately €36 a month).Another example of video relay developments is taken from the United Stateswhere the RID (Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf) has a draft paper on itswebsite for consultation on ‘Emerging Video Interpreting and Video Relay:Standards and Regulations (Draft)’ detailing required training, working conditions,legal considerations and FAQs. America has a Federal Relay Service whichprovides voice to text and also videophone and online calls to federal andmilitary employees.The United States is at an advanced stage in the development and rollout of avideo relay service, with the US government providing financial support for theservice. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires large telecommunicationscompanies to pay a percentage of their income to a relay fund, which is managedand administered by the Federal Communications Commission (a not for profitorganisation).The US government does not cover the cost of the videophone equipment. Manyof the telecommunications companies have arrangements whereby they providethe videophones to the customers at no cost, on the basis that they will remain acustomer of the organisation and continue using its services.3G technology has been used to support mobile videophone technology. Thequality of the image is a constraining factor at present, but there are models on themarket which have managed to significantly increase the quality of the image,thereby enabling Deaf-to-Deaf and Deaf-to-hearing video conferencing. Forexample, in Sweden a 3G model exists which is very high quality and can be useddirectly between two sign language users, signing back and forth to one another.Another example, of a video interpreting system, is the Accessible RemoteInterpreting Project, which was run by the Finnish Association of the Deaf from2002 to 2004. Funded by the national lottery, the project offered remoteinterpreting from the office headquarters in Helsinki. There were designated dutyhours four days a week, and outside of these hours, an interpreter could bebooked in advance.Most of the calls were to interpret telephone conversations between a hearingperson using a telephone and a Deaf person signing via a videophone. At the endof the project, 31 Deaf people had used the service from 12 local regions. Theservice continues to be run by the Finnish Association of the Deaf, who cite thefollowing advantages of the service:Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service Requirements in Ireland • page 97
Page 1:
RESEARCH SERIESSEPTEMBER 2006Review
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4.8 Theme 6: Accreditation and a fo
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PrefaceAs proposed in the Outline S
Page 10 and 11:
Key players involved in SLI service
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Interpreter staffing and skillsIt i
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INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICEThe rese
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appears to be growing in popularity
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• Personalised service - A person
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• The establishment of a new enti
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• Further development of the Iris
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• Estimated cost in year 1 is €
Page 26 and 27:
1.3 REVIEW OBJECTIVES and SCOPE1.3.
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2 Review Methodology2.1 APPROACHFig
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Interviews and discussions• Inter
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3 Overview of CurrentSign LanguageI
Page 34 and 35:
Table 3.1. Persons aged 15 to 64, w
Page 36 and 37:
3.2 POLICY AND LEGISLATION3.2.1 Int
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Sustaining Progress, Social Partner
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According to the Education Act 1998
Page 42 and 43:
3.4 KEY PLAYERS INVOLVED IN SLI SER
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upholding the status of Irish Sign
Page 46 and 47: 3. A Deaf user or service provider
Page 48 and 49: 3.5.3 Main reasons for accessing se
Page 50 and 51: InternetThe internet and email have
Page 52 and 53: As shown in the table above, there
Page 54 and 55: Figure 3.10. Total number of interp
Page 56 and 57: The first cohort of students on the
Page 58 and 59: Looking at the summary financial an
Page 60 and 61: 3.7.2 Overall client spend on sign
Page 62 and 63: The public sector service providers
Page 64 and 65: 4.3 THEME 1:THE NEED FOR SIGN LANGU
Page 66 and 67: subject for both Deaf and hearing s
Page 68 and 69: 4.5 THEME 3:ACCESS TO SLI SERVICES
Page 70 and 71: 4.6 THEME 4:THE QUALITY OF SLI AND
Page 72 and 73: primary client of the interpreter.
Page 74 and 75: 4.8.1 The impact of the absence of
Page 76 and 77: 4.9.3 What is neededFunding is need
Page 78 and 79: 4.10.3 A quality service on the gro
Page 80 and 81: Table 5.1. Key statistics on SLI se
Page 82 and 83: The research has considered mainstr
Page 84 and 85: Summary• Other than where the par
Page 86 and 87: 5.2.1 Linguistic approachIn all of
Page 88 and 89: Interpreting services are also prov
Page 90 and 91: 5.3.1 Population distributionMost o
Page 92 and 93: 5.3.3 Responsibility for booking in
Page 94 and 95: 5.3.4 Sign language interpretersSal
Page 98 and 99: • It provides a flexible solution
Page 100 and 101: 5.5 QUALITY OF SLI SERVICES DEFINED
Page 102 and 103: 5.5.2 Interpreter training courses
Page 104 and 105: Pressure for the registration and r
Page 106 and 107: Proposal (which has been agreed wit
Page 108 and 109: • In most of the countries includ
Page 110 and 111: Table 5.6. Overview of key strength
Page 112 and 113: 6 Summary ofKey Findings6.1 INTRODU
Page 114 and 115: 6.3 KEY AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN TH
Page 116 and 117: 7 Recommended FutureModel for Deliv
Page 118 and 119: 7.2 RECOMMENDED FUTURE SLI SERVICE
Page 120 and 121: Table 7.2. Key areas for improvemen
Page 122 and 123: 7.3.2 Comhairle - oversight of SLI
Page 124 and 125: There are substantial risks associa
Page 126 and 127: Requirements:• Excellent project
Page 128 and 129: 7.3.9 ComplaintsThe Irish Sign Lang
Page 130 and 131: number of Deaf clubs. The videophon
Page 132 and 133: 7.6 OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS TO SUPPOR
Page 134 and 135: Accreditation should be linked to t
Page 136 and 137: videophone technology, piloted in t
Page 138 and 139: It is assumed that the rollout of t
Page 140 and 141: Appendix 1: Bibliographyand Referen
Page 142 and 143: www.bris.ac.uk/deaf - Bristol Centr
Page 144 and 145: SASLISLAISLISLIANZSMSTCDVCOThe Scot
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