Wireless RERC - American Sign Language (ASL)

Wirelesss RERC @ The Disaster Response and Mitigation Forum

mz22 — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 13:39:12 +0000

Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)

Emergency Alert System (EAS)

American Sign Language (ASL)

Symbology

Disaster Response and Mitigation Forum

Publication Type:

Presentations

Salimah LaForce and Christina Touzet presented a poster titled, Emergency Alert System (EAS) vs. Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), at the Disaster Response and Mitigation Forum held at the Garage @ Tech Square on Fifth on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. The research, conducted by the Wireless RERC and funded by a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), presented the background and results of research activities that examined the effectiveness of EAS and WEA to provide alerts to people with disabilities. Specifically, the poster included comparative analyses of the awareness of EAS and WEA messages, the accessibility of the two systems, as well as the types of protective actions taken as a result of the emergency messages.

Ed Price demonstrated the Wireless RERC's prototype of a WEA Video Platform that includes IPAWS approved symbology and presents the WEA message content as an American Sign Language (ASL) video.

The goal for the forum was to understand ways in which to advance science and technology to improve disaster response. The Forum featured two panels with federal, state and local agency representatives, as well as speakers from NGOs, industry, and academic researchers. The forum included a reception along with a poster session that focused on technologies and applications that impact disaster response, address cutting-edge research that is being done to meet the challenges of disaster response, cover the latest disaster response policy issues, and address technology gaps that need to be filled to help identify solutions.

FCC Posts Two New Videos in American Sign Language

mz22 — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 13:12:22 +0000

American Sign Language (ASL)

deaf

hard of hearing

Text-to-911

ASL Videos Posted by the FCC

October 2014 – The FCC posted two new videos this month that include American Sign Language (ASL) interpretations of information concerning emergency services and the FCC’s Advanced Video Communications Platform and in ASL Video. The original video that was posted in June 2014 provided information about the launch of an ASL Consumer Support Line that allows people who are deaf and hard of hearing to use the service via videophone. In order to reach the population of people whose primary language is ASL, the FCC’s outreach and education is beginning to include ASL versions of materials otherwise presented in text and/or audio. The two additional videos were provided by the FCC’s Disability Rights Office and discuss telecommunications.

Advanced Video Communications Platform: Overview about the purpose and functionality of the upcoming Advanced Video Communication Platform, a tool to ensure the efficiency and competition of Video Relay Service (VRS) and the interoperability of VRS and video point to point communication.
The Text to 9-1-1 in ASL Video: Information about the FCC’s recent action on the Text-to-911 rulemaking in order to promote the availability of the service.

For additional information about the FCC’s Disability Rights Office and to view these videos, please click here.

FCC Opens ASL Videophone Line

mz22 — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 14:41:39 +0000

American Sign Language (ASL)

deaf

ASL Consumer Support Line

June 2014 – For the first time, the Federal Communications Commission has launched a service they are calling the “ASL Consumer Support Line.” This video-based support line will engage deaf and hard of hearing consumers who communicate through American Sign Language (ASL). Prior to this, the deaf and hard of hearing community was only able to communicate via relay services or through a complaint form that could be filed online. Now, these consumers will be able to use their videophones and a ten-digit number to connect to ASL Consumer Specialists during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. Beyond being able to file formal complaints, this service will allow consumers to ask questions related to “telecommunications relay service (TRS), closed captioning and access to emergency information on television, and general telecommunication matters, such as slamming, Do-Not-Call telemarketing violations and broadband services.” To access this service, citizens who rely on ASL can call 844-FCC-ASL (844-432-2275) or 202-810-0444 between 10AM and 5:30pm (EST) Monday through Friday.

Lost in Translation: Sign Language Interpretation and Weather Service Messages

mz22 — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:32:48 +0000

Weather Emergencies

National Weather Service (NWS)

Emergency Messaging

American Sign Language (ASL)

Publication Type:

Policy Filings

March 2013 - The Wireless RERC submitted recommendations to the National Weather Service (NWS) regarding their Experimental Winter Hazards Simplification Demonstration. The Demonstration provided an opportunity to compare text from watch, warning and advisory messages for winter weather hazards with proposed alternatives. As part of the Weather-Ready Nation initiative, the NWS sought to simplify the language to ensure the messages are clear and actionable. To that end, the Wireless RERC recommended the NWS to have the proposed language vetted by people whose primary language is American Sign Language (ASL). According to participants in field trials conducted by the Wireless RERC, it is preferable to accommodate deaf individuals who utilize ASL as their primary language with ASL interpretation of written or spoken English. Since national, state and local alerting systems rely on the NWS for weather related emergency information and use identical language which may be translated by sign language interpreters, it is critical that the NWS language be clear and remove any jargon, truncated text or idiomatic expressions.

Related Files:

Attachment	Size
2013 NWS Demonstration_Wireless RERC Input.docx	50.11 KB