Computer and Information Technology Access for Deaf Individuals in Developed and Developing Countries

Abstract

In recent years, advances in computer and information technology have profoundly affected people's lives and work. Information and ideas now travel predominantly by airwaves, and the Internet has become an important conduit for information dissemination across the globe (Guemriche, 1997). A recent study by the Computer Industry Almanac, Inc. (1998) estimates more than 400 million computers in use and 147 million Internet users worldwide at the end of 1998, with a projected increase to 579 million computers and 300 million Inter-net users by 2000. However, most of the computers in use and the majority of Internet users are concentrated in developed countries (Chowdary, 1997). An information gap separates industrialized nations from the poorer ones; building an information technology network requires large investments in equipment, infrastructure , education, and training. Many developing nations are struggling to catch up, but they face a host of challenging problems such as unreliable telecommunications systems, low literacy, exorbitant telephone costs, and lack of trained technical staff (Chepesiuk, 1998). Thus, the growing disparity in access to information technology threatens to further widen the socioeconomic gap between the world's industrialized nations and the less developed ones. This article presents the results of a comparative overview of the accessibility to computer and information technology between deaf populations in developed and developing countries. The main objectives were to determine the extent of the gap in computer and In-ternet accessibility between deaf populations in developed countries and deaf populations in developing countries and to identify the major impediments to information technology access. The subsets of information technology considered include personal computers and associated equipment, the Internet, and telecommunications services. There is strong indication of a very wide gap in information technology access and utilization between the deaf populations in developed countries and the deaf populations in developing countries. Further, evidence suggests that the gap is widening with time due to the faster pace of growth in the rate of computer ownership and Internet access in developed countries. The study was conducted using a combination of survey, interviews, literature review, and statistical abstracts. A survey was developed to collect data about computer ownership, computer literacy, and Internet usage within deaf populations. A total of 81 usable surveys were returned. The respondents were all deaf and represented 26 countries across the globe. There were 47 responses from deaf citizens of countries classified as developed and 34 from deaf citizens of developing countries. The respondents were asked to provide information about their use of computers and the In-ternet and to estimate the percentages of deaf people in their country who regularly use computers and the Internet. The survey was complemented by one-on-Correspondence should be sent to