From Disabilities to Capabilities: testing subtitles in immersive environments with end users

Main Article Content

Belén Agulló
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3270-1840
Anna Matamala
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1607-9011
Pilar Orero
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0269-1936

Abstract

User testing in media accessibility has often profiled users based on their disabilities: subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, for instance, have been generally tested with their expected target audience, which is deaf and hard-of-hearing users. This article argues that selecting users based on sensorial disabilities may not be the best strategy to obtain relevant results, as other capabilities—for instance, technological capabilities—may have a greater impact on the results. Moreover, the article argues that access services should not be exclusively aimed at persons with disabilities but can actually benefit all audiences. If accessibility is mainstreamed, and ideally integrated in the creation and production processes, testing should expand from an exclusive approach based on accessibility to a more general approach based on usability in which users with diverse capabilities are considered.

To illustrate this point and propose a new approach to user testing in media accessibility, in which we would move from a disability to a capabilities model, specific examples from the EU funded project ImAc (Immersive Accessibility) project are shown in a chronological order. Then, the article presents the initial testing, targeting persons with disabilities, and describes the poor data results leading to a new approach. We propose a new testing focus and justify the methodological shift. Then, we describe the second test in which the new approach is implemented, using the same stimuli but different able technology users. The article finishes with conclusions and final remarks in which we open the door to a move from an accessibility approach to testing to a usability approach.

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How to Cite
Agulló, B., Matamala, A., & Orero, P. (2018). From Disabilities to Capabilities: testing subtitles in immersive environments with end users. Hikma, 17, 197–222. https://doi.org/10.21071/hikma.v17i0.11167
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Articles
Author Biographies

Belén Agulló, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Belén Agulló is a predoctoral researcher in the Department of Translation, Interpreting and Eastern Asian Studies at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, where she is working on the Horizon 2020-funded project Immersive Accessibility (ImAc). Her PhD focus is subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing in immersive media. Previously, she worked for more than 5 years in the game localisation industry. Her research interests include audiovisual translation and media accessibility.

Anna Matamala, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Anna Matamala, BA in Translation (UAB) and PhD in Applied Linguistics (UPF), is an associate professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Currently leading the TransMedia Catalonia group, she has participated and led projects in audiovisual translation and media accessibility. She has taken an active role in the organisation of scientific events (M4ALL, ARSAD), and has published in journals such as Meta, Translator, Perspectives, Babel, Translation Studies. She is currently involved in standardisation work.

Pilar Orero, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Pilar Orero (PhD, UMIST) is a full professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain). She is a world-leading scholar in media accessibility with vast experience in standardisation and policy-making. She is a scientific/organizing committee member of many conferences, including Media4AllARSAD, and Video Games for All. She has delivered, upon invitation, more than 15 plenary lectures and 30 guest lectures all over the world, including at the 9th United Nations Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (New York, 2016).

She either coordinated or participated in more than 40 national and international research projects, of which more than 20 were on media accessibility. She has published over 70 papers and edited 10 books on Media Accessibility. Her works are some of the most widely-cited publications in the field of which she is one of the founding scholars. Among her publications: A. Matamala and P. Orero (eds), Researching Audio Description (Palgrave Macmillan 2016); A. Maszerowska, A. Matamala and P. Orero (eds), Audio Description. New perspectives illustrated (John Benjamins 2014); C. Mangiron, P.  Orero and M. O'Hagan (eds), Videogame Localisation and Accessibility: Fun for All (Peter Lang 2014); A. Remael, P. Orero and M. Carroll (eds), Media for All: Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility at the Crossroads (Rodopi 2012); E. Franco, A. Matamala and P. Orero, Voice-over Translation: An overview (Peter Lang 2010); A. Matamala and P. Orero (eds), Listening to Subtitles. Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Peter Lang 2009); J. Díaz Cintas, P. Orero and A. Remael (eds), Media for all. Subtitling for the Deaf, Audio description and Sign Language (Rodopi 2007), P. Orero (ed.), Topics in Audiovisual Translation (John Benjamins 2004).

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