Abstract
Deaf and hard-of-hearing employees often find it difficult to learn about important information, which is disseminated informally in their employing organizations. The purpose of this study was to examine information, which is impromptu or short in duration, that is transcribed by note takers. It examined the quality of the note taking both in quantity and content. The participants included 65 individuals with varying levels of contact with deaf and hard-of-hearing co-workers. Results indicated that note takers attend to verbal messages more than to textual or visual messages. Note takers tend to prioritize messages and transcribe those with a higher perceived level of meaning given the temporal limitations present. Participants transcribed accurately or modified an average of 33 semantic units out of a possible 237 (14%). Participant transcriptions using a conceptually broader scoring method based on themes averaged 17 themes out of a possible 25 (68%). Study results provide organizational managers with additional information when making decisions regarding accommodations for their deaf or hard-of- hearing employees.
Recommended Citation
Balsamo, Linda M.
(2008)
"The Efficacy of Accommodating Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Employees in the Workplace via Note Taking,"
Journal of the North American Management Society: Vol. 2:
No.
1, Article 3.
Available at:
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/jnams/vol2/iss1/3