Disability Policy and Practice: Interview Assignment Report- Report Writing Assignment

Internal Code: 1GHFA

Report Writing Assignment:

Task: Yeki is a 42-year- old man. He is totally blind since he was 7 years old because of a disease. He was born in a small village called Rante Damai in Luwu district, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. When he was 12 years old, he moved to Makassar city to enter a blind school called SLB-A YAPTI Makassar. After finishing his secondary school at the blind school, he continued his high school in a mainstream school with non-disabled students. After that, he continued his study at a University in the same city and got a bachelor degree. Now he works as a head of branch development department of Indonesian Blind Union in Jakarta, Indonesia Interviewer: Thank you for agreeing to take part in this interview. Interviewee: You are welcome Interviewer: So, we can start now. My first question is would you tell me about yourself? Interviewee: OK, my name is Iyehezkiel Parudani, but most of my friends call me Yeki. I was born in South Sulawesi, around 2 hours flight from Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. I now work as Provincial Empowerment of Indonesian Blind Union central executive in Jakarta. Interviewer: Would you mind telling me your disability? Interviewee: I am totally blind and I am a blind since when I was 7 years old because of a disease. Interviewer: Well, thank you Yeki. The next question is what kind of assistive technology like software or hardware that you are using right now to support your daily activities? Interviewee: OK, for software assistive technology, I use JAWS (Job Access with Speech) and sometimes NVDA. In my lecture, I also use KURZWEIL1000. This kind of software is really helpful for converting PDF files to word document and we can also convert a video to an MP3 file. So, KURZWEIL is also really accessible. That’s for software assistive technology. For hardware, I use laptop and also Braille Memo. Braille Memo is kind of terminal Braille and you can use it for creating a braille letter. It is really helpful for you if you just want to present a short presentation. Just create some point using Braille Memo. This is really helpful for presentation. Interviewer: SO, what about mobile devices? Do you use also mobile devices? Interviewee: Yes, I also use mobile devices. This is really helpful because wherever I go and whenever friends call me, I am easily picking up because that mobile devices are now really accessible for visually impaired, of course with Voice Over or also Talks. Interviewer. What kind of mobile devices that you are using right now? Interviewee: I am using iPhone and also Android. iPhone and Android right now are very accessible for blind persons because of that as I said before, the Voice Over and Talk Back. Interviewer: Inside the mobile phone that you are using, is there any particular software that you use to support your activities? Like to move around the city, to read something on the Internet. Interviewee: I also base on my friend’s recommendation, I also use Google Maps on my mobile phone. That’s the only application for a while I use. Interviewer: OK, let’s continue to the next question. How long have you been using the technology? I mean the software and the hardware? Interviewee: I have been using those kind of assistive technology or assistive devices for more than 20 years. I started learning computer in around the year of 2000 when I was still in Makassar, the capital town of South Sulawesi Province. I learned computer for the first time with a friend of mine who at the time had just completed his computer course in Jakarta and backed to Sulawesi and trained some blind students in Makassar including me at that time. Interviewer: What about the mobile devices? Can you remember, when was the first time you used the mobile devices? Interviewee: I used mobile devices for th3 first time in 2005. Interviewer: What kind of your activities that have been being supported by the assistive technology? Interviewee: Of course, when reading some books either at home or at office, searching or browsing on the Internet, and this is very helpful when I was still a teacher in Bandung, I used these kinds of assistive devices very much and very often. In class, I used totally this kind of devices to deliver my teaching, so all my students can understand what I taught at that time or what I explained. Interviewer: So, what about for your orientation and mobility? I mean your mobility around your house, in the city. Is there any particular application that you are using? Interviewee: For a while, I just use like google maps when traveling around. Just Google Maps. Interviewer: How do you feel the Google Maps? Was it helpful? Interviewee: For some reasons, it is really helpful, but you know in Indonesia it is really difficult because the objects of a road or in the city are always change. I mean there is no permanent situation that can be used as guidance or as permanent objects. So, Google Maps sometimes difficult to be used. That some cases happened. For another reason, Google Maps can be used as well as we hope. Interviewer: Well Yeki, next question is what changes do you feel before and after using the assistive technology? Interviewee: Yeah, of course right now for using those kind of assistive devices, everything become easier than before. When I was in college, I always recorded myself all the subjects or the materials used by my teachers or my lecturers. I recorded it myself and I converted into Braille. That wasted my time a lot. But right now, everything become easier, become faster. For example, if I want to learn from the materials sent by my friends, I can easier read them and faster. Interviewer: So, big changes you feel, right? Interviewee: Yes, big changes happened right now. I would like to say that technology or assistive devices bring many things or so much important in to my life right now. Interviewer: What about your independent living? I mean, do you feel more independent than before using technology? Interviewee: Of course! I can now go everywhere myself compare to several years ago. I can live more independent right now, like do my work independently. Interviewer: So, technology has been so beneficial in your life. Interviewee: Of course! Now I can write, I can do my report, I can write proposal independently. Interviewer: OK Yeki, this is the las question from me. What kind of obstacles and challenges that you often encounter in using and accessing technology? Interviewee: In Indonesia most Internet connection are now very difficult and slow if we compare to some other countries. Internet become more problem because of the connection. And, attention from the government is not as high as government in some different countries if we talk about blind persons or people with disabilities. In Indonesia we have very low attention from the government the people with disabilities, especially people with visually impairment. Interviewer: OK then Yeki, it was nice conversation with you today. Anything you want to say before we end this interview? Interviewee: Yeah, I always suggest people like you at campus to make more advance assistive devices, so for the next time or for the next year, it will become more and more assistive devices which are really accessible for people with disabilities in general. Interviewer: Yeki, thank you very much for your suggestion. Well, that’s the end of our conversation. Thank you for your time and send my regards to your family and have a good day. Goodbye… Interviewee: You are welcome. You too. 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