Large scale production of accessible media above and beyond DAISY Talking Books requires management of the workflow from the initial scan to the output of the media production. DAISY Producer was created to help manage this process. It tracks the transformation of hard copy or electronic content to DTBook XML at any stage of the workflow and interfaces to existing order processing systems. Making use of DAISY Pipeline and Liblouis, DAISY Producer fully automates the generation of on-demand, user-specific DAISY Talking Books, Large Print and Braille. This paper introduces DAISY Producer and shows how creators of accessible media can benefit from this open source tool.

Reading affects everything we do in life. Sometimes it is difficult to determine how many people have a reading disability, and what tools can be used to overcome it. The main aim of this thesis is to gain insight into how and if audio recordings (audiobooks, talking books or mobile apps for reading) are used in elementary schools by teachers as a tool for pupils with reading disabilities. A quantitative approach was adopted for data collection in the form of a self-administered online survey created by using Sunet Survey software. The survey, with 15 questions in Croatian, was sent to 63 elementary schools in Primorje and Gorski Kotar County in Croatia. The sampling frame consisted of 541 elementary school teachers teaching first through fourth grades. 98 responded to the survey. To support the results, 2 theories were used. The cognitive authority theory to support the notion that teachers play a large role in pupils' relationship with reading, and the cognitive load theory to support the notion that assistive technology can help pupils with reading disabilities. The results elucidate that our sample consists of 96.6% female respondents who are between 45 and 54 years old, have 10 to 20 years of professional experience, and mainly teach first grade. 75% of the respondents currently have and 89.8% used to have pupils with reading disabilities in their class. Although audiobooks are not the most popular tool in Croatia, 63.6% of respondents recognize them as a tool they use. The results also show that schools and school libraries are not sufficiently equipped with tools to help pupils with reading disabilities. Most involvement depends on the individual will of teachers.

Particularly in recent years, prompted by the need to gain greater independent access to a wider range of information, many persons who are blind make extensive use of screen access technology, optical character recognition devices, refreshable Braille displays and electronic notetakers in a variety of contexts. These reading and writing media have proved to be so useful and effective, raising debates in the literature on whether there is a decline in the use of Braille, or whether Braille as a reading and writing medium would become obsolete. Following a discussion on the development of tactual reading and writing media as part of an historical background to blindness, as well as an evaluation of the various reading and writing media used in South Africa by persons who are blind, this study, using a quantitative approach with a survey design, aimed to determine the impact of the various reading and writing media on the education and employment of persons who are blind. Based on the findings of the study, what emerges forcefully with regard to the preference of a medium for reading or writing is that a greater number of persons who are blind prefer Braille and computers with speech output. Notwithstanding this, there is support for the need to provide instruction in the use of the various reading and writing media, highlighting the critical value and role of the various media. Additionally, while persons who are blind appear to be convinced that computers will not replace Braille, they were, however, divided on whether there is a decline in the use of Braille, and whether computers would replace audiotapes. Finally, conclusions, based mainly on the findings of the study are drawn, and recommendations, both for future research, and for an integrated reading and writing model, are made. / Educational Studies / D.Ed.(Special Needs Educstion)

Particularly in recent years, prompted by the need to gain greater independent access to a wider range of information, many persons who are blind make extensive use of screen access technology, optical character recognition devices, refreshable Braille displays and electronic notetakers in a variety of contexts. These reading and writing media have proved to be so useful and effective, raising debates in the literature on whether there is a decline in the use of Braille, or whether Braille as a reading and writing medium would become obsolete. Following a discussion on the development of tactual reading and writing media as part of an historical background to blindness, as well as an evaluation of the various reading and writing media used in South Africa by persons who are blind, this study, using a quantitative approach with a survey design, aimed to determine the impact of the various reading and writing media on the education and employment of persons who are blind. Based on the findings of the study, what emerges forcefully with regard to the preference of a medium for reading or writing is that a greater number of persons who are blind prefer Braille and computers with speech output. Notwithstanding this, there is support for the need to provide instruction in the use of the various reading and writing media, highlighting the critical value and role of the various media. Additionally, while persons who are blind appear to be convinced that computers will not replace Braille, they were, however, divided on whether there is a decline in the use of Braille, and whether computers would replace audiotapes. Finally, conclusions, based mainly on the findings of the study are drawn, and recommendations, both for future research, and for an integrated reading and writing model, are made. / Educational Studies / D.Ed.(Special Needs Educstion)