CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

According to Ingle, Kanade and Lanke (2016) internet is currently the basic means of

communication in the world and one of the oldest form of communication through the internet is the

use of electronic mails or emails for short. Email is a computer-based communication system where

messages can be written by a sender on a computer. These messages are then transmitted via

computers to the addressee’s mail server where they can be opened and read by the receiver.

Kumari, Pai and Nayak (2017) stated that originally these messages could contain only text, but

nowadays anything that is storable on a computer can be transmitted via email messages. In this

thesis, messages that contain other information than text are considered as email messages with

attachments. These attachments are normally files created with other programs (e.g. FrameMaker,

Word, and Excel) than the email program. There are email systems that can handle information such

as pictures, sound, and video without assistance from other applications, but this is not important for

this thesis.

According to Russell and Norvig (2019) Email is distinguished from communication services such

as chat or talk by its asynchronous character. Asynchronous refers to the possibilities for the sender

and the receiver of a message to send and read the message at different times. This time difference

according to Fink (2010) is divided into three parts: the time between message creation and the time

of transmission (allowing the sender to edit the message), the time between the transmission and the

receiver’s opening of the message, and finally the time between opening and the responding to the

message.

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Nowadays people rely on communication, be it using instant messengers, social networks or email.

Communication helps us maintain relationships, do business and spread news. With the availability

of computers, cell phones, and an internet connection, communicating has become unbelievably

easy. All this convenience can only be enjoyed by people who are not blind or people without

crippled hands. They too deserve to be part of this new age or at least a part of it since science can

only do so much to help people with disabilities. The fact that disabled people cannot always enjoy

all that can be enjoyed by a person with no disabilities is understood, but society must put in an

effort for these people to at least enjoy all they can. Hence, this project is geared towards

developing a voice-based email system to help blind or visually impaired people to be able to access

the content of the mails they receive.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

There are technologies like screen readers and braille keyboards available. They aim to make the

personal computer or cell phone accessible to the visually impaired. Unfortunately, these do not

meet all the requirements for the visually impaired because there are various problems which

associated with them. For instance, most available text-to-speech mobile software are not dedicated

to email services. Cell phone calling has remained the most accessible communication technology

available to the visually impaired. The use of screen readers mostly requires a user to first have a

window open, then the text is read out. This also makes use of devices that aren’t accessible to the

visually impaired. Blind people have no privacy when trying to communicate with someone far

away, except for voice calling, there are no much options of digitally communicating with the blind.

You cannot use email, instant messengers or SMS because all these are not accessible to the visually

impaired without them having help from a normal person. Also, not all blind people understand

braille, thereby making voice the primary source of input, which isn’t fully supported with existing

systems.
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1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Project

The aim of this project is to develop an android application that can improve the means with which

the visually impaired read the content of emails received. This is achieved by developing a voice

based email system that the visually impaired can use with little or no assistance.

The specific objectives include;

i. To use interactive voice responses to control the flow of the software

ii. To use voice recognition to authenticate the user

iii. To use the voice to compose email messages

iv. To convert received email message to audio output.

v. To read out attachments (if readable)

vi. To send email message as an attached voice note if the voice cannot be converted to text

1.4 Scope of the Study

The scope of this research work involves creating a mobile app that will be perfectly accessible to

all types of users as it is based on the android OS which is one of the most used mobile devices

platforms these days. Also because of IVR facility those who cannot read need not worry as they

can listen to the prompting done by the system and perform respective actions.

1.5 Justification of the Study

The significance of this project work is to serve as a helping tool for the vision impaired/blind users.

Blind users will be able to use the software to listen to the content of the emails sent to their phone.

The application will convert text to speech and prompt the user to take necessary actions.

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1.6 Definition of Terms

Electrical Aided: An electronic device that help particular disable been to achieve a setting goal

IVR: Interactive Voice Response

Phonetic: Relating to the sounds of spoken language

Receiver: Person or thing who receives something.

Text: A writing consisting of multiple glyphs, characters, symbols or sentences.

Speech: the ability to speak or to use vocalization to communicate.

System: A collection of organized things

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Review of Relevant Literature

Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have explored while

researching a particular topic and to demonstrate how research fits within a larger field of study. As

such, this chapter is a comparison between E-mail systems that exist and an E-mail system that this

project proposed. In the context of visually impaired persons, different E-mailing systems will be

reviewed so as to determine their benefits and drawbacks. After that, one can now clearly see where

there is a need for improvement and where development can fork from. Also, there is an outline of

the foreknowledge of the proposed system and the source of that knowledge.

2.1.1 The Concept of Visual Impediment

Abner and Lahm (2012) in their study “Implementation of assistive technology with students

who are visually impaired: teachers' readiness” found that the estimation of 285 million people

suffering from visually impairment worldwide are divided into two groups of 39 million blind and

246 million with low vision. That means that someone in our world goes blind in every five seconds.

Demographics of the blindness vary significantly in different parts of the world. Arter (2007) carried

out a study on “Visual impairment: access to education for children and young people”, he

found out that in developing countries, about 0.4 % of the population is blind while in the rest part

of the world this rate rises up to 1 %. Chong (2013) observed that consequently, 90 % of the visually

impaired population are living in developing countries. About 82 % of the blind are over the age of

50.

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 (a) Normal vision

(b) Central cataract

(c) Half vision (d) Central loss of vision

Figure 2.1: Four examples of different kind of vision and visual impairment

Arter (2007) further stated that it is important to distinguish between different kind of visually

impairment, as each type are causing different problems which requires different kind of solutions

and contextual information necessary. In figure 2.1 it is shown some different kind of visual

impairment and how it can affect the visual information available compared to normal vision. There

are also several different degrees of visual impairment and according to WHO (2019), vision

function is classified in four levels as follows:

 Normal (full) vision - no visual impairment

 Moderate vision impairment

 Severe vision impairment

 Blindness

Moderate vision impairment combined with severe vision impairment are grouped under the term

“low vision”: low vision taken together with blindness represents all vision impairment. About 15 %

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of people who are having vision loss cannot see anything at all. According to Kumari et al., (2017)

in their study on “Voice-based E-mail system for blinds” the remaining 85-90 % may have

residual vision or other types of low vision and may have difficulties with colour, light, form or

movement perception.

2.1.2 Historical Perspective of Blindness

Tuttle (2004) stated that although persons who are blind do not yet enjoy the same full and equal

status accorded most other members of society, there have been remarkable changes, particularly in

the past two centuries.

Lowenfeld (1975) identified the following four phases in society's treatment of persons who are

blind:

 Separation

 Ward status

 Self- emancipation

 Integration

Separation

In many primitive societies and during early historical times, prompted by the prevailing

unchallenged assumption that persons who were blind could not contribute to the welfare of the

community, most people who were blind were ostracised from society. The cruel behaviour towards

people who were blind was rationalised, as they were not regarded as people, but rather as objects

who posed a threat to the survival of the society. On the other hand, there were some people, who,

although blind, were venerated by their contemporaries.

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In the earliest cultures, persons who were blind were rarely permitted to live a normal lifespan, or to

contribute to the wellbeing of the family or tribal unit. However, Dobree & Boulter (2002) observed

that as new cultures and civilisations emerged and gained ascendancy, this attitude changed

gradually, so that fear was mixed with pity, and rejection with compassion.

According to Lowenfeld (1975) Historical records of many different civilisations reveal the

presence of beggars who were blind, indicating that people of the day were willing to give food and

other gifts to them, based on pity, compassion, and perhaps by superstition.

With regard to the situation in Ancient Greece and Rome, beggars who were blind were restricted to

specific areas, for example, the gates of the cities, the steps of the temples, and around civic

buildings. Many people, including great leaders, were convinced that nothing was gained by keeping

alive those who were blind. In fact, the citizens of Rome were exhorted to refrain from providing

food and drink to beggars who were blind, believing that their actions would be a double evil.

Dobree & Boulter (2002) stated that firstly, that which was given would be lost to the donor, and

secondly, it would unnecessarily extend the life of misery being endured by the recipient.

Lowenfeld (1975) in a historical study found that the two Greek philosophers, namely Plato and

Aristotle, gave their support to the practice of putting to death imperfect infants, including those

who were blind.

Dobree & Boulter (2002) also discovered that in Sparta and Athens, formal rituals were held to

determine whether the degree of disability in a young child was sufficient to justify his/her death.

However, it was generally ruled that those who were blind should be put to death.

According to Koestler (2016) the practice of ending the lives of physically disabled babies was

prevalent in Rome. Small reed baskets were sold in which infants who were blind or infirm were

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placed prior to being cast into the river Tiber. In Thebes, many infants were killed, and those whose

lives were spared were frequently sold into slavery.

Protection

According to Dobree & Boulter (2002) Although many centuries were to pass before the mass of

persons who were blind could derive direct benefit from planned services for their education and

welfare, they came at least to enjoy the right to life, the receipt of alms, and, in isolated instances,

the personal support of influential people.

According to Kirtley (2015) the ideal of individual human worth first emerged in the Orient. In both

China and India, useful occupations for persons who were blind were found relatively soon.

Dobree & Boulter (2002) stated that based largely on a philosophical approach, in early China, it

was recognised that blindness freed the sightless from the distractions of everyday life, enabling

their minds to ponder the mysteries of the world. Some gained enviable reputations as soothsayers,

being sought out by many in high office. Music, which was closely associated with blindness and

with the individual lives of people who were blind, was recognised as being a unique outlet for their

talents. Early Chinese writings contain references to the blind men who, with songs and gongs,

travelled the land bringing enjoyment to their listeners while making their contribution to the growth

of public awareness of the abilities that were latent in those without sight.

Kirtley (2015) stated that with regard to the situation in India, Buddhism encouraged compassion for

persons with disabilities. During the third century B.C. the pious, Asoka the Great, constructed

hospitals at public expense and encouraged tolerance toward both the impoverished and persons

with disabilities. Moreover, some of the people who were blind gained a respectable niche in society

as transmitters of oral tradition, both secular and religious. They memorised the stories of past

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events and travelled the countryside reciting the histories and fables of bygone ages. However,

despite this, blind beggars were still to be found everywhere in India.

Dobree & Boulter (2002) stated that in Japan, some persons who were blind were welcome guests at

the courts of the mighty, where they recited from memory stories and records from the annals of the

past.

Tuttle (2004) found that during the Judaic and early Christian periods, pity and compassion for

persons who were blind emerged as dominant patterns. Recognition of persons who were blind as

members of the human race brought with it the responsibility to care for one's brother. This care and

concern found expression in the establishment of asylums or sheltered environments where the basic

needs, such as food, clothing, and housing were met. Although persons who were blind were

recognised as members of society, they were still not perceived as capable of any meaningful

contribution. The dignity and worth of persons who were blind remained in doubt, resulting in their

lowered self- esteem.

According to French (2004), in the early Christian communities, children, the aged, and those who

were blind were the special wards of the Church. In particular, the deacons took special care of

persons who were blind, and wealthy Christians took persons who were blind into their households

as their special wards.

During and after the fourth century, asylums and hospitals were founded, which also provided

accommodation for persons who were blind. However, there is no doubt that most persons who were

blind were left to a beggar's lot, relying upon the good deeds of individuals and upon alms from the

Church.

According to Kirtley (2015), in early Islamic countries, the state of persons who were blind was

somewhat more satisfactory than in Europe. During the eleventh century, they were offered

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instruction at Cairo's University of AI-Azhar. Their education extended over a twelve- year period

and was accomplished through memorisation. Some persons who were blind became teachers or

preached in the mosques, while many others sang or recited the Koran in public and holy places.

Egypt was one of the first countries to produce self- supporting scholars who were blind.

For persons who were blind in the Middle Ages, the situation was very different. With the spread of

Christianity, particularly across Europe, the practice of offering charity to all who were in need,

including those with visual and other impairments, continued to develop.

Lowenfeld (2015) stated that while limited efforts were made to provide for the educational training

of those persons who were blind, the provision of food and shelter, clothing, and other basic

necessities of life became common practice, culminating in Paris in 1254 with the establishment of

Hospital des Quinze Vingts by Louis IX. This was a special residential home for 300 persons who

were blind (thus the name - fifteen times twenty) drawn from the streets of Paris and elsewhere in

France and staffed by priests.

Kirtley (2015) observed that although admission to the Quinze-Vingts was initially restricted to men

who were blind, this was later extended to women as well. "Each brother and sister joined with all

personal belongings, which, at death, became the property of the asylum. They were obliged to keep

the statutes and secrets of the House, observe certain religious rituals, and execute all allocated

chores. In addition, they wore the House uniform - a long blue gown with a lily on the breast".

To keep the members of the Quinze-Vingts gainfully occupied, some effort was made to provide a

modicum of instruction and training in simple crafts. A number of blind thinkers of the day, freed

from the constant battle for physical survival, added the fruits of their talents to the growing

reservoir of positive contributions being made to thought and life in the communities in which they

lived. Dobree & Boulter (2002) observed that for the most part, however, the residents of the

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Quinze-Vingts continued their former lives as beggars, but with the advantage that they did not have

to spend the alms they received on food, shelter, or clothing.

While the purposes for which it was established and the results achieved by the Quinze-Vingts at the

time of its establishment were elementary by today's standards, it was outstandingly important in the

long history of service to people who were blind, and the growth of understanding about blindness,

being the first recorded case of acceptance by the State of responsibility for the care and support of

persons who were blind. It was, therefore, the forerunner of many similar enterprises later to

develop in Europe and elsewhere. (Lowenfeld (2015) stated that these brotherhoods, such as those in

Italy, Spain and Germany, were connected with specific churches and were under the patronage of

various saints.

Self- Emancipation

According to French (2004), although very little was done to make persons who were blind self-

supporting, it remained for persons who were blind themselves to point the way toward the form

which that care should take, by showing in their persons and achievements that their greatest need

was that of education. Therefore, throughout history, there have been stories told about remarkable

and talented persons who were blind, who managed, often with insightful assistance, to educate

themselves and to make significant contributions to their societies. Roberts (2016) stated that these

persons, through their own efforts, rose to prominence, despite the prevailing attitudes to blindness

and people who were blind.

2.1.3 E-mail Background

E-mail, short for electronic mail, is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using

electronic devices. Invented by Ray Tomlinson, E-mail first entered limited use in the 1960s and by

the mid-1970s had taken the form now recognized as E-mail. E-mail operates across computer
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networks, which today is primarily the Internet. Some early E-mail systems required the author and

the recipient to both be online at the same time, in common with instant messaging. Today's E-mail

systems are based on a store-and-forward model.

Today, there are more than four billion E-mail accounts and more than two and a half billion E-mail

users (THE RADICATI GROUP, INC., 2019). This makes E-mail the most spread communication

technology on the internet. This staggering statistic is because E-mail is universal. One can do

business, use it to sign up to social media and other services.

Only a handful of websites and applications target the visually impaired. A survey by World Health

Organization (2018) shows that there are more than 250 million visually challenged people around

the globe. That is, around 250 million people are unaware of how to use the internet or E-mail. The

only way by which a visually impaired person can send an E-mail is by having to dictate the entire

content of the mail to a third person (not visually challenged) and then the third person will compose

the mail and send on the behalf of the visually impaired person.

But this is not a correct way to deal with this problem. It is very less likely that every time a visually

challenged person can find someone for help. What most of these websites and applications fail to

produce is a system that is fully supported by voice alone, a system that completely eliminates the

use of a keyboard, mouse or another form of pointing device, not to mention assistance from another

person.

2.1.3.1 Traditional E-mail clients

Examples of traditional E-mail clients in use are Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail etcetera. Most

facilities available on the majority of the E-mail client software require visual perception. Some

software tries to cater to the visually impaired. Consider Gmail, the most popular E-mail client, it

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has a platform that tries to make E-mail accessible to the visually impaired. The two facilities

provided that are worth noting are a Screen Reader and Keyboard shortcuts.

Drawbacks

The very fact that this software requires visual perception is a major drawback. Using a screen

reader requires a user to first open a page or window. That alone requires visual perception. The

screen reader software then reads out the page or window content in a sequential manner and

therefore the user can make out the contents of the screen only if they are in basic HTML format.

Thus the new advanced web pages which do not follow this paradigm in order to make the website

more user-friendly only create extra hassles for the visually impaired people. Also, users have to

remember keyboard shortcuts which make the software not user-friendly. Messages are composed

using the keyboard and again, this requires visual perception that the visually impaired lack.

2.1.3.2 Voice based E-mail Systems for Blinds

Pranjal Ingle et al proposed and developed an E-mail system that the visually impaired can use.

According to their paper, the system uses Interactive Voice Responses (IVR), Speech to Text

conversion (STT) and Text to Speech conversion (TTS). The user interacts with the system by using

mouse clicks as described in their paper. Ingle, Kanade and Lanke (2016) stated that “User will be

very well guided with the help of voice commands, while registration all the necessary fields to be

filled will be read by site, by clicking on that box he would have to fill in them. For example, if the

cursor moves over register icon it would sound ‘register button’, after clicking on the register button

it would sound like ‘you are on registration page’”.

Kumari et al, (2017) also wrote a paper with the same title as Pranjal Ingle et al. Their systems are

somewhat identical. Both use voice and mouse clicks as input sources. Also, the two systems

authenticate a user by evaluating a text-encoded-audio value as a password. Below is a snippet from

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their paper on how the system works. NB: Red arrows indicate actions invoked by the user using a

mouse or pointing device.

Figure 2.2 System Architecture for E-mail for the visually impaired

Drawbacks

The major drawback of the Voice-based E-mail system for the blinds is that the systems rely on

mouse click events, which require visual perception for them to be executed. This alone is the whole

basis for building this software project. TTS and STT conversions are done locally by the user

device which results in a poor performance application because a lot of time is done processing the

text to speech and vice versa. The software is only available on the Desktop platform. Desktops and

laptops are more expensive and less accessible than mobile devices.

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2.2 Theoretical Framework

The presence of a visual impairment can impact the normal sequence of learning in social, motor,

language and cognitive developmental areas. Reduced vision often results in a low motivation to

explore the environment, initiate social interaction, and manipulate objects (Project Ideal).

According to Project Ideal, people with visual impairments must be taught compensatory skills and

adaptive techniques in order to be able to acquire knowledge from methods other than sight. The

people with Visual Impairment have limited ability to explore the environment, often need to rely on

other senses to gather information, hence cannot share common visual experiences with their sighted

peers, and therefore vision loss may negatively impact the development of appropriate social skills.

Perez-Pereira and Conti-Ramsden (1999) stated that as a result, these people may experience low

self-esteem that limits their sense of mastery over their own lives. This calls for providing them a

conducive environment, to overcome these potential difficulties.

According to Torreno (2012) social deficits in people with visual impairment are typically caused by

a lack of information about the visual aspects of interacting with others. Hence it is important to find

out how visually impaired people socialize, what are their strengths and weaknesses regarding social

skills and how to improve their socialization for their inclusion in information technology.

Theoretical foundation

If we want to establish inclusion as a new paradigm and thus training visually impaired for

improving their socialization, it is required to know fundamental framework based on various

theories. For this purpose, different theories are analyzed by considering three major areas viz.

disability, socialization- social skills development and inclusion and the related conceptual

components, as shown in the figure -

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Figure 2.3 Areas of Research

The theoretical framework is formulated to explain, predict and understand various interrelated

aspects of the phenomena and help to connect the existing knowledge in the related areas and to

support in prescribing future solutions. These theories are presented according to the major areas

and their interrelatedness.

Inclusion is a broad concept and many theories are considered which explains the nature and role of

inclusion in education. Social Inclusion (Scottish Human Services Trust, 2005) is based on the

values as - Everyone is ready, everyone can learn, everyone needs support, everyone can

communicate, everyone can contribute, and together we are better. It states that difference is our

most important renewable resource. Social inclusion theory by Peter Rodney, (2003) explains that

the basic didactic and psychological belief underlying inclusive education is that there is no

difference between the educational needs of the child with a disability and the other children. They

have one common goal: social inclusion. These theories thus are based on the social inclusion

strategy, important to facilitate better life outcomes through better social engagement of individuals

and to benefit them irrespective of their disability.

According to the theory of Radical democracy (Halprin D., 1999), a particular form of democratic

association is fundamental to the considerations of nature and practice of inclusive schooling to

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achieve the long-term goal that all students, upon completion of secondary schooling are capable of

fulfilling the requirements of an informed, active and responsible democratic citizen. This theory

thus supports that inclusion is important to prepare disabled students to become capable and

responsible citizens. Hence certain measures are needed for preparing disabled students for their

democratic inclusion.

Further the Social exclusion theory by Hilary Silver (2007) stated that Social exclusion is a

multidimensional process of progressive social rupture, detaching groups and individuals from

social relations and institutions and preventing them from full participation in the normal,

normatively prescribed activities of the society in which they live. This theory is thus helpful to

know that if we want to integrate the disabled students in the mainstream social inclusion is

necessary. Social exclusion can be avoided by improving the participation of the disabled. Social

exclusion results in a social isolation and thus become a barrier in mainstreaming of the disabled

students. According to Harry & Margaret Harlow, (1949) in their Theory of Social Isolation, as

discussed in the Fifth Canadian Edition of Sociology, extreme social isolation results in irreversible

damage to normal personality development. It focuses on importance of training visually impaired

students for social skills improvement to lead a normal life and avoid their social exclusion.

Peter Rodney in his theory of social inclusion, stated the relatedness of blindness and personality

and explained that psychologically, blindness does not limit the mental processes. It is emphasized

that, efforts to train the blind person's sense of hearing have their limitations, the same is not true of

the mental and social development. Thus training visually impaired students for inclusive settings by

developing their social skills will help them in developing their personality.

According to Theory of defectology by Lev Vygotsky, (1993), the psychological aspect of visual

impairment in the development of inclusion corresponds more or less to the current concept of

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special needs education (SNE). Any physical handicap not only alters the child's relationship with

the world, but above all affects his interaction with people. Any organic defect is revealed as a social

abnormality in behavior. Thus it is clear that socialization and inclusion override the physical

impairment and, makes the term ‘defect’ incomprehensible. Thus visually impaired students if

trained properly may improve in their social skills and thus lead a normal life which can be

explained with the concept of Compensatory Education Development (Garbner, 1988). The focus

of the Compensatory Education is to help the individual to become as independent as possible

through acquiring basic and life skills needed to function successfully in daily living. Compensatory

education is provided to help disadvantaged students to overcome any cognitive and social deficits

due to their environment.

From the above discussion it is clear that all these theories support the need of socialization for the

visually impaired students for inclusion. The term socialization has been approached in a number of

ways. Various theories are studied to understand the interrelated components of socialization. Social

Development Theory (Lev Vygotsky, 1978) argues that social interaction precedes development;

consciousness and cognition are the end product of socialization and social behavior. A second

aspect of Vygotsky's theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive development depends upon

the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD): a level of development attained when children engage

in social behavior. Full development of the ZPD depends upon full social interaction. The range of

skill that can be developed with adult guidance or peer collaboration exceeds what can be attained

alone. In other words it can be said that social interaction improves socialization. Further Vygotsky

added that disability will change during development and that it is sensitive to the influence of

remediation programs and social influences. Through his Socio-cultural theory, Vygotsky (1995)

introduced the core concepts of the "primary disability, "secondary disability" and their interactions.

A "primary" disability is an organic impairment due to biological factors. A "secondary" disability

19
refers to distortions of higher psychological functions due to social factors. An organic impairment

prevents a child from mastering some or most social skills and acquiring knowledge at a proper rate

and in an acceptable form. He stated, if the path of development diverges from normal social

development because of the child’s disability, then the child is socially deprived. This leads to the

emergence of delays and deficiencies, i.e. secondary handicapping conditions and inadequate

compensatory ways of coping. Thus it is clear that socially deprived child develop delays and

deficiencies and disability is sensitive to remediation and social influences.

Theory of Social Behaviorism by George Herbert Mead (1967) explained that people develop self-

images through interactions with other people, a person’s personality consisting of self-awareness

and self-image, is a product of social experience. The self develops solely through social experience.

The planned and organized experiences lead to develop person’s self-image and lead to improve

their socialization. Charles Cooley through the Development of self, explained that the heart of

socialization is the development of the self. It further suggests that the mark of successful

socialization is the transformation of social control into self-control. (Spark Notes Editors, 2006). It

shows that the development of self and identity in the context of intimate and reciprocal relations is

important for socialization.

In addition to the above concepts George Herbert Mead through the concept of Self-socialization

stated that the sense of self is developed through social interaction. The self is a changing but

enduring aspect of personality that is a collection of beliefs that one hold about oneself. An

individual formulate his beliefs based upon his social interactions with others. (SparkNotes Editors,

2006). It indicates that through improved social interactions, self can be developed.

Bandura Albert, (1977) in his Social learning theory explained that people learn new behavior

through overt reinforcement or punishment, or via observational learning of the social factors in

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their environment. People can learn through observation - observational learning can occur in

relation to three models: Live model – in which an actual person is demonstrating the desired

behavior. Verbal instruction – in which an individual describes the desired behaviour in detail, and

instructs the participant in how to engage in the behavior and Symbolic – in which modeling occurs

by means of the media, including movies, television, Internet, literature, and radio. This type of

modeling involves a real or fictional character demonstrating the behaviour.

For the Interactionists, society consists of organized and patterned interactions among individuals.

The interactionist theorist sees humans as active, creative participants who construct their social

world, not as passive, conforming objects of socialization. From Symbolic Interactionism by

George Herbert Mead and Herbert Blumer put forward the perspective that people act toward things

based on the meaning those things have for them; and these meanings are derived from social

interaction and modified through interpretation. (Griffin, Emory A. 2006). Further it states that -

Social interaction through organized and patterned programme make children active in their social

world.

Erving Goffman created the concept of total institution in his essay “On the Characteristics of Total

Institutions” published in 1961 in Asylums. Total institutions are social hybrids, part residential

community and part formal organization intended for the bureaucratic management of large groups

of people. Goffman (1961) offers this definition: A total institution may be defined as a place of

residence and work where a large number of like-situated individuals, cut off from the wider society

for an appreciable period of time, together lead an enclosed, formally administered round of life

(Encyclopedia of Social Theory, 2013). Erwing Goffman, presented Interactive Resocialization

where Resocialization is stated as a process of tearing down and rebuilding an individual’s role and

socially constructed sense of self. Resocialization is defined as radically changing an inmate’s

personality by carefully controlling the environment. Resocialization programs operate on the

21
assumption that values, attitudes, and ability can be permanently altered as a result of outside

intervention. Thus Resocialization through social skills development programme may help visually

impaired for their mainstreaming and development of self.

Moreover there are two different aspects of socialization, cognitive (Jean Piaget) and psychosocial

(Erik Erikson) development. According to cognitive approach - Socialization is largely a matter of

cognitive development, viewed as a combination of social influence and maturation.

Thus it is clear that Socialization program may be helpful to change children’s thought process that

may improve their interaction with the world as skill assimilation and accommodation is an ongoing

process. Instead of focusing on cognitive development, psycho-social theory focuses on how

children socialize and how this affects their sense of self. According to this theory, successful

completion of each developmental stage results in a healthy personality and successful interactions

with others. Thus it confirms the need of Social skills improvement for socialization and thus sense

of self.

As discussed earlier social rules and relations are created, communicated and changed in verbal and

non-verbal ways. The process of learning such skills is called socialization. Social skill is any skill

facilitating interaction and communication with others. Thus to improve socialization social skills

are needed to be developed. A Social skill development programme can be designed to satisfy this

purpose. There are various theories that explain the skill development and social skill development

specifically.

According to Skill acquisition Theory, Crossman (1959) provided an early view on how practice

leads to performance improvements. Crossman’s model qualifies as a theory that proposes, practice

leads to more efficient procedures for performing a task. While Dreyfus and Dreyfus in their Skill

development theory explained that, as human beings acquire a skill through instruction and

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experiences, they do not appear to leap suddenly from rule-guided “knowing that” to experience-

based “knowing-how.” Hubert and Stuart Dreyfus Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition postulates

that, when individuals acquire a skill through external instruction, they normally pass through five

stages: Novice, Advanced Beginner, Competent, Proficient, and Expert. According to Hall-Ellis and

Deborah (2013) progression through the five stages is viewed as a gradual transition from rigid

adherence to rules to an intuitive mode of reasoning believe that there is a gradual process involved

for an agent to go through in order for him to reach the stage of expertise or knowing-how.

Transfer of learning - Identical Element Theory by Edward Thorndike also explains Skill to skill

transfer. Transfer of learning occurs when learning in one context or with one set of materials

impacts on performance in another context or with other related materials. Perkins and Solomon

(1992) stated that if the influence is on a new skill being developed then this is said to be proactive

and if the influence is on a previously learned skill then this is said to be retroactive so skill

development is based on the concept of transfer of learning. Education can achieve abundant

transfer if it is designed to do so.

Similarly according to Transformational learning by Jack Mezirow (1990) the process of learning,

analyzing and making deliberate changes to the assumptions that we have, cause us to think act and

behave in certain ways. He explained this through Communicative Learning Communicative

learning focuses on achieving coherence rather than on exercising more effective control over the

cause effect relationship to improve performance, as in instrumental learning. This includes a

critique of the assertion itself. It also requires a critique of the relevant social norms and of cultural

codes that determine the allocation of influence and power over whose interpretations are

acceptable. This discussion shows that Social skills can be taught to visually impaired through

experiences and instructions to improve their performance, assertion and ultimately socialization.

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Dr. Dame Lilli Nielsen believes that all very young children learn by being active, rather than

passive recipients of stimulation. A visual impairment prohibits a child from having enough

opportunities to develop these abilities and have these experiences without intervention. She

encourages the adults to set up the child's environment so that he can do this. Active Learning

explains that the immediate repetition enables the child to store the information gained from the

experiences in his memory. Thus Activity based program should be considered while designing the

intervention to help visually impaired students to learn social skills. (Shafer Stacy, 1995).

Sequential learning by Fitts and Posner (1967) explained that there are three stages to learning a

new skill: Cognitive phase - Identification and development of the component parts of the skill -

involves formation of a mental picture of the skill. Associative phase - Linking the component parts

into a smooth action - involves practicing the skill and using feedback to perfect the skill and

Autonomous phase - Developing the learned skill so that it becomes automatic - involves little or no

conscious thought or attention whilst performing the skill - not all performers reach this stage. The

leaning of physical skills requires the relevant movements to be assembled, component by

component, using feedback. Rehearsal of the skill must be done regularly and correctly.

The Structured-Discovery Learning by Dr. James S. Nyman (2001) suggests two approaches to

provide training to blind people – The science model: The counselor need only take charge of the

individual's behavior and with patience and skill effect the equivalent of a cure. It is not necessary

for the student to know the science behind the training, only to execute the acquired skills to a

prescribed standard. The philosophy model: Most of the environmental knowledge is derived from

reflection by generations of blind people on their shared experience in developing alternative

techniques for accessing relevant information. This is the foundation of the philosophical approach

known as structured-discovery learning. This supports that the visually impaired children can be

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trained by monitoring their behavior and giving them experiences to develop alternative techniques

for effective socialization through a need based intervention.

2.3 Summary of Literature Review

This chapter reviewed several literatures on the proposed voice based email system for blind people.

The information gathered shows that the system will be beneficial for society by allowing disable

people also to grow along with society. The reviewed literatures suggests that voice based email

makes visually challenged people able enough to be part of the growing digital world by allowing

them to communicate via internet and also making life of such people much easier. This system

overcomes many drawbacks that were faced by visually challenged people such as sending and

receiving emails. Success of this project can make an impact on developers motivating them to

make something useful that can help visually challenged or blind people.

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 CHAPTER THREE

MATERIALS AND METHOD

This is a description of methods chosen to achieve the objectives of the proposed system. It will go

on to describe the techniques of data collection that will be employed in the research study of the

proposed systems.

3.1 Materials

Android Studio: Android Studio is integrated development environment for Google’s android

operating system. Its task is to provide the interface for producing applications and to handle much

of the intricate file management. The programming language used for this is Java. It grants you

access to the android’s SDK (software development kit). SDK is the addition to the java code that

grants to run effortlessly on android devices. Android Studio allows you to run your code either via

an emulator or via a piece of hardware connected to your machine. Android Studio will present a list

of auto-complete suggestions. Some of its features are gradle based built support, android specific

renaming and prompt fixes, it supports building of android wear applications and it contains an

Android Virtual Device(Emulator) which helps to run and debug its applications.

SQLite: SQLite is a software library that implements a self-contained, server-less, zero-

configuration, transactional SQL database engine. It is the standard database provided by Android.

Java Mail API: The Java Mail API contributes a platform- self-sufficient and protocol self-

sufficient framework to construct mail and messaging applications. The Java Mail API provides a

set of undefined classes defining objects that encloses a mail system. Some of the JavaMail API

protocols used are SMTP, POP and IMAP.

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3.2 Method

To achieve the development of the proposed system the prototype methodology adopted for the

software development. The prototype methodology is the software development process which

allows developers to create only the prototype of the solution to demonstrate its functionality to the

clients and make necessary, modifications before developing the actual application.

3.2.1 List of Method

Prototyping Model has six SDLC phases as follow:

Step 1: Requirements gathering and analysis

In this phase, the requirements of the system are defined in detail. The users of the system were

interviewed to know what they expect from the system.

Step 2: Quick design

The second phase is a preliminary design or a quick design. In this stage, a simple design of the

system was created. The quick design helps in developing the prototype.

Step 3: Build a Prototype

In this phase, an actual prototype was designed based on the information gathered from quick

design.

Step 4: Initial user evaluation

In this stage, the proposed system was presented to the client for an initial evaluation. It helps to find

out the strength and weakness of the working model. Comment and suggestion were collected from

the customer and provided to the developer.

Step 5: Refining prototype

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If the user is not happy with the current prototype, you need to refine the prototype according to the

user's feedback and suggestions.

This phase will not be over until all the requirements specified by the user are met. Once the user is

satisfied with the developed prototype, a final system is developed based on the approved final

prototype.

Step 6: implement Product and Maintain

Once the final system is developed based on the final prototype, it was thoroughly tested and

deployed to production. The system undergoes routine maintenance for minimizing downtime and

prevent large-scale failures.

3.3 Analysis of the Existing System

Starting with the traditional mail systems i.e. Gmail, the platforms rarely try to cater for the visually

impaired persons. Only two implementation options were built. Namely keyboard shortcuts and a

screen reader. Needless to say, keyboard use requires visual perception, therefore, that becomes a

major weakness of the tradition mail software. In regards to the use of a screen reader, one might

ask how a blind user can start the screen reader? Again, use of a pointing device is implied. Suppose

that the screen reader is easily accessible, will it be able to make sense of the user interface mark-up

(HTML) in the sense and sequence that the developers intended? Maybe so. Therefore, because of

all these circumstances, the traditional email software and platforms fail to cater for the visually

impaired community.

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3.3.1 Shortfalls of the Existing System

Now let us consider the two systems mentioned in the literature review. The first one created by

Pranjal Ingle et al, had some functionality that is not found in the traditional email platforms. One

example is the ability to read out new mail using TTS and using STT to compose text mail. The

major weakness of this system is that the user has to invoke this functionality by using the mouse.

Only after a mouse click can the text be read out or an audio be recorded.

Email system for the visually impaired by Kumari et al is much like the system by Pranjal Ingle et

al. It primarily relies on mouse events to properly function. Again, this is the major weakness of

their system. Both systems have a common weakness from a performance standpoint. They both do

the TTS and STT conversions on the user device. Battery life of the user device is heavily affected

and also this results in a significant delay due to the heavy processing.

The proposed system will address all the aforementioned weaknesses present in the current systems

by removing the dependency on click events. All program flow will be ushered by voice suggestions

and interactive voice responses thereby making the system/platform more accessible.

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3.4 Flow Diagram of the Proposed System

The diagram below is an abstraction of the new system showing the participants and services

involved in the system. A detailed overview of the system architecture and all the components

involved are included in the next chapter when the analysis will be dealt with in depth.

CLOUD AI

RECEIVER
USER

MAIL SERVER

Figure 3.1 Block Diagram of New System

3.4.1 Analysis of the Proposed System

The proposed system has three major modifications to the systems that already exist. Firstly, it

eliminates the use of any pointing device or keyboard. This will be done by using interactive voice

responses to control the flow of the software. Secondly, text-to-speech conversions and vice versa

will be handled by a cloud service. That is, the two will no longer be done on the user device but

rather on a dedicated server that is designed specifically for such conversions. Thirdly, this system

will use voice recognition to identify and authenticate a user. Again, this will be supported by cloud

processing. These three modifications are not exhaustive but a highlight of the major changes that

the system intends to make.

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Benefits of the new system

1. The new system will be faster compared to the email system for the blind (mentioned

earlier). Thanks to the use of cloud-based processing.

2. User authentication using voice/facial recognition is secure and a viable option for the

visually impaired. Gmail and other e-mail clients alike authenticate a user using a written

password.

3. The proposed system is incredibly cheap and will be free to the end users.

4. The proposed system is depended on voice input alone. It won’t use any pointing device or

the keyboard.

5. The proposed system is platform independent. It will be supported on both desktop and

mobile platforms.

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