జర్నల్ ఆఫ్ కమ్యూనికేషన్ డిజార్డర్స్, డెఫ్ స్టడీస్ & హియరింగ్ ఎయిడ్స్
అందరికి ప్రవేశం

నైరూప్య

Analyzing the Dynamics of Inclusive Practices through the Mass Media Coverage of Deafness, Multimodal Communication and Performance

Theophile Munyangeyo

This paper discuses deafness and the cultural shift in the public perceptions of this hearing impairment in a synchronic perspective. Using Buzzsumo’s content analyzer, we identified the content published around “Rose Ayling-Ellis”, “Sign Language” and “Deaf” as specific keywords. We examined the data in tandem with the social engagement, the concept, the purpose and the impact of inclusive practices through the mass media coverage of deafness, multimodal communication and performance. The findings revealed a significant increase in social engagements with Sign Language and Deaf; and Rose Ayling-Ellis was an important driver of the content and related topics. Using the content analysis and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as theoretical frameworks, this study confirms that multimodal communication strategies have allowed the disability dimensions to transcend the empathic assumptions and embrace significantly meritocratic achievements in a very competitive and yet inclusive contest. The paper concludes that ability/disability is an elusive dichotomy that is often related to societal and cultural interpretative deficiency. But for the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion framework to lead to meaningful changes, it should be supported by equitable interventions designed to facilitate and warrant the level playing field.