Could speech technology help to reduce the digital social inequality of adults with basic literacy skills

Research goals:
To identify existing practice in the use of speech technologies to support the digital inclusion of adults with basic literacy skills
To identify opportunities for speech technologies to support access to the web for adults with basic literacy skills
To explore the possibility of using speech technologies to accelerate the development of adults' basic literacy skills through use of the Web
To identify and explore challenges and barriers to the use of speech technologies for web access by adults with basic literacy skills

Some 12.6m people are estimated to lack the IT skills to benefit from the internet . Over 5 million are also estimated to have difficulties with literacy skills that prevent them from engaging fully in life and work in the UK, with 1.7 million of these barely able to read and write a simple sentence UK (Department for Business Innovation and Skills, 2012). While the available figures do not reveal the extent of overlap between these two groups, basic literacy skills are widely considered a prerequisite for the development of online skills (Van Deursen and Van Dijk, 2014); thus, it is highly likely that the digitally excluded include many people with literacy difficulties.

Speech technologies - tools that use speech synthesis (text-to-speech) to convert written words into human voice-like audible output and voice input (speech-to-text) tools that allow computer users to use their voice instead of typing - are freely available on the Web. They appear to have potential for adults with low literacy levels as they circumvent the need to read or spell to interact with or on the web. In the form of assistive technologies (AT), tools such as text-to-speech are widely used in education by students with diagnosed reading difficulties (Draffan et al, 2007; Smythe, 2010), but they do not appear to be widely promoted to or used by adults with basic literacy skills, who are generally not in full-time education and who may or may not be recognized as 'disabled' (they may include, for example, adults who were not recognized as dyslexic when at school, and immigrants who have picked up spoken English through living in the UK but who struggle with literacy).

The proposed CDT in Web Science Innovation will have significant economic and societal impact, as it develops a substantial cohort of students equipped to navigate the disruptive transition to a digital economy. The training methods utilised by the CDT are based on a model of intensive industry partnership, thereby situating students directly in contemporary industry contexts and engaging them in a range of communications with industrial partners. This training context will develop important leadership skills, and will contribute to the formation of a better-skilled and more entrepreneurial workforce in the Digital Economy. Graduates will be able to understand the challenges and opportunities of the web from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, and therefore will have impact for a range of local, national and international businesses, within diverse sectors. As the proposed CDT combines both technical and societal approaches to Web Science, they will be able to identify and deploy effective digital solutions that have social traction. This will have considerable social impact creating a workforce capable of a holistic and therefore more effective approach to innovating in the digital economy.

Engagement with government will also allow for impact on a policy level. As interdisciplinary approaches to topical issues are developed through the CDT training, a cohort of graduates who can analyse and synthesise across perspectives will develop, providing cogent expert advice to policy makers. This societal impact will be significant, as key contemporary topics, such as online privacy or internet child pornography, are becoming increasingly complex and significant.

The CDT will also cultivate graduates who are adept at public engagement and outreach, having developed skills by engaging in a range of public activities throughout the course of their training. The ability to communicate broadly and clearly with a range of audiences, and to engage as leaders in a broad economic field, will be at the heart of the training.

The research undertaken by the postgraduate cohort, directed towards Web Science Innovation, and conducted in close co-operation with a network of industry partners, will generate significant new intellectual property within the UK economy. A particular innovation focus for the CDT will be Open Data, which amplifies the opportunities for value creation downstream from the original data creators and publishers. Our students will have the skills and opportunities to develop a range of novel and socially authentic Web services, through partnerships brokered by the Open Data Institute with government organisations, large firms, SMEs and startups.