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  • Exploring Career Growth for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Individuals via Machining Training: A Comparative Behavioral Analysis

This content will become publicly available on June 23, 2025

Title: Exploring Career Growth for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Individuals via Machining Training: A Comparative Behavioral Analysis
Overcoming challenges and transitioning from school to work is particularly problematic for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, presenting significant issues for both the labor market and vocational training institutions. Due to the lack of research addressing the career maturity and distinctive obstacles faced by this population, this paper endeavors to investigate performance disparities within the machining field. The specific focus is on assessing whether hearing loss may impact students' machining performance. Considering the essential human capabilities for perception in machining, especially in industrial settings, encompass a range of faculties including visualization, hearing, and tactile senses. Thus, addressing concerns related to accommodating individuals with disabilities is important, prompting inquiries into optimizing training programs and quantifying potential disparities in learning or schooling outcomes, behavioral patterns, and overall performance in future careers. The conducted studies involved multiple participants, including hearing, deaf, and hard-of-hearing students with various machining training backgrounds. The investigation will delve into data concerning the qualities of manual machining outputs and the subject’s self-rating feedback. The outcomes from this study are expected not only to allow to obtain more insights into human behavior in machining operations, but also to identify key differences between machinist trainees who exhibit no underlying hearing problems and ones who are deaf/hard of hearing. The findings of this work provide valuable takeaways concerning machinists with hearing loss, revealing little to no effect of hearing loss on trainee performance, alleviating concerns about potential performance weaknesses. The outcomes from this study have shown that trainee experience seems to relate directly to machining proficiency, regardless of hearing loss.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2202179
PAR ID:
10532348
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
American Society for Engineering Education
Date Published:
Journal Name:
ASEE annual conference proceedings
ISSN:
1524-4857
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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