Pictographs in Disaster Communication for Linguistically Challenged and Illiterate Populations: A Survey on Background and Existing Practices

Thisarticledescribeshowpictographs(orpictograms)canbeanimportantmeanstocommunicate informationaboutnaturaldisasterstopeoplethatarelackingthecapabilitytounderstandwrittentext. Thisdoesnotonlyincludeilliterates,butalsoforeignersnotspeakingthelocallanguage.Whileitis widelyacceptedthatpictograph-basedcommunicationcanplayamajorrole,thereisnoestablished workflowtoincludethiskindofsymbolsinearlywarningordisasterreportingpractice.Thisarticle investigatesthetopicofpictograph-basedcommunicationsystems,especiallyinthefieldofnatural disasters,withafocusontheuseoflinguisticallychallengedpopulations.Theauthorsanalyzeexisting literature,takealookatexistingpictographresources,analyzeafirstfieldstudywithmarginalized populationsandderiveconclusionsforadesignprocessforpictograph-baseddisastercommunication systems. KEywoRDS Disaster Communication, Early Warning, Cognitive Aspects, Cognitive Systems, Illiteracy, Icons, User Experience, User Interfaces, Design, Participatory Design, User-Centered Design

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