The sonic side of organizing: theorizing acoustemology for blind and visually impaired people's inclusion in the workplace

Figures & data

Table 1. Acoustemological analysis phase 1.

	Temporalities of events	Kind of events	Interactions
Synthetic voices	• Sequential actions: typing, listening, correcting • Fast reading	• Turning on the speakers • Checking sound level • Typing • Skimming the document • Male/female voice timbres	• Listening at the screen reader • Changing screen reader's mode • Correcting the misspelling • Match of gesture and sound • Asking colleagues to listen to the screen reader
Sound icons	• Co-occurrence: the phone rings while the screen reader is on; the mobile rings while he is on the phone	• Wearing earphones on one ear • Answering the phone • Moving the hand on the touchscreen • Mid-high-pitched sound impulses	• Interaction with the phone and the smartphone • The phone on one ear, the earphone on the other • Recognizing the objects by their voice or sonic timbre • Redirecting calls
Environmental sounds	• Sequential actions: answers the postman, turns the head, reaches out the hand • Co-occurrence: the colleague bumps into the table, the paper sheets fall	• Wearing earphones on one ear • People passing in the corridor • Talking to the postman • Co-worker bumping into the table • Sheets falling • Phone ringing	• Turning the head • Reaching out the hand • Answering the questions • Frowning • Not moving the head • Answering the phone

Table 2. Acoustemological analysis phase 2.

Use of technology	Personalization of the workspace	Interaction with co-workers		Dis-continuity
1. Audile techniques 2. Sonic identity of objects 3. Nonhuman agency and interpersonal interaction 4. Acceptance and refusal of sighted people's conventions 5. Non-personification of technology	1. Self-presentation through sound devices and workspace 2. Ideal blind vs individuality 3. Recognition through sonic personalization and technical skills 4. Blurred distinction between disability and impairment 5. Blindness as a personal and social condition rather than an abstract category	1. Collaborative practices based on trial and error 2. Negotiating assumptions taken for granted regarding the participants’ work identities and praxes 3. Tasks divided on the base of sensory modalities 4. Sound as a vehicle of recognition but also of stigmatization 5. Discrimination based on outdated technology and lack of collaboration		Alternative epistemology Co-construction of organizational culture Sociomaterial and relational inclusion