The Semiotic Grounds of Animal Assistance: Sign Use of Guide Dogs and Their Visually Impaired Handlers
Date
2015
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Abstract
Materiaalne linnakeskkond ja selles kehtivad käitumisreeglid sisaldavad kindlaid ootusi märgisüsteemide suhtes, mille abil keskkonda kasutada. Juhtkoera ja nägemispuudega inimese märgisüsteemide kombinatsioon eeldab olemasolevate ootustega kohanemist, aga loob ka toimetulekuks uusi lahendusi. Kahe eri liiki isendi märgisüsteemide ühendus hõlmab objektide seniste tähenduste teisendamist, arvestades teist tandemi osapoolt; liikidevahelise kommunikatsiooni kaudu tähenduste täpsustamist ning ühiskonnas leiduvate loom-inimene piiride proovilepanekut.
Juhtkoera ja inimese tandemi üks osapool ei ole vaid osa teise laiendatud kehaplaanist – tandemi liikmetel on kummalgi individuaalne omailm, mis hõlmab kindlaid tähendusseoseid. Koostöö käigus see muutub, kuivõrd tähenduste moodustumisel tuleb arvesse võtta ka teise tandemiliikme huvisid. Isenditevahelise kommunikatsiooni kaudu suunatakse juhtkoera töös individuaalseid tajuprotsesse, millegi tajumine keskkonnas tekitab aga omakorda kommunikatsioonivajaduse. Intervjuudele ning osalusvaatlusele tuginedes on töös näidatud, et juhtkoeratöö jaoks kesksed märgikompleksid koonduvad kindlate alamülesannete ümber (nt orienteerumine; kohtade ja objektide otsimine; takistuste vältimine) ning tandemi koostöö areneb sageli vähem hierarhilise, mittediskreetse ning teise osapoole reaktsioone ennetava märgilise käitumise suunas.
Rootsi, eesti ja saksa tandemite näitel on töös analüüsitud ka juhtkoera töös ette tulevaid semiootilise iseloomuga probleeme. Tajuga seonduvad probleemid tekivad, kui mingid keskkonna omadused või eristused, nagu näiteks kõnni- ja sõidutee üleminekud, jäävad tandemi jaoks tabamatuks või tingivad kõrvalekaldumise liikumistrajektoorilt. Kommunikatiivsed probleemid on sageli seotud raskustega mõistmisel, kas tandemi teine liige kasutab parasjagu tööolukorraga seonduvaid märke või mitte. Sotsiaalsed probleemid on aga tingitud vastuolulistest tähendustest, mida (juht)koertele omistatakse erinevates sotsiaalsetes kontekstides (nt religioossete tabude või hügieeniliste kaalutluste tõttu).
Urban environment as well as the rules of behaviour applied there contain certain expectations for sign systems that would allow for coping in such conditions. The combination of human and canine sign systems does not only assure an accommodation to the preexisting conditions, but entails the use of novel cues, the specification of the meaning of objects through interspecific communication, and the testing of the existing borders between humans and animals in a society. Although in semiotic terms communication and perception are different phenomena, the analysis conducted in the theses indicates that communication is used in guide dog work to direct the perceptual processes and perception in turn initiates communicative situations. The idea that one member of the guide dog team is a part of the other’s extended body plan is disputed in the thesis. Both members of the team have their own umwelten with specific sign relations. As an outcome of the intrateam cooperation those umwelten undergo change while the interests of the other being are introduced as factors of meaning generation. Relying on interviews and participatory observation, it is demonstrated in the thesis that the sign complexes in guide dog work are formed around more specific sub-tasks of assistance (e.g. orientation; finding places and objects; avoidance of obstacles) and that the intrateam cooperation often evolves towards less hierarchical, less discrete and anticipatory modes of semiosis. The semiotic challenges that the guide dog teams face are analysed in the thesis on the example of Swedish, German and Estonian guide dog teams. The challenges related to perception come about if significant cues in the environment remain imperceptible for the team or if they divert the team from their trajectory of movement; communicative challenges are related to the difficulty of understanding whether the other member of the team is currently using work related signs or not; and social challenges stem from the often contradictory meaning of guide dogs in different social contexts (e.g. due to religious taboos or hygienic considerations).
Urban environment as well as the rules of behaviour applied there contain certain expectations for sign systems that would allow for coping in such conditions. The combination of human and canine sign systems does not only assure an accommodation to the preexisting conditions, but entails the use of novel cues, the specification of the meaning of objects through interspecific communication, and the testing of the existing borders between humans and animals in a society. Although in semiotic terms communication and perception are different phenomena, the analysis conducted in the theses indicates that communication is used in guide dog work to direct the perceptual processes and perception in turn initiates communicative situations. The idea that one member of the guide dog team is a part of the other’s extended body plan is disputed in the thesis. Both members of the team have their own umwelten with specific sign relations. As an outcome of the intrateam cooperation those umwelten undergo change while the interests of the other being are introduced as factors of meaning generation. Relying on interviews and participatory observation, it is demonstrated in the thesis that the sign complexes in guide dog work are formed around more specific sub-tasks of assistance (e.g. orientation; finding places and objects; avoidance of obstacles) and that the intrateam cooperation often evolves towards less hierarchical, less discrete and anticipatory modes of semiosis. The semiotic challenges that the guide dog teams face are analysed in the thesis on the example of Swedish, German and Estonian guide dog teams. The challenges related to perception come about if significant cues in the environment remain imperceptible for the team or if they divert the team from their trajectory of movement; communicative challenges are related to the difficulty of understanding whether the other member of the team is currently using work related signs or not; and social challenges stem from the often contradictory meaning of guide dogs in different social contexts (e.g. due to religious taboos or hygienic considerations).
Description
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Keywords
juhtkoerad, vaegnägijad, pimedad, semioos, semiootika, guide dogs, people with poor eyesight, blind people, semiosis, semiotics