TEHRAN Some 87.2 percent of the Iranian visually handicapped individuals usually listen to different radio programs, while more surprisingly, 72.8 percent of them are permanent viewers of TV programs and 44 percent of them often watch TV shows as well.

The abovementioned statistics are from the text of a comprehensive research paper by IRNA's news reports expert, Ms. Nasrin Atia'ei, entitled, "The Level of Visually Impaired Individuals' Interest in Mass Media."

This research, by a visually impaired IRNA technician won her the national title of Researcher of the Year,' during the research week last month.

Talking to the Women and Family Affairs Desk of IRNA, Atia'ei said, "Some 99.6 percent of the country's visually impaired individuals now about the publication of Iran-e Sepid, the country's first and only braille newspaper, 55.2 percent of them read it regularly and 72.4 percent know that the bound volumes of it are available for those who wish to have all its back copies."

She regretted that 40.8 percent of these people in remote Iranian provinces can not obtain their own copies of this newspaper and have to borrow its copies from regional libraries.

Some 71.2 percent of the Iranian visually impaired individuals know that besides Iran-e Sepid there are a few other braille periodicals published in Farsi inside and outside Iran, and 60.8 percent of them seek the other people's assistance in order to benefit from the material published in non-Braille periodicals.

Some 54.4 percent of the Iranian visually impaired individuals prefer to read braille books themselves, while 40.4 percent of them sometimes ask friends or relatives to read newly published non-Braille books to them.

(IRNA)