scholarly journals Accessibility of Assistive Technologies as a Factor in the Successful Realization of the Labor Potential of Persons with Disabilities: Russia’s Experience

Societies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandrova ◽  
Nenakhova

In this article, the accessibility of assistive technologies is considered as a factor in the realization of the labor potential of persons with disabilities and is analyzed in the context of the accessibility of the urban environment, the enterprise environment, and directly at the workplace. The analysis was based on data from two studies, which were devoted to persons with disabilities in Moscow’s labor market, but the identified problems were not specific to the capital region. In Russian provinces, these issues are even more acute due to the scarcity of regional budgets and the populations’ lower standards of living. The results showed that there were contradictions and problems in each of the considered aspects of this problem. In terms of quantity, the availability of assistive technologies to persons with disabilities is growing, but modern assistive technologies are often not accessible to disabled people because of the high cost and specifics of the public procurement system. Among other barriers to the use of modern assistive technologies by persons with disabilities are ignorance and conservatism of employees of the medical and social expertise systems. The urban environment and urban transport have become more adapted to the needs of disabled people, but existing improvements are far from being sufficient, and many of them are imitative. The State declares the need to include persons with disabilities in the labor sphere, but at the same time insufficiently stimulates employers to create adapted workplaces and does not support enterprises specializing in providing employment for people with disabilities. All of these factors confirm the need for an integrated approach to study the implementation processes of ATs.

Mousaion ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothy Eneya ◽  
Dennis N. Ocholla ◽  
Bertha Janneke Mostert

This paper investigates the University of Zululand Library’s response to the university’s inclusive education agenda with respect to the accessibility of library services to students with disabilities. This was a qualitative study within the interpretive paradigm that used Michael Oliver’s social model of disability as an underpinning theory. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from students with disabilities and library staff. In addition, physical inspection of the library building was also conducted. Data analysis was done by thematic analysis. The study reveals that the University of Zululand Library services are not inclusive. Students with disabilities struggle to access library services. They faced such challenges as inaccessibility of library services, unavailability of resources in alternative formats and assistive technologies, and the lack of a disability policy. The study also found that the library faced the following challenges in providing services for students with disabilities: limited funding, a lack of staff awareness and training, the lack of a disability policy and a lack of collaboration. Formulating regulations to enforce the implementation of disability policy and legislation, developing institutional disability policies, and providing assistive technologies are critical in ensuring the accessibility of library services to students with disabilities at the University of Zululand. Unless students with disabilities have equal access to information, the university’s inclusive education agenda will remain a distant dream. Access to academic library services is critical to the full participation of students with disabilities in education. Likewise, inclusive university education can only be realised when students with disabilities have equal access to information. This aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities, which promote equal access to services and facilities to persons with disabilities. This paper raises awareness for both library staff and university management about the current status of library facilities and services with respect to accessibility for students with disabilities and how to address inclusiveness in library service provision.


Author(s):  
N.M. Morozov

The organization of labor activities of disabled people in the territory of the Kuznetsk District in the second half of the 1920s - 1930s is being considered in the article. The dynamics of the development of the system of disability cooperation is shown. The study examined working conditions, the pay system, its advantages compared to the receipt of a tiny pension. Opportunities to train persons with disabilities in professions within the technical training plant have been identified. The main types of production activities in which disabled artels specialized were established, these are: artisanal production of food, basic necessities, trade and household services. The conclusion is drawn that economic problems of artels arose in connection with weak financial support from social securities, supply with raw materials and materials by the residual principle, domination of manual work, formal work of local councils with chairmen of the artels allowing cases of mismanagement and abuse of official position. In general, the level of organization of work of persons with disabilities in the Kuznetsk District was in line with the State’s policy of pragmatising their productive potential during the period of intensive industrial construction in the region.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-38
Author(s):  
Afif Syaiful Mahmudin

Persons with physical disabilities recorded under the auspices of the "Rumah Kasih Sayang" institution are 12 people. Ideally, the practice of worship should be carried out easily by everyone, but in fact there are still many people with disabilities who experience difficulties in implementing it, not even a few of them have left worship because of low religious-related understanding and lack of motivation from the community to include persons with disabilities. carry out daily worship obligations. These problems are experienced by people with disabilities, especially physically disabled in the "Rumah Kasih Sayang" in Krebet village. People with disabilities by the community are considered as groups who are no longer obliged to worship, they are sufficiently fostered with a variety of skills obtained from the institution, empowered by breeding goats from compensation without even being physically invited to pray together in the mosque or prayer room. Religious inclusiveness needs to be built between the community and the physically disabled, the community must be given an understanding that as long as the disabled person meets the taklif provisions, there is no privilege that disqualifies the obligation of worship for the disabled. The research questions are: 1) What are the implications of the fiqh guidance of worship for the disabled in the "Rumah Kasih Sayang" Krebet Jambon Village? 2) What are the implications of fiqh material for worship for the people of Krebet Jambon Village ?. To answer the formulation of the problem, the researcher used a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach. The results of this study are: 1) Deaf people can practice well the procedures of daily worship in accordance with the fiqh hospitality of disabled people while being able to carry out the obligation to worship together with the surrounding community. 2) People get new insights about fiqh worship for people with disabilities, changing their negative stigma towards disabled people and leading to the realization of an inclusive religious culture in Krebet Jambon Ponorogo Village.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Offermann-van Heek ◽  
Martina Ziefle

BACKGROUND Demographic change represents enormous burdens for the care sectors resulting in high proportions of (older) people in need of care and a lack of care staff. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technologies have the potential to support the bottlenecks in care supply, but are not yet in widespread use in professional care contexts. OBJECTIVE The study aims for investigating professional caregivers' AAL technology acceptance, their perception of specific technologies, data handling, perceived benefits, and barriers. In particular, the study focuses on perspectives on AAL technologies differing between care professionals working in diverse care contexts in order to examine to what extent the care context influences the acceptance of assistive technologies. METHODS An scenario-based online questionnaire (n = 170) was carried out focusing on professional care givers in medical, geriatric, and care of disabled people. The participants were asked for their perceptions concerning specific technologies, specific types of gathered data, potential benefits, and barriers of AAL technology usage. RESULTS The care context significantly impacted the evaluations of AAL technologies (F(14,220) = 2.514; P = .002). Professional caregivers of disabled people had a significantly more critical attitude towards AAL technologies than medical and geriatric caregivers: indicated by a) being the only caregiver group with rejecting evaluations of AAL technology acceptance (F(2,118) = 4.570; P = .01) and specific technologies (F(2,118) = 11.727; P = .000) applied for gathering data and b) by the comparatively lowest agreements referring to the evaluations of data types (F(2,118) = 4.073; P = .02) which are allowed to be gathered. CONCLUSIONS AAL technology acceptance is seen critical out of technology implementation reasons, especially in the care of people with disabilities. AAL technologies in care contexts have to be tailored to care professional's needs and concerns ("care about us"). The results contribute to a broader understanding of professional caregivers needs referring to specific data and technology configurations and encloses major differences concerning diverse care contexts. Integrating these findings into user group-tailored technology concepts and communication strategies will support a sustainable adoption of AAL systems in professional care contexts.


Author(s):  
N. V. Danilina ◽  
S. V. Privezentseva

This paper presents research into the formation of the inclusive urban environment in city transfer hubs. Research results are obtained in the field of availability to public facilities for disabled people, namely to transfer hubs. The analysis is given to the movement of disabled people according to different types of planning elements. The main principles are formulated for the development of planning solutions and parameters that meet requirements for the inclusive urban environment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-114
Author(s):  
A. V. Berg ◽  
G. O. Penina

The dominant position among the reasons of working-age population’s health deterioration belongs to diseases of the peripheral nervous system (PNS), the peak prevalence of which occurs at the age of 35–40. PNS diseases are diagnosed in about 76.0% of industrial workers, and account for more than half of all occupational diseases. They are the main cause of incapacitation and long-term disability. Publications on disability due to PNS diseases are isolated.The aim of the work. Clinical and functional characteristics of PNS disorders that cause disability in the working-age population.Material and methods. Among 91 496 first recognized as disabled in the Republic of Bashkortostan in 2014–2018, all disabled people of working age were selected due to PNS diseases, in which the main independent diagnosis was radiculopathy, polyneuropathy, neuropathy and vibratory disease with indication to lumbar-sacral radiculopathy with polyneuropathy of the upper extremities. 107 people were identified to constitute a closed cohort for a comprehensive study of the clinical-functional state and patterns of disability formation in them. The clinical-functional characteristic is given on the basis of the results of studies set forth in the directional medical documents and the assessment by an expert neurologist of the Main Bureau of Medical and Social Expertise. Statistical analysis was performed in Microsoft Excel.Results. The prevalence of PNS diseases has been found to be increasing. Three of the newly diagnosed neurological patients have been the carriers of PNS disease. PNS diseases are formed and reach peak in working age. Characterized by a chronic, progressive course, they often cause temporary and persistent disability. On average, there are 0.1 ± 0.028 persons with disabilities per 10 thousand of the able-bodied population due to PNS diseases, the level of which in dynamics for 2014–2018 increased by 1.7 times. Persons with disabilities (69.0%) are mainly represented by men, every second (50.6%) is over 50 years old, with an average age of 48.7 ± 5.7 years. The clinical-functional state is characterized by constant pain, numbness, seizures, restriction of movements in the limbs, sensory disorders, vegetative-vascular disorders.Conclusion. The quantitative evaluation of the main types of the body functions and main categories of vital activity persistent disorders made it possible to detect that 69.3 ± 4.4% persons with disabilities have persistent moderate abnormalities of functions in the range 40–60% (II degree), another 24.4 ± 3.8 — persistent pronounced abnormalities in the range 70–80% (III degree) and 6.3 ± 6.0% — persistent significant abnormalities in the range 90–100% (IV degree). The severity of impaired functioning of the body is the basis for the level of persistent disability determination.


2020 ◽  
pp. 12-23
Author(s):  
Y. A. Kulikova ◽  
A. V. Kornienko ◽  
G. V. Jukevich

The article deals with issues related to the problem of vocational rehabilitation of disabled people. The competence of the Russian Federation in the fi eld of rehabilitation of disabled persons in the person of its Federal authorities and management, subjects of the Russian Federation and local self-government bodies is specifi ed. The content of such concepts as "services for professional rehabilitation of disabled people" in accordance with the state standard GOST R 53873-2010 Rehabilitation of disabled people is disclosed. Professional rehabilitation services for the disabled; "professional rehabilitation program" and "options for professional rehabilitation". Despite the fact that professional rehabilitation and adaptation in the workplace is an integral part of the state policy in the fi eld of social protection of persons with disabilities, there are many unresolved problems and diffi culties in this area.


2021 ◽  
pp. 81-105
Author(s):  
Francesca Cesa Bianchi

After an analysis of gaps in implementing digital accessibility policies in the region, this chapter reviews five country case studies (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guyana) of successful innovations leveraging their fast-expanding mobile and internet services ecosystems that could be easily replicated across the region. Those findings support the thesis that, with better policies and capacity to implement, Latin American and Caribbean countries are in a favorable position to leapfrog in promoting digital accessibility and assistive technologies and services for persons with disabilities by capitalizing on their mobile and internet infrastructure and common languages.


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