Doctoral Dissertation Research: Disability, Technology, and Labor

残疾的定义因时间和空间的不同而有很大差异。定义残疾的一个关键考虑因素是个人通过劳动能够生产什么。什么样的劳动形式被认为是有用和有价值的，这与技术有关。因此，技术影响人们的劳动方式，反过来又影响残疾的定义。这个博士论文研究项目调查了技术劳动的变化如何与不同形式的残疾相交，以影响残疾的理解，价值和体验。除了培养一名科学文化人类学博士生外，这项研究还向学术和非学术受众，包括政策专家和残疾人利益攸关方广泛传播研究成果。本研究的核心问题是数字劳动与残疾定义和评估之间的关系。调查人员在雇用残疾人的组织中进行了为期12个月的人种学研究。他们使用参与式观察，参与式研究，访谈和文件分析来了解1）什么形式的劳动被认为是最关键的生产力; 2）工作环境如何影响残疾员工的残疾体验;以及3）在某些技术的估值中更广泛的政治和文化差异如何影响残疾的估值和定义。这个多层次的调查工作和残疾将告知哪些因素预测残疾是如何容纳和重视的理解。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Definitions of disability vary significantly across time and space. A key consideration in defining disability revolves around what an individual is able to produce as a result of their labor. What forms of labor are deemed useful and valuable change in relation to technology. Thus, technology affects how people labor, in turn impacting how disability is defined. This doctoral dissertation research project investigates how variation in technological labor intersects with different forms of disability to affect how disability is understood, valued, and experienced. In addition to training a doctoral student in scientific cultural anthropology, this research disseminates research broadly to academic and non-academic audiences, including policy experts and stakeholders with disabilities. The central question of this research concerns the relationship between digital labor and definitions and valuations of disability. The investigators conduct twelve months of ethnographic research among organizations employing persons with disabilities. They use participant observation, participatory research, interviews, and document analysis to understand 1) what forms of labor are understood to be most critical for productivity; 2) how work environments affect experiences of disability among employees with disabilities; and 3) how broader political and cultural variation in the valuation of certain technologies affect valuations and definitions of disability. This multi-level investigation of work and disability will inform understandings of what factors predict how disability is accommodated and valued.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.