Doctoral Dissertation Research: Disability, Technology, and Labor

残疾的定义在不同的时间和空间有很大的不同。在定义残疾时，一个关键的考虑因素是一个人通过劳动能够产生什么。什么形式的劳动被认为是有用的和有价值的变化与技术有关。因此，技术影响了人们的劳动方式，反过来又影响了残疾的定义。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，从而影响残疾如何被理解、重视和体验。除了培养一名科学文化人类学的博士生外，这项研究还向学术和非学术受众广泛传播研究成果，包括政策专家和残疾利益相关者。本研究的核心问题是数字劳动与残疾的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。他们使用参与性观察，参与性研究，访谈和文件分析来了解1)什么形式的劳动被认为对生产力最关键；2)工作环境如何影响残障员工的残障体验；3)对某些技术的评估中更广泛的政治和文化差异如何影响对残疾的评估和定义。这种对工作和残疾的多层次调查将有助于了解哪些因素可以预测残疾是如何被接纳和重视的。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.