published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Master / Master of Philosophy

Nearly a quarter of a century after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people with disabilities remain severely under-employed. All the while, they command a disproportionate share of public monies through Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This report seeks to contribute to the conversation on current disability policy, as well as offer short-, mid-, and long-term solutions. The document opens with a history of the Social Security Administration (SSA), the federal agency responsible for setting national disability policy. This is followed by a discussion of SSA’s primary categories of client support: health care and employment initiatives. The health section details the medical coverage attached to both SSDI and SSI, with a particular focus on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Next is a review of work incentives offered to SSDI/SSI beneficiaries. Concluding this chapter is an investigation of the causes of under-employment that continue to plague the disabled circle, in spite of these many interventions. The study continues by exploring various issues affecting today’s U.S. disability policy. These include both exogenous and endogenous factors, including the growth of SSDI and SSI; the structural issues inherent to the current paradigm, as well as a number of disincentives to employment. The analysis then turns to disability policy in the international community. Of particular interest are the experiences of Sweden and the Netherlands as they established fiscally sound policy while assisting the nation’s disabled. From these case studies emerge several lessons pertinent to the U.S. This chapter closes with a thorough analysis of these European nations’ responses to their ever-growing disability programs, and the implications for disability policy makers and advocates. Concluding the report are several recommendations that can guide policy makers and advocates as they strive to place the disability community on the path to self-sufficiency. Most relevant and promising to the U.S. are the passage of the ABLE Act, instituting a national Medicaid Buy-In, and establishing a central disability agency. With successful implementation of these reforms, American with disabilities can potentially finally realize what the ADA promised 25 years ago. / text

The central problem of this study is to identify and develop a model for the administration of rehabilitation services to the handicapped which can be applied to identify needed services in any country, such as Kuwait. The method used in developing the model entailed obtaining basic information about how selected nations administer services for the handicapped through: (1) Published sources and reports; (2) Unpublished material; (3) Interviews of selected officials responsible for the handicapped. The review of literature consists of two parts. Part one reviews organizational strategies: (1) The engineering strategy; (2) The behavioral strategy; (3) The systems strategy. The second part focuses on rehabilitation services in the eight countries selected for this study. These are discussed in the order of their difference from the State of Kuwait: the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Japan, Yugoslavia, Thailand, Kenya, and finally Kuwait. Each is discussed in the following terms: (1) Overview; (2) History of Rehabilitation Services; (3) Structure of Service Delivery System; (4) Legislation of Rehabilitation Services. The study was preceded by an analysis of tasks organized within the framework of the International Classification Matrix Model with a view to establishing an approach to prospective evaluation. A matrix can be defined as a rectangular array of elements arranged in rows and columns; the matrix used in this study was formulated on the basis of information and data collected in the eight selected countries in terms of: (a) General Cultural/Social Orientation Pattern (i) "ascriptive/traditional," (ii) "mixed-attributes," and (iii) "achievement/innovative"); (b) Degree of Cultural Materialism; (c) Cultural Attitude Toward Handicapped; (d) Percent of Population Classified As "Handicapped"; (e) Per Capita Income; (f) General National Political Orientation; (g) General National Administrative Structure; (h) Degree of Bureaucratization; (i) Types of Delivery Service. This study classifies nations for the purposes of general evaluation of their approaches to national administration of services for the handicapped and application of these approaches to a specific country, Kuwait.

The purpose of this study was to investigate bias in the areas of examiner disability, and examiner and examinee gender on test scores of selected subtests of the WAIS-R. The subjects of this study were 101 nondisabled University of Arizona Introductory Psychology students who were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The treatment group was administered the Arithmetic and Picture Completion subtests of the WAIS-R by a wheelchair bound examiner (a nondisabled examiner posing as a disabled examiner). The control group was administered the same subtests by a nonwheelchair bound examiner. The data were analyzed by two three-way ANOVAs. The three-way analysis of variance tested for significant relationships between main effects of the three independent variables--examiner disability, examiner gender and examinee gender, and the scores of the arthmetic and Picture Completion subtests, and also for two-way and three-way interactive effects of the three variables and the subtest scores. Results indicated that in terms of bias operating to influence the individually administered subtest scores, only examinee gender was found to have a significant effect, with subtest scores for male examinees significantly higher than those for female examinees, on both Arithmetic and Picture Completion subtests. Nonsignificant relationships were found between the other two independent variables of examiner disability and examiner gender, and subtest scores. The presence of a visible, physical disability on the part of the examiner, and the gender of the examiner were not seen to be operating as bias, and were not seen to be impacting on subtest scores. Due to limitations of the study that included instrumentation, interaction of testing and treatment, interaction of selection and treatment, reactive arrangements and history, and due to lack of supportive research in the area of examinee gender as bias influencing test scores, the findings of this study need to be interpreted with caution, and should be considered speculative at best.

Thesis (MPhil (Rehabilitation))--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A qualitative study was utilised as it was appropriate for the study of attitudes of non-disabled people of Sakhisizwe towards people with disabilities (PWDs). This case study set out to: investigate the perceptions of people with disabilities with regard to attitudes towards them; examine the nature of attitudes toward people with disabilities; determine the impact and influence of attitudes on the integration of people with disabilities; and determine facilitators and barriers with regard to the integration of people with disabilities. This instrumental case study explored the attitudes of non-disabled people towards disabled people of Sakhisizwe Local Service Area in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The researcher used convenience sampling to select a group of disabled participants from a meeting of the disabled structure held at one of the clinics of Sakhisizwe, to form a focus group. In the focus group of disabled people, two participants were identified as information-rich and were selected using purposive sampling for further interrogation. A convenience sample was used to select mostly three diverse groups of non-disabled participants from youth (seven participants), clergy (seven participants), community members (10participants) and one group of disabled people consisting of six participants making a total of four groups to conduct focus groups interviews. Furthermore, three key informants (traditional healer, social worker and local councilor) from the community at large were also purposively selected. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews guided by interview schedules for focus groups, disabled individuals‘ interviews, as well as for the three key informants‘ interviews. To supplement the data, observation was done to study the behaviours of people with disabilities in the service centre towards non-disabled people, and vice versa. Data was analysed by the process of inductive thematic analysis in which four themes emerged. These were: attitudes of non-disabled people towards people with disabilities; determinants of different disabilities; challenges facing young people with disabilities; and confidence and self-esteem of people with disabilities. In conclusion, it is recommended that the community identify the general public education and awareness in order to change the negative attitudes that lead to social exclusion and marginalisation of people with disabilities. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die houdings van nie-gestremde persone teenoor persone met gestremdhede in Sakhisizwe is deur middel van ʼn kwalitatiewe studie ondersoek. Hierdie gevalstudie het ook nagevors hoe persone met gestremdhede hierdie houdings ervaar; die aard van die hierdie houdings; asook die impak en gevolg hiervan op die integrasie van persone met gestremdhede in die samelewing met spesifieke verwysing na fasilitators ('facilitators') of hindernisse. Hierdie waardevolle gevalstudie is in die Sakhisizwe Plaaslike Dienste Area in die Oos Kaap provinsie van Suid Afrika gedoen. 'n Fokusgroep is gekies deur middel van 'n gerieflikheidsteekproef ('convenience sample') uit ʼn groep persone met gestremdhede wat 'n vergadering oor gestremde bestuurstrukture by een van die plaaslike klinieke in Sakhisizwe bygewoon het. Uit die fokusgroep is twee deelnemers met ryk ervarings geïdentifiseer as doelbewuste streekproef ('purposive sampling') vir verdere onderhoude. Benewens die fokusgroep van 10 persone met gestremdhede, is drie verdere fokusgroepe vanuit die geledere van nie-gestremde persone gekies. Die groeperings was uiteenlopend en het deelnemers vanuit die volgende groepe ingesluit, naamlik: die jeug (sewe deelnemers), geestelike leiers (sewe deelnemers), en gemeenskapslede (10 deelnemers). 'n Verdere drie persone is doelbewus ('purposive sampling') as sleutel informante van die groter gemeenskap gekies (tradisionele geneser, maatskaplike werker en plaaslike raadslid). Data was deur middel van semi gestruktureerde onderhoude vir elk van die vier fokus groepe ingesamel. Hierdie data is aangevul deur die wedersydse gedrag van persone met gestremdhede en nie – gestremde persone waar te neem en te bestudeer. Deur middel van induktiewe tematiese ontleding ('inductive thematic analysis') van die data is vier temas geidientifiseer. Houdings van nie – gestremde persone teenoor persone met gestremdhede; bepalende faktore van verskillende tipes gestremdheid; uitdagings wat alle persone met gestremdhede in die gesig staar; asook selfvertroue en self-beeld van persone met gestremdhede. Ten slotte word aanbeveel dat die gemeenskap self die algemene opvoeding en bewusmaking ten opsigte van gestremde persone aanspreek sodat die negatiewe houdings wat lei tot sosiale uitsluiting en gemarginaliseerdheid ('marginalization') aangespreek kan word.

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This thesis aims to understand how en-wheeled women engaged in hyperfemininity as a stigma management technique in order to diminish asexualization. Grounding my work in the tradition of Goffman and symbolic interaction, I argue that women who do hyperfemininity as a stigma management technique do so in an attempt to make their identity as a woman more salient then their identity as someone who is disabled. As most of the research surrounding disability focuses on masculinity and disabled women‘s heterosexuality it is imperative to continue the expansion of scholarship at the intersection of disability and gender. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Fok, Sui Yan Maggie. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-57). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in Chinese.

A qualificação profissional de pessoas com deficiência é um tema que vem recebendo maior atenção na pesquisa acadêmica, graças ao surgimento de programas educacionais dedicados à formação profissional destes sujeitos. A formação docente para a área é um fator que merece atenção por apresentar fragilidades que se percebe diante das dificuldades enfrentadas pelos docentes na área no cotidiano escolar. Desta forma, instigou-nos investigar como se constituem os saberes docentes na qualificação profissional de pessoas com deficiência. A origem da proposta situou-se na atuação da pesquisadora como docente em um curso de formação continuada sobre tecnologia assistiva para professores da educação profissional atuantes com alunos com deficiência. Para atender aos objetivos primeiramente foi realizado um estudo teórico organizado da seguinte forma: o capítulo inicial aborda a questão da deficiência e do estigma social, buscando meios para superação desta situação discriminatória; em seguida, o segundo, referiu à qualificação profissional no Brasil, contextualizando historicamente a legislação sobre o tema, buscando informações sobre iniciativas de formação profissional e a contratação de pessoas com deficiência; por fim, o terceiro capítulo constituiu um estado da arte sobre os saberes docentes na educação profissional, através de um levantamento das obras publicadas nos últimos anos. Conceitos como aprendizagem mediada, tecnologia assistiva, compensação social e conhecimento-na-ação foram importantes para a análise dos fenômenos observados. pesquisa de cunho qualitativo, utilizou a metodologia do estudo de caso para investigar junto aos docentes quais saberes se constituem no exercício da prática profissional junto a alunos com deficiência nos cursos de qualificação profissional. Entrevistas e análise de documentos foram realizadas visando atingir os objetivos propostos. A metodologia de análise utilizada foi a análise textual discursiva. Os resultados mostram a importância da constituição dos saberes experienciais e profissionais para a docência na educação profissional para pessoas com deficiência, e apontam para a existência de uma nova categoria de saberes docentes, que não foi considerada previamente pelos teóricos estudados. / The professional qualification of persons with disabilities is a topic that has been receiving increased attention in academic research, thanks to the emergence of educational programs dedicated to vocational training of these individuals. The education of teachers for this area is a factor that requires attention, since it has fragilities that is perceived on the difficulties faced by teachers in the area in the school routine. Thus, instigates us to investigate how constitutes the teachers knowledge in the professional qualification of persons with disabilities. The origin of the proposal is in the actions of the researcher as a teacher in a continuing education course about assistive technology for teachers of vocational education, actants with students with disabilities. To meet the objectives, it was first performed a theoretical study, organized as follows: the first chapter addresses the disability issue and social stigma, seeking ways to overcome this discriminatory situation; then the second, refers to the professional qualification in Brazil, historically contextualizing the legislation on the subject, searching for information on vocational training initiatives and the hiring of persons with disabilities; finally, the third chapter is a state of the art on the teaching knowledge in vocational education, through an inventory of works published in recent years. Concepts as mediated learning, assistive technology, social compensation, knowledge-in-action were important for the analysis of the observed phenomena. The qualitative study, used the case study methodology to investigate with the teachers knowledges which are constituted in the exercise of professional practice with students with disabilities in vocational training courses. Interviews and document analysis were performed to reach the proposed objectives. The analysis methodology used was the discursive textual analysis. The results show the importance of the constitution of experiential and professional knowledge for teaching in vocational education for people with disabilities, and point to the existence of a new category of teaching knowledge, which was not considered previously studied by theorists.