Technology, Disability, and Employability in Latin America

1. CIS Employability Team Technology, Disability, and Employability in Latin America Philip Neff, Michele Frix, Joyojeet Pal

2. Talk Structure 1. Introduction Motivation Sample Description Definitions Approach 2. Environmental Themes 3. Program Perceptions 4. Short-term Impacts 5. Best Practices 6. Conclusions

3. 1.1 Motivation of Study • In the context of low-income populations in Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, and Ecuador, does the contribution of public access to ICT and ICT training affect the employability of: • At Risk Youth • People with disabilities • Continuation of much past research on ICTs and Employability at CIS

4. 1.2 Approach • Open-ended research discussions • Online exchange of emergent themes between researchers, coding • Narrowing of most significant, recurrent themes Today’s talk • Discussion of several broad themes: not in-depth examination of single theme

5. 1.2 Approach: Choice of Constructs Two relatively unexplored ideas in the ICTD literature At-risk youth • Post adolescent youth likely users of ICT centers • Young population in LatAm, high youth recidivism, jobless rate • Important relationship of US-returnees to gang (Pinhero 2006) Disability • Most ICTs & Disability literature focused on North • 50 million people with disabilities in Latin America • 80% unemployed, 80-90% poverty rate (POETA)

6. 1.3 Sample: Disability • Motor, Visual, Auditory impairments; Chronic Illness • Open-ended interviews, recruitment through NGOs • 39 service user interviews • 20 service providers (NGO coordinators, parents, employers) • Guatemala: POETA (Comité Pro-Ciegos, Fundabiem) • Two sites near Guatemala City • Mexico: POETA (CECATI 11 & 65, ULSA, UPN 041), Vida Independiente • Four sites in Mexico City, one in Campeche • 5-day observation at intensive wheelchair training camp

7. Section 2: Empirical Observations Environmental Themes Part 2: Disabled Populations

8. Themes: Disability • Independence and Mobility • Visibility in Public Space • Lack of Inclusive Culture • Ineffective Legal Frameworks • Adapted Tools for Disability • Perceptions of Utility • Uneven Implementation • Technical and Access Issues • Role of Family in Program Design

9. Coding Template & Analysis

10. Independence and Mobility "It's one thing to learn how to use the computer, and it's another to learn how to leave your house. That's why independence is so important for us. That is one of the most fundamental steps for someone with a disability.“ Program graduate, current Braille transcriber Comite Pro-Ciegos, Guatemala City

12. Visibility in Public Space “We are discriminated against because we deserve it. We aren't out in the streets, they don't see us. Some of us will have to crucify ourselves, but those who come after us will have ramps. Either you die in your house or you go out and fight.” Santiago Velazquez Duarte, president Vida Independiente Mexico

13. Lack of inclusive culture “In the case of the computer for example they don't give people with a disability the opportunity. ...Sometimes when they see you with a disability, they pull away, you know? ...They see you have a disability and they think that you can't do things, or they believe you will give the business a bad image.”- POETA program graduate, CECATI 65, Tlalnepantla, Mexico

14. Ineffective Legal Frameworks • Mexico: Ley del ImpuestoSobre la Renta: Article 222; Ley del Seguro Social • 100% tax reduction on workers with disability • Guatemala: Decreto 135-96; National Council for Attention to the Disabled, CONADI “Yes the law exists, but companies almost never comply with this law. It’s quite difficult to convince them to hire people with disabilities.”- Computer technician, Comité Pro-Ciegos, Guatemala

15. Adapted Tools for Disability • Hardware: Input devices (mouse, keyboard, trackball), adequate wheelchairs, adapted vehicles • Software: Screen-reader and magnification programs (JAWS and MAGic), speech recognition POETA center, Universidad La Salle

16. Technical and Access Issues • Expense • Office • 40-min versions • Incompatibility • Vista

17. Perceptions of Utility “JAWS gives us the miraculous ability to join the super-highway and start to communicate all over. I now have access to all my suppliers, all my clients, I am connected everywhere. If I couldn't use JAWS I would be very limited.” POETA graduate, small-business owner, Universidad La Salle, DF, Mexico “Blindness is a disability that has a future, because blind people use a lot of technology.” POETA instructor, Universidad La Salle, DF, Mexico

18. Uneven Implementation “Almost no companies have [screen reader software]. None. They always say the same thing: 'It's that we don't have the system you need.'”- POETA student, Universidad La Salle, DF, Mexico “We have some pieces of technology and apparatuses that people with disabilities could use to more easily operate a computer but we just don't use them in the classroom to teach because we know it's unlikely that any employer would purchase these types of technology.”- Computer teacher, Fundabiem, Mixco, Guatemala

19. DIY Solutions CECATI 11, Mexico City

20. DIY Solutions CECATI 11, Mexico City

21. Active Wheelchairs Vida Independiente Mexico training camp

22. Role of Family in Program Design “Something also key to our program design is not just the rehabilitation of the person with the disability, but also the rehabilitation of their family. We encourage families to go through therapy together as well as offer family members computer courses.” Occupational Therapist, Fundabiem, Mixco, Guatemala “[My family has] really overprotected me, and that's not what I want. I want to come out of my shell.” POETA program student, CECATI 65, Tlalnepantla, Mexico

23. Tech Centers as Institutional Spaces "For me it was like a club, like a club where we all spoke the same language because we all had a disability. What was different, what was strange, was not having a disability, not the person who has one, we felt like we were in a social club.“ POETA graduate, dentist, Campeche, Mexico

24. Increased Aspirational Horizons “...there is no doubt that this type of project makes people believe in themselves again, that they can get ahead, that they have possibilities, builds one more tool for getting ahead.” POETA program graduate, course instructor, Universidad La Salle DF, Mexico “The psychological, human development part is important because we have kids that don’t want anything anymore. But we invite them in and treat them with such love that they feel involved. They are so fragile when they start coming. But if you don’t give them the opportunity, they will always believe they are undeserving.” Psychologist, Grupo Ceiba

25. Section 3: Best Practices

26. Peer Mediators “…we have had specialists come here before, and what they do is come in viewing our kids with an attitude… and they leave. Their lives are threatened and rather than extend a hand they say, “No way. I came here for the money not to be killed. I learned how to use computers by taking them apart here, not by some ****ing teacher beating it into me. “ Ceiba graduate, now head of technical systems

27. Best Practices • Re-employment of locals, multipliers promotes longevity • Investment in psychological services • Champions - Tech Evangelists: Legitimacy • Technical Assurance • Advocacy • Compatibility with assistive technology

28. Work Ahead • Primary Research in Ecuador, Venezuela • Aspiration • Tool compatibility • Impact of Advocacy • Conference • Overview of ICTs and Disability in Developing World • Discussion of low-cost tools • Practitioner and Scholar meet

29. Thanks

30. DDI-1: Disability Development Index 1 (for technology-poor countries) A long and healthy life Life expectancy of people with disabilities Prevalence of disabilities among people age 0-40 years Knowledge Adult literacy rate of people with disabilities Gross enrolment ratio (GER) of people with disabilities Decent standard of living Adjusted Family Income: Family income of families with a disabled person, adjusted for disability costs Assistive technologies: Wheelchair ownership among people who need them Infrastructure: Wheelchair accessibility of public buildings (ability to enter building [e.g. ramps], ability to use building [e.g. elevators, doors, halls, toilets] Note: The above index does not take into account the accessibility needs of non-motor disabilities, such as blindness, deafness, or cognitive disabilities. Measuring the accessibility of the infrastructure to these disabilities is more difficult in technology-poor countries. DDI-2: Disability Development Index 2 (for technology-rich countries) A long and healthy life Life expectancy of people with disabilities Prevalence of disabilities among people age 0-40 years Knowledge Adult literacy rate of people with disabilities Gross enrolment ratio (GER) of people with disabilities Decent standard of living Adjusted Family Income: Family income of families with a disabled person, adjusted for disability costs Assistive technologies: Wheelchair ownership among people who need them (inability to use legs) Screen reader ownership among people who need them (blind) Infrastructure: Public buildings: Wheelchairs (ability to enter building [e.g. ramps], ability to use building [e.g. elevators, doors, halls, toilets] Blindness (Braille on elevators, room signs, etc.) Transportation and roads Wheelchairs (public transportation vehicles and stations, sidewalks and intersections) Blindness (audible crosswalk signals, warning tiles at intersections) Television broadcasts: Captions Publically-funded internet sites Conformance to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (e.g. at Level 2)