A Capabilities View of Accessibility in Policy and Practice in Jordan and Peru
Main Article Content
Keywords
technology, cultural studies, visual impairment
Abstract
We explore the recent evolution of accessibility-related policy in Jordan and Peru, and specifically consider issues around assistive technology access for people with severe vision impairments. We find differences in capacity development and institutions in the two countries over time and how it impacts the ways in which recent policy consultations have taken place, and propose a capabilities framework as a means to examine and contextualize these differences. Narratives of assistive technology use by people in both countries emphasize ways in which the capabilities approach is also a valuable tool in understanding aspirations and how social interactions evolve with access to assistive technology. We argue that the findings from Peru and Jordan, given the diversity of policy environments, infrastructure, and socio-economic attitudes towards people with disabilities, give us an important lens towards understanding the evolution of disability rights and policies in various low and middle-income countries around the world.
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Joyojeet Pal, Assistant Professor, School of Information, University of Michigan
Joyojeet Pal, PhD is an assistant professor at the School of Information at the University of Michigan, where his research is on disability and assistive technology in low and middle income regions. He earned his PhD in city and regional planning from the University of California at Berkeley, and his Bachelor of Commerce from Sydenham College, University of Mumbai.
Ana Maria Huaita Alfaro, University College, London
Ana Maria Huaita Alfaro is a PhD student in development planning at the Development Planning Unit, University College London (UCL), United Kingdom. She has a Master of Philosophy in Environment, Society and Development from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. She has worked on the research and planning of social projects related to culture and tourism, education, social inclusion and disability in Latin America, mainly Peru, applying the capability approach as framework for analysis.
Tawfiq W. Ammari, School of Information, University of Michigan
Tawfiq W. Ammari is a PhD student at the School of Information at the University of Michigan. He earned his Bachelor’s of computer engineering from the University of Jordan, in Amman, Jordan, and his Master’s Degree in Information at the University of Michigan on a Fulbright Scholarship, specializing in information policy. He worked for two years in a local software development company as a quality assurance engineer. Tawfiq is currently working on research pertaining to accessibility for the persons with disabilities in developing nations.
Saikat Chatterjee
Saikat Chatterjee is an independent human rights attorney in San Francisco, CA. He earned his BA at the University of California, Berkeley in 2001, followed by his JD at the Georgetown University law center in 2004. His work, centering on the implementation and monitoring of the CRPD, focuses primarily on developing nations and issues of inclusion in the workforce. He has co-authored several papers on the subject and is now engaged in a comprehensive study of the DPO policymaking dynamic in signatory countries.