Work 4.0: inclusion of the visually impaired through digitalization
This research project is financed through third-party funds and concentrates on the fundamental question: How can Work 4.0 support the occupational rehabilitation of blind and visually impaired individuals? Germany is at the onset of Industry 4.0 – the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Our economy and the way we work are experiencing significant change as production, workflows, communication and decision-making structures undergo digital transformation. We rely on our sight more than ever before for our work. Yet, the neo-liberalization of society has led to worsened working and living conditions for many people. Social inequalities, precarity and old-age poverty are on the rise and individuals with functional limitations are being pushed to the periphery. These developments pose specific challenges for the blind and visually impaired. Professional education and occupational rehabilitation are thus concerned with the issues of adapting workstations to be suitable for visually impaired persons and imparting digital skills more effectively in measures for adaptation and qualification. Furthermore, Work 4.0 necessitates Learning 4.0 – digitalized skills development through online courses and other forms of remote learning.
The project aims to gain an overview of both mounting barriers to accessibility as well as specific opportunities that Work 4.0 and digitalization afford. The ultimate goal is to make proposals for integration in the working world. At the same time, we must ensure that the groups who are the focus of these measures are not defined by their disabilities or merely reduced to “the target group for these measures.” They are stakeholders who participate in shaping society despite biased societal preconditions. This research project gathers employment histories from adults with a visual impairment and examines the interactions between social barriers, work, health and life plans.
Project partners are:
BFW Halle Saale gGmbH and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI – Berlin)
Funding body: Deutsche Rentenversicherung
Term: March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020
Contact: Dr. Andrea Fischer Tahir