Can digital technologies improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities?

James White and Paul Baker, both in the Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP) in the School of Public Policy, have been awarded a $150,000 grant from the National Council on Disability for research with the hope of making a difference.

The research project is entitled "The Prospect of Digital Inclusion: Technology's Impact on Employment and the Opportunities for People with Disabilities." Researchers on the project represent the CACP, Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA), and GTRI (Georgia Tech Research Institute).

The research will focus on six digital technologies, provisionally including wireless communications, social networks, virtual worlds, web 2.0 and beyond, applications consolidators, and computational journalism.

"Workers with disabilities are typically older than other workers, work fewer hours per week, are more likely to be single, and less likely to have a college degree. They are more likely to be found in low-growth, low-wage occupations," stated James White, Associate Director, International Programs, in the CACP. "We want to look into the level of accessibility to new media and technologies and their potential to make a difference, in particular whether new technologies are serving as bridges or barriers to employment" .

The study will assess the accessibility of such new media and technologies and how they impact the employment of people with disabilities, illustrate present and future consumer needs, and provide both practical and general policy recommendations on how such media and technologies may be used to foster employment.