• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.5-21
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the employment policy for persons with disabilities on their employment rates. The subjects were 10 OECD counties of which policies are based on quotas or the prohibition of discrimination. The time-series data for the analysis were collected for 12 years from 2000 to 2011. A Panel-Corrected Standard Error(PCSE) analysis was conducted for the time-series cross-sectional data of this study. As a result, unemployment rates, proportions of persons with disabilities, and public expenditures on disability and sickness benefits(in % GDP) were statistically significant among control variables, while the coverages of discrimination prohibition and the types of delivery systems of vocational rehabilitation for persons with disabilities among the employment policy variables. The wider the coverages of discrimination prohibition are, the higher the employment rates of the disabled are. In addition, the employment rates of the disabled are higher in countries with specialized delivery systems for vocational rehabilitation than in countries with general delivery systems for vocational rehabilitation.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.53-63
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to look at the way that speech-to-text (STT) services are used at present, and to explore measures to institutionalize such services for ease of communication for the hearing impaired. The results of this study show the following: 1) 17.8% of those surveyed had experience of using STT services, with younger individuals showing a higher rate of use; and 2) In terms of organizations providing STT services, social welfare organizations followed by civic groups (18.3%) and public organizations (18.3%). The following institutional measures are needed for STT services. First, STT services should be actively promoted as one of the reasonable conveniences defined in the 'Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination Against Disabled Persons, Remedy Against Infringement of Their Rights, etc.' Second, STT services should be additionally listed as one of the clauses of the 'Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities'. In particular, establishing a communication system for those with hearing impairments should serve as a catalyst for integration with sign language interpretation and welfare services. If STT services for face-to-face contacts can be improved or further enhanced using ICT, it will not only open the way for a new influx of disabled workers to join vocational rehabilitation, but also help to improve quality of life for the hearing impaired.