Abstract
Using a qualitative approach based on aninstitutional ethnography of social organization ofwork inclusion for disabled persons, the currentpaper addresses the specifi c ways in which theindividual experiences of the Romanian disabledpersons, in society and on the labor market, areinfl uenced and shaped by the social relations oftextually mediated discourse. It draws on the resultsof a larger study, conducted between 2014and 2015 in Romania, as part of a research projectfocusing on the dysfunctionalities that impedethe labor market access of disabled personsin Romania and the institutional arrangementsand structural mechanisms that underpin thesedysfunctionalities. The paper reveals a particulartype of consonance between the Romanianlegislative provisions, institutional arrangementsand local practices, that allows for the concept of‘protection’ of the disabled persons to transcendits initial purpose and philosophy and start workingagainst the disabled persons. The article alsosheds some light on the way in which the fragmentationand parallelism that currently governthe system of protection for the disabled personshamper the development of a consistent vision,backed by a homogenous approach, in dealingwith or managing the multiple negative issuesassociated with disability in Romania.
Highlights
Some aspects regarding the vulnerability of the disabled persons in the society and on the labor marketDisability is among the most important vulnerability-inducing characteristics of a person, holding within itself the potential of exposing the person, at the same time, to poverty, discrimination, abuse or torture, and, often, as a consequence of the impairment, the incapacity of that person to respond in any way to the wrongdoings he/she is confronted with
Using a qualitative approach based on an institutional ethnography of social organization of work inclusion for disabled persons, the current paper addresses the specific ways in which the individual experiences of the Romanian disabled persons, in society and on the labor market, are influenced and shaped by the social relations of textually mediated discourse
It draws on the results of a larger study, conducted between 2014 and 2015 in Romania, as part of a research project focusing on the dysfunctionalities that impede the labor market access of disabled persons in Romania and the institutional arrangements and structural mechanisms that underpin these dysfunctionalities
Summary
Disability is among the most important vulnerability-inducing characteristics of a person, holding within itself the potential of exposing the person, at the same time, to poverty, discrimination, abuse or torture, and, often, as a consequence of the impairment, the incapacity of that person to respond in any way to the wrongdoings he/she is confronted with. In spite of the recurrent political discourse on the necessity of the public administration reform and the decentralization of the Romanian public institutions, as an instrument for improving the efficiency, equity, accessibility and quality of the provided services and of the degree in which these items cover the local needs (Andrei et al, 2009), when analyzing the functioning of the local public institutions designated to support the social and labor market inclusion of disabled persons, we notice that the top-down perspective is still the most popular approach in the management of these entities, leaving little to no room to innovation and adaptation of its services to the local needs of the population For this reason alone (the dominant role of the central authority in relation to the local one), some investigations into the role and function that the public policy has on the local practices are needed. Profiroiu and Profiroiu (2006, p. 121) call it a reactive implementation of a policy, meaning a policy which is ‘advanced more due to international pressures than driven by the convictions of local politicians or voluntary decisions of the central government’
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