Exploring the Independence and Support Networks of Blind Individuals: A Qualitative Investigation
Abstract
People often perceive individuals who are blind as helpless. So many people discriminate against and belittle them. This research focuses on efforts to explore the struggles of blind workers in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. The research method used is qualitative approach with a type of phenomenology. The researchers employed the snowball sampling technique to select the research participants, and then the data collection process was carried out through observation and in-depth interviews. The data obtained were processed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. The results of the study show that there are eight main models of exploring the struggles of blind workers, including response to the facts of the situation, social support, self-acceptance, motivation to fight, self-development and skills utilization, participation in social activities, assistance with tools and technology, and efforts to respond every difficulty and challenge.
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24. Siahaan, M., Jasa, CM, Anderson, K., Rosiana, MV, Lim, S., Yudianto, W. (2020). Application of artificial intelligence (ai) to a person with a blind Disability. Journal Of Information Systems and Technology. 1 (2), 186-193.
25. Sherrod, CE, Vitale, S., Frick, KD, & Ramulu, PY (2014). Association of vision loss and work status in the United States. Jama Ophthalmology, 132 (10), 1239-1242.
26. Smith, J., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method, and Research. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
27. Stolz, P. (2000). Adversity quotient turns obstacles into opportunities. (T. Hermaya, Trans.) Jakarta: PT. Gramedia Widiasarana Indonesia.
28. Williams, H. (2021). The meaning of “phenomenology”: qualitative and philosophical phenomenological research methods. The Qualitative Report 26(2), 366–385. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4587.
2. Birken M, Chipp B, Shah P, Olive RR, Nyikavaranda P, Hardy J, et al. (2023) Exploring the experiences of loneliness in adults with mental health problems: A participatory qualitative interview study. PLoS ONE, 18(3): e0280946. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280946.
3. Brunes A, Heir T (2020a) Social interactions, experiences with adverse life events and depressive symptoms in individuals with visual impairment: a cross-sectional study. BMC Psych, 20(1):224. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02652-7.
4. Budi, S. (2023). Empathy as a solution to discrimination against people with disabilities: the perspective of al-misbah's interpretation. Thesis Repository Institut PTIQ Jakarta, retrieved from https://repository.ptiq.ac.id/id/eprint/1371.
5. Cattaneo, Z., & Vecchi, T. (2011). Blind vision: the neuroscience of visual impairment. MIT Press.
6. Feldman, S.Robert. (2012). Introduction to psychology: understanding psychology. Jakarta: Salemba Humanika.
7. Gayatri, IAM, & Suriata, IN (2020). Challenges and opportunities of blind masseurs in increasing competency through implementation business standards of massage parlors. ADI Journal on Recent Innovation (AJRI), 1 (2), 107-120.
8. Gupta S, Sukhai M, Wittich W (2021) Employment outcomes and experiences of people with seeing disability in Canada: An analysis of the Canadian Survey on Disability 2017. PLoS ONE, 16(11): e0260160. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260160.
9. Habibah, U., Sucipto, A. (2020). Building peer social support as a mental disorder solution for the blind. Journal Of Advanced Guidance and Counseling, 1 (1). https://doi.org/10.21580/jagc.2020.1.1.5774.
10. Heumann, J., & Joiner, K. (2020). Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir Of A Disability Rights Activist. United States of America: Beacon Press.
11. Hidayat, L. (2020). Assistive technology in android applications for the blind. Journal of Exponential (Education for Exceptional Children) Journal of Special Education. 1 (2), 144–152. https://journal.upy.ac.id/index.php/PLB.
12. Kim, H., Son, S. (2023). Impacts of Daily Life and Job Satisfaction on Social Participation of Persons with Visual Impairment. Occupational Therapy International, 1-9. 10.1155/2023/6475756.
13. Leat, SJ, Legge, GE, & Bullimore, MA (1999). What is low vision? A re-evaluation of definitions. Optometry and Vision Science, 76 (4), 198-211.
14. Lee, S.Y., Gurnani, B., & Mesfin, F.B. (2024). Blindness. United States: National Library of Medicine.
15. Makkawy, A., & Long, S. (2021). Visual impairment in the virtual workplace: Exploration, experience, and interpretation. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 115(4), 299-309.
16. Marques, A., Ramke, J., Cairns, J., Butt, T., Zhang, J., Muirhead, D., ... & Burton, MJ (2021). Global economic productivity losses from vision impairment and blindness. EClinical Medicine, 35, 100852.
17. Medow, NB (2000). Vision impairment in the pediatric population. The Lighthouse Handbook on vision impairment and vision rehabilitation, p. 19.
18. Morse, A.R. (2019). Addressing the Maze of Vision Loss and Depression. JAMA Ophthalmol, 137(7), 832-833. 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2019.1234.
19. Nova, F., Gusman, T., Divine, R. (2019). Third eye for the blind using ultrasonic sensors and arduino pro mini328. Electron Scientific Journal. 11 (2), 79-83.
20. Nyman SR, Gosney MA, Victor CR (2010) Psychosocial impact of visual impairment in working-age adults. Br J Ophthalmol 94(11):1427. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjo.2009.164814.
21. Phoolka, E., & Navjot, K. (2012). Adversity quotient: a new paradigm to explore. International Journal of Contemporary Business Studies, 3 (4), 67-78.
22. Pirarska, J. (2021). The constructivist paradigm and phenological qualitative research design. Research paradigm considerations for emerging scholars, pp. 64–83.
23. Rodrigues, A., Nicolau, H., Montague, K., Guerreiro, J., & Guerreiro, T. (2020). Open challenges of blind people using smartphones. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 36 (17), 1605-1622.
24. Siahaan, M., Jasa, CM, Anderson, K., Rosiana, MV, Lim, S., Yudianto, W. (2020). Application of artificial intelligence (ai) to a person with a blind Disability. Journal Of Information Systems and Technology. 1 (2), 186-193.
25. Sherrod, CE, Vitale, S., Frick, KD, & Ramulu, PY (2014). Association of vision loss and work status in the United States. Jama Ophthalmology, 132 (10), 1239-1242.
26. Smith, J., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method, and Research. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
27. Stolz, P. (2000). Adversity quotient turns obstacles into opportunities. (T. Hermaya, Trans.) Jakarta: PT. Gramedia Widiasarana Indonesia.
28. Williams, H. (2021). The meaning of “phenomenology”: qualitative and philosophical phenomenological research methods. The Qualitative Report 26(2), 366–385. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4587.
Authors
[1]
“Exploring the Independence and Support Networks of Blind Individuals: A Qualitative Investigation”, Soc. sci. humanities j., vol. 8, no. 08, pp. 4536–4545, Aug. 2024, doi: 10.18535/sshj.v8i08.1260.
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