David Nemer

Online Favela: The Use of Social Media by the Marginalized in Brazil

Based on fieldwork over six months in the favelas (urban slums) of Vitória, Brazil, this paper focuses on the motivations, engagements and adoption of social media by marginalized people in community technology centers (CTCs). It asks the following questions: (1) what is their experience using CTCs? (2) How does their experience inform the ways we should think about what constitutes empowerment vis-à-vis social media? This paper emphasizes the socio-cultural aspects of social media practices among marginalized people and attempts to understand such aspects and practices from their perspective. It argues that theoretical positions stemming from technology utilitarianism need expanding, because mundane and non-instrumental practices observed in the favelas shed light on the importance of technology in a variety of dimensions within peoples lives. Encompassing such practices contributes to a broader comprehension of the engagements and ingenious strategies that help shape the daily use of technology by marginalized people.

Locating the Internet in the Parks of Havana

Since March 2015, the public squares of Havana have been transformed from places where people stroll and children play to places where crowds gather to try to connect to the internet at all hours of the day and night. We present a field investigation of public WiFi hotspots in Havana, Cuba, and examine the possibilities of internet access these limited and expensive hotspots present to individuals, many of who are experiencing the internet for the first time. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in 2015-2016, we underscore the reconfigurations that have resulted from this access, as evolving internet users reconfigure their interactions with place, time, and individuals in their efforts to locate the internet. We also discuss the implications our findings have for the design of internet access interventions in Cuba and in other low-resource environments across the world, as well as the broader implications for social computing across diverse geographies.

Materializing digital inequalities: the digital artifacts of the marginalized in Brazil

As a predominantly social phenomenon, many examinations around issues caused by digital inequalities appropriately focus on the policies, attitudes, and other cultural elements that pertain to the adoption, use, and proliferation of digital technology. As a compliment to these analyses, this paper will examine the materiality as a component of the digital inequalities in Brazils urban poor areas, known as favelas. We specifically look at the material aspects of the digital artifacts used in LAN Houses and state-supported Telecenters located inside the favelas in the city of Vitoria, Brazil. This study is driven by qualitative exploration -- using critical ethnographic methods such as observation and interviews -- designed to focus on the perspective of the local users of LAN Houses and Telecenters. We apply critical ethnography to give voices to the locals and allow them to understand the material issues and conflicts on their terms. Through examples from keyboard layout to power unit supplies, we will describe how the materiality of digital artifacts contributes to digital inequalities and how unique social conventions are formed in this context. Shedding light on peoples experiences with such materials broadens our view of different ways that technology and internet is used, and perhaps thereby do a better job of developing appropriate technologies for these people.

Political engagement and ICTs: Internet use in marginalized communities

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide a distinctive structure of opportunities with the potential to promote political engagement. However, concerns remain over unequal technological access in our society, as political resources available on the internet empower those with the resources and motivation to take advantage of them, leaving those who are disengaged farther behind. Hence, those who face digital inequalities are not only deprived of the benefits of the so‐called Information Society, they are also deprived of exercising their civic rights. To promote political engagement among the marginalized, we analyze different sociotechnical factors that may play a role in promoting their inclusion in future political activities. We employed a survey for marginalized communities to analyze a set of research questions relating to sociotechnical factors. We show that online content creation, digital freedom, and access to the mobile Internet may positively impact political engagement. The development of these factors may not only promote the inclusion of marginalized populations in future political events, but also help to build a more equal society where everyones voice has a chance to be heard.

LAN houses are for boys and Telecenters are for girls: CTCs as Gendered Spaces

In every culture men and women differ in their information needs and views about technology. These views, in turn, have an impact on how men and women access and use new technology resources. Although the differences among the sexes are apparent in most contexts, technology deployments continue to be gender indifferent. Based on a 10-month ethnography in Community Technology Centers (CTCs) in the favelas, urban slums, of Brazil, this on going study focuses on the uses of ICTs by favela residents, and develops on the notion of technological space beyond the physical into the domain of space as socially constructed and negotiated, exposing how space can be defined by socially explicit and implicit boundaries.

Digital Inequalities in Brazil: A Weberian Analysis of Technology Use in the Favelas

Abstract Purpose In this paper, we examine the social stratification in the favelas, urban slums, both in general and how it correlates with technology. The analysis is based on Weberian stratification theory, since it provides for a broad understanding of the different factors that make up the digital inequalities. Methodology/approach Based on a 10-month critical ethnographic research dealing with LAN houses and state supported telecenters in the favelas of Vitoria, Brazil, we analyze how the use of technology by residents of such marginalized areas expands our understanding of Weber’s axes of stratification, namely class, status and political power. The data was drawn from user observations, Facebook interactions, and 76 semi-structured interviews. Findings The drug cartel members belonged to the higher class of favela residents due to their access to material resources and ability to afford smartphones and data plans. However, in terms of status groups, they did not represent the pinnacle of the community. Where status was concerned, the highest stratum of the community was composed of the “Facebook’s celebrities,” the few teenagers who knew how to produce content online, such as images and videos. An additional axis of social differentiation, related to political power, was observed during the 2013 protests in Brazil. Favela residents arrived late to the event and found themselves “fighting” for demands stipulated previously by the organizers who belonged to upper classes. Originality/value We highlight what access to ICTs can, and cannot, accomplish in a “highly disorganized,” conflict-ridden, and institution-poor environment. With that we hope to encourage academics and practitioners to do a better job in developing appropriate policies and technologies.

HCI Across Borders: Paving New Pathways

The HCI Across Borders (HCIxB) community has been growing in recent years, thanks in particular to the Development Consortium at CHI 2016 and the HCIxB Symposium at CHI 2017. For CHI 2018, we plan to organize an HCIxB symposium that focuses on building the scholarship potential and quality of junior HCIxB researchers - paving new pathways, while also strengthening the ties between the more and less junior members of the community.

Internet Inquiry: Conversations About Method, edited by Annette N. Markham and Nancy K. Baym. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008. 264 pp.

Internet Inquiry is not a step-by-step guide for performing online qualitative research; it is rather an invitation to reflect and discuss upon methods. It creates a conversation internally by the scholars and also motivates readers to think over their own research questions. This anthology is a collection developed around six chapters in which scholars discuss fundamental issues about the methodology and epistemology associated with conducting qualitative internet1 research. In each chapter the editors address a key question, which is answered by an experienced qualitative scholar and followed by responses from typically two other scholars, who address the first response and widen the range of theoretical and methodological perspectives. The answers are based on the scholars’ experiences and decisions made when performing research in areas such as collecting data, privacy, ethics, framing the research problem, effects on structures and process, and time and space considerations. Finally, each chapter lists several readings recommended by the scholars. The book contributes to new understandings of qualitative research in general. At the same time, throughout its text, the scholars keep a focus on the uniqueness of online environments. In the first chapter, Christine Hine, Lori Kendall, and danah boyd attempt to answer the question “How can qualitative internet researchers define the boundaries of their projects?” (1). The scholars emphasize that doing qualitative internet research challenges researchers in terms of setting boundaries for their projects, like deciding what to study and what to exclude, as well as deciding what will count as being data. The ethnographic approach in an online environment must be distinctly stipulated by the research question. The fundamental issue is that researchers must specify what responses are considered adequate and fit the research question. Defining the method and subject well also helps researchers make judgments about appropriate boundaries. The research question should stay clear of such boundaries due to the possibility of the ethnographic research taking different trajectories. Yet the boundaries of a research project evolve and change throughout the investigation process. In the second chapter, Shani Orgad, Maria Bakardijeva, and Radhika Gajjala address the question “How can researchers make sense of the issues involved in collecting and interpreting online and offline data?” (33). The scholars use constructivist and narrative approaches to the analysis of data present online and offline, with the responses analyzing how internet users browse the internet in different social contexts. Data from online and offline sources actually blend together, as in studies that analyze the integration of the internet in the everyday lives of users. Researchers must be aware and take a multimodal approach in which the online domain is contextualized based on the users’ lives. Yet scholars need to highlight the certain gap between the online traces left by internet users and their actual selves. In the third chapter, Malin Sveningsson Elm, Elizabeth A. Buchanan, and Susannah R. Stern discuss “How do various notions of privacy influence decisions in qualitative internet research?” (69). This issue brings up various questions about theoretical and ethical aspects such as protecting the privacy of participants. Since the internet may blur the boundaries between private and public spaces, the sense of privacy that is experienced through the internet may be closer to illusion than reality. Although that may be the case, users in general, from teenagers to seniors, are indeed concerned with privacy issues (e.g., boyd and Hargittai 2010; Webster 2006). Elm emphasizes that