This article draws on empirical research into internet use by minority ethnic women to consider whether anonymity remains a useful focus for sociocultural studies of internet identities. The central argument of the article is that the time has come for internet identity research to reposition itself conceptually, to move away from a preoccupation with the generalized, enduring claim that internet identities are anonymous, multiple and fragmented-not only because, in some cases, online identities are continuous with offline selves, but also, more importantly, because common uses of the concept of anonymity are limited as starting points for carrying out analyses of internet experiences. In short, it argues that the terms of internet identity research are problematic, that contexts matter, and that studies of internet identities need to engage with and learn from ongoing debates within cultural studies which call into question the usefulness of the very concept of identity.
This article presents the findings of a research project that aimed to contribute to the social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the World Wide Web (the Web). The Inclusive New Media Design (INMD) project brought together thirty-oneWeb designers and developers with twenty-nine people with intellectual disabilities to explore the best practice for building Web sites accessible to the ID community. Specifically, the project took accessibility techniques identified in ID accessibility research, and investigated what would (or would not) make it possible for Web professionals to implement them. This article suggests some tentative answers to the question of whether a fully accessible Web can be built, one that includes people with ID. While the article outlines simple steps that can be taken to facilitate accessibility for people at the mild end of the ID spectrum, it also highlights a number of barriers that exist to implementing ID accessibility guidance, most notably the power holders and decision makers with whom Web designers work, who may not share the designers' commitment to accessibility.
This article examines the evidenced and the potential impact of all-female games jams as an element within a feminist interventionist approach to improving women’s equal participation within the ludic economies of the games industry. The article examines two specific projects—a single-site 24-hr event that took place in 2012 and a restaging of the format 4 years later across five different sites in the United Kingdom. These two case studies offer two critical contributions to the ongoing research regarding the wider challenges of diversifying games design, games development, and games culture more generally. The first is a consideration of the range of labors—free, hopeful, and affective—that underpins these endeavors and provides a significant contribution in general to the ludic economy. The second is valuable evidence of the impact and ongoing validity of these all-female initiatives as an effective and transformative methodology for feminist intervention.
This article is an argument for technobiography, a term coined in Cyborg
Lives? Women's Technobiographies, a collection I coedited in 2001. I outline
what technobiography is, and how, by allowing access to what it feels like to
live certain digital experiences, it can contribute to building a comprehensive
picture of cybercultural landscapes. If we want to understand lived experiences
of the Internet, we need to study not only online, virtual representations
of selves, but also lives and selves situated within the social relations of
the consumption and production of information and communication technologies.
Drawing on two technobiographical projectsÑone involving a
group of black, working-class women returning to education with the aid of
networked technologies and computer-mediated distance learning, and
another exploring social relations in a digital multimedia production center
-I indicate ways in which technobiography can contribute to this important
project
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