Participatory design in socioeconomic development is an invariably political activity fraught with both political as well as ethical entanglements. ICT for development (ICTD)often involved in contexts of great inequality and heteogeneity-places these in especially sharp relief. This paper draws attention to these entanglements as well as what they mean for the role and practice of designer-researchers practicing PD. We then draw upon our experiences in an active PD project to highlight approaches that serve as a partial response to these entanglements. These presents both limitations as well as orientations for our role as designer-researchers in engaging with and organising PD work in ICTD-providing a starting point for answering the question "who participates with whom in what and why?" CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing → Participatory design;
As smartphones have become ubiquitous across urban India, voice user interfaces (VUIs) are increasingly becoming part of diverse groups of users' daily experiences. These technologies are now generally accessible as a result of improvements in mobile Internet access, [-8.5pc]Biography is Required. Please provide. introduction of low-cost smartphones and the ongoing process of their localisation into Indian languages. However, when people engage with technologies in their everyday lives, they not only enact the material attributes of the artifact but also draw on their skills, social positions, prior experience and societal norms and expectations to make use of the artifact. Drawing on Orlikowski's analytical framework of "technologies-in-practice" we engage in an interview-based exploratory study among diverse groups of users in urban India to understand use of VUIs as situated practice. We identify three technologies-in-practice emerging through enactment of VUIs on users' smartphones: looking up, learning and leisure. We argue that -instead of asking why and how users appropriate VUIs -identifying different kinds of enactments of VUIs present researchers and practitioners with a more nuanced understanding of existing and potential use of VUIs across varied contexts.
This chapter explores alternative theories of change for mobile technologies for agriculture and rural development. It critically examines two theories of change (the 'market efficiency' and 'knowledge dissemination' theories) and highlights some of the challenges they have faced in practice. In response to these challenges, an alternative approach to developing a theory of change is suggested, which draws upon human development theories. A case study of an ongoing research project exemplifies such an alternative theory, and the implications are set out for the design of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in agricultural settings.
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