African Identity and HCI Methods that Inform Technology Design

Warrick, Elizabeth; Hussen, Tigist Shewarega; Kibutu, Jedidah; Ngoqo, Bukelwa

doi:10.1145/2998581.2998619

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…future dimensions of African HCI identities is not an isolated issue as it develops on earlier accounts that have shown the complexities of asserting locality in the language of innovations [16,34,35,193]. The emphasis here is not on contextualizing the often-fluid identities of African HCI researchers and practitioners [8,29,193], but more concerned with how unsettling the universalized language of techno-science can open possibilities for developing the capabilities of African communities to grapple with modern conditions of globalisation [18,52]. This is developed on the backdrop that the models informing design innovation perform within a specific mode of identification, albeit in ways that denote how existing structures of modernity create dependencies while polarizing differences [89,91].…”

Section: The Attempt Towards Uncovering What Would Work In Rectifying...mentioning

confidence: 99%

No More “Solutionism” or “Saviourism” in Futuring African HCI: A Manyfesto

Adamu

2023

ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research in HCI4D has continuously advanced a narrative of ‘lacks’ and ‘gaps’ of the African perspective in technoscience. In response to such misguided assumptions, this paper attempts to reformulate the common and perhaps unfortunate thinking about African practices of design in HCI4D – i.e., largely as a function of African societal predicaments and Western technocratic resolutions. Through critical reflection on a range of issues associated with post-colonialism and post-development, I examine the possibilities that various historical tropes might offer to the reinvention of the African perspective on innovation. This leads to the consideration of how engaging in critical discussions about the future dimensions of African HCI can allow for grappling with the effect of the coloniality of being, power and knowledge. Developing on the ideas of futuring as a way of dealing with the complexities of the present – in this case the coloniality of the imagination - the paper ends by discussing three tactical propositions for ‘remembering’ future identities of African innovation where the values of autonomy are known and acted upon.

show abstract

Section: The Attempt Towards Uncovering What Would Work In Rectifying...mentioning

confidence: 99%

No More “Solutionism” or “Saviourism” in Futuring African HCI: A Manyfesto

Adamu

2023

ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Krauss (2012b) mentions that his experiences in the field have moved him closer to an insider position from his original outsider identity, but a detailed account and problematisation of this positioning is not explored. Similarly, Warrick et al (2016) examine the boundary-spanning potentials of those identifying as in-between, who can bridge the insider-outsider gap in HCI research in ICT4D. The mutual constitution of researcher-participant identities is mentioned but not investigated deeply.…”

Section: Insider/outsider Dualisms In Is/ict4d Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

In-betweenness in ICT4D research: critically examining the role of the researcher

Jiménez

Abbott

Dasuki

2021

European Journal of Information Systems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ICT4D discipline has faced criticisms of an uneven production of knowledge that reinforces a dichotomy between Global North-Western knowledge systems on the one side, and Global South-indigenous-Southern knowledge systems on the other. As a result, some ICT4D literature has examined the role of the researcher in reinforcing these biases and further exacerbating inequalities, thus highlighting the complex relationship between ICT4D researchers and the research process. Yet, most of this literature has focused on an insider/outsider researcher positionality. This paper explores the role of the researcher from the alternative position of inbetweenness, where researchers adopt more fluid and dynamic positions as reflexive spaces. To do this, we engage in a dialogical process of retrospective reflections based on ICT4D projects in Nigeria, Peru and West Africa. Through these cases, we identify how we experience inbetweenness in distinct ways: as liminal spaces, as performative spaces, and as spaces of disjuncture. We also examine how these forms of in-betweenness informed our research. We demonstrate that a researcher positionality of in-betweenness in ICT4D research can increase awareness of nuanced researcher roles and potentially avoid ethical dilemmas and reproducing biases.

show abstract

“…This is not simply a critique of how mainstream approaches of framing research problems and their analysis in real-world settings get carried out, but one that seeks to examine how a range of conflicting and relational themes determine (and might even undermine) indigenous practices of knowledge in Africa. The themes relate to the issues of the crisis of Africa(n) identity, and the re-searching and re-assessment of its complexity and performativity in interdisciplinary disciplines like HCI [18,21,38,41]. Other themes include the theoretical and methodological positionalities of co-researchers [15,29,31]; and the adequacy and vulgar competence of researchers and their methods in the practice of knowledge production [16,35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such a question poses onto-epistemic challenges to the ethics of African liberation and transformation. This is not an essentialist characterisation that studies embedded in the African context ought to be examined by, exclusively, Africa(n)s. It, however, points to some of the prevailing issues concerning the politics of identity and knowledge production in African studies [28], and specific to African HCI [41] However, it becomes pertinent to examine how an ontological and axiological constitution of identity can be made relational to doing social 'good' in African HCI. Staying with the trouble here is mainly about how existing frames of presenting and representing the meanings of African-ness identity can be made operative and normative [28,45].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problematising Identity, Positionality, and Adequacy in HCI4D Fieldwork: A Reflection

Adamu

2021

Proceedings of the 3rd African Human-Computer Interaction Conference: Inclusiveness and Empowerment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ontological and epistemological differences between Western and non-Western traditions makes investigating and understanding other cultures using stereotypical (Western) approaches and methods rather difficult. At the intersection of a crisis of identity, epistemic positionality and cultural adequacy, this paper reflects on the ethical and methodological implications of the practices of HCI4D fieldwork that seek to decode and deconstruct the mundane practices of designing and deploying educational technologies in Nigeria. The reflection identifies a range of issues concerning the limiting relevance of conventional methods of undertaking field studies in Africa, while also showing the appropriateness of indigenous approaches. This has significant importance for the practices of those wishing to work in/with African communities in design projects. CCS CONCEPTS• Human-centred computing → Human computer interaction (HCI); HCI theory, concepts and models.

show abstract

African Identity and HCI Methods that Inform Technology Design

Cited by 7 publications

References 7 publications

No More “Solutionism” or “Saviourism” in Futuring African HCI: A Manyfesto

No More “Solutionism” or “Saviourism” in Futuring African HCI: A Manyfesto

In-betweenness in ICT4D research: critically examining the role of the researcher

Problematising Identity, Positionality, and Adequacy in HCI4D Fieldwork: A Reflection

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About