The place of technology in the Capability Approach

Abstract

Increasing scholarly attention has focussed on how to integrate technology within the Capability Approach (CA), yet without a consistent solution. Some describe technology as a special kind of capability input, but others consider the concept of technology to be fundamentally different from that of an ordinary input. We aim to contribute to the theoretical development of the CA by offering a consistent justification for the explicit inclusion of technology in this framework. We propose that technical objects have a 'generative' and a 'transformative' dimension through which they enable capabilities directly and affect other inputs in the attainment of valued capabilities. The objects acquire the transformative dimension from the broader technological context, which we propose as a new class of conversion factors. Using the example of mobile phones and their role in healthcare access, we demonstrate that our proposal helps to frame the analysis of the development impact of technology.

Assessing mobile phone use by pregnant women in Nigeria: A capability perspective

“…Addressing the call for more research into understanding the impact and challenges of using mobile phones for the delivery of maternal health care, in this paper, we have presented a case study of pregnant women in the city of Jos, Nigeria, to theorise on the relationship ICTs and human development. We employed the technology augmented CA (Haenssgen & Ariana, ) as our theoretical lens in order to understand how the use of mobile phones by pregnant women within the maternal health care system of a developing country contributes towards human development. Our findings indicate that mobile phones have the capacity to support and contribute to the improved delivery of maternal health care services and to human development.…”

“…This could be due to a lack of agreement on how technologies can be situated in the CA framework (Andersson, Grönlund, & Wicander, 2012). Fairly recently, Haenssgen and Ariana () have contributed towards the theoretical development of the CA by formally incorporating technology within the framework, putting forth the concepts of technical objects and technological conversions (Figure ).…”

“…Fairly recently, Haenssgen and Ariana (2018) have contributed towards the theoretical development of the CA by formally incorporating technology within the framework, putting forth the concepts of technical objects and technological conversions ( Figure 1).…”

“…The population of Anguwar Rogo is approximately 160 000, and the majority of the dwellers are petty traders and farmers. It is the most FIGURE 1 Technology augmented capability approach (CA) framework (Haenssgen & Ariana, 2018) populous among all 20 wards in Jos North local government. There has been an increase in maternal deaths in this ward due to deteriorating living conditions, poor access to health care, and poverty.…”

“…Against this background, the research question of our study is “What are the impact of mobile phones on the lives of pregnant women accessing maternal health in Nigeria.” We build on Haenssgen and Ariana () technology‐augment capability approach (CA) to adopt a wider theoretical‐driven approach to help foreground the complex linkage between ICTs and human development. Using interviews and focus groups with pregnant women from the city of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, this study provides a case narrative through which we can understand how mobile phones support more than just efficiency but real freedom for pregnant women accessing maternal health care.…”