Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

Problems of marginalization and inclusion are central to HCI scholarship and impact in the world, but are badly named in the binary models of access that currently dominate the field. Building on prior work in ICTD and infrastructure studies, this paper explores the problem of inclusion through historical and ethnographic study of Aadhaar, India's biometrics-based national identification project. We illustrate tensions between Aadhaar users' ability to register, authenticate and successfully deploy their registered identity to participate in the Public Distribution System (PDS), a government scheme that provides subsidized food grains to the Indian poor. We argue that rather than an all-or-nothing state, inclusion in ICTD infrastructures is an ongoing and fragile process, achieved (unevenly) at the seams of multiple interconnected systems. Finally, we show that questions of (effective) inclusion are determined not just at margins of a system (who is in and who is out) but also through the artful and often challenging negotiation of the seams that run through and connect complex distributed infrastructures.

From Margins to Seams: Imbrication, Inclusion, and Torque in the Aadhaar Identification Project

We present a study of internet use and its forced non-use in Bangladesh. In light of current initiatives by state and industry actors to improve internet access and bridge the 'digital divide' for under-served, under-resourced, and underrepresented communities across the world, we offer a situated, qualitative perspective on what the current state of internet use looks like for select social groups in Bangladesh. We analyze how a state-imposed ban attempted to affect the nonuse of particular web-based services and how the affected populations found or did not find workarounds in response. We also discuss takeaways for researchers as well as industry and state actors studying and working towards more equitable access to the internet in the 'developing' world.

When the Internet Goes Down in Bangladesh

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.

https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3025453.3025728

Locating the Internet in the Parks of Havana

Public WiFi networks are increasingly viewed as last-mile Internet solutions for rural areas given the infrastructure intensive nature of fibre optic broadband connectivity, but how inclusive are they? This study reports on interviews, observations, and practices around WiFi access points in public spaces in a rural community in India. It illustrates the ways in which Internet savvy women may continue to experience exclusions in Internet access and use. Bound by social norms that restrict their movements and tether them to spotty mobile data, women's Internet usage is limited in comparison to men, whose relatively unconstrained mobility permits them access and use of the free WiFi in the community. Additionally, interviews with a commercial WiFi provider reveals naive assumptions about women's Internet habits and gendered mobilities influencing access. The findings suggest that in certain contexts, women may remain invisible as potential customers despite their desire and ability to pay for WiFi access.

Public WiFi is for Men and Mobile Internet is for Women: Interrogating Politics of Space and Gender around WiFi Hotspots

As access to the Internet improves globally, we argue that speed is important for accelerated and full-fledged exploration of the Internet. We provided high-speed broadband service plans and Wi-Fi access points to 12 Internet-using Indian households in Delhi and Lucknow for three months. We sought to understand uptake, trajectories, behaviours, and developmental impact of the speed of the Internet on the daily lives of our respondents through a multi-phased study (baseline, in-situ usage, follow-up). Our findings suggest that high-speed Wi-Fi led to 2-3x increase in online activity and higher-bandwidth activities; spurred Internet skilling and instrumental uses online; shifted the time and space of device access; created social currency; and transformed the construct of Internet for the households. Ultimately, 8 out of the 12 households switched to high-speed Wi-Fi after the study concluded. We discuss considerations for policy and infrastructure deployments in introducing and onboarding new and existing users living with slow speeds to higher-quality networks.

https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/2909609.2909651

Saswati Saha Mitra

Papers

"We call it Hi-Fi": Exposing Indian Households to High Speed Broadband Wireless Internet