Technologies of Refuge and Displacement: Rethinking Digital Divides

by Linda Leung

Overview

Technologies of Refuge and Displacement: Rethinking Digital Divides aims to theoretically and practically understand technology access and use from the perspective of those on the “wrong” side of the digital divide. Specifically, it examines refugees as a group that has received scant attention as technology users, despite their urgent need for technological access to sustain tenuous links to family and loved ones during displacement. It draws from over 100 interviews and surveys with refugees conducted from 2007 to 2011, utilizing this empirical data to interrogate well-known theories about technology and its users. In doing so, it seeks to rethink the popular model of “digital divide” and offer alternative ways of conceptualizing technology literacy and access. It examines how principles from design and IT industries can be applied to contexts with constrained availability, access, and affordability to provide technology services that accommodate users with limited technical and language literacies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498500036
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	08/24/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	154
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Linda Leung is associate professor and honorary associate at the University of Technology Sydney.

Table of Contents

Part I: Introduction
1. What's Technology Got to Do with Refugees?
2. Background&Methodology
3. Digital Divides: A Review of Literature

Part II: Digital Dichotomies
4. Netizens and Asylum Seekers as Cultural Citizens
5. Technological and Social Determinism

Part III: Alternative Models
6. The Strength of Weak Ties
7. Actor Network Theory
8. Hierarchies of Technology Literacy

Part IV: Practices and Principles
9. Accessibility: Moving Beyond the Disability Paradigm
10. User-Centred Design
11. UCD Principles in Practice

Conclusion

Bibliography
Index
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Using empirical data from surveys and interviews with refugees, this stimulating book interrogates and deconstructs the narrative of a singular digital divide, and allows for greater complexity in understanding the relationship between technology and forced migration.

Giorgia Dona

Grounded in empirical research that centers refugee voices, Leung’s book challenges notions of technological ‘haves’ and ‘have nots.’ Multiple ways in which refugees utilise technology, often against the odds, reveal resourcefulness, innovation, and agency. This book will make a major contribution to scholars and practitioners in refugee studies, social sciences, and technology.

Linda Briskman

Dr. Leung's pioneering book explores the relationship between global population movements and emerging digital technologies. It provides insights based on empirical work relevant to scholars from a wide range of disciplines including refugee and development studies, STS and technology design, as well as to policy-makers, planners and refugee groups themselves.

Nod Miller