Broadband Adoption and Ethnographic Approaches

2021 ◽  
pp. 81-100
Author(s):  
Jessica Crowell
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Digital Inequality ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Building Trust ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Digital Engagement

Digital inequality scholarship has shifted toward an interest in the “tangible outcomes” of broadband adoption and the role individual attitudes may play in shaping digital engagement. However, much of this emerging research remains quantitative in nature and has not offered an extensive sociocultural explanation of why poor attitudes toward digital technology may endure in marginalized communities, or why broadband outcomes remain stratified by class and race. Ethnographic research is especially well-suited to fill this research gap. Critical ethnography offers a useful analytical toolbox: (a) providing a particularized portrait of everyday life; (b) rooting analysis within a social justice perspective; and (c) emphasizing building trust and “rapport” with marginalized communities, thus uncovering hidden practices or behaviors. In offering greater context to our understanding of digital attitudes and outcomes, ethnographic research can help digital inequality scholars further refine research questions, generate new categories of measurement, and better map complex sociotechnical relationships.

The Digital Production Gap in the Algorithmic Era

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jen Schradie ◽  
Liam Bekirsky
Keyword(s):  
Digital Technology ◽  
Digital Content ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
Digital Inequality ◽  
Content Creation ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Digital Production ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Means Of Production

As the volume of digital content continues to grow exponentially, whose voices dominate online becomes more salient. Democracy is at stake in the competition for an audience in the online commons. Digital technology was supposed to overcome the media dominance of the elite with a broader array of voices, but social class is one of the most reliable predictors of digital content production, interacting with both racialized and gendered inequalities. Yet analyzing this form of digital inequality requires a theoretical framework of who controls the digital means of production, not simply a linear model of bridging the gap with more access or skills. This chapter examines digital power relations by tracing the history of online content production inequalities over time, showing how the increasing grip by the ruling class, corporations, and governments – in the wake of algorithms and artificial intelligence – makes it increasingly difficult for everyday people to be heard online. While most marginalized communities never got a fair shot because of constraints over resources in the early and more open web, in the algorithmic era this is even more of an uphill battle. The grip that platforms and their owners have over content creation—and especially distribution—makes it vital to theorize this broader concept of the digital means of production.

scholarly journals Towards social justice in highly complex schools in Catalonia, Spain

2020 ◽  
pp. 174114321989848
Author(s):  
Patricia Silva ◽  
Serafín Antúnez ◽  
Charles L Slater
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
Students With Special Needs ◽  
School Directors ◽  
Building Trust ◽  
Migrant Families ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Critical Leadership ◽  
Teachers And Parents

This study investigated social justice from the point of view of school directors, teachers, and parents. We chose two schools that were undergoing major demographic changes because of increased immigration into Catalonia, Spain. They were both classified as “schools of maximum complexity” because of their socio-economic characteristics. The research questions focused on how directors, teachers, and parents give meaning to social justice and what actions they take to achieve it. Teachers and principals adopted practices that have been described in leadership literature as transformational, such as building trust and challenging the process; they only occasionally showed transformative practices like those described by Santamaria (2014) as applied critical leadership (ACL). They were motivated by seeing the needs of migrant families and students with special needs. They seriously considered social cohesion and believed that all students should be given the same opportunities and treated fairly. While these principals wanted to guide teachers to see their work in new ways and develop practices to address the needs of a changing student population, they did not reflect on the connection between day-to-day problems and the larger social system. This critical perspective is essential to ACL.

scholarly journals Asexuals negotiate the ‘onslaught of the heteronormative’

Sexualities ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136346072199338
Author(s):  
Tiina Vares
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
The Past ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Research Gap

Although theorizing and research about asexuality have increased in the past decade, there has been minimal attention given to the emotional impact that living in a hetero- and amato-normative cultural context has on those who identify as asexual. In this paper, I address this research gap through an exploration of the ‘work that emotions do’ (Sara Ahmed) in the everyday lives of asexuals. The study is based on 15 individual interviews with self-identified asexuals living in Aotearoa New Zealand. One participant in the study used the phrase, ‘the onslaught of the heteronormative’ to describe how he experienced living as an aromantic identified asexual in a hetero- and amato-normative society. In this paper I consider what it means and feels like to experience aspects of everyday life as an ‘onslaught’. In particular, I look at some participants’ talk about experiencing sadness, loss, anger and/or shame as responses to/effects of hetero- and amato-normativity. However, I suggest that these are not only ‘negative’ emotional responses but that they might also be productive in terms of rethinking and disrupting hetero- and amato-normativity.

scholarly journals Augmenting Function with Value: An Exploration of Reasons to Engage and Disengage from Music Listening

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 205920432110225
Author(s):  
Amanda E Krause ◽  
Solange Glasser ◽  
Margaret Osborne
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Uses And Gratifications ◽  
Affective Responses ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Music Listening ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Functional Perspective ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Inductive Thematic Analysis

Investigations of music in everyday life are dominated by a functional perspective, drawn from work using the theory of Uses and Gratifications. In so doing, we may have neglected to fully appreciate the value people place on music listening. Therefore, the present study considered if, and why, people value music listening and probed instances when they may not want to listen to music in everyday life. A sample of 319 university students residing in Australia (76.50% female, M age = 20.64) completed an online questionnaire, on which they were asked to provide short responses to open-ended questions directly addressing two research questions. Inductive thematic analysis yielded 13 themes synthesizing how participants valued listening to music, such as appreciation, emotion, time and engagement, cognitive factors, and mood regulation. Reasons for not listening to music were summarized by eight themes dominated by interference with activities that required focus or concentration, followed by environmental context, affective responses, music engagement and inversely, a preference for silence or other auditory stimuli. Fifteen percent of participants stated there was never a time they did not want to listen to music. The findings provide a novel perspective on the value of music listening beyond that considered by uses and gratifications with regard to the function of listening to music in everyday life.

scholarly journals Representation of Black History in Archives: A Collection-Centered Quantitative Analysis of the Billups-Garth Archive

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-203
Author(s):  
Carrie P. Mastley
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Black Community ◽  
Black History ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Manuscript Collections ◽  
And Control

AbstractThis pilot study presents a collection-centered quantitative analysis of Black history resources available at the Billups-Garth Archive in Columbus, Mississippi. The Archive’s inventory lists for its record series and control files for its manuscript collections were assessed in order to determine the percentage of extant Black history resources in relation to the collection’s total holdings. Relevant collections were then evaluated to determine their mediums, subjects, and provenance. The results showed a dearth of collections related to Black history and indicated that very few were created by the Black community. Results also showed that most relevant resources were made up of textual documents as well as documents relating to everyday life and education. Overall, this study demonstrates how collection analyses may be undertaken to identify collection biases and collection deficiencies, especially deficiencies in representing the histories of marginalized communities.

Discourse within University Presidents’ Responses to Racism: Revealing Patterns of Power and Privilege

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Veronica Jones
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Free Speech ◽  
Social Power ◽  
University Presidents ◽  
University Administrators ◽  
Institutionalized Racism ◽  
Student Protests ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Colorblind Ideology ◽  
Research Questions

Background Recent incidents of racism at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) have gained increased national attention. The backlash to individuals speaking out against racialized practices is often masked through discourse that dismisses the adverse effects of racism. Because university administrators often center their responses to incidents of racism on upholding free speech, scholars should analyze the ways that administrators’ responses might reinforce the existence of such racist behaviors and affect marginalized students. Purpose and Research Questions Rather than placing the burden on students to disrupt institutionalized racism, the author critically analyzed the discourse administrators utilized in their responses to understand the role of power in language. The following research questions informed the study: (a) what are the various characteristics of the discourse of university administrators as they respond to incidents of racism? and (b) how do university administrators’ responses to racism support or disrupt larger patterns of social power and privilege? Research Design The author utilized critical discourse analysis (CDA) to deconstruct relationships between the speech patterns of university presidents and larger Discourses about social power. Through a process of description, interpretation, and explanation, the author sought to reveal the underlying ideologies that go beyond surface-level discourse about free speech. Data Collection and Analysis Based on the context of increased police brutality and student protests on college campuses, the author reviewed data on recent incidents of racism at PWIs. The three final cases chosen for analysis represented varying approaches utilized by administrators to respond to racist incidents. Through multiple phases of coding, the author interpreted relationships between textual patterns to reveal a larger narrative about administrative accountability. Findings Each university president utilized a different approach to campus racism. The major discourse patterns represented were (a) a direct reproach of individuals as accountable for racism; (b) an indirect and theoretical approach to the reality of racism; and (c) a denial of or diversion from racism through authority. Conclusions and Recommendations Across the cases, administrators utilized speech that either downplayed the existence of racism or defined it through privilege or colorblind ideology. With the last incident resulting in the firing of the president, the analysis revealed ways that presidents can utilize emotional speech without substantial action. In order to be more responsive to marginalized communities, administrators need to intentionally engage with marginalized groups who are often silenced because their beliefs do not fit the standard of the dominant norm.

scholarly journals Aids for Dyslexia are Important Supporters of Life and Learning – Experiences of Finnish People with Dyslexia

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 278
Author(s):  
Tiina Veijola ◽  
Kaarina Määttä ◽  
Satu Uusiautti ◽  
Tanja Äärelä
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Developmental Needs ◽  
School Work ◽  
Qualitative Survey ◽  
The People ◽  
Content Analysis Method ◽  
Research Questions

<p>The purpose of this study was to analyze the availability and usability of aids for dyslexia according to the experiences of people with dyslexia. This was a qualitative study in which people with dyslexia were asked to participate by filling out a qualitative survey. The analysis followed the principles of qualitative content analysis method. Participants (N=11) were 15-65-year-old Finnish people with diagnosed dyslexia who use aids for dyslexia regularly. The purpose of this study was to answer the following research questions: (1) How do the people with dyslexia describe the importance of the aids for dyslexia in their everyday life and learning?; (2) Which aids for dyslexia do the people with dyslexia consider the most usable and beneficial?; and (3) What challenges have the people with dyslexia faced when using aids for dyslexia? According to the findings, aids for dyslexia were considered irreplaceably important and supported everyday life in numerous ways. The participants reported that they used aids in many areas of life, such as in school, work, and leisure. The most usable aids were computers (especially word processing soft wares), tablets, and smart phones. Most of the participants had used one or more of them. The biggest challenges were the expensiveness of aids and difficulties in learning to use aids. As the knowledge about dyslexia and number of diagnoses increase, new studies on the possible aids and their developmental needs are required. Versatile aids can provide personal help and support the coping of people with dyslexia in many areas of life. Furthermore, the study showed that, based on the participants’ experiences, more attention should be paid on the product development of aids for dyslexia in the future.</p>

scholarly journals Social Media for Social Justice in Adult Education: A Critical Theoretical Framework

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Careless
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Future Research Project ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Digital Engagement ◽  
Network Form

Social media as a communicative forum is relatively new, having been around for only ten years. However, this form of digital engagement has revolutionized the way many people interact, network, form relationships, learn, generate and share knowledge. As a noncentralized tool for communication, social media may provide space for critical discourse around issues of social justice, as discussion can be global in scope and is controlled by users themselves. This paper outlines a critical theoretical framework through which to explore the use of social media in adult education to foster such critical and social justice-themed discourse. Drawing upon five critical theorists and their work, this framework sets the stage for a future research project – one that is significant for this increasingly digital world in which we live.

scholarly journals Calineczki . O społecznych konstrukcjach zespołu Turnera

2019 ◽  
pp. 129-143
Author(s):  
Anna Krawczyk
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Short Stature ◽  
Turner Syndrome ◽  
Chromosomal Abnormality ◽  
Ethnographic Research

Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal abnormality that affects exclusively girls and always results in a short stature . This article is based on an ethnographic research whose main objective was to look into the narratives and daily practices of Polish girls diagnosed with TS . The article describes strategies adopted towards the bodily manifes- tations of TS in everyday life of Polish teenagers diagnosed with this condition . In this paper, I explore the meanings and practices around normalization of Turner Syndrome which are being negotiated in the process of socialization of children with TS .    

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