RETHINKING DIGITAL INEQUALITIES: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE MARGINALIZED IN COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTERS David Nemer Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Informatics and Computing Indiana University August 2015 Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Doctoral Committee _________________________________________________________ Eden Medina, Ph.D. _________________________________________________________ David Hakken, Ph.D. _________________________________________________________ Mary L. Gray, Ph.D. _________________________________________________________ Hamid Ekbia, Ph.D. July 24, 2015 ii Copyright © 2015 David Nemer iii This dissertation is dedicated to every resident of Favelas. iv David Nemer RETHINKING DIGITAL INEQUALITIES: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE MARGINALIZED IN COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTERS Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have emerged as symbols of modernity in the developing world, and currently policy makers and popular press perceived them as bridges to promote social and digital equalities. However, scholars have regularly demonstrated that digital inclusion projects have often failed to meet expectations related to human development objectives. Some postulate that the problem may not be entirely one of project failure, but rather of our limited understanding of the value that technology provides. Hence, this dissertation emphasizes the socio-cultural aspects of digital inclusion projects aimed at favela residents and attempts to understand ICTs aspects and practices from their perspective. Favelas, urban slums in Brazil, are considered marginalized areas due to the absence of State social and physical investments. As a consequence of this, such areas lack proper infrastructure, sanitation and road systems and provide their residents, the marginalized, with a low quality of life. Favela residents are deprived not only of proper services for their basic needs, such as health and education, but v also of access to technology and Internet. Most of them rely on community technology centers (CTCs) to access ICTs. Based on an over eight-month ethnography in the favelas of Vitória, Brazil, this dissertation focuses on the motivations, engagements, and adoption of ICTs by favela residents in CTCs. It asks the following questions: (1) What is their experience using CTCs? (2) How does their experience inform the ways we should think about what constitutes empowerment and disempowerment vis-à-vis ICTs? It argues that theoretical positions stemming from technology utilitarianism need expanding, because mundane and non-instrumental practices observed in the favelas shed light on the importance of technology in a variety of dimensions within people’s lives. Encompassing such practices contributes to a broader comprehension of the engagements and strategies that help shape the daily use of technology by people who suffer the consequences of being poor and marginalized. _________________________________________________________ Eden Medina, Ph.D. _________________________________________________________ David Hakken, Ph.D. _________________________________________________________ Mary L. Gray, Ph.D. _________________________________________________________ Hamid Ekbia, Ph.D. vi Table of Content 1 Introduction and Background ....................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research Questions ................................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Brazilian Social and Digital Inequalities ......................................................................... 4 1.3 Telecenters ................................................................................................................................ 8 1.4 LAN houses .............................................................................................................................. 14 1.5 Framework: Empowerment as Alleviating Sources of Unfreedom .................... 18 1.6 Looking Ahead ....................................................................................................................... 23 2 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 25 2.1 Reflexivity and Positionality: Telling the Untold Story........................................... 27 2.2 Choice of Case Study ............................................................................................................ 32 2.3 Fieldwork Phases .................................................................................................................. 35 2.4 Data Collection ....................................................................................................................... 38 2.4.1 Primary Data .................................................................................................................................. 40 2.4.2 Secondary Data ............................................................................................................................. 51 2.5 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 58 2.5.1 Transcription and Coding ......................................................................................................... 58 2.5.2 Theory Building ............................................................................................................................ 59 2.5.3 Data Storage ................................................................................................................................... 60 2.5.4 Triangulation ................................................................................................................................. 61 3 The Field ............................................................................................................................ 62 3.1 Brief History of Vitória ....................................................................................................... 65 3.2 Social Economic Context .................................................................................................... 68 vii 3.3 Favelas: An Overview .......................................................................................................... 73 3.4 The Field: Gurigica, São Benedito, Itararé and Bairro da Penha ......................... 77 3.5 Race Divide: The Other Side of the Avenue ................................................................. 84 3.6 Digital Inequalities in Vitória ........................................................................................... 89 4 Going beyond the “T” in CTCs: Telecenters and LAN houses as Key Sociotechnical Spaces in the Favelas .............................................................................. 93 4.1 Rethinking the Role of Telecenters in Communities ............................................... 94 4.2 LAN houses: Can a CTC be for-profit?........................................................................... 119 4.3 “LAN houses are for boys and Telecenters are for girls :” CTCs as Gendered Spaces ................................................................................................................................................ 135 5 Living Under Repair: Understanding the Messy and Mundane Infrastructure of the Favelas ........................................................................................... 145 5.1 Invisible Wires in Mobile Phones ................................................................................. 147 5.2 Living in the Broken City .................................................................................................. 157 5.2.1 Broken Keyboards: How the QWERTY Layout Afford a Faulty Infrastructure 162 5.2.2 Overcoming the Neglected and Enforced Infrastructure of the Favelas ............ 166 5.3 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 171 6 Online Favela: Affording Empowerment Through Mundane Use of Social Media ........................................................................................................................................ 176 6.1 The Role of Social Media in the Pursuit of Empowerment ................................... 177 6.2 Overcoming Barriers by Empowering The True “Selfie” ...................................... 189 6.3 Empowered until Crossing Social Boundaries: The Orkutization of Shoppings 198 6.4 Showing Up Late To the Party: The Social Movement of the Marginalized .... 204 viii 6.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 210 7 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 215 7.1 Making a Difference with Policy and Design Recommendations ...................... 218 7.2 Final Considerations .......................................................................................................... 226 References .............................................................................................................................