A Call For Embedding Dignity In Humanitarian Technologies

Increasingly, technologies are being designed to support refugees. While HCI research has explored several aspects of refugee experiences, the importance of embedding the principle of dignity within technological designs is yet to be explored. In this paper we focus on the theme of dignity that was a prominent theme across three research projects we conducted with Syrian refugee communities in Lebanon. We show that the experiences of refugee participants are characterised by a loss of dignity, as well as by attempts to maintain dignity that may be mediated by technology. By highlighting the value given to dignity by our participants we emphasise the need for designers and HCI researchers to consider how technologies may create a space in which dignity is maintained and dignified interaction may take place.

[1]  V. Braun,et al.  Using thematic analysis in psychology , 2006 .

[2]  Helmut Krcmar,et al.  Supporting Refugees in Everyday Life- Intercultural Design Evaluation of an Application for Local Information , 2017, PACIS.

[3]  Lizzie Coles-Kemp,et al.  In a New Land: Mobile Phones, Amplified Pressures and Reduced Capabilities , 2018, CHI.

[4]  Peter C. Wright,et al.  Experience-Centered Design: Designers, Users, and Communities in Dialogue , 2010, Experience-Centered Design.

[5]  Karen E. Fisher,et al.  Future's Butterflies: Co-Designing ICT Wayfaring Technology with Refugee Syrian Youth , 2016, IDC.

[6]  Richard Buchanan.  Human Dignity and Human Rights: Thoughts on the Principles of Human-Centered Design , 2001, Design Issues.

[7]  Christian Kray,et al.  Exploring Forced Migrants (Re)settlement & the Role of Digital Services , 2018, ECSCW Exploratory Papers.

[8]  Kristin Bergtora Sandvik,et al.  Humanitarian technology: a critical research agenda , 2014, International Review of the Red Cross.

[9]  Kenton O'Hara,et al.  Social Impact , 2019, Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics.

[10]  Adrian Holzer,et al.  Towards a Principled Approach to Humanitarian Information and Communication Technology , 2017, ICTD.

[11]  Rob Comber,et al.  FeedFinder: A Location-Mapping Mobile Application for Breastfeeding Women , 2015, CHI.

[12]  Patrick Olivier,et al.  Refugees and HCI SIG: The Role of HCI in Responding to the Refugee Crisis , 2016, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[13]  Carleen F. Maitland,et al.  Promoting participatory community building in refugee camps with mapping technology , 2015, ICTD.

[14]  Rob Comber,et al.  Experiences of Delivering a Public Health Data Service , 2017, CHI.

[15]  Patrick Olivier,et al.  Syrian Refugees and Digital Health in Lebanon: Opportunities for Improving Antenatal Health , 2016, CHI.

[16]  S. Fukuda‐Parr,et al.  Development as Capability Expansion , 2003 .

[17]  P. Olivier,et al.  The impact of digital technology on health of populations affected by humanitarian crises: Recent innovations and current gaps , 2016, Journal of Public Health Policy.

[18]  Ying Xu,et al.  Participatory data collection and management in low-resource contexts: a field trial with urban refugees , 2019, ICTD.

[19]  Kristina Höök,et al.  Interactional empowerment , 2008, CHI.

[20]  Katja Lindskov Jacobsen,et al.  The Politics of Humanitarian Technology: Good Intentions, Unintended Consequences and Insecurity , 2015 .

[21]  Dhaval Vyas,et al.  Vulnerability of displacement: challenges for integrating refugees and asylum seekers in host communities , 2016, OZCHI.

[22]  Konstantin Aal,et al.  Refugees & HCI Workshop: The Role of HCI in Responding to the Refugee Crisis , 2017, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[23]  Sakiko Fukuda-Parr,et al.  Readings in human development : concepts, measures and policies for a development paradigm , 2004 .

[24]  Konstantin Aal,et al.  Refugees & Technology: Determining the Role of HCI Research , 2018, GROUP.

[25]  Dhaval Vyas,et al.  Designing for refugees: insights from design workshop , 2018, OZCHI.

[26]  Virginia Braun,et al.  Successful Qualitative Research: A practical guide for beginners , 2013, QMiP Bulletin.

[27]  Kyle Montague,et al.  Involving Syrian Refugees in Design Research: Lessons Learnt from the Field , 2019, Conference on Designing Interactive Systems.

[28]  Patrick Olivier,et al.  Implications of Synchronous IVR Radio on Syrian Refugee Health and Community Dynamics , 2017, C&T.

[29]  Dhaval Vyas,et al.  Rebuilding social capital: engaging newly arrived refugees in participatory design , 2017, OZCHI.

[30]  Florence March,et al.  2016 , 2016, Affair of the Heart.

[31]  Alan Borning,et al.  Value Sensitive Design and Information Systems , 2020, The Ethics of Information Technologies.

[32]  Rob Comber,et al.  Za'atari Refugee Cookbook: Relevance, Challenges and Design Considerations , 2017, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[33]  Catriona Mackenzie,et al.  Nussbaum, Kant, and the Capabilities Approach to Dignity , 2014 .