IT 695 - Week 8 - The Digital Divide

Reading: Moser, M. A. (2009).Text "Superpowers": A study of computers in homeless shelters. Science, Technology, & Human Values. 000, 1-36.

This article details findings of ethnographic research on the effect of computers in homeless shelters. Interviews were conducted over the course of a year with 42 homeless people and staff from three homeless shelters in Calgary Canada. The author’s research design was based on Dorothy Smith’s institutional ethnography, which investigates structures through the actions of individuals and their effect on the structure. Through the interviews, Moser’s aim was “to bring different experiences into proximity so that we can explore the ways that individual experiences (in this case, computer use) correspond with macrosocial discourses (in this case, surrounding the Smart Communities program).”

As a result of a government initiative called Connect Calgary, computers were installed in three homeless shelters for use by both homeless clients and caseworkers. The aim of the program was to provide internet access and training for homeless people in an effort to facilitate their employment and improvement in circumstances. What Moser found was that while this initiative did not necessarily have the effect it was intended, it did have a positive effect for the clients who took advantage of the labs. First, she was surprised to find that most of the homeless users of the lab were computer literate already, possibly because those who were not computer literate did not choose to use the labs.

Use of the labs tended to fall into one of four areas: Entertainment to fill up time, maintaining a place in communities, contact with support systems, and “crossing over” or transitioning from being homeless. Several factors played a part in the use of computers, including placement of the lab in the facility and the relative social status from use.

Moser also looked at the use of computers by the staff, which was mostly in two ways: entering data on clients and looking for services to help them. Some of the intended uses of the computer, including centralized file keeping, were not embraced, possibly because shelters were somewhat territorial about sharing their resources and methods.

While the computers may not have been used exactly as the initiative envisioned, Moser’s findings indicate that they helped create a positive attitude shift and added stability to the otherwise unpredictable circumstances of the homeless users.