Sociomaterial Practices of a Voluntary Homeless Organization

Jahmeilah Roberson | Candidacy Talk

Advancement Committee: Drs. Susan Coutin, Paul Dourish, Gloria Mark, Bonnie Nardi, Alladi Venkatesh

Outline

Motivation− Understand holistic personal development of the homeless

Findings− Leisure activities provide exposure to novel technologies − Technology exposure is often coupled with interactions with

community outsiders − Materiality and social relations constitute one another in

practice

Conclusions− Contribute to knowledge of materiality of homelessness− Think of ways to further integrate the homeless into broader

elements of society

Defining Homelessness People who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime

residence, and people with a primary nighttime residence that is

− (a) a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations;

− (b) an institution that provides temporary residence for individuals intending to be institutionalized; or

− (c) a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation

National Alliance to End Homelessness

671,859 people homeless on any given night

37 percent families 63 percent individuals18 percent chronic

Technology Use & Access− Relation between economic status and information access [Hersberger,

‘03]

− Urban poor as unexpected users of technology [Thom-Santelli, ‘07]

− Characterize perceptions of technology among the homeless [LeDantec & Edwards, ‘08]

− Use of information systems in daily lives of homeless youth [Woelfer & Hendry, ‘10]

Social Lives− Removed from larger society [Snow & Anderson, ‘93]

− Considered in a state of withdraw [Ropers, ‘88]

− Establish and maintain intricate social networks [Rowe & Wolch, ‘90]

Homeless Research

“…the social and the material are constitutively entangled in everyday life…there is no social that is not also material, and no material that is not also social” − Sociomateriality [Orlikowski, ‘07]

“..the trajectories of emergence of human and material agency are constitutively enmeshed in practice by means of a dialectic of resistance and accommodation” − Mangle of practice [Pickering, ‘93]

Theoretical Framework

Research Site

Los Angeles County

− 73,702 homeless people− 11,442 living in shelters − 57,166 living on the street

Research Site

Skid Row

− 13,000 - 15,000 residents− 75 percent African American− 95 percent extremely low

income− 33 percent homeless− 3,500 chronic homeless

“The underlying thing was that the spirit of the artist is inside of everyone. The digital camera was supposed to unlock that.”

Methods

• Participant observations− 9 months− 71 hours

• Informal conversations• Semi-structured interviews

− 25 participants

Member Types

Technology Driven

“I just keep asking Larry every week, where’s my camera…my camera phone just won’t do.”

Socially Driven

“It was a great way to not only have an activity for folks to do, but also to build a group of friends.”

Photography Driven

“I really wanted a community to talk about photography with.”

Education Driven

“Now I’m thinking about elements of my photos…I’m starting to look at things differently, to think differently.”

Organizational infrastructure: the underlying framework that enables the club to efficiently get things done.

Invisible: − Tasks to support procuring meeting

location, food, cameras, gallery space, photo walkabouts, transportation

Visible: − Rules and accountability

Analog > Digital

Camera components: Digital materials more ephemeral Absence of materials effects understanding Conveys broader meanings of SES

Photographs: Tied to material ensembles for sharing Ownership shaped by mobility Digital materiality changes endpoint of photographic

journey

Findings

Organization via Technology

Desired outcomes: − Add visible layers of structure− Realize contrasting, novel, and more systematic approach to Club practices

Interpreting the introduction of technology:− Does it have the capacity to create productive interaction?

− Is it inclusive to all members?

Technology: Newsletter

Created social and material distance between members

False framing

“It just seemed - given that it is the [Photo Club] and a lot of folks in Skid Row don’t have technology, it wasn’t an appropriate medium to get the news out”

Technology: Newsletter

Created a shared moment between members

Communication tool with upcoming events and personal updates

Note-taking during meetings

Community outreach recruitment device

Photo Critiquing

Problematic Empowerment

New way of sharing photographs commanded attention

Photo Critiquing

“There’s so much potential for people to be organized, to feel responsible to the group. Like, I’m gonna bring in three jpegs, I’m gonna look at them and know what I’m gonna say about them…Just to have purpose, everybody needs purpose but this club is like the club without purposes.”

Conclusions

Discussion

Resistance: blockages on a path to a goal whereby human agency is limited by material agency

Human Agent Material Agent Goal

Discussion

Human AgentMaterial Agent Goal

Human Agent Material Agent Goal

Visibility of structure desired across all members

Technology integration reflected social solidarity

Preexisting Photo Club practices blurred meanings of technologies

Insights

Opportunities to explore like models

Social & technological

Diary study to explore expansion of mobile boundaries

Potential for Future Work

Thank You

Collaborators:

SRPC & Downtown Neighborhood Council

Committee members:

Susan Coutin, Paul Dourish, Gloria Mark, Bonnie Nardi, Alladi Venkatesh

Our supporters:

Intel PaPr@UCI

NSF

CORCL

Accommodation: new approaches to the goal in the face of resistance

Discussion

Human Agent Material Agent Goal

Alternative Material Agent