Contextualizing Intermediated Use in the Developing World
Ishita Ghosh · 2016
This short paper extends the existing conceptualization of intermediated use in the developing world by demonstrating a range of informal practices that are conducted outside of a discrete (intermediary/beneficiary) user-interface interaction in a given point in time. Further, this paper also demonstrates how low-literate users may often voluntarily relinquish custody of an information resource in order to create and maintain intermediation. In this way we describe a broader conceptualization of intermediated use in the developing world that needs to take into account the entire sociotechnical workflow. This is particularly critical when explicitly designing for secondary/beneficiary users; it considers their specific requirements that often get overlooked while simultaneously revealing their vulnerabilities within the formal-informal continuum. We present findings from ethnographic work conducted in India and Ghana.