Human values and digital work: an ethnographic study of device paradigm
Human values and digital work: an ethnographic study of device paradigm
I examine Albert Borgmann’s concept of device paradigm as a way to underscore the significance of human values in one’s engagement with digital work in an organizational setting. Device paradigm explains the pervasive patterns of everyday engagement with information technologies as devices that facilitate prosperity without burden and efforts and, in so doing, can downplay the human values in practices. Although prior research has highlighted the significance of focal things and practices, much remains to be learned about the role of human values in contemporary everyday engagement with digital technologies. Drawing on a critical ethnography of everyday practices at an information technology firm (approximately 300 employees), I apply the critical social theory of Borgmann to analyze how digital work is firmly anchored in human values, and how device paradigm can be used as a critical lens to examine the contemporary everyday engagement with information technology. The study reveals that digital devices can have focal aspects and everyday places can be seen as focal places. Focal things are firmly grounded in focal places, which facilitate the emergence of focal practices. Ethnographers are encouraged to explore values in the field (held by people) as well as values of the field (attached to the places).
critical theory, device paradigm, focal practices, ethics, human values, informal systems
27–57
Chughtai, Hameed
e8600973-9db8-4649-be67-def5f2a83a72
February 2020
Chughtai, Hameed
e8600973-9db8-4649-be67-def5f2a83a72
Chughtai, Hameed
(2020)
Human values and digital work: an ethnographic study of device paradigm.
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 49 (1), .
(doi:10.1177/0891241619855130).
Abstract
I examine Albert Borgmann’s concept of device paradigm as a way to underscore the significance of human values in one’s engagement with digital work in an organizational setting. Device paradigm explains the pervasive patterns of everyday engagement with information technologies as devices that facilitate prosperity without burden and efforts and, in so doing, can downplay the human values in practices. Although prior research has highlighted the significance of focal things and practices, much remains to be learned about the role of human values in contemporary everyday engagement with digital technologies. Drawing on a critical ethnography of everyday practices at an information technology firm (approximately 300 employees), I apply the critical social theory of Borgmann to analyze how digital work is firmly anchored in human values, and how device paradigm can be used as a critical lens to examine the contemporary everyday engagement with information technology. The study reveals that digital devices can have focal aspects and everyday places can be seen as focal places. Focal things are firmly grounded in focal places, which facilitate the emergence of focal practices. Ethnographers are encouraged to explore values in the field (held by people) as well as values of the field (attached to the places).
Text
JCE-18-059.R2
- Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 14 May 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 14 June 2019
Published date: February 2020
Keywords:
critical theory, device paradigm, focal practices, ethics, human values, informal systems
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Local EPrints ID: 430963
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/430963
ISSN: 0891-2416
PURE UUID: 0bb0a1ea-921a-40b2-9cc2-2ddef14112f1
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Date deposited: 20 May 2019 16:30
Last modified: 27 Jan 2020 13:48
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