Wiring connections, building hopes and transforming lives with technology: a narrative of information and communication technology volunteers

Suganya Parthasarathy

doi:10.17918/etd-6433

In many underdeveloped regions and countries, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) efforts are not yet sustainable based on an absence of computers and a lack of appropriate strategies and local knowledge to support these systems. The purpose of this narrative study grounded in axiological stances was to explore the challenges, prospects, and experiences of ICT volunteers. By focusing on the stories told by ICT volunteers about creating technological and personal connections and building hopes by imparting skills, this research explored how ICT volunteering has affected the quality of life of the volunteers. The overarching research streams included determinant factors of the digital divide, ICT deployments, and volunteer identity. The following were the research questions posed for this study: (a) What stories do ICT volunteers share on the meaning of ICT volunteerism in underdeveloped countries?, (b) What stories do ICT volunteers tell about their volunteering choices?, and (c) How do they describe the effect of their volunteer experience on their personal and professional lives? A total of eight IEP volunteers participated in this narrative study. Four were born in the US and four were foreign born. They were purposefully selected using homogenous sampling. All the participants were from the Northern California sites of Orange Electronics and Manufacturing (OEM) and each had participated in at least one short-term ICT deployment. Each participant shared experiences during the interview. The research findings emerged from the researcher's restorying and subsequent coding and analysis of the narrative that developed from the stories shared during the interviews, the researcher's observational notes, and collected artifacts. The three major themes identified were: (a) dimensions of the divide, (b) bridging the widened gap, and (c) value added from ICT volunteering. The results of the study emerged from the findings and were discussed and interpreted in relation to the literature review. The three results that emerged were: (a) oftentimes ICT volunteers see digital divide challenges as opportunities while leveling the playing field, (b) ICT volunteering touches the lives of people in underdeveloped countries and also alters the landscape of the digital divide, and (c) there is a recurring association between corporate volunteering and volunteer welfare. The conclusions of this study offered responses to the research questions and were established from the findings, results, and interpretations and synthesis of the researcher's views. The recommendations offered emphasize how to enrich the experiences of volunteers who deploy ICT tools and skills in the underdeveloped countries. As there is limited research on ICT volunteers, there could be great benefit in further researching the lived experiences of ICT volunteers on a larger scale.

Wiring connections, building hopes and transforming lives with technology: a narrative of information and communication technology volunteers

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Wiring connections, building hopes and transforming lives with technology: a narrative of information and communication technology volunteers

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