Speculative Vulnerability: Uncovering the Temporalities of Vulnerability in People's Experiences of the Pandemic

John S. Seberger; Ike Obi; Mariem Loukil; William Liao; David J. Wild; Sameer Patil

doi:10.1145/3555586

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Speculative Vulnerability: Uncovering the Temporalities of Vulnerability in People's Experiences of the Pandemic

Journal article

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Speculative Vulnerability: Uncovering the Temporalities of Vulnerability in People's Experiences of the Pandemic

John S. Seberger, Ike Obi, Mariem Loukil, William Liao, David J. Wild and Sameer Patil

Proceedings of the ACM on human-computer interaction, v 6(CSCW2), pp 1-27

07 Nov 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3555586

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Abstract

Computing / technology policy

Empirical studies in HCI

Empirical studies in ubiquitous and mobile computing

Government technology policy

Governmental regulations

HCI design and evaluation methods

HCI theory, concepts and models

Human and societal aspects of security and privacy

Human computer interaction (HCI)

Human-centered computing

Privacy policies

Security and privacy

Social and professional topics

Social aspects of security and privacy

Ubiquitous and mobile computing

Pandemic-tracking apps may form a future infrastructure for public health surveillance. Yet, there has been relatively little exploration of the potential societal implications of such an infrastructure. In semi-structured interviews with 23 participants from India, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and the United States, we discussed attitudes and preferences regarding the deployment of apps that support contact tracing to contain the spread of COVID-19. Through interpretive analysis, we examined the relationship between persistent discomfort and vulnerability when using such apps. Such an examination yielded three temporal forms of vulnerability: real, anticipatory, and speculative. By identifying and defining the temporalities of vulnerability through an analysis of people's pandemic-related thoughts and experiences, we develop the overlapping discourses of humanistic infrastructure studies and infrastructural speculation. In doing so, we explore the concept of vulnerability itself and present implications for the study of vulnerability in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and for the oversight of app-based public health surveillance.

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Title: Speculative Vulnerability
Creators: John S. Seberger - Drexel University
Ike Obi - Purdue University West Lafayette
Mariem Loukil - Mediterranean Institute of Technology, Tunis, Tunisia
William Liao - Indiana University Bloomington
David J. Wild - Indiana University Bloomington
Sameer Patil - University of Utah
Publication Details: Proceedings of the ACM on human-computer interaction, v 6(CSCW2), pp 1-27
Publisher: ACM
Grant note: ED17HDQ3120040 / United States Economic Development Administration, United States Department of Commerce
Resource Type: Journal article
Language: English
Academic Unit: Information Science (Informatics)
Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85146487972
Other Identifier: 991021861872604721

Speculative Vulnerability: Uncovering the Temporalities of Vulnerability in People's Experiences of the Pandemic

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