The ethical limits of bungee research in ICTD

DEARDEN, Andrew and TUCKER, William D. (2015). The ethical limits of bungee research in ICTD. In: 2015 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society. IEEE, 1-6.

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Official URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/wrapper.h...
Link to published version:: https://doi.org/10.1109/ISTAS.2015.7439430

Abstract

Research in ICTD is difficult because engineers with technical expertise are separated from the challenges that they are trying to address by large physical distances and significant social differences. To overcome these challenges, much research involves occasional short visits by external researchers to developing regions to investigate problems and generate ideas which are then developed back at the engineers' home base before further return visits for deployment and evaluation. This paper highlights the ethical limitations of this `bungee research', and reflects on our experiences in evolving more fruitful research practices. We argue that relying on bungee research as a primary model of research engagement is unethical, and we suggest some minimal conditions that are necessary, but not sufficient, for such visits to be ethically defensible in ICTD research.

Item Type: Book Section
Uncontrolled Keywords: Computers,Ethics,Human computer interaction,ICTD,Information and communication technology,Technological innovation,bungee research,ethical aspects,ethical limits,physical distances,research ethics,social aspects of automation,social differences
Research Institute, Centre or Group - Does NOT include content added after October 2018: Cultural Communication and Computing Research Institute > Communication and Computing Research Centre
Departments - Does NOT include content added after October 2018: Faculty of Science, Technology and Arts > Department of Computing
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1109/ISTAS.2015.7439430
Page Range: 1-6
Depositing User: Andrew Dearden
Date Deposited: 26 Jul 2016 10:55
Last Modified: 18 Mar 2021 16:23
URI: https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/12651

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