Addressing digital diversity: Care matters in vulnerable digital relations in a Swedish library context

Abstract

As societies become increasingly digitalized, the requirements for inclusion continuously increase. In a Swedish public, municipal, library context, it is common that individuals who face difficulties related to digital technologies come and ask for help. In this paper, we explore care in relations constituted by individuals and digital technologies and analyze how care matters for digital inclusion. It builds on field studies in a Swedish library context and includes qualitative interviews, focus groups, and observations of employees working to support individuals with digital needs. In order to analyze the material, we apply the concept of care. In the concluding discussion, we argue first for viewing individuals as sociomaterial entanglements of relations constituted by humans and non-humans, second that these sociomaterial entangled relations are vulnerable, shifting, and fluid, rather than stable, and third that these relations are in constant need of care.

Empirical Research on the Influence Mechanisms of Digital Resources Input on Service Innovation in China’s Finance Industry

“…Therefore, it is necessary to address the influence of digitalization on the process and intermediate mechanism of service innovation. The research results can theoretically supplement the existing literature and has an important practical significance for enterprises in digital transformation [7][8][9].…”

Technology Mediated Citizenship: What Can We Learn from Library Practices

“…This study follows the path of 'library studies' and builds on our interest to follow the process of advancing digitalization of society and the implications for citizens' participation in democratic practices [12,39]. The public library as an institution is framed as a democracy arena that works for broad folk literacy and digital inclusions [40][41][42].…”

“…In advanced information societies these activities are often digitalized, something which brings to the fore how digital access and skills condition the performing of citizenship (van Deursen & van Dijk, 2018). Swedish research shows that digital diversity involves always exclusionary potential and that citizenship should be examined as an entanglement of human and technology relations [12][13][14][15].…”

Context matters—different entrepreneurial approaches among street‐level bureaucrats enhancing digital inclusion

“…For the purposes of this study, we focus on street‐level bureaucrats from two municipal contexts in Sweden: first, respondents working at Digidel centers, open public nodes for digital support that have been designed specifically to enhance digital inclusion; and second, respondents in conventional welfare services such as social services, labor market units, and education units who have to work to support digital inclusion beside their other assignments. Citizens need to be digitally included to be fully included in the welfare state (Sefyrin et al, 2021), and street‐level bureaucrats have to address this need in new and innovative ways. This article theorizes such innovative approaches through reference to how developments in digitalization demands that street‐level bureaucrats have a policy of entrepreneurial approach (Mintrom & Norman, 2009; Petridou & Mintrom, 2021).…”