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- Title
- Investigating the Role of Sensor Based Technologies to Support Domestic Activities in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Creator
- Chidziwisano, George Hope
- Date
- 2022
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
-
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), homes face various challenges including insecurity, unreliable power supply, and extreme weather conditions. While the use of sensor-based technologies is increasing in industrialized countries, it is unclear how they can be used to support domestic activities in SSA. The availability of low-cost sensors and the widespread adoption of mobile phones presents an opportunity to collect real-time data and utilize proactive methods to monitor these challenges. This...
Show moreIn sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), homes face various challenges including insecurity, unreliable power supply, and extreme weather conditions. While the use of sensor-based technologies is increasing in industrialized countries, it is unclear how they can be used to support domestic activities in SSA. The availability of low-cost sensors and the widespread adoption of mobile phones presents an opportunity to collect real-time data and utilize proactive methods to monitor these challenges. This dissertation presents three studies that build upon each other to explore the role of sensor-based technologies in SSA. I used a technology probes method to develop three sensor-based systems that support domestic security (M-Kulinda), power blackout monitoring (GridAlert) and poultry farming (NkhukuApp). I deployed M-Kulinda in 20 Kenyan homes, GridAlert in 18 Kenyan homes, and NkhukuProbe in 15 Malawian home-based chicken coops for one month. I used interview, observation, diary, and data logging methods to understand participants’ experiences using the probes. Findings from these studies suggest that people in Kenya and Malawi want to incorporate sensor-based technologies into their everyday activities, and they quickly find unexpected ways to use them. Participants’ interactions with the probes prompted detailed reflections about how they would integrate sensor-based technologies in their homes (e.g., monitoring non-digital tools). These reflections are useful for motivating new design concepts in HCI. I use these findings to motivate a discussion about unexplored areas that could benefit from sensor-based technologies. Further, I discuss recommendations for designing sensor-based technologies that support activities in some Kenyan and Malawian homes. This research contributes to HCI by providing design implications for sensor-based applications in Kenyan and Malawian homes, employing a technology probes method in a non-traditional context, and developing prototypes of three novel systems.
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- Title
- M-Kulinda : exploring domestic security in rural Kenya using home alert system
- Creator
- Chidziwisano, George Hope
- Date
- 2018
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
-
"The use of sensor-based technologies is pervasive in today's world, especially in the developed world where its applications are well realized. From smart homes to tracking locations to monitoring health, sensor-based technologies are becoming ubiquitous. However, the role of sensor-based technologies in a rural Kenyan household is underexplored. I explore the potential of a sensor-based technology probe's approach to enhancing domestic security in rural Kenyan households, where property...
Show more"The use of sensor-based technologies is pervasive in today's world, especially in the developed world where its applications are well realized. From smart homes to tracking locations to monitoring health, sensor-based technologies are becoming ubiquitous. However, the role of sensor-based technologies in a rural Kenyan household is underexplored. I explore the potential of a sensor-based technology probe's approach to enhancing domestic security in rural Kenyan households, where property theft is a persistent problem. The 'technology probes' approach was used to allow participates to reflect on a new technology in their homes and provides data to researchers based on their reflections. I designed 'M-Kulinda', and deployed it in 20 households for four weeks. The study has shown that residents in rural areas have interest in using sensor-based technologies to solve their problems however there are constraints which prevent them from fully realizing the potential of sensors in their lives. The implications of this research encourages researchers in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) in the design space to incorporate solutions to constraints that hinder people in the developing world from using technology. The study also contributes to HCI by showing the positive impact of using technology probes of different research products in different settings to understand how people in that particular setting would use that particular product. Sensors should also be used to complement already existing measures of security in the home."--Page ii.
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