P1302 - PROFIT: Review and State of the Art (Summary of Deliverable 1)

Over-representation and ‘fashionable’ research

The report concludes that there are both aspects of identity and applications, which are over-represented in the existing identities and ICTs research. These particularly concern issues of identity play with gender and sexuality (for the expert readers - mostly in MUD, MOO and IRC spaces). Issues of gender and sexuality seem particularly inextricably linked on the Internet, where the frequent lack of visual cues and the reliance only on textual ones can lead to the construction of hyper-masculine and hyper-feminine heterosexual stereotypes as participants draw on extant cultural codes. [read more in section 2.1 of deliverable 1]

Mind the Gap

The ‘fashionability’ of research in the analysed areas has led to a relative neglect of other identity issues. There is a lack of research on how ethnicity, diaspora and nationality are negotiated or supported through ICTs. Research in this area has mostly examined the use of web sites and newsgroups in maintaining these identities, but there are likely to be more complex and varied ways in which they are expressed or constituted. [read more in section 2.2 of deliverable 1]

Issues of disability in general are neglected. The two studies examined in this project concentrate on the control and disclosure / non-disclosure of having a ‘disability.’ However, there are likely to be other issues involved in the presentation and representation of a disabled identity through ICTs, including how the technology has been physically adapted to be more usable, and whether this is acceptable to the disabled user. [read more in section 2.3 of deliverable 1]

There is nearly a complete absence of research on how older people or the elderly express or constitute their identities through ICTs, or ultimately disidentify with them. This perhaps reflects the lack of work on what being ‘older’ actually means to and for people, and how this is played out. Certainly being ‘older’ impacts upon how other aspects of social identity such as gender and sexuality are done. [read more in section 2.4 of deliverable 1]

There is a paucity of research on how ICTs are important in constituting or expressing class identities (distinctions). These distinctions are formed on the basis of social capital (e.g. having lots of friends), economic capital (having money), cultural capital (having ‘taste’ and certain knowledges) and subcultural capital (being ‘cool’). ICTs and their usage involve many of these distinctions. Mobile phones are particularly involved in creating distinctions around what is ‘cool’ in youth culture and having computer expertise is an important form of cultural capital in today’s world. Being able to have certain ICTs and certain models is deeply implicated in shows of economic capital – having the latest or most fashionable ICTs is often a display of economic capital. [read more in section 2.5 of deliverable 1]

Groups and communities literature

Identities are not only formed in relation to the self and done through individual performances - groups and communities are important contexts for the development of particular identities and specific axes of identity. Business scenarios often concentrate on the individual or the family unit in preference to group or community settings which are also important. Much of this literature is valuable to the project as it challenges some key business assumptions which have been formed on the basis of widely held social beliefs about the Internet – such as its supposed detrimental impact on the social lives of individuals. [read more in section 2.7 of deliverable 1]

Identity and ICTs – self and personality

The literature review also considers more ‘internalised’ senses of identity concerning self and personality including issues of self in relation to the Internet; and the relationship between self, personality and ICTs as objects and interfaces. Studies provide detailed observational level data about the presentation and perception of self, and issues to be generally aware of for an Ambient Intelligence environment. [read more in section 2.6 of deliverable 1]

Many of the papers show the importance of understanding the use of ICTs in the work context. Work and professional identities interweave with ICT use – both constituting professional identities as well as allowing for their expression, or even hollowing them out. However, it is not enough to understand the area of work identities and ICTs alone, particularly in an Ambient Intelligence environment where devices are pervasive and always on. Indeed, some of the most interesting issues to arise in such an Ambient Intelligence environment concern the meeting of work or public identities and home or private identities – and how individuals will potentially develop strategies to cope with the intrusion of work identities into home and vice versa with new technologies.

Conclusions: The literature and an Ambient Intelligence environment

A review of the state of the art does not give a clear and unambiguous picture of what identity issues will be pertinent for an Ambient Intelligence environment, partly because of the chaotic collection of enabling technologies which constitutes ‘Ambient Intelligence.’ But it does hint at some areas which could be explored further – such as how ‘always on,’ pervasive wireless devices cross and blur the boundaries of work and home, which requires ‘intelligent’ solutions to accommodate ‘integrationist’ or ‘separatist’ approaches to work and home identities. [read more in section 2.6.2 of deliverable 1]

Many of the issues to be considered are entirely diverse, contextual and socially situated – they depend upon the highly individualised tastes and preferences of people which are a product of their upbringing, socialisation, education and employment. How their domestic space and work environment are constructed are also important in how Ambient Intelligence devices should be made and conceptualised – how they might fit into people’s everyday lives. The social use of Ambient Intelligence devices and particularly the wide range of pertinent identity issues need to be considered at every stage of development for the devices to be truly ‘intelligent.’