2022/02/17 by Partha Das Chowdhury, Chowdhury, Partha Das, Andrés Domínguez +5 · 1 citation
Business, Management and Accounting · Social Sciences · #Computers and Society (cs.CY) #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development #K.4 #NA #Technology Use by Older Adults
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2202.08548
openalex publication_date 2022/02/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The wider adoption of PETs has relied on usability studies, which focus mainly on an assessment of how a specified group of users interface, in particular contexts, with the technical properties of a system. While human centred efforts in usability aim to achieve important technical improvements and drive technology adoption, a focus on the usability of PETs alone is not enough. PETs development and adoption requires a broadening of focus to adequately capture the specific needs of individuals, particularly of vulnerable individuals and or individuals in marginalized populations. We argue for a departure, from the utilitarian evaluation of surface features aimed at maximizing adoption, towards a bottom up evaluation of what real opportunities humans have to use a particular system. We delineate a new paradigm for the way PETs are conceived and developed. To that end, we propose that Amartya Sen s capability approach offers a foundation for the comprehensive evaluation of the opportunities individuals have based on their personal and environmental circumstances which can, in turn, inform the evolution of PETs. This includes considerations of vulnerability, age, education, physical and mental ability, language barriers, gender, access to technology, freedom from oppression among many important contextual factors.