How Artifacts Afford by Jenny L. Davis

Author:Jenny L. Davis [Davis, Jenny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: affordances; affordance; science and technology studies; STS; computer mediated communication; CMC; information communication technologies; ICT; new media; design studies; sociology of technology; politics of design; James Gibson; JJ Gibson; Donald A Norman; mechanisms and conditions framework; actor network theory; ANT; technology as materialized action; social theory; critical technology studies; critical STS
Publisher: MIT Press
Published: 2020-07-17T00:00:00+00:00

Dexterity

In order to utilize the features of an object, one must not only perceive those features as available but also have the ability to employ them. Dexterity refers to the capacity of a subject to enact the functions of an object. These capacities can be physical or cognitive. A subject must be able to physically manipulate the object in required ways and have the knowledge set that enables manipulation.

Variation in dexterity and its relationship to affordances is a central element of disability studies and disability activism. By and large, built infrastructures have historically been constructed with a presumed model human who walks easily, sees clearly, and hears with precision. The critical disability perspective contends that such assumptions have resulted in a disabling social structure for those whose bodies do not adhere to the presumed model ideal.10 Stairs offer a clear example. Stairs are built to transport bodies between levels of a given built structure. In the default case, stairs encourage climbing. However, as described in William H. Warren’s classic affordance study, stair climbing relies on particular bodily configurations.11 In addition to adequate leg-length-to-stair-height ratios, stair climbers must contain the muscular capacity to support full body weight, the muscle control to contort the legs at will, and the coordination to balance for brief moments as one leg leaves a bottom step and advances to the next. Persons with lower body paralysis, muscular atrophy, severe arthritis, or myriad other conditions do not have bodies that adhere to these requirements. Thus, although the stairs encourage climbing by able-bodied persons, those living with certain mobility impairments are discouraged or refused.

In this vein, visually oriented websites serve consumers who have clear ocular vision, but they discourage or even refuse access among people with vision impairments. For instance, a stylish thin font presents a clean look but may be unreadable for those with eyesight less than 20/20; screen readers translate website content into audio form but cannot read images directly and often have trouble reading text within images; and similar color contrasts (such as white on grey) can render text indistinguishable from the background. So although website designers work hard to create slick visuals, the process of doing so may request engagement from seeing users while refusing access to the visually impaired. In contrast, websites that adhere to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) standards of accessibility12 equally allow and even encourage consumption by users with any level of vision.

On a personal note, dexterity plays a substantial role in my collaborative research relationships. Like all researchers, I operate with clear limits. I am highly proficient in qualitative methods and have a strong grasp of social theory. Yet my dexterity with both statistical analyses and large-scale data analytics is relatively basic. I do not have the skills to build complex statistical models or write novel code that unlocks and makes sense of data points from the web. On my own, I am allowed to use a variety of data collection and analysis tools but refused all but their most elementary functions.

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