"Multiliteracies for Inclusive Technologies: A Case Study on Location-Based Services and Domestic Violence Survivors"

Jennifer Roth Miller

Jennifer Roth Miller is a student in the Texts and Technology Doctoral Program at the University of Central Florida. Jennifer's research interests explore the convergence of philanthropy, social justice, education, corporate social responsibility, and cause-based marketing in socially constructing collective views on issues such as technology, lifestyle, health, and community.

Contents

Abstract

Introduction

Location-Based Services & Privacy

Location-Based Services & Privacy Cont.

Domestic Violence Survivors & Geolocation: A Case Study

Digital Literacy Possibilities for Domestic Violence Survivors

Digital Literacy Possibilities for Domestic Violence Survivors Cont.

Potential for Rhetoric & Composition

Works Cited

Introduction

Dr. Mark Pollitt, former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent and University of Central Florida (UCF) professor, declared in a recent presentation on digital forensics that, “Location-based services pose the greatest current threat to privacy” (M. Pollitt, personal communication, November 6, 2014). Specifically, location information embedded in metadata provides a link from the online to the offline. Beyond connecting people to real-time relevant information and providing preferences and activity patterns for advertisers, this technology poses a valid threat to privacy and even personal safety for some populations because it has fostered enhanced opportunities for tracking. As a pervasive new technology, concerns are only beginning to be made explicit and explored. More work is needed in analyzing and unpacking the implicit values, beliefs, politics, and actors involved in smartphone privacy. While the technology is considered less threatening to the mainstream population, populations such as domestic violence survivors have experienced serious consequences. The aim to understand geolocation services’ effects on domestic violence survivors and reflecting on interventions, ranging from education to smartphone apps, motivated this revealing case study that sought to uncover effective ways to help populations negatively affected by new technologies. Further, this research elucidated the value in increasing technology-related multiliteracies for mainstream and non-mainstream users and the potential influence the field of rhetoric and composition could have on the next generation that will shape how we build and use new technologies.