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The Breaking Hand: Skills, Care, and Sufferings of the Hands of an Electronic Waste Worker in Bangladesh

Mohammad Rashidujjaman Rifat,Hasan Mahmud Prottoy,Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

Published 2019 in International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

ABSTRACT

While repair work has recently been getting increasing attention in HCI, recycling practices have still remained relatively understudied, especially in the context of the Global South. To this end, building on our eight-month-long ethnography, this paper reports the electronic waste (`e-waste', henceforth) recycling practices among the e-waste recycler (`bhangari') communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In doing so, this paper offers the work of the bhangaris through an articulation of their hands and their uses. Drawing from a rich body of scholarly work on social science, we define and contextualize three characteristics of the hand of a bhangari: knowledge, care, and skills and collaboration. Our study also highlights the pains and sufferings involved in this profession. By explaining bhangari work through the hand, we also discuss its implications for design, and its connection to HCI's broader interest in sustainability.

PUBLICATION RECORD

  • Publication year

    2019

  • Venue

    International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

  • Publication date

    2019-05-02

  • Fields of study

    Sociology, Computer Science, Environmental Science

  • Identifiers
    DOI 10.1145/3290605.3300253
  • External record

    Open on Semantic Scholar

  • Source metadata

    Semantic Scholar

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