Eliciting the Double-edged Impact of Digitalisation: a Case Study in Rural Areas

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2306.05078v1
• Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2023 10:01:35 GMT
• Title: Eliciting the Double-edged Impact of Digitalisation: a Case Study in Rural Areas
• Authors: Alessio Ferrari, Fabio Lepore, Livia Ortolani, Gianluca Brunori
• Abstract summary: This paper reports a case study about the impact of digitalisation in remote mountain areas, in the context of a system for ordinary land management and hydro-geological risk control. We highlight the higher stress due to the excess of connectivity, the partial reduction of decision-making abilities, and the risk of marginalisation for certain types of stakeholders. Our study contributes to the literature with: a set of impacts specific to the case, which can apply to similar contexts; an effective approach for impact elicitation; and a list of lessons learned from the experience.
• Score: 1.8707139489039097
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: Designing systems that account for sustainability concerns demands for a better understanding of the \textit{impact} that digital technology interventions can have on a certain socio-technical context. However, limited studies are available about the elicitation of impact-related information from stakeholders, and strategies are particularly needed to elicit possible long-term effects, including \textit{negative} ones, that go beyond the planned system goals. This paper reports a case study about the impact of digitalisation in remote mountain areas, in the context of a system for ordinary land management and hydro-geological risk control. The elicitation process was based on interviews and workshops. In the initial phase, past and present impacts were identified. In a second phase, future impacts were forecasted through the discussion of two alternative scenarios: a dystopic, technology-intensive one, and a technology-balanced one. The approach was particularly effective in identifying negative impacts. Among them, we highlight the higher stress due to the excess of connectivity, the partial reduction of decision-making abilities, and the risk of marginalisation for certain types of stakeholders. The study posits that before the elicitation of system goals, requirements engineers need to identify the socio-economic impacts of ICT technologies included in the system, as negative effects need to be properly mitigated. Our study contributes to the literature with: a set of impacts specific to the case, which can apply to similar contexts; an effective approach for impact elicitation; and a list of lessons learned from the experience.

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