𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜, 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗
Channel: Rayhan Rashed
Date: 2021-07-14

𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜, 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗

Authors:
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𝐑𝐚𝐲𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
𝐌𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐣𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐢𝐟𝐚𝐭, University of Toronto.
𝐒𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐬𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐀𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐝, University of Toronto.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3460112.3471965
COMPASS 2021: ACM SIGCAS Conference on Computing and Sustainable Societies (COMPASS), Virtual Event, Australia, June 2021

Abstract:
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COVID-19 disrupted the existing ecosystem of technology repair and recycle in Bangladesh as visiting repair workshops became difficult and most repairers and e-waste workers had to temporarily close their businesses. Consequently, users were left with very few choices for fixing or recycling their devices. Based on our interviews with 30 repair and e-waste workers and 21 users of electronic devices we capture various aspects of this disruption and the corresponding coping mechanisms. This paper reports how the repair and e-waste worker communities adopted various changes to their work, provided remote services, and yet faced a decline in their business. On the other hand, end-users learned to fix their devices, collaborated with each other, and negotiated with partially broken devices to address this challenge. We further discuss the broader implications of our findings for HCI scholarship in HCI4D, resilience, and sustainability.