Strategies to Embed Human Values in Agriculture Mobile Apps: What Do End-Users and Practitioners Think?

47 Pages Posted: 23 Aug 2023

See all articles by Rifat Ara Shams

Rifat Ara Shams

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Shahin Mojtaba

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University)

Gillian Oliver

Monash University

Jon Whittle

Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Data61

Waqar Hussain

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Harsha Perera

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Arif Nurwidyantoro

Monash University

Abstract

Given the ubiquity of mobile apps in daily lives, understanding and reflecting end-users’ human values (e.g., transparency, privacy) in apps has become increasingly important. Violations of end users’ values by software applications have resulted in a wide range of difficulties for end users. Value violations may bring more and lasting problems for marginalized groups of end-users. This research aims to understand the extent to which Bangladeshi female farmers' values, marginalized and vulnerable end-users, who are less studied by the software engineering community, are reflected in agriculture apps in Bangladesh. Further to this, we aim to identify possible strategies to embed their values in those apps. To this end, we conducted a mixed-methods empirical study consisting of 13 interviews with app practitioners and focus groups with 20 Bangladeshi female farmers. The accumulated results from the interviews and focus groups identified 22 values of Bangladeshi female farmers, which the participants expect to be reflected in the agriculture apps. Among these 22 values, 15 values (e.g., accuracy) are already reflected and 7 values (e.g., accessibility) are ignored/violated in the existing agriculture apps. We also identified 14 strategies (e.g., “applying human-centered approaches to elicit values”) to address Bangladeshi female farmers’ values in agriculture apps.

Keywords: Human Values, software engineering, Mobile App Development, Mixed-Methods Empirical Study, Marginalized End Users, Bangladeshi Agriculture Apps

Suggested Citation

Shams, Rifat Ara and Mojtaba, Shahin and Oliver, Gillian and Whittle, Jon and Hussain, Waqar and Perera, Harsha and Nurwidyantoro, Arif, Strategies to Embed Human Values in Agriculture Mobile Apps: What Do End-Users and Practitioners Think?. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4549494 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4549494

Rifat Ara Shams (Contact Author)

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Shahin Mojtaba

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University) ( email )

124 La Trobe Street
Melbourne, 3000
Australia

Gillian Oliver

Monash University ( email )

23 Innovation Walk
Wellington Road
Clayton, 3800
Australia

Jon Whittle

Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Data61 ( email )

Waqar Hussain

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Harsha Perera

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Arif Nurwidyantoro

Monash University ( email )

23 Innovation Walk
Wellington Road
Clayton, 3800
Australia

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