A Survey of Emergent Digital Literacy Inside the Homes of Latino Immigrants in California

José A. (Tony) Torralba ()
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José A. (Tony) Torralba: University of Hawaii at Manoa

Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2015, vol. 16, issue 3, No 3, 515 pages

Abstract: Abstract This paper examines how Latino immigrant families in California use information technology (IT) tools for their pre-existing personal, educational, and work-related activities inside their homes. In doing so, the paper re-examines the concept of access beyond the acquisition of these technologies, highlighting instead the importance of the local social and economical contexts of users and the implications for the design, implementation, and use of these technologies among immigrant communities. Results indicate that as these new comers appropriate IT tools to develop their personal, educational, and work-related needs and aspirations, they begin to develop important digital and language literacies, as well as new ways of interacting with formal institutions in the USA. In spite of new developments in technologies and social media since the study took place (2002), there is still little or no research that relies on direct observations to examine IT utilization inside the homes of immigrants and in relation to their pre-existing educational or labor-related activities. Results suggest a need for a more detailed study of these practices inside homes and their possible implications for educational and labor-related immigrant reform initiatives.

Keywords: IT tools and Latinos; Immigrants’ computer use at home; Ethnographies of computer use at home (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1007/s12134-014-0348-2

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