A presentation at Master’s Thesis Defense in in Tainan City, Taiwan by Craig Bossley
Fieldwork Background Feedback Framing Conclusion An action-research exploration of digital services for migrant workers in Taiwan Craig BOSSLEY 2021 Advisors: Dr. Sheng-Fen CHIEN Dr. Hsiao-Ling CHUNG
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 1–3) The Foundation of Taiwan is Migrant Labor Demand Supply Today’s Situation 700,000+ 1 Migrant Workers (MWs) and increasing. In Taiwan and internationally 2, that is 1 in 33. [1] McAuliffe & Khadria, 2019 [2] National Immigration Agency, 2020 2
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 1–3) Migrant Workers (MWs) Face Many Trials Self-Actualization -$! 2 Esteem Needs Belongingness & love needs Safety Needs Physiological Needs No new skills from job Disrespected by coworkers LIttle time for socializing No people to gather with No financial security Cramped living conditions Workplace accidents Health problems from hard labor [2] Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor, 2020 during after Inaccessible health care Irregular sleep schedule [3] Hsiao, 2013 before +$? 3 Water is not clean 3
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 11–16) Digital Services for MWs 1 [1] Farbenblum et al. (2018) and Holliday et al. (2019) 4
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion Challenges of Digital Services for MWs (pp. 11–16) 1 Access and Timing For MWs Empowerment vs. Privacy A Long-term Oriented Reconfiguration Quality & Quantity for Adoption Defining Aspect: Locationality [1] Farbenblum et al. (2018) and Holliday et al. (2019) 5
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 4–7) Research Objectives Objective 1 2 Preliminary Fieldwork To understand the context of MWs and their service providers in Taiwan 3 To define a digital service for MWs worth further addressing MWs in TW Stakeholders/ Service Providers in TW Digital Services factory worker needs Prototype Feedback To improve a digital service for MWs in TW and gain further insight Services for MWs OFWs Tainan Opportunity Framing goals 6
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 4–7, 18) Research Timeline - UI Design Prototype - Usability Testing with OFWs
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Introducing the People and Spaces Mr. A Church Ms. B Local Ms. C Malls Conclusion (pp. 19–20) Online Mr. D 8
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 20–21, 29–30) Findings: Migrant Worker Needs “72% do not even have a bank account— many just keep spending” - Ms. C “Upon arrival for more money, some change rest to only once a month” - Ms. C “There are policies that are not consistent with both governments” - Mr. D “Upbringing contributes to discrimination” - Ms. B “Keep changing until they find the employer they want/can deal with” -Ms. C “Being away from family/ partner also causes affairs to happen” - Mr. A 9
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 22–27, 29–30) Findings: Service Provider Targets Proactive Advice Educational Sessions Respond & Intervene Public Awareness Policy Negotiation Community Building Church Activists WDA/1955 MECO 10
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 31–32, 44–45, 99) Status: Digital Services for MWs in TW MECOlive few… PAOS book not in TW e-CARES few… Educational Sessions can’t access My Labor Matters Policy Negotiation [1] WDA, 2017b GB dorm app PH Recruiter “to not help employers, foreign workers in in TW (FB) Public Awareness WDA Portal Taiwan, private employment institutions Recruitment few… and the public understand the Advisor employment of foreign workers, rights can’t protection and relevant regulations” 1 access Proactive Advice MECO (call) 1955 Hotline few… OFW Watch few… FB Pages Respond & Intervene Community Building 11
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 33, 105–106) Heuristic Markup1 of the WDA Portal 5 Planes of User Experience 5 10 Usability Heuristics 2, 3 3 Severity Ratings 4 (F) Frequency of the problem? (E) Effort required to overcome? (L) How long will the issue last? [1] Buley, 2013 [2] Nielsen, 2020 [3] https://measuringu.com/effective-he/ [4] Nielsen, 1994 [5] Garrett, 2010 12
≠ ? No search between sections file format > time or topic rules. worries? OTHER FAQ OTHER “heightened vigilance” given Error ? 13
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 46–47) Status: TW Gov. and the Info Needs of MWs 14
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 48, 50–62) Prototype Creation Article format Card format Search function Hashtag function Homepage feed Type & Colors FAQ section Consulting format 15
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 49–50, 63–65) Testing Tasks A ————B —C —D ————-E —F ————-G ————— homepage search search consulting consulting 1955 intro FAQ find mask article find other posts find NHI posts find NIA info find in Kaohsiung find the info page look up policies 16
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 65–72, 115–118) Results: Usability Testing Session Homepage Search/Nav. Consulting If looking for [an] article, I’d just browse the page, only if pressed for time would I try to use the search engine.” -P6 This is good, because you’re basing on the apps [of] other people, how the other app[s] [are designed].” -P4 “Yes! Everything I wanted to know, and I don’t need to type [any]thing.” -P1 “Maybe my hands are a little too big…” -P2 1955 Intro “Maybe you need to put some more color to attract people—maybe, more colorful, more attractive, more easy to use.” -P4 “[I would] just Google it—just like in this application.” -P1 FAQ “It’s the best part of the application because it’s so easy to find the other information” -P7 [In relation to the Handbook] “it’s more clear about [every]thing from this topic” -P3 17
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion The Portal has potential Portal OFWs WDA Goal: Help understand rights, regulations Need: Lack of quality info shared 1. Content Requirements Quality information needed 2. Fix Bugs The Portal is presently unusable. 3. Fix SEO To be useful, the Portal needs to be where MWs go 4. UI Design Make it attractive and easier to understand 18
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion (pp. 77) Suggestion: the FAQ section Nav. besides hamburger Changed lang. switch icon Encourage use of search Make “for MW” more clear Simple-term section label Use consistent icons/labels Emotion faces to thumbs Clearer hashtags for nav. Keep card format Clearer action on card 19
Background Fieldwork Framing Feedback Conclusion Migrant Workers & “Digital” Digital is more than a choice Digital is rooted in the physical 20
The specific digital behavior of different migrant workers The emerging OFW vlogger phenomenon and its effect on other OFWs Digital services for other migrant worker needs Testing of prototype with other migrant worker groups Results of co-creation with migrant workers and stakeholders (like Contratados) 21
Feedback/Edits to Make ● ● ● ● ● Content Design could be more important than the usability design/UI of the Portal MWs’ authentic needs vs. available digital services — how do they meet each other? MWs as digital users — how do they use digital media in their culture? What is action research (used in title)? How were you benefited by this strategy? Did action research change the final design or the way you designed? In the text, action research → website → heuristic markup is confusing. How are they related to each other? and to the research questions? ● ● ● ● ● Many issues that you’ve identified on MWs also exist in local Taiwanese workers’ living situation. Identify the problems that are essential/related to MW identity to help make the argument stronger Add evidence/rough data (quotes) to the qualitative analysis (interviews etc) (maybe documentation photos to observations) User journey map (of the overall process) Condense the 5 ‘S’ analysis! Diagram plan and rewrite abstract first? 22
Extra (can-do) ● ● Cross-ref Heuristic Codes to design choices to Usability Testing results in Appendix Appendix C: TW Service examples ○ ○ ○ ● Change the filtering criteria Prisma flow diagram (ref) Redo the table Graphic icons for the (lit review/chap 2) Digital Service category types? 23
Echoing a global trend, for every 33 persons in Taiwan, there is one contracted guest worker from Southeast Asia. These residents seek to build a better future by working abroad to send money back home, but their stay is dependent on continuous labor in strenuous, less-desirable occupations, and compliance with varying levels of exploitation. In parallel, industry actors, nonprofits, governments, and individuals alike across the globe are employing digital technologies in services aimed at supporting migrant workers. From judicial case databases to compliance reporting to work shift trackers to strategic messaging, there is a broad range of digital services. To understand the potential of digital services for migrant workers in Taiwan, this study used an action research approach. In the first actions, knowledge of Filipino migrant worker (OFW) needs and service providers in Taiwan was gathered through interviews and observations. Driven by financial and cultural pressures, many OFWs take on tiring extra work and are dissatisfied with conditions. Meanwhile, social media and an up-and-coming vlogging scene reveal a thriving community making the best of their little free time. Later, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the fragile contexts of OFW support systems and reiterated the urgent need for digital services and quality information systems. In the second grouping of actions, digital services for migrant workers in Taiwan were considered. The Taiwanese government’s Information Site of Foreign Worker Rights Defence (Portal) was selected for further analysis through heuristic markup. The issues of the Portal and its integration in the service journey provided targets for following actions. During the final phase, a user interface (UI) prototype of the Portal was created in response to selected issues. A usability testing session with OFW participants provided feedback: the homepage feed was intuitive, navigation was worse, and the FAQ section most exciting. However, more importantly, the results verified the need for fixing the other untargeted points in the service journey.
The following resources were mentioned during the presentation or are useful additional information.
The following code examples from the presentation can be tried out live.
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