ICTs and everyday communication of migrant female domestic workers in singapore

ICTs AND EVERYDAY COMMUNICATION OF MIGRANT DOMESTIC WORKERS IN SINGAPORE MINU THOMAS (M.A. English, MADRAS UNIVERSITY, INDIA) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW MEDIA PROGRAMME NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2008 Acknowledgements “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” ~William Arthur Ward The writing of this thesis has been a new and wonderful experience for me. I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Lim Sun Sun for her valuable time and guidance for this study. Her constructive comments and constant encouragement has helped me throughout the period of my candidature. I would also like to thank the faculty and administrative staff of Communications and New Media (CNM) Programme, who have always been there for me. Especially Dr.Milagros Rivera, whose enthusiasm and love for learning initiated me into this long journey of writing and research. I would also like to make a special mention of Dr. Hichang Cho and Dr.Kevin Mc.Gee for their valuable insights during the Research Methods classes. Most importantly, I would like to thank all my respondents and their employers for agreeing to participate in this study. Without their support, this thesis could not have been completed. Thanks, to my friends, especially Pratichi, Manjari and Nandini, for always being there for me; and to my parents, my in-laws, and my siblings for their constant support and encouragement during the past two years. Finally, the most important person in my life, my husband Jayan, without whose support this whole Masters programme at CNM would not have happened. I thank him for his love, patience and guidance throughout my period at CNM, and also for his constant support on the home front. Thank you to all those who have helped me in this wonderful journey and whose names I have not been able to mention. Thank you. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................ii Summary......................................................................................................................vi List of Tables ...............................................................................................................ix List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................x Chapter 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................1 1.1 Context for research ..........................................................................................1 1.2 Relevance for research ......................................................................................2 1.3 Research question and chapter organization ..................................................4 Chapter 2 Living and Working Conditions of Foreign Domestic Workers .................................6 2.1. History of migration of foreign domestic workers to Singapore ..................6 2.2 The role of migrant domestic workers in Singapore’s economy ...................8 2.3 State and migrant domestic workers in Singapore.......................................10 2.4. Conditions of work and living for migrant domestic workers....................11 2.5. Representations of migrant domestic workers in Singaporean society .....13 2.6. Everyday communication of migrant domestic workers ............................14 2.7 Conclusion ........................................................................................................16 Chapter 3 ICT and Society: A Review of Literature ...................................................................17 3.1 Introduction......................................................................................................17 3.2 Theoretical framework: Domestication of technologies..............................18 3.2.1 Development of domestication as a concept...............................................21 3.2.2 Consuming technologies .............................................................................22 3.2.3 Domestication and everyday life.................................................................25 3.2.4 Recent applications of the domestication concept in empirical studies .....26 3.3 Uses and gratifications perspective ................................................................27 iii 3.4. Women and the sociology of everyday life....................................................29 3.5 Research problem ............................................................................................30 3.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................31 Chapter 4 Methodology ...............................................................................................................32 4.1 Ethnographic research ....................................................................................32 4.1.1 Meaning condensation ................................................................................33 4.1.2 Methodologies for previous research on domestic workers .......................34 4.2 Methodology used in this study ......................................................................35 4.2.1 Location of the Interviews and Some Limitations of the Methodology Used ..............................................................................................................................37 4.3 Profiles of Indian and Filipino workers interviewed ....................................39 4.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................42 Chapter 5 Use and Domestication of ICTs by Migrant Female Domestic Workers..............43 5.1 Introduction......................................................................................................43 5.2 Pattern of use of technologies..........................................................................43 5.3 Proficiency levels in the use of technologies ..................................................48 5.3.1 Education ....................................................................................................50 5.3.2 Age ..............................................................................................................51 5.3.3 The specific need for using technologies as a determining factor..............52 5.4 Routes to domestication of technologies in migrant workers’ lives ............54 5.4.1 Incorporation ..............................................................................................54 5.4.2 Appropriation..............................................................................................55 5.4.3 Objectification.............................................................................................56 5.4.4 Pre-migration experience and domestication of technologies....................58 5.4.5 Factors influencing domestication of technologies ....................................62 5.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................64 Chapter 6 Motivations and Gratifications of ICT Use .............................................................65 6.1 Introduction......................................................................................................65 iv 6.2 Companionship ................................................................................................67 6.2.1 Family ties...................................................................................................67 6.2.2 Friendship ties ............................................................................................69 6.3 Escape................................................................................................................70 6.4 Entertainment ..................................................................................................71 6.5 Information gathering .....................................................................................73 6.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................75 Chapter 7 Impact of ICTs on Migrant Workers’ Lives ...........................................................76 7.1 Introduction......................................................................................................76 7.2 Empowerment ..................................................................................................77 7.3 Connectivity......................................................................................................80 7.4 Obligations arising from technology use........................................................83 7.8 Conclusion ........................................................................................................89 Chapter 8 Conclusion...................................................................................................................90 8.1 Summary of findings .......................................................................................91 8.2 Societal implications ........................................................................................99 8.3 Limitations and suggestions for future research.........................................100 8.4 Recommendations for future research.........................................................101 References.................................................................................................................103 v Summary A number of women from developing countries such as Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India have been migrating to major metropolitan centres of the world in search of employment as domestic workers. These migrant women workers leave their families and loved ones behind for periods ranging from a few months to many years. The everyday communication of these women reflects the wide range of their emotional and instrumental needs such as maintaining close ties with families and friends and seeking information about new jobs. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as the mobile phone and the Internet add a new dimension to their everyday communication. This thesis has attempted to understand the use of ICTs in the everyday communication of migrant domestic workers in Singapore. The study is based on ethnographic research. The core data for this research is derived from semi-structured interviews of 20 migrant women – 10 Filipinos and 10 Indians -working as domestic workers in Singapore. Migrant female domestic workers constitute over one-fifth of Singapore’s foreign workforce. Singaporeans, particularly working women with young children, are highly dependent on their services. Reports, especially in the Singapore media, and scholarly studies indicate that at least a small minority of foreign domestic workers in Singapore have to endure difficult working conditions and tolerate physical abuse. Given this context, the specific research questions that the thesis sets out to address are related to (i) the pattern and motivations of use of ICTs by migrant women vi domestic workers in their everyday communication, and (ii) the ways through which ICTs impact the lives of these workers. The interviewed workers have been categorized into those with ‘high’, ‘moderate’, and ‘low’ proficiency levels in the use of technologies. Our research findings indicated that there is no clear association between age and proficiency level in the use of technologies, or between years of migration to Singapore and proficiency levels. Also, being more educated did not mean that proficiency levels were higher. Instead, proficiency seemed to have been encouraged by the specific need for using a particular technology. This study seeks to apply the technology domestication theory and the uses and gratifications theory as the conceptual framework to understand the pattern and motivations of use of ICTs by migrant women domestic workers in their everyday communication. With respect to domestication of technologies, the study showed workers routinized technologies and appropriated them to suit their specific needs, but the process of objectification was absent. The social and economic conditions before migration have an important bearing on the processes through which the workers domesticate technology after their migration. The major social or psychological needs that are satisfied by everyday communication of workers through their use of different media are: companionship, escape, entertainment, and information gathering. In fact, workers’ strategies of resistance and vii sites of power are closely linked to their everyday communication. Foreign domestic workers build social networks, make telephone calls and write letters during their limited leisure time. This is one of their means to reclaim some private space and time. Contacts with other people help them sometimes to escape from abusive employers and secure better employment opportunities It was found that the major positive impacts of ICTs on workers’ lives were as a source of empowerment and as an instrument for connectivity. At the same time, with ICTs, the workers were bound by responsibilities to their family members, especially to children whom they leave behind, and this was taking a considerable emotional and financial toll on these women. viii List of Tables Table 1: Estimates of the Number of Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore, by their Nationality, 1986-2004 ..................................................................................................7 Table 2: Female Labour Force Participation Rates in Singapore, 1957 to 2005, in per cent.................................................................................................................................8 Table 3: Proportion of Dual-Career Couples among Married Couples .......................9 Table 4: Female Migrant Domestic Workers Interviewed, by Age..............................41 Table 5: Female Migrant Domestic Workers Interviewed, by Years of Migration .....42 Table 6: Female Migrant Domestic Workers Interviewed, by Years of Education .....42 Table 7: Profile of Filipino Workers Interviewed........................................................46 Table 8: Profile of Indian Domestic Workers Interviewed ..........................................47 Table 9: Proficiency Levels in Using Technologies of Migrant Female Domestic Workers Interviewed, Criteria for Categorization.......................................................49 Table 10: Migrant Female Domestic Workers Interviewed, by Proficiency Levels in Using Technologies, in Numbers .................................................................................49 Table 11: Sources of information about the outside world accessed by female migrant domestic workers interviewed......................................................................................73 Table 12: Average Monthly Income and Average Monthly Expenses on Communication Incurred, Indian and Filipino Workers .............................................86 Table 13: Migrant Female Domestic Workers Interviewed, Monthly Incomes and Monthly Expenditures on Communication...................................................................88 ix List of Abbreviations ICT Information and Communication Technologies UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation SMS Short Message System IDA Infocomms Development Authority of Singapore UNDP United Nations Development Programme BBC British Broadcasting Corporation x Chapter 1 Introduction This thesis attempts to study the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by migrant women working as domestic workers in Singapore, hereafter to be referred to as migrant domestic workers. My study is based on ethnographic research. The core data for my research is derived from semi-structured interviews of 20 migrant women – 10 Filipinos and 10 Indians -- working as domestic workers in Singapore. 1.1 Context for research According to recent estimates, approximately 150,000 migrant women from countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and India work as contract domestic maids in Singapore (Dwyer, 2005, Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). Living and working conditions of foreign domestic workers in Singapore have been the concern of a number of scholarly studies and media reports. The picture that emerges from such diverse sources is that at least a small minority of these women workers have to endure difficult working conditions and tolerate physical abuse. In many instances, foreign maids in Singapore are also made to work for long hours (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). Studies indicate that in the case of some foreign domestic workers, the access to basic necessities such as food, shelter, communication, medical facilities and the right to private space and time are controlled by their employers. The employers also control the domestic workers’ social activities and forays into public space. In the employers’ homes, the workers are treated neither as family members nor as total outsiders 1 (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). In some homes, workers are under surveillance; there have also been instances when they are prevented from forming any type of strong ties with their families back home (Yeoh et al. 2005). 1.2 Relevance for research This study on the use of ICTs by migrant women working as domestic workers in Singapore assumes relevance in the above-discussed context, in two important dimensions. First, it is widely believed that ICTs are important tools for development and are a source of empowerment for the underprivileged. The twin forces of ICTs and globalization have powerful impacts on society and social relations, and these have been analyzed by a number of scholars. Manuel Castells describes the ‘network society’ to denote the societal changes brought about by the information technology revolution (Castells, 1996). There are differences of opinion as to whether the changes brought about by ICTs on society are entirely beneficial or not. Some scholars note that the potential of ICTs to reduce global inequalities -- between countries and within countries -- and societal inequalities is very high (Heeks, 2002). At the same time, however, some other studies have challenged this view. They point to the increase in inequalities between skilled and unskilled workers in the ‘new economy’ or ‘informational economy’ (Wood, 1995; Parayil, 2005); and to the domineering weight of social, economic and institutional factors (such as illiteracy, land distribution and caste) in determining inequalities (Thomas and Parayil, 2008). 2 The second dimension that contributes to relevance for this research is the genderrelated aspect of development. In most developing and even developed countries, women face several disadvantages owing to social, economic and cultural factors. Amartya Sen, who described development as a ‘process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy’, pointed to the existence of severe female disadvantage in health and other aspects of well-being in many areas of the third world. The greater deprivation of females, Sen (1999) noted, is linked to relatively low levels of female literacy and absence of social and economic empowerment. In the age of the network society, gender-based inequalities have come to be characterized also by the lack of access to information and knowledge networks. Therefore, ICTs can play a useful role in building information networks and empowering women who are otherwise secluded (Nath, 2001). Empowerment refers to the creation of an environment that enables selfdetermination, and for women, this applies to increasing their power and ‘taking control over decisions and issues that shape their lives’ (Thas, Ramilo, and Cinco 2007, p.14). Studies have analyzed how ICTs ranging from community radio broadcast to email can heighten women’s empowerment. For example, Somolu’s (2007) study relates to the use of blogging by African women as a tool to promote gender equality and empowerment. Through blogging, women get an opportunity to write about what is important to them and in this way they became active creators and disseminators of knowledge (Somolu, 2007). The study of the owners (mainly women) and users of the Village Phone in Bangladesh found that the Village Phone helped to widen the social networks of almost all women –owners (Aminuzzaman et al. 2003). 3 1.3 Research question and chapter organization Given the above-discussed background, my research is an attempt to study the use of ICTs by migrant women working as domestic workers in Singapore. My specific research questions are related to (i) the pattern and motivations of use of ICTs by migrant women domestic workers, and (ii) the impact of ICTs on the living and working conditions of these workers. Detailed research questions will be given at the end of Chapter 3 after an extensive review of the relevant literature. The second chapter of this thesis discusses the empirical literature on the living and working conditions of migrant workers in Singapore. It begins with a historical review of the migration of these workers from 1819 into Singapore. It highlights the important role played by these migrant workers in Singapore’s economy; and discusses the attitude of the state and society in Singapore towards these migrant workers. The chapter also illustrates the importance of their everyday communication as they face many hardships in a foreign country. Chapter three elucidates the two main theories on which the research questions have been based. The two theories discussed and applied in this study are technology domestication theory and the uses and gratifications perspective. The first theory has been used to analyze how the migrant workers domesticate the different technologies they use into their daily lives. The uses and gratifications perspective theorizes how the migrant domestic workers use ICTs and the gratifications which they derive from this use, given their individual social or psychological needs. This chapter also draws insights from literature on women and the sociology of everyday life. 4 The fourth chapter discusses the methodology used in this study. Chapter five analyzes the pattern of communication among the migrant domestic workers in Singapore. The different technologies they employed, especially the mobile phone, are discussed in detail. The workers are categorized according to their proficiency levels in using the different technologies; the proficiency levels are further analyzed on the basis of workers’ age, education and years of migration. The concept of domestication of technologies is discussed in relation to the experiences of the migrant domestic workers interviewed. Chapter six illustrates the motivations behind the domestic workers’ use of particular technologies. The uses and gratifications perspective will be used to analyze the gratifications which these workers derive from the use of the different technologies. Chapter seven analyzes whether ICTs are a source of empowerment for the migrant female domestic workers. At the same time, the chapter discusses the obligations arising from technology use: greater familial responsibilities and the high costs of mobile phone use. Chapter eight concludes the whole study by summarizing the research findings and provides recommendations for further research. 5 Chapter 2 Living and Working Conditions of Foreign Domestic Workers This chapter reviews the literature on living and working conditions of migrant female domestic workers in Singapore. In different sections of this chapter, we discuss the history of migration of foreign domestic workers to Singapore (section 2.1); the role of migrant domestic workers in Singapore’s economy (section 2.2); state and migrant domestic workers in Singapore (section 2.3); conditions of work and living for migrant domestic workers (section 2.4); representations of migrant domestic workers in Singaporean society (section 2.5); and everyday communication of domestic workers (section 2.6). Section 2.7 is the concluding section. 2.1. History of migration of foreign domestic workers to Singapore Historical research suggests that the migration of foreign domestic maids into Singapore occurred in three different phases. During the colonial period, beginning in 1819, ‘slave girls’ (or girl servants known as mui tsai) were brought from the poor regions of China and employed by rich Chinese families in Singapore. These girl servants were often abused and victimized by their employers. In the 1930s, the purchase of ‘slave girls’ was deemed illegal by the Singapore Government. In the changed conditions, to meet the need for domestic maids, ‘free’ workers were imported mainly from China. Thus, Cantonese women from the Pearl River Delta Region, who were searching for new opportunities following the collapse of the silk industry in that region, formed the source of domestic labour in Singapore from the 1930s. These women, who were called ‘black and white amah’, were economically and emotionally independent and not exploited by their employers (Gee and Ho, 2006, pp.6-9; Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). 6 The migration of Cantonese women to Singapore dwindled by the early 1970s. At the same time, Singapore’s industrialization beginning in the late 1960s increased the demand for waged domestic help, as Singaporean women joined the new industrial workforce. The Foreign Maid Scheme introduced by the Singapore government in 1978 facilitated the migration of foreign domestic workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). Thus, after the 1980s, there was an increase in the entry of foreign domestic maids, along with greater demand for and dependency on foreign maids among Singaporean families. In contrast to the ‘free’ workers in the 1930s, the recent migrant domestic workers in Singapore are, reportedly, facing marginalization and exploitation by their employers (Gee and Ho, 2006, pp. 6-9). As per the latest reports (Dwyer, 2005), there are approximately 150,000 women working as domestic help in Singapore; estimates of the number of foreign domestic workers for 2004 was 140,000 (see Table 1). Women from the Philippines and Indonesia account for the largest share of foreign domestic workers in Singapore. Table 1 shows the numbers of foreign domestic workers of various nationalities. Table 1: Estimates of the Number of Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore, by their Nationality, 1986-2004 Country of 1986 1991 1995 2004 origin Philippines 28,000 30,000 55,000 60,000-70,000 Indonesia n.a. 5,000 15,000-18,000 50,000-60,000 Sri Lanka n.a. 10,000 8,000 12,000 Others n.a. 5,000 n.a. n.a. Total n.a. 50,000 80,000-85,000 140,000 Source: Figures cited in Abdul Rahman et al. (2005), Table 8.1. 7 2.2 The role of migrant domestic workers in Singapore’s economy Singaporeans, particularly working women with young children, are highly dependent on the services of foreign maids. The proportion of married females participating in the labour force in Singapore increased from 14.7 per cent in 1970 to 29.8 per cent in 1980 and further to 43.2 per cent in 1990. This proportion reached 49 per cent in 2000 and 53 per cent in 2005 (see Table 2). The increase in labour force participation of women in Singapore is associated with educational improvements and the general increase in employment opportunities in the country. The migration of domestic workers, who eased the domestic responsibilities for married women, has also been an important factor that contributed to the increases in women joining Singapore’s labour force (Yeoh et al. 2005). Table 2: Female Labour Force Participation Rates in Singapore, 1957 to 2005, in per cent Year Women Single Married 1957 1970 19.3 24.6 24.8 35.6 14 14.7 1980 39.3 53.1 29.8 1990 50.3 68.9 43.2 2000 55.5 -49.0 2005 56.6 -53.0 Source: Figures for the years 1957, 1970, 1980 and 1990 are from Huang and Yeoh (1996), Table 1. Figures for the years 2000 and 2005 are from Table 2 http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/ghsr1/chap3.pdf Married couples wherein both partners are working increased from 27.1 per cent of the total number of couples in 1980 to 39.8 per cent in 1990, 40.9 per cent in 2000 and 43.8 per cent in 2005 (see Table 3). Greater participation of females in formal employment opportunities has contributed to the improved financial situation of households. In 2005, the average monthly income of married couples was $7600 8 compared to $4000 for solo-career couples. Dual-career couples in Singapore are working longer hours than in the past. The proportion of dual-career couples, where the wives work at least 60 hours per week, increased from 9 percent in 2000 to 11 percent in 2005. In 2005, husbands among dual-career couples worked for an average of 51 hours per week and wives worked for an average of 45 hours per week (Singapore Department of Statistics, 2006). Table 3: Proportion of Dual-Career Couples among Married Couples Year Proportion in per cent 1980 27.1 1990 39.8 2000 40.9 2005 43.8 Source: Singapore Department of Statistics (2006), Chart 1 (p.1). Even while women work long hours outside their homes, tasks associated with domesticity such as child caring, cooking and cleaning are considered women’s responsibilities in the patriarchal division of labour in Singapore society (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). It is clear that, given the situation discussed above, foreign domestic workers have an important role to play in Singapore’s economy and society. According to Huang and Yeoh (2003), migrant female domestic workers constitute over one fifth of Singapore’s foreign workforce (of 612,200). In 2000, one in seven households in Singapore employed a transnational domestic worker (Singapore Department of Statistics, 2000, cited in Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). 9 2.3 State and migrant domestic workers in Singapore While Singapore’s economy benefits from the inflow of foreign domestic workers, the government has instituted many regulations to limit the flow of new workers. In fact Singapore’s state policy tries to ensure that foreign domestic workers remain a transient workforce who could be repatriated during periods of economic slowdown. An important instrument used by the government to slow down the inflow of foreign domestic workers is a monthly levy averaging between S$200-300, which the employers have to pay. There have been other restrictions as well. Foreign maids are given two-year work permits, which are normally renewable to a maximum of eight years. Every employer is required to pay a security bond of S$5,000 to the government while employing a maid. This could serve as a disincentive for employing foreign maids. At the same time, the government has adopted a hands-off approach with respect to the terms and conditions of employment for foreign domestic workers, who do not come under the Employment Act as employment of domestic labour is considered a private contract between the maid and the employer. Given the above context, the study of foreign domestic workers, who make vital contributions to Singapore’s economy and society, deserves crucial attention (Yeoh et al. 1999). Philippines -- the country to which the largest numbers of foreign maids in Singapore belongs to -- had in the past banned its citizens from working as foreign maids in Singapore, citing poor working conditions. These bans caused major confusion and also triggered immediate policy responses from the Singaporean government (Penna, 1995). Following the ban of Filipino domestic workers into Singapore imposed by the Philippine government during 1995-96, the Philippine embassy has been more interventionist with respect to protecting the rights of its citizens. On the other hand, 10 the Indonesian government has been rather lax in this matter and this contributed to rather poor work conditions for Indonesian domestic workers, including a denial of rest days and lower starting wages. The Asian financial crisis in 1997, which forced many Indonesian women to migrate in search of job opportunities, has also contributed to the large supply of Indonesian domestic workers. In other words, the ready supply of migrant domestic workers from Indonesia has been tantamount to a source of ‘cheaper’ and more ‘compliant’ workforce, which benefits Singaporean employers (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). There are approximately 700 employment agencies in Singapore that recruit about 80 percent of foreign domestic workers in Singapore. After 1995, employment agencies have been promoting the recruitment of Indonesian domestic workers. In many cases, workers had to pay heavy recruitment fees to agencies for them to secure a job as a migrant domestic worker (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). 2.4. Conditions of work and living for migrant domestic workers Reports, especially in the Singapore media, indicate that at least a small minority of foreign domestic workers in Singapore have to endure difficult working conditions and tolerate physical abuse. The poor conditions of work and life of these foreign maids have also received much attention in scholarly studies. Scholarly studies and media reports suggest that foreign maids in Singapore are, in many instances, made to work for long hours (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). The movements of maids inside as well as outside their homes are often restricted by their employers. Employers fear that maids will compare notes with one another, demand higher wages and also challenge their authority. A few employers do not give the 11 maids rest days as they are afraid that these maids will get into prostitution, theft and foster romantic or sexual relationships. Thus, maids have to remain single and are expected not to get pregnant during the period of their contract, which leads to isolated lives in their employers’ homes and few opportunities for an active social life. Some employers even use surveillance cameras to spy on their maids at home to check if their children are safe while they are at work (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). Some maids working in Singapore have been physically abused by their employers, with some enduring ‘scalding and burning with hot water or a hot iron, punching, kicking and even biting’ (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). It was reported that between 1999 and 2004, nearly 117 maids died falling from high-rise apartments. Some of them are believed to have committed suicide as a result of harrowing working conditions (Dow Jones, 2004). In addition, some maids are fed leftovers and sometimes denied access to basic necessities like food. They are sometimes underpaid, and are not able to afford going out and accessing communication and medical facilities. Some maids have even been instructed by employment agents to go to bed only after their employers do so. Another problem occurs when male employers sexually exploit their maids when their spouses are not at home (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). Some maids are discriminated against on the basis of religion, ethnicity and race. For example, some Indonesian workers are expected to forgo their daily prayers and fasting so as to heighten their employability among the non-Muslim employers. Maids are often asked to dress in oversized T-shirts, long shorts and maintain a short hairstyle. Female employers impose such strict dress codes on maids, so that they do 12 not pose a threat to their position in the household. (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). Domestic workers are reduced to a position of ‘subservient other’ in the homes of their employers. Living-in with their employers could lead to blurring of the boundary between ‘home’ and ‘work’. Employers are able to exert ‘personalistic idioms of power‘, which they use to control workers’ access to food, shelter, communication, and rights to private space and time. Workers are also perceived as the inferior ‘other’ in the public sphere (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). Two factors have been attributed to domestic worker abuse in Singapore. One is the social and cultural attitudes towards domestic work and to women in general. It is pointed out that the ideologies of patriarchy and Confucianism, the hierarchical social structure, class and race prejudice, and corporate culture have an impact on maid abuse in both the private sphere and public policies. Often, many subtle forms of domestic worker abuse arise from the employers’ perceptions that abusive behaviour towards domestic workers is excusable. The other major factor that contributes to domestic worker abuse in Singapore is the absence of proper legislation protecting the rights of domestic workers (Gee and Ho, 2006). 2.5. Representations of migrant domestic workers in Singaporean society Yeoh et al. (1999) draw attention to the negative representations of foreign domestic workers in Singapore society. Given that they are citizens of a Third World country performing ‘unskilled, menial tasks’ of low value, foreign maids qualify as the quintessential ‘Other’, who are viewed through the refracted lenses of nationality, class, race, and gender. Such attitudes are highly apparent in the perceptions of an average Singaporean towards ‘foreign worker weekend enclaves’ such as Lucky Plaza (well-known as ‘Little Manila’), Zhujiao Market (gathering ground for Sri Lankan 13 and Indian workers), and Golden Mile Complex (associated with Thai workers) (Yeoh et al. 1999). Several stereotypes of female domestic workers defined by their nationality prevail in Singapore. Filipino domestic workers are perceived to be ‘hardworking’, ‘competent’, ‘meticulous’, ‘honest’, ‘hygienic’, and possessing a good command of English. At the same time, they are also ‘bold’, ‘streetwise’, ‘unreliable’ and ‘assertive’, according to the employers. Positive (from the employers’ point of view) stereotypes associated with Indonesian domestic workers are that they are ‘docile’, ‘compliant’, ‘simple and homely’, and ‘submissive’. But they are also considered ‘slow learners’, ‘forgetful’, ‘naïve’, and having poor command of English (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). 2.6. Everyday communication of migrant domestic workers Given their working and living conditions, everyday communication of domestic workers assumes great importance. In fact, workers’ strategies of resistance and sites of power are closely linked to such communication. Foreign domestic workers build social networks, make telephone calls and write letters during their limited leisure time. This is one of their means to reclaim some private space and time. Contacts with other people help them sometimes to escape from abusive employers and secure better employment opportunities (Abdul Rahman, 2003, cited in Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). Gee and Ho (2006) emphasize the importance of networks and communication in ensuring the rights of foreign domestic workers. On her own, a migrant domestic worker can do little to seek redress for the problems she faces, say, those arising from an abusive employer. Many workers are not aware of their legal rights or about sources of legal help. This problem is compounded by the lack of adequate legal 14 provisions that fully take into account the workers’ vulnerable position. In such a situation, a migrant domestic worker needs a support network to assist her. Peer contacts, civil service officers, home country embassies, voluntary organizations, religious institutions and maid agencies are some of the important alternative support mechanisms available to a worker. A support network that provides practical, religious and emotional assistance is crucial to a new migrant to cope with isolation, the unfamiliar environment, and other challenges. Such a network can make a difference to how a migrant worker copes with abusive treatment, possibly helping to nip some problems in the bud (Gee and Ho, 2006). Networks among peer workers can become a valuable source of information, empowerment and emotional support, especially for newly arrived migrants. Experienced workers can guide the newcomers on strategies to tackle their many problems and to escape loneliness and isolation; advise them on institutions that offer legal assistance when required; and provide translation services in cases when they are needed (Gee and Ho, 2006). It may be noted that the type of informal networks among female domestic workers show variations depending on their nationalities. The strongest ties are among Filipino domestic workers. The factors that aid strong networking among Filipino workers include their numerical strength and a tradition of solidarity. They also possess some advantages compared to other domestic workers. They are mainly English speakers, often have relatively high level of education; and are able to obtain 15 better than average conditions of employment, including weekly days-off (Gee and Ho, 2006). 2.7 Conclusion In this chapter, I reviewed the working and living conditions of maids in Singapore, paying special attention to maids who encounter problems during their employment such as physical abuse and inhospitable working conditions. I also described their living and working conditions and explained why everyday communication amongst migrant workers, especially with a support network, can be crucial to their existence. In the following chapters, I seek to examine whether ICTs can help migrant workers in building networks and improving their living conditions. 16 Chapter 3 ICT and Society: A Review of Literature 3.1 Introduction It is widely believed that ICTs are important tools for development; in particular, they are regarded as a source of empowerment to the underprivileged. Scholars note that ICTs, along with the forces of globalization, have the potential to reduce global inequalities (Heeks, 2002). Manuel Castells has written about the deepening of information technology revolution, resulting in the restructuring of capitalism and the process of globalization (Castells, 1996). ICTs do not necessarily have to be the preserve of the educated and literate; they can very well reach out to the uneducated and illiterates as well. In developed and developing countries, ICTs have been introduced in a large number of fields to bridge the gap in the global knowledge society (UNESCO, 2007). Singapore, being a highly networked society, uses ICTs in every walk of life, including education, public health, public transport and governance. ICTs pervade Singaporean society. Between 2000 and 2005, the proportion of households with access to computers at home increased from 61 per cent to 74 per cent; and access to the Internet at home increased from 50 per cent to 66 per cent during this period of time. Among Singapore’s resident population, the proportion having access to a computer was 65 per cent and to the Internet was 61 per cent in 2005 (IDA, 2006, pp: 17-18). As per statistics in December 2007, mobile phone penetration (based on the total population figures) in Singapore was 103.4 per cent (IDA, 2007). The use of ICTs by foreign maids in Singapore offers an interesting case study in the 17 above-mentioned context. On the one hand, some employers have been known to use security cameras and other ICT tools to spy on their maids and deprive them of their freedom (Au Yong, 2005). In such circumstances, ICTs can be instruments of subjugation, further undermining the weak positions which the maids hold in society. On the other hand, mobile phones can help maids to maintain relationships and manage job opportunities. For example, maids can contact their network of friends whenever they are in distress, in need of a new job, or when they are aware of a new opportunity. Here, ICTs can serve as a lifeline and an instrument of empowerment. This thesis seeks to understand how domestic workers use ICTs such as mobile phone and the Internet in their daily lives, and the impact that these ICTs have on their working and living conditions. While much research has been conducted on the living conditions of foreign domestic workers in Singapore, studies focusing specifically on their use of ICTs are lacking. My thesis will thus attempt to fill this gap in the literature. My detailed research questions will be enunciated at the end of this chapter, after the relevant theoretical frameworks and literature have been reviewed. Specifically, this thesis will be informed by technology domestication theory and the uses and gratifications approach, both of which will be reviewed next. 3.2 Theoretical framework: Domestication of technologies In this thesis, technology domestication theory will be applied to understand how the domestic workers incorporate ICTs into their daily routines, and how these women appropriate the technologies to suit their lifestyles and specific needs. The interaction between technology and society has attracted considerable research attention over the years. One of the influential points of view that emerged is that of 18 technological determinism. The term technological determinism was coined by the American sociologist and economist, Thorstein Veblen. Technological determinism assumes that the direction of social change is from the technological to the societal. It also assumes that the new technologies have ‘subtle but profound social and psychological influences at the microsocial level of the regular use of the particular kinds of tools’ (Chandler, 1996). However, from the 1980s, the idea of technological determinism began to be challenged in the fields of science and technology studies and media and communication studies. The idea of domestication emerged as part of this challenge (Silverstone, 2006). The concept of technology domestication rejects the linear, technologically determined model for the adoption of new innovations. Instead, this concept takes into account the complexity of every day life and technology’s role within this complexity. With the increasing dominance of ICTs, it is important to understand our every day interaction with technology (Berker et al. 2006). Domestication of technology can be defined as the processes involving technology’s ‘acceptance, rejection and use’ in every day lives (Berker et al. 2006). Domestication of technology implies that over a long period of time, technologies can become part of the users’ routines and environment. Just as we tame a wild animal, new technology too can be tamed, and, like a pet animal, made a part of one’s family. It may be noted that the telephone, radio and television have become part of most peoples’ daily routine (Berker et al. 2006). 19 In his book Television and Everyday Life, Silverstone (1994) states that domestication ‘does, perhaps literally, involve bringing objects in from the wild: from the public places. The transition, which is also a translation, of objects across the boundary that separates public and private spaces is at the heart of what I mean by domestication’ (Silverstone, 1994). It may be noted that domestication is not solely associated with the home and the private sphere. Domestication can also be thought of as a ‘principle of mass consumption in which products are prepared in the public foray of the market’ (Silverstone, 1994). Silverstone et al. (1992) explained the concept of domestication with respect to the introduction of communication technologies into the domestic sphere. Silverstone and Hirsch (1992) showed how ICTs are becoming a central component of family and household culture. According to Silverstone et al. (1992), the domestic sphere is part of a ‘transactional system of economic and social relations within the formal social economy’ (cited in Ribak and Rosenthal, 2006, p.552). Households appropriate technologies into domestic culture, that is, they incorporate and redefine technologies in a fashion that suits household’s own values and interests (Silverstone et al. 1992, p.552, cited in Ribak and Rosenthal, 2006). This is the process of domestication. Domestication is also related to the resistance to new technologies: that is, how people dismiss or transform technologies to suit their needs. Domestication can be understood as the practical and emotional adaptation of technologies to make them meaningful to one’s life (Lie and Sørensen, 2002). 20 According to Silverstone et al. (1992), there are four elements or phases in the domestication of technology, they are: • ‘appropriation (position and ownership); • objectification (display and place in the world); • incorporation (use, with a focus on temporalities); and • conversion (the symbolic currency of the object)’ (cited in Ribak and Rosenthal, 2006). Ribak and Rosenthal (2006) described the four phases of domestication of technology (mentioned above) using a case study of the evolution in the practice of telephony in Kibbutz Y in Israel. Over the years, public telephones which catered to the entire Kibbutz were replaced with private ownership of household telephones and later with the mobile phones. These changes in the nature of telephone use were accompanied by gradual shifts in Kibbutz’s ideology from ‘public to private and collective to individual’ (Ribak and Rosenthal, 2006). 3.2.1 Development of domestication as a concept Domestication has emerged as an important concept within media, communications, and technology studies. It has filled a gap between media and communication studies, on the one hand, and science and technology studies, on the other. According to Berker et al. (2006), it has provided ways to ‘refute technological and media determinisms and rationalistic biases’. The domestication approach develops further the area of innovation and diffusion. Domestication research studies ‘media and technology use in context, defining daily life routines, social embeddedness and 21 similar issues as relevant for the media consumption process’ (Berker et al. 2006, pp. 2-6). In media studies, the origins of domestication began in the late 1980s with growing research interest in media audiences. Hobson (1980) studied the role and meaning of television in the lives of housewives, and Bausinger’s (1984) research dealt with media consumption in the home. Dave Morley and Roger Silverstone in their 1986 project examined in particular the gender dimension of television viewing in households. Lull (1988, 1990) carried out a number of studies on how families watched television. An important objective of these studies was to examine the role that television as a technology played in people’s lives. These studies contributed greatly to the understanding of technology domestication (Haddon, 2007). 3.2.2 Consuming technologies Silverstone and Hirsch (1992) argue that our domestic life is suffused by technology. ICTs are becoming a central component of family and household culture, according to them. It is important to note that the conjunction of ‘consuming’ and ‘technologies’ suggests two different images that are potentially contradictory (Silverstone and Hirsch, 1992). In everyday settings, we consume technologies or technical artefacts, as we use them and integrate them into our daily lives. At the same time, we are also consumed by the technologies as our dependence on technologies grows. This interaction between technologies and humans is dictated by the process of domestication (Silverstone et al. 1989). In other words, we tame the technologies around us and this leads to a process of reciprocal change (Lie and Sørensen, 2002). It is in this context that Berker 22 et al. (2006) pointed out the importance of adapting technologies to people as well as of people creating an environment that is technologically-mediated (Berker et al., 2006). Consider, for example, the case of ICTs. ICTs are increasingly integrated into our everyday lives, transforming the users who are dependent on them, while being themselves transformed in the process. ICTs can therefore be seen as, on the one hand, material objects having social and symbolic significance, and, on the other, objects that are embedded in contemporary consumer culture (Silverstone and Hirsch, 1992, p.1) In connection with understanding the way technologies are consumed, we need to look beyond the common analytical divide between production and consumption. Rather than viewing consumption as always passive and adaptive (and production as active and creative), we need to recognize that consumption and production are inseparable. This is not to say that the two are identical acts, and that users (or consumers) and designers (or producers) have identical functions. The process of domestication suggests that the consumers are also tinkerers who, while acquiring new technical artefacts, also integrate them into their everyday lives. This integration process occurs in the practical as well as the symbolic domain (Lie and Sørensen, 2002, p. 10). The concept of domestication of technologies implies that the consumer/user should be perceived as an active party. It draws attention to the broad range of actions taken 23 on by people as they acquire and use technical artefacts (Lie and Sørensen, 2002, p. 13). 24 3.2.3 Domestication and everyday life Much research attention has been focused on domestication and everyday life. Everyday life activities may be characterized as routine, non-specialized and nonbureaucratic; as activities that are found in the factory and office as well as in the home and in places of leisure such as the sports arena (Sørensen, 1991). Everyday life can also be perceived as ‘the small world’ or the world within one’s reach (Heller, 1981). In this way, everyday life stands in contrast with the larger society and provides a critique of the modern tendency to centralize, globalize and standardize (Lie and Sørensen, 2002). The contradiction between globalizing and localizing forces has been addressed by researchers. Giddens (1990), for example, points to how institutions are continuously disembedded from their local nature through globalization while simultaneously, new institutions are being re-embedded into local settings (cited in Lie and Sørensen, 2002). Thus the continuous reproduction of everyday life involves the dialectic between globalizing and localizing forces, and between the disembedding and reembedding of institutions (from their local context). Technology can be considered a standardizing, globalizing and bureaucratizing force. However, in practice, technology is appropriated and re-embedded in a local context. In this way, they become part of the daily routines and, in effect, serve as instigators of change (Lie and Sørensen, 2002, pp. 16-17). According to Lister et al. (2003), new media technologies are ‘embedded in everyday life and it’s domestic and urban environments…..permeating all the mundane activities’’ (Lister et al. 2003, pp. 219-220). By everyday life, Lister et al. (2003) 25 referred to ‘the family relationships, routines, cultural practices and spaces through which people make sense of the world’ (Lister et al. 2003, p.220). 3.2.4 Recent applications of the domestication concept in empirical studies Some empirical investigations have been conducted on the domestication of ICTs in Asian settings. Lim (2006) analyses how middle class Chinese families domesticate ICTs. Through in-depth interviews of families in Beijing and Shanghai, she found that ICT use in these households was characterized by routinization, reconfiguration, intermediation, social advancement and containment. ICT use was systematically routinized into the daily life of these families; the domestic space was reconfigured to enable the use of ICTs and to meet the child’s educational needs at the same time. In addition, ICTs have been acting as intermediaries facilitating communication among members of nuclear families in China. Parents regard ICTs as a means for social advancement of their children. But while encouraging the children’s use of ICTs, parents were also imposing a number of restrictions to contain children’ media usage (Lim, 2006). Uy-Tioco’s (2007) study was on the use of mobile phones in the every day lives of Filipina migrant workers. Uy-Tioco (2007) showed that cellular phone technology empowered Filipina migrant workers to reassert their roles as mothers. Migrant mothers reinforced their love for their children through text messaging – maintaining their presence in homes despite the geographical distance. Technology is thus empowering and humanizing for the migrant Filipino workers (Uy-Tioco, 2007). Evidence presented by Uy-Tioco (2007) fits well with Morley’s (2000) argument that ‘communication technologies can function as disembedding mechanisms, powerfully 26 enabling individuals (and sometimes whole families or communities) to escape, at least imaginatively, from their geographical locations’ (Morley, 2000, pp.149-150). According to Lister et al. (2003) ‘the consumption of media technologies is both shaped by and shapes existing family dynamics’ (Lister et al. 2003, p.236). In the case of Filipina migrant workers, Uy-Tioco (2007) showed that the cell phone mediates and shapes existing family relationships. An overseas female worker wiring money to her son in the Philippines is a perfect example of how the system of dependence expected within a family permeates to exist universally through communication technologies (Uy-Tioco, 2007). 3.3 Uses and gratifications perspective In this thesis, the uses and gratifications approach will be adopted to appreciate how the domestic workers use ICTs in their daily lives and the gratifications which they derive therein. The uses and gratifications approach, which has its roots in a functionalist paradigm in the social sciences, arose originally in the 1940s and underwent a revival in the 1970s and 1980s. This approach presents the use of media in terms of the gratification of social or psychological needs of the individual (Blumler & Katz 1974). Gratifications will be derived from a medium's content (e.g. watching a specific programme), from familiarity with a genre within the medium (e.g. watching soap operas), from general exposure to the medium (e.g. watching TV), and from the social context in which it is used (e.g. watching TV with the family). According to researchers, people's needs influence how they use and respond to a medium. In 27 addition, the theory argues that the mass media compete with other sources of gratification (Chandler, 1994). A suitable framework for analyzing the use of the cell phone is the uses and gratifications model. According to this approach, each individual user ‘actively selects and uses its media’ (Katz et al., 1973). At the same time, the users use different media differently, depending on their social, psychological and gratification-seeking motives. In this way, the uses and gratifications model provides a user-centered perspective for studying the use of cell phones (Katz et al., 1973). The uses and gratifications model implies the existence of an active audience, which is driven by considerations of utility (i.e., the uses people have for communication), intentionality (i.e., prior motivation that directs communication behaviour), and selectivity (i.e., prior interest and desires that affect communication choices and content) (Blumler and Katz, 1974; Palmgreen et al., 1985). Previous research indicates that the audience member’s choice of a particular medium is motivated by attempts to fulfill his or her psychological needs such as surveillance, entertainment, relaxation, para-social interaction, and companionship (Lin, 1993). The existence of an active audience, a key assumption in uses and gratifications research, has been challenged by recent researchers. Although audience members are still regarded as universally active, some researchers suggest that audience members are not all equally active at all times (Rubin, 1994b). 28 As can be seen from the above discussion in Sections 3.2 and 3.3, the theories of domestication and uses and gratification try to understand how users integrate technologies into their daily lives. 3.4. Women and the sociology of everyday life As this thesis focuses on a group of marginalized women and their use of ICTS in daily life, the analysis will be further enriched by insights from the sociology of everyday life, particularly concerning women. In the late 1970s, several feminist thinkers incorporated Marxist theories to analyze the structural relationships between men and women (Harding, 1996). Harding (1996) writes: ‘knowledge is supposed to be based, however complexly, on human experience, but women’s half of human experience has been ignored or devalued as an origin of problematics and data’ (Harding, 1996, p.151). Currently, new questions are being raised, which point out that ‘women’, again, is not a homogenous group. This implies that the search for universality should take into account not only the differences between male and female, but also the differences within the female gender, such as between African-American and White-American (Calhoun, 1995). Canadian sociologist Dorothy Smith was a pioneer in introducing the idea of a feminist or woman’s standpoint to the sociology of everyday life, studying women as a ‘product of social collectivity, having a commonality of circumstances, developing a shared knowledge of experiences’ (Smith, 1987). Smith (1999) wrote that her method of inquiry -- working from the standpoint of women -- has led her to ‘propose a sociology that takes everyday/every night world as its problematic’ (Smith, 1999, 29 p.65). In fact, several scholars have attempted to provide theoretical insights on everyday interactions of human beings. According to Schutz et al. (1973), the reality of everyday life is the province of reality in which ‘man continuously participates in ways which are at once inevitable and patterned’. Similarly, the phenomenological sociology of Alfred Schutz seeks to ‘understand how persons construct meaning.’ According to Schutz (1999), our experience of the world is inter-subjective because we experience the world ‘with and through others’ (Schutz, 1999). According to Erving Goffman, the individual develops an identity or persona ‘as a function of interaction with others, through an exchange of information that allows for more specific definitions of identity and behaviour’ (cited in Barnhart, 1994). In the Trauma of Moving, McCollum (1990), writes about psychological issues affecting women who are involved in the daily life experience of moving. According to McCollum (1990), ‘a woman’s sense of dispersion can make her move far more complex than a man’s.’ This, according to McCollum (1990) arises from the fact that women’s ‘experience of self becomes deeply embedded in the work they do’ (McCollum, 1990, p.168). 3.5 Research problem Given the above-discussed theoretical background, my research is an attempt to study the use of ICTs by women working as domestic workers in Singapore. My specific research questions are: 30 • How do foreign domestic workers in Singapore use ICTs in their everyday lives? What motivates these foreign domestic workers’ use of ICTs and what gratifications do they derive from this use? • What impact does the use of ICTS have on the living and working conditions of these foreign domestic workers? 3.6 Conclusion This chapter has reviewed technology domestication theory, the uses and gratifications approach, and the literature concerning women and the sociology of everyday life. These theories will inform the methodology and analysis of findings in this thesis. The following chapter will describe the research methods employed. 31 Chapter 4 Methodology My study will be based on ethnographic research. The core data for my research will be derived from semi-structured interviews of selected samples of women working as domestic workers in Singapore. 4.1 Ethnographic research According to Frake, ethnography, derived from cultural anthropology, is used to understand and describe a particular pattern of life from a ‘native’ point of view (Frake, 1988). In ethnography we observe, report and analyze the behaviour of participants of the study in their naturally occurring settings. Through observation, the researcher tries to understand the behaviour and actions of the subjects, and their symbolisms (Atkinson, 1990). Ethnography is an important methodological tool in development studies. Many development issues encompass social, cultural, economic, technical, institutional and historical aspects. Field studies are important to address such development issues. Ethnographic research, in particular, describes people and cultures, and emphasizes relationships, connections and inter-dependency among the component parts of the system under study (Denscombe, 2003, p.84, cited in Mikkelsen, 2005). The ethnographer writes about the routine, daily lives of people. The ethnographer’s focus of inquiry is the more predictable pattern of human thought and behaviour (Fetterman, 1989). More importantly, it has also been argued that ethnography is best suited to give voice to the marginalized: people who are traditionally excluded along the lines of race, class and gender (Hesse-Biber and Leavy, 2004). 32 Fetterman (1989) notes that the ‘ethnographer enters the field with an open mind, not an empty head’. In other words, the ethnographer starts her research ‘with biases and preconceived notions about how people behave and what they think’. At the same time, she will have an open mind to ‘explore rich, untapped sources of data not mapped out in the research design’ (Fetterman, 1989). According to Fetterman (1989), ‘the ethnographer is both storyteller and scientist; the closer the reader of ethnography comes to understanding the native’s point of view, the better the story and the better the science.’ Ethnographic, semi-structured interviews are a particularly useful method for reconstructing subjective theories, according to Scheele and Groeben (1988). The assumption is that the interviewee has a complex stock of knowledge about the ‘subjective theory’ under study. The goal of semi-structured interviews in general is to reveal this existing knowledge in a way that can be expressed in the form of answers, which are accessible to interpretation (cited in Flick, 2002). Ethnographic interviews include the following elements: (i) a specific request to conduct the interview; (ii) ethnographic explanations (the interviewer explains the project to the interviewee using everyday language explanations); and (iii) ethnographic questions (Spradely 1979, pp. 59-60). 4.1.1 Meaning condensation Meaning condensation is an important methodological aspect while conducting ethnographic interviews. It involves compressing the meanings expressed by the interviewees into brief statements which capture the sense of the whole response. 33 The meaning condensation developed by Giorgi (1975), showed how to deal systematically with data that is couched in ordinary language and to apply rigor and discipline in data analysis without necessarily transforming the data into quantitative expressions (Steinar, 2007). There are five steps in a meaning condensation exercise. First, the researcher reads through the complete interview and tries to get a sense of the whole. She then determines the natural ‘meaning units’ of the text as expressed by the subjects. Thirdly, the researcher tries to restate, as briefly as possible, the theme that dominates a natural meaning unit. The fourth step involves interrogating the meaning units in terms of the specific purpose of the study. Finally, the researcher tries to tie together the essential, non-redundant themes of the entire interview into a descriptive statement (Steinar, 2007). 4.1.2 Methodologies for previous research on domestic workers There have been several previous studies on domestic workers, and reviewing their research methods would be instructive for this thesis. For example, Botting (2004), in her study of the lives and migration experiences of domestic workers who migrated to the pulp and paper mill town of Grand Falls, Newfoundland between 1909 and 1939, used a combination of census --1935 manuscript census for the community of Grand Falls in which female domestic workers were enumerated -- and oral histories. In her opinion, there are inevitable barriers between the researcher and the informant, which need not necessarily be overcome, but at least the researcher should approach the study as honestly as possible and be aware of the inequalities that may exist between the interviewer and the interviewee. She tried to adopt an interactive approach, 34 wherein the women interviewees would be the subjects of her study. This was Botting’s bid to make a break with the academic tradition of treating these women as mere objects in enquiries into topics such as oral traditions or artefacts (Botting, 2004). More recently, Uy-Tioco’s (2007) study on the use of cell phone technology by overseas Filipino workers was primarily based on informal, open-ended interviews that the researcher conducted with Filipino overseas workers in the east coast of the United States. The interviews were carried out in Taglish (a hybrid of Tagalog and English) and then translated into English. Earlier research on foreign domestic workers in Singapore include Huang and Yeoh’s (1966a) study, which employed a questionnaire survey of 162 pairs of employers and their maids, using a snowball sampling technique. This study also involved in-depth interviews lasting between two and four hours with a selected sample of 15 employers and 15 maids (Huang and Yeoh, 1966a). Gonzalez and Sanchez (1996) based their work on a database with a sample size of 2,000 respondents. The data was extracted from information disclosed in the maid's registration forms with Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Singapore (Gonzalez and Sanchez, 1996). 4.2 Methodology used in this study The primary objective of the interviews for this study was to explore the nature of communication among domestic workers in Singapore. After this, an analysis was done to explore the range of possibilities for the use of ICTs, and the gratifications which the foreign domestic workers derived from this use. 35 To this end, I chose to conduct ethnographic interviews with twenty foreign female domestic workers -- ten from the Philippines and ten from India. These interviews were conducted in informal settings, so as to put the interviewees at ease. The selection of domestic workers was based on the snowball sampling method. This procedure is useful while identifying and selecting samples within a network of people who are difficult to locate, such as homeless individuals, migrant workers or undocumented immigrants. In this kind of sampling, the researcher interviews a few members of the select network and through them locate more members for study (Babbie, 2004). There are particular places like Lucky Plaza on Orchard Road and Zhujiao Market on Buffalo Road (Little India), where migrant female domestic workers meet on a regular basis (on Sundays). The sample for my interviews was selected from such informal gatherings of domestic workers. Filipino workers constitute one of the two large segments (the other one being Indonesian workers) of foreign domestic workers in Singapore. They are also relatively better educated. The Philippine government has been rather interventionist with respect to the rights of their citizens. Currently, Indian domestic workers are relatively few in number in Singapore. However, with the increasing flow of highsalaried Indian professionals to Singapore, the influx of migrant workers from India and other South Asian countries is also likely to increase. Compared to Filipino workers, Indian migrant workers are likely to be less educated and less proficient in English. In many respects, Filipino workers are likely to be different from Indian and 36 other South Asian migrant workers. Given such diversities in background, my study tried to collect relevant data from Filipino and Indian foreign domestic workers. 4.2.1 Location of the Interviews and Some Limitations of the Methodology Used There are some issues related to the methodology which I would like to highlight. Confidentiality and anonymity had to be maintained during the course of questions and answers with the interviewees. The location of the interview is a particularly crucial issue; if the interviews were conducted in the employers’ homes then the domestic workers might not feel comfortable during the interviews. There was the risk of employers showing hostility and non-cooperation; they might construe these interviews as a check on their treatment of their maids. Another possible drawback was the limited proficiency of English among the interviewees. I interviewed the Filipino domestic workers at Lucky Plaza on Orchard Road. It was easier to find them in comparison to the Indian domestic workers, because they have a specific meeting place. When I approached them initially, they were a little hesitant and shy. But once I cleared their doubts about my research and the interview, their initial resistance would be overcome. I approached large gatherings of Filipino domestic workers, explained my study to them, and reassured them that their names and other identifiers would not be disclosed and that they did not have to participate in the interview if they were uncomfortable. Filipino workers usually meet in Lucky Plaza on Sunday afternoons between 2 pm and 6pm. So I spent several Sunday afternoons interviewing them at Lucky Plaza. A short note on the method of transcribing the interviews collected for the study is relevant here. According to Steinar (2007), transcription is the process by which an 37 evolving face-to-face conversation between two persons is abstracted and fixated into a written form. Audiotape recording, videotape recording, note-taking and remembering are some of the methods of recording interviews for documentation and analysis (Steinar, 2007). In this study, I did not use a tape recorder, as the migrant workers were not very comfortable with my using it. They felt like they were being intruded upon and initially they were reluctant to talk. So as to put them at ease, I had to take verbatim notes during my interviews. It was a bit difficult because I had to maintain eye contact with them and also write out my interview findings. I had put in my best efforts to take down detailed notes during and immediately after each of my interviews. Some of the questions, such as the one on how comfortable they felt about using particular technology, were treated with a smile and nod or they would just say ‘very comfortable’. They did not further elaborate and could not be persuaded to do so. In such situations, I would continue with the rest of the questionnaire. One of my limitations with respect to the Indian domestic workers was that I could not go to a specific meeting place and interview them. Instead, I had to use my contacts, either my friends (who were employers of maids) or through the domestic workers they employed. Most of the Indian domestic workers were interviewed at their employer’s homes and a few were interviewed at food courts near their workplace. It is possible that interviewing workers at their employer’s homes is a limitation: the maids could have probably given very carefully thought-out answers to my questions as they were aware of the fact that I was a friend of their employer. However, as my study did not relate much to employer-employee relations, this did not weaken my data. 38 Focus group discussions involving groups of domestic workers could have provided a richer source of information for this study. But, for all the domestic workers I interviewed, finding time for answering my queries was difficult. Further, as I was interviewing these workers during their limited hours of free time, it was not easy for me to persuade them into focus group discussions. My questions to all the domestic workers were related to my three main research questions. As background information, I asked them about their family, their country of origin, their age, educational qualifications, and the type of communication technology they used. I asked them to describe, on a day-to-day basis, which ICTs they used, for what purposes, and whether they derived any particular gratifications from such use. Also, I enquired as to who they communicated with on a regular basis and why and which mode of communication (letter, mobile, landline, computer) was used. I also asked them about their comfort levels with each technology and its advantages and disadvantages, and whether their life had improved as a result of the introduction of new technologies into their life. 4.3 Profiles of Indian and Filipino workers interviewed Filipino women workers enter the global workforce as nurses, domestic workers, and nightclub entertainers, thus ‘filling in the gaps created by the privileged women of the West’ (Uy-Tioco, 2007). The Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) estimates that 933,588 Filipinos migrated overseas for employment in 2004 (POEA, 2004). This number accounts only for those who have used legal channels for migration. The numbers of Filipino migrant workers who seek employment illegally 39 are rising. Of the documented workers, 75 per cent are women, many of whom leave their families behind, especially children (POEA, 2004). Of the ten Indian migrant workers I interviewed, six were from the state of Tamil Nadu, three from the state of Kerala and one from the state of West Bengal. Tamil Nadu is a region from where both male and female workers migrate to Singapore. This migration began in the 19th century, mainly of workers to be employed as indentured labourers in plantations in Southeast Asia. Kerala too has a long history of migration. Workers from Kerala have been migrating to different parts of the world from the 19th century and in very large numbers to West Asian countries after the 1970s. Remittances from migrant workers have produced significant improvements in the lives of migrant’s families back in India. Notably, Kerala has witnessed a boom in consumer expenditure, significant increase in construction of houses and overall improvement in socio-economic conditions, and these have been attributed, in part, to remittances from West Asian countries (Thomas, 2005). One of the workers interviewed hailed from Kolkata in West Bengal. The eastern Indian State of West Bengal and Bangladesh, the neighbouring country which adjoins this State, have been important sources of migrant labour, male and female, to Singapore in recent years. The average age of the Indian migrant workers interviewed was 34. The youngest among the Indian workers was Jameela, aged 21 and the oldest was Parvati, aged 47. Parvati had been working in Singapore for the past 15 years. Both Jameela and Parvati were the sole earning members of their respective families. 40 The average age of the Filipino migrant workers interviewed was 32. The youngest among them was Candy, aged 22 and the oldest was Violet, aged 46; Violet was working in Singapore for the past 19 years. The Filipino workers interviewed were from different parts of the Philippines including Luzon, Manila, Abra, Mindano and Candon city (See Table 4; also see Tables 7 and 8 in Chapter 5 for detailed profiles of workers). Among the workers I interviewed, the years of migration ranged from a few months to more than 15 years as can be seen from Table 5. There were five Indian workers who had spent more than 10 years in Singapore and three who had spent more than 15 years. Among the Filipino workers interviewed, four of them had spent more than ten years. In general, the Filipino workers were relatively better educated than the Indians (see Table 6). In fact all the ten Filipino workers interviewed were educated for more than ten years. Five of them were college graduates, of which one was a computer graduate and the four others had Bachelors degrees in education. Only three of the Indian workers were educated for more than ten years, and only one was a college graduate. Two Indian workers interviewed had less than four years of education (see Table 6). Both of them could speak and read only their native language (Tamil). Table 4: Female Migrant Domestic Workers Interviewed, by Age Age Indians Filipinos 20-29 years 3 6 30-39 years 5 2 40-49 years 2 2 Total 10 Source: Fieldwork, November 2007 – February 2008 10 41 Table 5: Female Migrant Domestic Workers Interviewed, by Years of Migration Years of Migration Indians Filipinos Less than 1 year 2 1 Between 1 and 5 years 2 3 Between 5 and 10 years 1 2 Between 10 and 15 years 2 2 More than 15 years 3 2 10 10 Total Source: Fieldwork, November 2007 – February 2008 Table 6: Female Migrant Domestic Workers Interviewed, by Years of Education Educational Level Indians Filipinos 1-4 years 2 0 5-10 years 5 0 >10 years 2 5 Graduates 1 5 10 10 Total Source: Fieldwork, November 2007 – February 2008 The individual profiles of each interviewee will be presented in the next chapter, along with details on the ICTs they used. 4.4 Conclusion In this chapter, I explained why I adopted the ethnographic interview as the research method for this thesis. I also described my sampling method and interview procedure, and broad profiles of the two groups of interviewees – Filipino and Indian. In the next chapter, I will provide a detailed profile of each individual interviewee’s demographic background and ICT use. 42 Chapter 5 Use and Domestication of ICTs by Migrant Female Domestic Workers 5.1 Introduction In this chapter, we analyze the pattern of use and domestication of technologies by migrant female domestic workers in Singapore. Workers employ a variety of technologies – traditional and modern – in their everyday communication, but the one most commonly used is the mobile phone. The pattern of use of technologies by migrant domestic workers is discussed in Section 5.2 of this chapter. In Section 5.3, the workers are categorized according to their level of proficiency in the use of technologies, and we try to explain the differences in proficiency levels with respect to workers’ age, education and years of migration to Singapore. This chapter also deals with domestication and its related concepts and how they apply in the case of female migrant domestic workers in Singapore. This is dealt with in Section 5.4. Section 5.5 concludes the chapter. 5.2 Pattern of use of technologies As noted in Chapter 4, I interviewed 20 migrant female domestic workers, 10 Filipinos and 10 Indians. In the interview, questions were asked regarding the workers’ use of various technologies for everyday communication, including mobile phone, fixed telephone or landline, computer and the Internet, as well as letters and cards. Mobile phone followed by landline was the most commonly used technology among the workers interviewed. All the 10 Filipino workers interviewed, except for one, had mobile phones. Only four of them used the landline, including the one who did not use a mobile phone. Among the Indian workers, seven out of 10 workers 43 interviewed owned mobile phones. Six out of 10 Indian workers used the landline for communication (see Tables 7 and 8). Among the Filipino workers interviewed, two workers were making regular use of the computers. One used the computer regularly for checking her email as well as for chatting; the other worker was pursuing a computer course. Five out of the ten Filipino workers interviewed were in the habit of writing and sending letters and cards. Among the Indian workers interviewed, only one used to send letters and cards and another worker used the computer for online chatting. It can be seen that compared to the Indian workers, the Filipino workers used a wider range of media or technologies for communication. In all, the 10 Indian workers interviewed reported the use of 15 different technologies, and the 10 Filipino workers reported the use of 22 different technologies (the number of technologies used is more than the number of workers because many workers interviewed used more than one technology). Notably, the Filipino workers were making greater use of the traditional as well as advanced media or technologies: letters and cards and computer and the Internet (see Tables 7 and 8). As Tables 7 and 8 below show, the Filipino workers were, in general, better educated than the Indian workers, and this may explain their use of wider range of technologies (this point will be discussed further in Section 5.3). Lastly, it may be noted that the use of technologies is greatly limited by the tiring and routine lives led by the domestic workers. A typical day in a migrant domestic worker’s life begins with household chores – like making breakfast and lunch for all the family members, sending the children to school and cleaning the house. By noon 44 they would have some time for themselves, when they would send text messages or call their families and friends back home and in Singapore. After lunch, their routine would start all over again by making tea and dinner, then cleaning, and their day would end after their employer went to bed. They would be really tired by the end of the day and would only want to rest or sleep. On their days-off -- which were fewer in the case of Indian workers -- these workers would either meet up with their friends (mainly in the case of the Filipino workers) or they would prefer to stay at home and just relax (more often in the case of Indian workers). 45 Table 7: Profile of Filipino Workers Interviewed Sl. No Name Age Educational status Years of migration 1 Vera 34 Computer Secretarial Course 15 years 2 Violet 46 High School 19 years 3 Ida 28 Bachelors Degree 8 years 4 Dale 45 High School 10 years 5 Abigail 39 High School 11 years 6 Pearl 27 High School 5 years 7 Thea 24 Bachelors Degree 1 and a half years 8 Candy 22 Bachelors Degree 3 months 9 Mara 27 High School 2 years 10 Florence 29 Bachelors Degree 2 years Technologies used Mobile phone (voice calls and texting) and landline Mobile phone (voice calls and texting) and computer Mobile phone (voice calls and texting) and landline Mobile phone (voice calls and texting), music player Mobile phone (voice calls and texting), music player Mobile phone(voice calls and texting), letters and computer Mobile phone (voice calls and texting), landline, letters and computer Landline and letters (had used the computer) Mobile phone (voice calls and texting) and letters Mobile phone(voice calls and texting), letters and cards, and computer Proficiency level in using technologies Moderate High Moderate High High High High Moderate Moderate High 45 Notes: High School indicates 10 years of schooling. Source: Fieldwork, November 2007—February 2008 46 Table 8: Profile of Indian Domestic Workers Interviewed Technologies used Proficiency level in the use of technologies Sl.No Name Age Educational status Years of migration 1 Sumathi 32 Secondary (7th Standard) 18 years Mobile phone (voice calls and texting) Moderate 2 Parvati 47 Primary (5th Standard) 15 years Landline Low 3 Mallika 27 Primary (3rd Standard) 6 years Mobile phone (voice calls only) and landline Low 4 Malar 45 Primary (2nd Standard) 15 years Landline Low 5 Mercy 36 Higher Secondary 3 months Landline Low Mobile phone (voice calls only) Mobile phone (voice calls 7 Teena 37 Higher Secondary and texting) and landline Mobile phone (voice calls 8 Mita 23 Bachelors Degree 5 months and texting) and letter Mobile phone (voice calls 9 Thenmozhi 33 High School 12 years and texting) and landline Mobile phone (voice calls 10 Tessy 39 High School 10 years and texting) and computer Notes: High School indicates 10 years of schooling and higher secondary indicates 12 years of schooling. Source: Fieldwork, November 2007—February 2008. 6 Jameela 21 Secondary (7th Standard) 1 year and 4 months 2 years and 3 months Low Moderate Moderate Moderate High 46 47 5.3 Proficiency levels in the use of technologies We have categorized the workers interviewed into three groups based on their level of proficiency in the use of technologies. The three groups are people with ‘high’, ‘moderate’ and ‘low’ levels of proficiency in the use of ICTs. In this study, workers who were comfortable using the more complex and advanced ICT devices or services such as the mobile phone -- including voice calls and text messaging options -- and the Internet or any other technology like a music player were categorized into the ‘high’ level group. Those who were using the mobile phone for both voice calls and text messaging but not the Internet or other technologies were included in the ‘moderate’ level group. Workers who used only the landline or/and only the voice call option of the mobile phone (no text messaging included) were categorized in the ‘low’ level group (see Table 9). Table 10 shows the proficiency levels of the workers in using technologies. It can be seen that the proficiency levels in using technologies were higher in the case of Filipino workers; of whom six workers had high proficiency level and four others, moderate. On the other hand, among the Indian migrant workers there were five workers in the low proficiency level category and only one worker in the high proficiency level category. The remaining four Indian workers were in the moderate proficiency level category. 48 Table 9: Proficiency Levels in Using Technologies of Migrant Female Domestic Workers Interviewed, Criteria for Categorization Proficiency Criteria for categorization level High Proficient in the use of mobile phone (voice calls and text messaging options) and at least one of these technologies: the Internet, cable television, radio and music player Moderate Proficient in the use of mobile phone (voice calls and text messaging options) Low Proficient in the use of landline or/ and mobile phone (voice call option only) Source: Fieldwork, November 2007 – February 2008 Table 10: Migrant Female Domestic Workers Interviewed, by Proficiency Levels in Using Technologies, in Numbers Workers interviewed by All Workers proficiency level in using Interviewed technologies High 20 All Workers Interviewed Workers Interviewed by Nationality Filipinos 10 Indians 10 Workers Interviewed by Years of Migration Less than 1 year 3 Between 1 and 5 years 5 Between 5 and 10 years 3 Between 10 and 15 years 4 More than 15 years 5 Workers Interviewed by Years of Education 1-4 years 2 5-10 years 5 >10 years 7 Graduates 6 Workers Interviewed by Age 20-29 years 9 30-39 years 7 40-49 years 4 Source: Fieldwork, November 2007 – February 2008 Moderate Low 7 8 5 6 1 4 4 0 5 0 2 1 3 1 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 0 2 0 1 4 2 0 2 2 4 2 2 1 0 3 2 2 4 4 0 2 1 2 49 We tried to understand the factors that contributed to the workers’ proficiency levels in the use of technology. The factors that were studied here included educational qualifications, age and the years of migration to Singapore, Are the educational qualifications of the domestic workers related to their proficiency level in using a technology? Or does their age or their period of stay in Singapore better explain their proficiency level in using a particular technology? The results of our analysis are given in Table 10. Studies have shown that the young and the better educated are generally more comfortable in the use of technologies (UNDP, 1999; Thomas and Parayil, 2008). According to UNDP (1999) report, people who access the Internet are more often the better educated and higher income groups, men rather than women, and younger rather than older people (UNDP, 1999). We also expect that the longer the period of stay in Singapore, the higher the proficiency level in the use of technologies for the worker. In most instances, workers migrate from villages where technologies are less developed, and migration to Singapore then provides exposure to new technologies. 5.3.1 Education It appears from the results of this study that education helps achieve at least a moderate level of proficiency in the use of technologies. The Filipino workers interviewed had better educational achievements – five of them were graduates and five others had completed high school– and this was reflected in their proficiency levels in the use of 50 technologies. Six of the ten Filipino workers interviewed had high level of proficiency in the use of technologies. At the same time, the better educated need not necessarily have a very high proficiency level in the use of technologies. Also, those with high proficiency level in the use of technologies need not necessarily be the highly educated. Vera, 34, had a Diploma in Computer Science. Yet, her proficiency level in technology use was only moderate. In her words: ‘I did not realize the importance of learning new skills, especially the use of the Internet. Probably, if I had taken the effort to learn to use the Internet, I would have found a better job. But, now that I am already working as a domestic help, I am not very hopeful that improved skills in computing would help. Sometimes, I really wonder if I can still think of a new career. But, in any case, I get very little time, which I use to talk to my family.’ On the other hand, Tessy, 34, had completed only high school education. Yet she had learnt to use the computer with help and encouragement from her employer. She was comfortable in using the English language because of her high school education, and, therefore, the basic skills required for Internet browsing was not very difficult to acquire. 5.3.2 Age The results of our research indicated that there is no clear positive association between age and proficiency level in the use of technologies. Migrant workers in the 20-29 years age-group did not have markedly high proficiency levels, whereas workers in the 40-49 years age-group did not have markedly low proficiency levels either (see Table 10). 51 However, as will be shown in the worker profiles given in this chapter, age does contribute to migrant workers’ advantages or disadvantages with respect to the use of technologies. For a less-educated person with little exposure to technologies in her premigration days, and also in the 40-49 years age-group, age can be an additional deterrent to acquiring new skills (see below the profile of Parvati, 47). On the other hand, for an educated worker in the 20-29 years age-group, age is likely to be a favourable factor as she tries to acquire and use new technologies (see below the profile of Thea, 24). 5.3.3 The specific need for using technologies as a determining factor In fact, more than educational level or age, the specific need for using a particular technology like the Internet was the crucial factor that determined proficiency levels in the case of most domestic workers. Our study showed that workers who regularly used the Internet -- two Filipinos and one Indian -- were those who wanted to maintain online relationships with a close relative or friend. Violet (46) used the Internet to chat with her daughter in America. Florence (29) used to chat with and email her sister, who lived in Dubai, once a month. She would go to an Internet café in Lucky Plaza, Singapore, to access the Internet. Tessy (39) used the Internet specifically for building an online relationship with her prospective life partner. For others, including the better educated and younger workers, access and affordability were the constraining factors with respect to the use of technologies – and not the absence of specific skills or interest in using them. In the case of most domestic workers, the access to a computer was a problem not only for themselves but also for their families 52 back home. Also, finding spare time for Internet browsing, online chatting and for learning to use the Internet was difficult. On their days-off, most foreign domestic workers interviewed preferred meeting up with their friends or talking over the phone with their family and friends back home rather than browsing the web. In general, domestic workers preferred face-to-face communication, and online communication was ’not worth the time, money and effort,’ according to one of the workers interviewed. Our study did not find any significant association between years of migration to Singapore and proficiency levels in the use of technologies. All the four workers who had been in Singapore for periods between 10 and 15 years were proficient in the use of technologies (see Table 10). At the same time, however, only one among the five female migrant workers who had been working in Singapore for more than 15 years had a high proficiency level. In fact, there were two Indian workers who had been in Singapore for more than 15 years but had low proficiency level: Parvati and Malar, aged 47 and 45 years respectively (see Table 8). Although they had been in Singapore for over 15 years, neither of them owned a mobile phone. Their educational levels were low – both of them had completed only less than four years of education. These older migrants tended to “live in the past”, as they were contented with the relatively few technologies they were comfortable with, and did not feel the need to try out the latest technologies. This point is discussed further in Section 5.4 along with a profile description of Parvati (47, Indian). 53 5.4 Routes to domestication of technologies in migrant workers’ lives 5.4.1 Incorporation It has been argued that in the domestication of technology, technologies can, over a period of time, become part of the users’ routines and environment (Berker et al. 2006). Among a section of the migrant workers interviewed, the mobile phone was incorporated as an essential part of their lives, and, had become highly domesticated. This was particularly true in the case of Filipino workers, whose proficiency levels with respect to the use of technologies were relatively high as discussed in Section 5. 3. When asked about their perceptions of the mobile phone, the migrant workers gave the following responses, which reflected in a number of ways how the technologies were incorporated into the workers’ daily routines. They spoke about the ease of use of their mobile phones, the convenience of using a mobile phone and also about how the mobile phone became a part of their family life. ‘The mobile phone is useful because I can walk and talk while using the phone.’ (Dale, 45, Filipino) ‘The mobile phone can be addictive like smoking, especially when I am idle. The result is that I end up spending more money than I expect to.’ (Violet, 46, Filipino) ‘I would like to thank the inventor of the mobile phone. I find the mobile most useful when I fight with my husband and have to make up with him. I fight with him almost every morning and then I call him from the mobile at least ten times to make up with him.’ (Sumathi, 32, Indian) 54 The above portrayals show that the mobile phone had been very much incorporated into the daily lives of these workers. 5.4.2 Appropriation Households appropriate technologies into their domestic culture, that is, they domesticate and redefine technologies in a fashion that suits the household’s own values and interests (Silverstone et al. 1992, p.552, cited in Ribak and Rosenthal, 2006). In this study, the experiences of some workers interviewed gave insights into how domestic workers tried to appropriate the mobile phone technology into their daily lives. One of them was Mita, 23, Indian. She used the mobile phone more frequently and more comfortably than her employer (according to her employer’s own admission). She appropriated the mobile phone into her daily routine, utilizing it in her everyday communication with her family and friends in Singapore and in India. Mita would use the phone whenever she was free, mostly for text messaging which she preferred over voice calls because the latter were costlier. Thenmozhi, 33, appropriated technologies in such a way that different communication technologies represented different levels of intimacy with the speaker. For her, mobile phone communication meant a high level of intimacy. ‘I use my mobile phone to speak to my children everyday,’ she said. She used the landline only when she had to call her children to pass on some routine information before they went to school in the morning. On the other hand, Thenmozhi’s communication with her husband, who also lived in 55 Singapore, was only through text messaging. For Thenmozhi, text messaging was instrumental and represented the low level of intimacy she shared with her husband. She would send text messages to him only when she needed to convey some information about their children. Thus, as shown in the two examples above, migrant domestic workers appropriated technologies to suit their specific needs by preferring text messaging over voice calls to reduce costs or by alternating between landline, voice calls and text messaging to convey different levels of intimacy. 5.4.3 Objectification Objectification is one of the strategies of domestication. During the objectification phase, the material expression of the symbolic meaning of the artifact becomes more relevant (Berker et al. 2006). As the object or artifact is given a space inside the home, the focus shifts to ‘how values, taste or style are expressed in the display of the artifact’ (Berg 1999, p. 5). The introduction of ICTs into the household can bring about a restructuring of the position of the household and its members. This can happen both internally in the interrelationships the members have with each other, and externally as the threads of relationships extend into public spaces or into the networks of the diasporic or the displaced (Silverstone, 2006; cited in Berker et al. 2006). 56 Our study showed that the Filipino and Indian domestic workers interviewed were not concerned about the model, brand and colour of the mobile phones they used. It also appeared that, given their hectic work schedules, the workers did not ‘fiddle’ with their phones; they spent very little time playing games, changing ring tones or selecting new wallpapers on their phones. The workers did not personalize their mobile phones with the whole range of accessories available in the market. In the words of Dale, 45, Filipino: ‘I have a very old model of the Nokia brand and I am quite content with what I have. It serves the function of a communication device and this is all I require. I do not care about the color or model, as long as the phone helps me to keep in touch with my family and friends in Singapore and the Philippines.’ The mobile phone was a functional tool for a majority of the domestic workers interviewed. These women were leading tough, lonely lives in a foreign country, and telephonic conversations with their family members back home was a strong emotional anchor. At the same time, the instrument itself was a huge investment for them, and added to that was the cost of the monthly bills. Therefore, the phenomenon of objectification was absent in the process of domestication of technologies by female migrant domestic workers. This was largely due to their difficult life circumstances. 57 5.4.4 Pre-migration experience and domestication of technologies Our interviews with migrant female domestic workers showed that the social and economic conditions before migration have an important bearing on the processes through which the workers domesticate technology after their migration. In this section, we portray three workers, Thenmozhi and Parvati, migrants from India, and Thea, a migrant from the Philippines. Both Thenmozhi and Parvati migrated from two different remote villages in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Parvati belonged to the category of workers with low proficiency in the use of technologies; Thenmozhi to the moderate proficiency group; and Thea belonged to the group of workers with high proficiency levels in the use of technologies. Parvati, 47, Indian, Low proficiency level in use of technologies Parvati had left for Singapore fifteen years ago in search of a job in the face of very difficult living conditions in her native village. She was the only earning member of her family, and her husband was bed-ridden. Communication facilities were poor in Parvati’s village. A couple of big shops (owned by influential people like landlords) in the village had telephone connections, but these were not accessible to the public. According to Parvati, even today, there is just one public telephone in her native village, at the local bus stand. She said that there was still no landline connection in her home in India. 58 While she was living in her village, she would write letters to her mother and brothers (living in the neighbouring village). However, these letters would take almost a month to reach their destinations. So Parvati preferred to travel to the neighbouring village and meet her family members. Given the cost of travel, these meetings would normally happen only once in six months, which was also the time interval she took to communicate with her close relatives. Parvati was the first person to leave her village and migrate to a foreign country. She had found it very difficult to be away from her family and not even able to hear her children’s voices. Her first visit to India was two years after her migration to Singapore. Subsequently, her visits to India became once in three years. Parvati said that in recent times she was visiting India every two years. At the time of the interview, she was able to talk to her son -- who had recently migrated to Singapore -daily for at least five minutes. He would call her from his mobile phone, and she would call him twice or thrice a week from her employer’s landline and talk for two-three minutes. She would also speak to her daughter once a week for 15 minutes from the landline; her daughter would receive Parvati’s calls at a public phone in their native village. In spite of being in Singapore for the past fifteen years, Parvati never really desired to buy a mobile phone because it was very expensive. Extremely poor living conditions in her home, and the long, lonely years she spent as a migrant in Singapore had made her 59 accustomed to solitude and hence she did not have high expectations with regard to maintaining daily communications with her loved ones. Hence, her background and her communication patterns influenced her lack of interest and need for ICTs such as mobile phones. Thenmozhi, 33, Indian, Moderate proficiency level in use of technologies When Thenmozhi first migrated to Singapore twelve years ago, there were a few public telephones in her village, but making phone calls were expensive. Her husband was working in Singapore and she used to call him only when it was really necessary; otherwise she would write letters to him, once a month. She first visited her family in India two years after migrating to Singapore. Subsequently, the frequency of her visits to India became once every three years. Over the past four years, she was visiting her family once a year. In the initial months of her stay in Singapore, she used to call her children once in 15 days from public telephones using calling cards. In those days, there was no landline back home, so she used to call her family at a public telephone nearby their home. At the time of the interview, Thenmozhi said that she would call her children from her mobile phone, three-four times a day and speak for five minutes each time. She had bought a mobile phone and a landline for her family in India. Thenmozhi’s case is an interesting one. Clearly, her income as a migrant worker and her exposure to ICT use in Singapore, had given her the skills and financial ability to improve communication 60 between Thenmozhi and her family. In some ways, this was also a virtuous cycle because her enhanced ability to keep in touch with and manage her family while away from home enabled her to continue with her overseas stint. Thea, 24, Filipino, High proficiency level in use of technologies Compared to rural India, the Philippines is more technologically advanced. The cell phone has become highly popular in the Philippines. In 2005, there were two mobile phone companies in the Philippines, Globe Telecom and Smart Communications, and they served a total of 32.8 million cell phone subscribers. In 2004, 200 million texts a day originated from the Philippines. The cell phone became popular in the Philippines because of its affordability and also the assurance that the message would reach the receiver (Uy-Tioco, 2007). Thea was from Luzon, Philippines and it was less than two years since she had left her country. She had bought a mobile phone three years ago, while she was in the Philippines. Her brother and sister had been using mobile phones for more than ten years. They never had a landline, because mobile phones were cheaper than the landline in the Philippines. Public telephones were common and most people in her hometown possessed mobile phones. Her mother, a graduate and a homemaker, bought a mobile phone a year ago. Thea was not the sole earning member of her family; her father was a motor mechanic. She had many friends and relatives in different parts of the world. Her reason for moving to 61 Singapore was because, ‘I wanted to save for my own future and also help my family in little ways.’ After she moved to Singapore, Thea had not had the opportunity to visit her family in the Philippines. She would write letters to her mother once or twice a month, and call her family thrice a month and speak for around ten minutes each time. She would also send around 20 text messages everyday to her family, friends and relatives in Singapore and the Philippines. Thea was comfortable not only with the mobile phone but also with computers from her pre-migration days. She had learnt to use the computer when she was in college, though she had not used it after moving to Singapore. ‘In the Philippines, using the computer is very common, but not as much as using the mobile phone,’ according to Thea. 5.4.5 Factors influencing domestication of technologies The profiles of the three workers presented above illustrate the varied routes for domestication of technology. For the two Indian workers, as long as they were in their villages back home in India, the need for communication with the outside world arose only on very limited occasions. Their dear ones were nearby. But, when they migrated, communication with their families in India became central to their daily existence. This meant that technologies which these workers were neither proficient in nor even aware of before migration began to be incorporated and appropriated into their lives after migration. 62 In contrast, Thea and her friends and family members in the Philippines were quite familiar with technologies such as the mobile phone and the Internet even before her migration. Incorporation and appropriation of technologies had been much easier in her case. Even in the case of Thenmozhi, because her husband was away in a foreign country, there was a need to communicate with the outside world even before migration. Therefore, the process of domestication of communication technologies started even while she was in India. Expectedly, this process accelerated after her migration to Singapore. On the other hand, Parvati was totally unfamiliar with any modern technologies pre-migration, and she remained a laggard in technology adoption even after her migration. Thus, as shown in the above three portrayals, pre-migration experience and family background of the worker play important roles in determining the route through which workers incorporate and appropriate technologies into their lives. It can also be seen that education and age are contributory factors in this process of incorporation and appropriation. Thea was only 24 years old and had completed her undergraduate degree; domestication of technologies was much easier in her case. On the other hand, Parvati was 47 years old and had studied only till primary five. This made the process of domestication of technologies all the more difficult in her case. It is notable that Thenmozhi who was 33 years old and had completed high school education managed to acquire a moderate level of proficiency in the use of technologies. 63 5.5 Conclusion This chapter analyzed the pattern of use of technologies by female migrant domestic workers in Singapore. The technology most commonly used by these workers was the mobile phone, followed by the landline. This study showed that education helped migrant domestic workers to achieve at least a moderate proficiency level in the use of technologies, though the better educated did not necessarily achieve a high proficiency level. It was also found that proficiency level in technology use was not clearly associated with age or years of migration to Singapore. In fact, the specific need for using a particular technology like the Internet played a crucial role in determining proficiency levels in the case of most domestic workers. This chapter further examined technology domestication by the migrant female domestic workers. It showed that technologies, especially the mobile phone, were incorporated and appropriated by these workers. At the same time, however, there was no evidence of objectification of technologies by the migrant domestic workers. 64 Chapter 6 Motivations and Gratifications of ICT Use 6.1 Introduction In this chapter we discuss the important motivations behind everyday communication of female migrant domestic workers and their use of different media or ICTs. Using the uses and gratifications perspective, the chapter then tries to understand how the use of a particular ICT or medium for communication is motivated by the gratification of social or psychological needs of the worker. As discussed in Chapter 3, the uses and gratifications approach is one which analyses the use of media in terms of the gratification of social or psychological needs of the individual. Scholars note that gratifications can be derived from a medium's content, from familiarity with a genre within the medium, from general exposure to the medium, and from the social context in which it is used. It has also been noted that people's needs influence how they use and respond to a medium (Chandler, 1994). Uses and gratifications research from the 1950s and the 1960s emphasized the role of social and psychological variables as precursors of different patterns of consumption of gratifications (Wimmer and Dominick, 1994). For example, Schramm, Lyle, and Parker (1961) noted that children’s use of television was influenced by individual mental ability and relationships with parents and peers. In a similar context, Katz and Foulkes (1962) conceptualized mass media use as escape. 65 Uses and gratifications research in the 1970s noted that a number of social and psychological needs would be satisfied by exposure to mass media (Katz, Gurevitch, and Haas, 1973). According to Rosengren (1974), certain basic needs interact with personal characteristics and the social environment of the individual, resulting in perceived problems and perceived solutions. These problems and solutions form motives for gratification behaviour that can be satisfied through the use of media (cited in Ruggiero, 2000). We find in this chapter that the everyday communication of migrant domestic workers, mainly through the mobile phone, is driven by two broad motives or gratifications -intrinsic and instrumental. The major intrinsic motive behind the workers’ everyday communication is their desire to maintain strong emotional ties with their families and friends back home. On the other hand, our study shows that the instrumental motives or gratifications behind workers’ everyday communication such as accessing information about jobs are rather limited. The study also shows that the major social or psychological needs that are satisfied by everyday communication of workers through their use of different media are: companionship (section 6.2), escape (section 6.3), entertainment (section 6.4), and information gathering (section 6.5). 66 6.2 Companionship According to Denis McQuail (1987: 73), companionship or social interaction is an important reason for media use. The media helps to gain insight into the circumstances of others or in social empathizing; it helps to identify with others and to gain a sense of belonging. The media enables one to connect with family, friends and society, helps to carry out social roles, can be a basis for conversation and social interaction and can even be a substitute for real-life companionship (McQuail, 1987: 73). 6.2.1 Family ties This study showed that there were considerable differences between Indian and Filipino workers in the use of ICTs for companionship. Indian workers were, in general, more conservative and less outgoing than the Filipino workers. Hence the desire for maintaining strong emotional ties with their families back home was very intense in their case. At the same time, migration had provided a sense of independence even among the Indian workers. Therefore, everyday communication of these workers reflected two somewhat contrasting gratifications: of maintaining emotional ties with their families and breaking free of the bonds imposed by the traditional family system (see also the discussion on escape under 6.3). The strong emotional ties which the migrant workers maintain with their families back home were evident in our interviews with these workers. ‘I speak to my mother twice a week for around 15 to 30 minutes.’ (Jameela, 21, Indian) 67 Mercy, 36, Indian, had three young children, who lived with her mother in India. She would speak to her family once a week for around half an hour. Her eldest daughter was studying in a boarding school, and she would speak to her twice a month for around 20 minutes. ‘I love my sons and really miss them. I call them thrice a week from the landline and speak for around half an hour.’ (Malar, 45, Indian) Thenmozhi (33, Indian) had two daughters and a son, all in their teen years. She said that she was very close to them and that she spoke to them three to four times a day for around five minutes each from her mobile phone. She would also call them every morning from the landline at her employer’s home and speak to them for around five minutes. Sumathi (32, Indian) said that she would speak to her brothers, who lived in Singapore, for half an hour everyday; and with her husband, who lived in Singapore too, almost ten times daily. She would also speak to her mother in India, daily for around 40 minutes. Despite the regimented lives of these women and their considerable distance from their families, ICTs like the mobile phone enabled them to keep regular and, in some cases, perpetual intermittent contact with their families. Hence, even though their primary role within their employer’s home was to serve as the housekeeper, they were able to maintain their personal lives and relationships, and to perform their roles of wives, mothers, daughters and sisters. 68 6.2.2 Friendship ties Eight out of ten of the Filipino workers whom I interviewed were unmarried, compared to only two out of 10 Indian workers who were interviewed. Hence, the Filipino workers whom I interviewed were more independent and emotionally less tied to their families back home. With greater relative independence and the freedom from excessive familial responsibilities, the Filipino workers had a wider circle of friends to socialize with, and this was clearly reflected in their communication pattern. The Filipino workers enjoyed more days-off compared to the Indian workers; another factor that aided their more frequent socializing. The Filipino workers got a day-off either once a week, or twice a month. Six of the ten Filipino workers interviewed were getting a weekly day-off, whereas among the Indians only three were getting a weekly day-off. Two of the Filipino workers interviewed were getting a bi-monthly day-off and two other workers were getting a monthly day-off. Among the Indian workers interviewed, three were getting a weekly day-off, six workers were getting a monthly day-off, and one worker was not getting a day-off. With more days-off and more opportunities to socialize, it is no surprise that my Filipino interviewees had much larger networks of friends. On their days-off, they congregated at malls such as Lucky Plaza and Vivo City; or go to church and eat out with their friends. Day-off is an important occasion when Filipino workers get to socialize and widen their network of friends. They would use the mobile phone – mostly the text messaging option -- to make appointments with their friends for meetings on their weekly day-off. In this 69 way, the companionship they shared on their days-off would get extended, through mobile phone communication, to other days of the week as well. Though they did not get the time to talk or SMS on a regular basis, because of their busy schedules, they found the mobile phone a useful instrument to keep in touch with their friends. Communication through the mobile phone and communication during weekly meetings was an important source of companionship for the Filipino domestic workers. Despite their being mostly confined to their employers’ homes during the week, the mobile phone enabled them to coordinate their social activities and broaden and maintain their social networks. 6.3 Escape Many scholars, especially those identified with the concept of a passive audience, have often cited the escapist model of media use (Stone and Stone, 1990).The escapist model is particularly relevant with respect to television viewing. As per the escapist model, television viewing comprises largely a leisurely way to pass the time (Barwise, Ehrenberg, & Goodhardt, 1982; Kubey, 1986). This study examined whether the use of ICTs by foreign domestic workers is driven by the escapist motive. It was found that the workers were driven by a desire to escape from the drudgery of their work environment as well as from their familial responsibilities. The use of technologies like the mobile phone was a diversion from the regular routine of their everyday lives. The escape motive was an integral part of these workers’ use of technologies; their use of media technologies was not so much for entertainment as it is for other people who lead more comfortable lives 70 ‘I love to listen to Tamil music on my mobile phone, as it soothes my mind and helps me to forget my troubles.’ (Jameela, 21, Indian) ‘I love to read love stories. Romance is an interesting topic which transports me to a world of fantasy and dreams. I also watch television with my employer sometimes and sometimes by myself.’ (Vera, 34, Filipino) ‘My employer has provided me with a television, a music player and a refrigerator. I love listening to English music while working because it helps me to forget the hard work involved. I watch television at night just before I go to bed. ‘ (Dale, 45, Filipino) As shown in the above three cases, mobile phones, music players, televisions, radio and even books provided an escape for migrant domestic workers from their complex family relationships, the difficulties of a migrant’s life, as well as the mundane routine of a domestic worker’s duties. In some cases, ICT-mediated content could even serve as a source of inspiration or motivation: ‘My previous employer had bought me a radio and my current employer has provided me with a television. I love to listen to music on my radio because it gives me the courage to face any sort of difficulties that come my way.’ (Violet, 46, Filipino) 6.4 Entertainment According to Denis McQuail (1987: 73), entertainment is one of the important reasons for media use. By entertainment, we refer to getting intrinsic, cultural or aesthetic enjoyment and emotional release (McQuail 1987: 73). 71 This study examined the extent to which everyday communication of workers was linked to the intrinsic motive of pursuing a hobby. Is the use of ICTs by workers associated with the motives for entertainment? During the interview with the migrant workers, questions were asked as to what their hobbies were. For migrant female domestic workers, their work and social environment constrained the type of media they consumed. The use of media like the Internet required a high level of maintenance, in terms of time spent and costs incurred. Therefore, they resorted to traditional media like books and radio, which were more easily accessible and which they could make use of in the little snatches of time they were getting between chores. ‘Reading is one of my favorite hobbies and keeps me alive and happy. I read while travelling on the bus and MRT. I love to read at night and in spite of being warned by the doctor that it will affect my vision, I continue to read at night. I buy magazines from Tekka Mall, Singapore, on my day-off or I borrow them from the Regional Library. I listen to Tamil music on my mobile phone. It helps me to keep going while working.’ (Thenmozhi, 33, Indian) The above quotes show that workers used ICT tools such as radio, television, and mobile phone as a means of entertainment. Traditional hobbies and tools for mental well-being such as reading and meditation were also important in the lives of foreign domestic workers: ‘I love to meditate early in the morning. It gives me peace of mind and the strength to face life’s obstacles bravely.’ (Tessy, 39, Indian) 72 The migrant female domestic workers lead structured and routine lives which leave them with very little energy to consume media solely for entertainment. They used ICTs more as a diversion from their everyday routine life. Therefore, it was found that the entertainment motive and the escape motive in the workers’ use of media technologies were closely linked to each other. 6.5 Information gathering According to Denis McQuail (1987: 73), information seeking about events and people is an important function of the media. The media gives advice on practical matters, satisfies curiosity and general interest and helps in self-education (McQuail 1987: 73). An important instrumental motive for communication is the need to access information about job opportunities, travel, and about the outside world in general. This study examined the extent to which workers’ communication and media use is driven by the need to access general information. During the interview, workers were asked about their sources of information: newspaper, television, friends, employers and agents. The result is summarized in Table 11. Table 11: Sources of information about the outside world accessed by female migrant domestic workers interviewed External Sources of Numbers of workers Information accessed Indians Filipinos Newspaper 5 9 Television 4 7 Friends 5 5 Agent 7 8 Employer 7 10 Source: Fieldwork, November 2007 – February 2008 73 As Table 11 shows, nine out of the ten Filipino migrant workers either read The Straits Times and/or the Today newspaper. Of the ten Indian workers interviewed, only one worker could read The Straits Times while four others read the Tamil newspaper Tamil Murasu; the four workers were literate in Tamil (their mother tongue) but not in English. The workers did not have easy access to other media like the Internet, so they resorted to print media for information on world events. Seven of the Filipino migrant workers watched television in their employer’s home either for entertainment or news about the world from news channels such as the BBC. Three out of the seven workers had been provided with a television of their own by their employers. Among the Indian workers, only four watched television, mostly for news or entertainment. Most of the interviewed workers told me that although they had access to the television, they did not have the time and energy to actually watch and enjoy it. At the end of the day, they preferred to rest or go to sleep, rather than watching television. In the case of the Filipino and Indian workers, flight tickets back home were normally taken care of by their employers. Both the Filipino and Indian workers found new jobs mostly through employment agencies. The workers also received help from their employers and friends for finding new job opportunities. Most of the interviewed workers noted that their friends were particularly useful sources of information about jobs, cheap flights and other relevant information. In general, the migrant workers’ reliance on advanced technologies such as the Internet as a source of information was very minimal. 74 However, the mobile phone was used as a conveyor of information by their friends who were also maids, as well as by employers and employment agents. 6.6 Conclusion Using the theoretical perspective of uses and gratifications, this chapter analyzed the notable aspects of everyday communication and the use of ICTs by migrant female domestic workers in Singapore. The study showed that the major social or psychological needs that are satisfied by everyday communication of workers through their use of different media are the needs of companionship, escape, entertainment and information gathering. Indian workers maintained strong ties with their families back home, and their regular communication, through the mobile phone, reflected a desire for companionship. The Filipino workers found companions among their friends in Singapore, mostly other migrants from the Philippines, with whom they regularly communicated and met Everyday communication by workers also reflected their desire to escape from their complex family relationships and the difficulties of a migrant’s life. Workers used ICT tools such as radio, television and the mobile phone as a means of entertainment. Mobile phone communication acted as a conveyor of useful information about jobs and cheap flights passed on to them by their friends, employers or employment agents. 75 Chapter 7 Impact of ICTs on Migrant Workers’ Lives 7.1 Introduction The existing literature has dealt with the impact of ICTs on development, and specifically on the betterment of individuals’ lives through their adoption of ICTs. The aim of this chapter is to investigate the ways through which ICTs, predominantly the mobile phone, affect the lives of female migrant domestic workers in Singapore -- as a source of empowerment and as an instrument for connectivity. At the same time, the chapter shows that with greater connectivity, the workers are bound by responsibilities to their family members, especially to children whom they leave behind; and that this takes a considerable emotional and financial toll on these women. It has been argued that ICTs can be instruments that help women escape traditional, male-dominated societal structures (Nath, 2001). Aminuzzaman et al. (2003) studied the impact of the mobile phone on the lives of women in rural Bangladesh. As part of the Village Phone scheme developed by Bangladesh Grameen Bank, a number of rural women became owners of the Village Phone, which local residents could use for a price. The study showed that the Village Phone helped improve the incomes of the ownerwomen’s households, and widened the social networks of these women who were otherwise socially secluded by traditional customs. In a majority of cases, the Village Phone helped the women maintain contact with their husbands working as migrant labourers outside the country. However, it is notable that the incomes generated by the Village Phone remained in the hands of the male members of the household, although it 76 was the women who were the owners of the Village Phone enterprises (Aminuzzaman et al. 2003). This shows that there are limitations to the extent to which the new technologies can empower women, circumscribed as they are by oppressive traditions and economic constraints. With this insight in mind, this chapter seeks to understand how foreign migrant workers in Singapore may be empowered by their ICT use, while recognising the situational and structural limitations which these women face. This chapter is organised as follows into eight sections. The next two sections discuss the positive impacts that ICTs have had on female migrant workers in Singapore. Section 7.2 discusses the ways through which the mobile phone acts as a device for empowerment. Section 7.3 deals with the roles that ICTs play in enhancing connectivity. Section 7.4 points out some of the limitations of ICT-led development: of workers being tied to their familial responsibilities and the relatively high costs involved. 7.2 Empowerment A study on the gender differences in the use of Internet and mobile phone found that women, more than men, use these technologies “instrumentally.” Drawing from interviews of Anglo- Celtic women in urban and rural areas of Australia, this study showed that women used the Internet and mobile phone for “activities which range from work, study, personal communication, seeking information, helping their children with home work, to buying and selling goods and services” (Singh, 2001, p. 397). A study on cellular phones in Jamaica discussed the case of a disabled woman who was using a mobile phone to earn her livelihood (Dunn and Dunn, 2007). 77 Our study of migrant female domestic workers in Singapore showed that the mobile phone helped these workers to be more empowered. Even while maintaining close links with their families, the workers maintained some degree of independence. This was true even of the Indian workers, despite their more orthodox family backgrounds. Workers’ relative independence as well as their close connection with their family members was demonstrably clear in the pattern of their everyday communication, and this was facilitated by ICTs. One predominant feature among the Indian domestic workers interviewed was their relative independence from their husbands. Out of the 10 Indian workers, five were separated from their husbands and one worker was having a strained relationship with her husband. One of the workers’ husbands was bedridden while another worker had escaped from her in-laws’ home fearing ill-treatment. Two other Indian workers were young and still unmarried. For all these workers, migration to a foreign country enabled them to become financially and emotionally independent; they were also able to get out of the role of being ‘just a wife’ to their husband. In this transformation, the role played by ICT was very important. It was through the use of ICTs that some workers could take control of their personal lives in terms of initiating romantic relationships and seeking spouses. For example, Tessy (39, Indian) who was abandoned by her husband, moved to Singapore to support her children growing up in India. Her cooking skills aided her in finding a job in the foreign country. In due course, she even managed to find a companion for life, using the 78 Internet and the mobile phone. Her employer had posted her profile on Shaadi.com, an Indian matrimonial website, and through this site she found a suitable match. In the early days of her online courtship, she would use the Internet and webcam at her employer’s home. After the initial correspondence through the Internet, she and her fiancée moved on to text messages and voice calls through the mobile phone. Mercy, 36, another Indian worker, had a similar story. She too had been abandoned by her husband. At the time I interviewed her, Mercy was hoping to find herself a companion through an online matrimonial website. Clearly, for these two women, the fact that they were mostly bound to the confines of their employers’ homes did not prevent them from socialising and seeking life partners. Despite their mostly solitary and regimented existences, ICTs such as the mobile phone and Internet ‘brought the outside world’ into their lives in the forms of online dating and mediated courtship. These women were therefore able to initiate and maintain relationships in an upfront manner, rather than resorting to furtive dalliances which foreign domestic workers have been documented to conduct on their days-off (Yeoh et al. 1998). However, it was also with the support of their employers that these two women were able to engage in online dating. Without which, the two women would have been unlikely to have found the time or to have possessed the requisite ICT skills to avail of online dating services. ICTs also helped some workers to find and take advantage of better job opportunities. For example, Sumathi, 32, an Indian worker who has been living in Singapore for 18 years, 79 used her mobile phone to contact different employers for job opportunities. More often, she would obtain her new employer’s contact details through her current employer. In Sumathi’s words: ‘I use the mobile phone to contact my prospective employers. I am especially grateful to my first ‘boss’, who was from my native village and spoke to me in Tamil. Her network of friends has helped me in securing various jobs.’ (Sumathi, 32, Indian) Vera, a long-term migrant to Singapore, spoke about how she benefited from the mobile phone. ‘I have been in Singapore for 15 years. I do not write letters or use the landline. For many long years, I have been relying on the mobile phone. My previous jobs have been secured through my network of friends connected through the mobile phone.’ (Vera, 34, Filipino) Therefore, it is clear that ICTs provided a source of empowerment to migrant domestic workers in a number of ways. Most of the interviewed workers, including Indian workers, enjoyed some degree of independence from their patriarchal families. ICTs helped these workers to assert their independence. 7.3 Connectivity Women, especially in developing countries, are disadvantaged by lack of access to external information and, very often, they experience isolation and loneliness. In this context, a study by Rakow (1992), focusing on women’s use of the telephone in a small community, argued that telephone lines ran ‘like a fine thread through the lives’ of 80 women who were more likely to experience isolation, loneliness, fear, or boredom (Rakow, 1992). Lee et al. (2001) noted that people vary in their degree of ‘connectedness.’ Those with high connectedness tend to feel very close with others, easily identify with them, and participate in social groups and activities. Those with low connectedness tend to feel a distance from the rest of the world, often see themselves as outsiders, feel misunderstood by others, and are uncomfortable in social situations (Lee et al., 2001). Given such individual differences, Rakow (1992) argued that the telephone has an important social role to play as it ‘builds and maintains relationships and accomplishes important caregiving and receiving functions’ (Rakow, 1992). Maintaining connectivity produces in the worker a sense of self-worth and identity. In a situation where family and friends are absent and the worker’s identity as a loved one undergoes a drastic change, the foreign domestic worker develops a self-protective communication mechanism in which they rely on ICTs to perpetuate their original identity. Our study of foreign domestic workers in Singapore showed the various ways through which ICTs helped them enhance their connectivity. ‘I feel that the mobile phone is useful for people like me, who are away from our families. I can talk to or send them messages as and when I want.’ (Teena, 37, Indian) 81 ‘My employer gave me some contact numbers of bank managers in India and with this information; I could directly talk to these managers and find out the best ways to invest my money in something like a mutual fund. It is better than just keeping my money locked up in the cupboard or sending it to my relatives in India. In this way, my money would be efficiently saved. As I only have a brother and his family whom I can call my kith and kin, I need to save wisely for my future.’ (Mallika, 27, Indian) ‘When I have to meet up with friends, and I cannot find them at the designated spot, then the mobile phone comes in handy. It also serves as an extension for communication with my friends in Singapore after my weekly day-off.’ (Dale, 45, Filipino) ‘The mobile phone is a tool to connect with my loved ones back home in the Philippines. I have to spend quite a bit of money on the mobile but I feel that it is worth it because it helps me to keep in touch with friends and family.’ (Mara, 27, Filipino) In the case of Aiysha, 21, an Indian worker, her estranged husband had forcibly taken their two children away from her. Her previous employer had not allowed her to access any mode of communication. ‘I felt cut off from the outside world during those days,’ Aiysha said. For Aiysha, ICTs provided an escape from her personal tragedies and the family responsibilities which she had to bear from a very young age. At the time of the interview, she had just moved into a new employer’s home, and a sympathetic acquaintance had bought her a mobile phone and was also paying for the monthly bills. ‘It gives me a sense of control over my own life and I can at least talk to my family back home in India,’ Aiysha added. 82 Serving as domestic workers in their employers’ homes, these women’s lives revolved around those of their employers. Their employers’ lifestyles, routines, practices and needs dominated and took precedence. Living in their employers’ homes without much autonomy, free time or personal space, it was challenging for these women to maintain or even possess a sense of self-worth and identity. However, as the above examples showed, the mobile phone was an important tool for these women to maintain close relationships with family members and friends, and, in this way, carve out a life of their own that was not determined by their employers. They could still maintain an existence, however intangible, that extended beyond their lives as domestic workers. In this way, they did not feel defined by their employment but enjoyed a respite from it, enabling them to regard themselves as individuals with support networks and long-term goals which transcended the physical confines of their employers’ homes. 7.4 Obligations arising from technology use Previous research has shown that the emancipation or empowerment that new technologies such as the mobile phone bring into the lives of women is, to a great degree, illusory in nature. Hijazi-Omari and Ribak (2008) found that Palestinian teenage girls in Israel used mobile phones given to them by their illicit boyfriends without the knowledge of their parents. Maintaining relationships with a boyfriend using a mobile phone may be seen as emancipation from the traditional patriarchal societies to which these teenage girls belong. However, boyfriends would monitor incoming and outgoing calls, and, in the event of the termination of the relationship, the mobile phone would be taken back and the girl would be exposed to her parents. In this way, the study shows, there is no 83 escape from the hold of traditional subjugations over women (Hijazi-Omari and Ribak, 2008). Similarly, for the women in my study, the ICTs could also serve to subjugate them in the form of familial obligations. While the mobile phone was an instrument of empowerment and connectivity for the migrant workers I interviewed, it also served to tie them to their familial responsibilities. The domestic workers continue to play the role of mother/ daughter /wife. Very often, these workers are the first point of contact during a family emergency as they can be relied upon to provide monetary support. The mobile phone assisted these workers in communicating with their children, but was also a constant reminder of their forced separation from their loved ones in search of a livelihood. Thenmozhi, 33, for instance, was highly concerned about her three children, two daughters and a son. She spoke to them daily, at least for five minutes each time. She kept track of their daily schedule, of incidents that happened in their everyday lives. She had had only ten years of education but wanted her children to be better educated. She called them whenever they had exams or any other important event in their lives. At the time of the interview, her daughter was in class twelve, and Thenmozhi was enquiring about a graduate college or university where her daughter could be admitted. In fact, Thenmozhi was also considering of bringing her to Singapore, if she could afford it. She said that, ‘I want her to be independent and have a good life and not struggle like I am doing now.’ 84 Violet, 46, said that, ‘I miss my children but I have adjusted to life in Singapore.’ According to Violet, she was very close to her youngest daughter, married and living in America, with whom she would speak for around half an hour twice a week. She had two daughters and a son in the Philippines. She called them once a week and spoke for around half an hour each time. She said that, ‘I am far away from my children but yet I try to be in constant touch with them.’ Abigail, 39, another Filipino mother had two young boys. She called them and her husband once a week for around half an hour. She would send her family five to six text messages in a day. She said that, ‘I call to find out how my sons are doing.’ The mobile phone was her main link to the rest of her family. Thus, the findings show that familial responsibilities were uppermost in the minds of the migrant female domestic workers we interviewed. This was true even in the case of Filipino migrant workers, many of whom were unmarried. These women were sending a substantial part of their salaries home for supporting their families. Yet, the fact that they were not in a position to personally take care of their children and dear ones concerned them. Hence, the enhanced connectivity, while a boon, also added an extra emotional burden to these women who felt duty bound to ‘look after’ their loved ones remotely. Another downside to the enhanced connectivity was dealing with the financial costs involved. The average monthly income of the Indian workers interviewed for this study was $321, and the average monthly income of the Filipino workers interviewed was $470 (see Table 12). The highest income earned among the Indian workers interviewed was $350 and the lowest was $280; at the same time, seven out of the ten Filipino workers interviewed earned more than $500 per month (see Table 13). Such differences in income 85 levels were reflected in the average monthly communication expenses incurred by the two groups of workers. Average monthly communication expenses were $49.1 for Filipino workers and $38.9 for Indian workers. As a proportion of their monthly incomes, communication expenses were 12.1 per cent for Indian workers and 10.4 per cent for Filipino workers (see Table 12). Six out of the ten Indian workers interviewed spent only less than $30 per month on communication expenses. At the same time, there were just two Filipino workers whose spending on communication expenses was less than $30 per month (see Table 13). Table 12: Average Monthly Income and Average Monthly Expenses on Communication Incurred, Indian and Filipino Workers Income and expenses Indians Filipinos Average monthly income, in Singapore dollars 321 470 Average monthly communication expenses, in Singapore dollars 38.9 49.06 Communication expenses as % of monthly income 12.1 10.4 Source: Fieldwork, November 2007 – February 2008 There were considerable individual differences among Indian and Filipino workers with respect to their spending on communication needs. At one extreme was Sumathi who would spend $150 on communication out of her $350 monthly income. ‘I can afford to spend such a huge amount because I am not the sole earning member of my family. My husband lives in Singapore too. He works in the dispatch department of a major 86 Singapore newspaper. Also, I do not have any other family members like children or parents to support.’ Among the Filipinos, Violet and Pearl were spending more than $100 per month for their communication needs. ‘I only use the mobile phone as a mode of communication and only the voice call feature in it. I speak to my children for half an hour thrice a week. I also talk to my best friend in Singapore, everyday, for around five to ten minutes.’ (Violet, 46, Filipino) ‘I use my mobile phone mainly for text messaging. I send around 60 messages a day both to family and friends all over the world. I call my parents and sister twice a week and speak to them for half an hour.’ (Pearl, 27, Filipino) Both Parvati and Teena received approximately the same salary, but their communication expenses were substantially different. Parvati would spend $18 out of her $280 monthly income, while Teena would spend $70 out of her $300 monthly income on communication expenses. ‘I use the landline at my employer’s home to call my daughter in India. I speak to her for 15 minutes once a week. As my son works in Singapore, I save on my international calls. I speak to him for three minutes thrice a week from the landline. I use two calling cards a month.’ (Parvati, 37, Indian) ‘I use the mobile phone as well as the landline at my employer’s home. My mobile bill itself works out to $50 and added to that I use two calling cards a month to speak to my family thrice a month.’ (Teena, 37, Indian) 87 Table 13: Migrant Female Domestic Workers Interviewed, Monthly Incomes and Monthly Expenditures on Communication Communication Names of the Workers Monthly Income, in S$ Expenses, in S$ Filipino Workers Vera Violet Ida Dale Abigail Pearl Thea Candy Mara Florence 500 500 500 500 400 400 500 500 400 500 30 100 35 60 30 100 30 10.6 75 20 350 280 350 350 300 300 300 280 350 350 150 18 25 30 20 0 70 18 20 20 Indian Workers Sumathi Parvati Mallika Malar Mercy Jameela Teena Mita Thenmozhi Tessy Source: Fieldwork, November 2007 -- February 2008 Thus, the monthly expenses on communication incurred by the domestic workers amounted, on an average, to 10-12 per cent of their monthly incomes, putting further strain on these women to manage their resources. 88 7.8 Conclusion This chapter showed that ICTs and particularly the mobile phone served a number of functions in the lives of female migrant domestic workers in Singapore. These workers noted that the mobile phone gave them a sense of independence and helped them in maintaining ties with friends and family members. The mobile phone helped the domestic workers to retain their position in their own families, especially as mothers to their children and daughters to their mothers. Even while the mobile phone served as a powerful device for empowerment, it was also an instrument that tied workers to their responsibilities back home. Separation from children and close family members was a great loss to most workers, however hard they tried to compensate this through mobile phone communication. In any case, maintaining contacts through the mobile phone incurred a significant financial cost for these workers. Migrant workers spent approximately 10 to 12 per cent of their monthly income on communication expenses. Hence, it can be seen that empowerment and enhanced connectivity came along with significant emotional and financial costs. 89 Chapter 8 Conclusion This chapter will conclude this study by resuming its various elements. Section 8.1 will summarize the main findings of this study and how it fits within the existing literature. Section 8.2 will discuss the societal implications of the trends observed in the findings. Finally, Section 8.3 will address the limitations faced during the planning and execution of this study and provide suggestions for possible future research. This research was carried out to find out about ICTs and their impact on the lives of migrant domestic workers in Singapore. The research was apropos in the age of the ‘network society’, which denoted the societal changes brought about by the information technology revolution (Castells, 1996). The domestication theory and the uses and gratifications theory have been reviewed in the context of migrant domestic workers in Singapore, a hitherto unstudied group of people. Living and working conditions of foreign domestic workers in Singapore have been the concern of a number of scholarly studies and media reports. The general picture that emerges from these studies and reports is that at least a small minority of women migrant domestic workers have to endure difficult working conditions and tolerate physical abuse. In many instances, foreign maids in Singapore are also made to work for long hours (Abdul Rahman et al. 2005). 90 Given their difficult working and living conditions, the everyday communication of domestic workers assumes great importance. Foreign domestic workers build social networks, make telephone calls and write letters during their limited leisure time. This is one of their means to reclaim some private space and time. A support network that provides practical, religious (delete) and emotional assistance is crucial to a new migrant to cope with isolation, the unfamiliar environment, and other challenges. While much research has been conducted on the living conditions of foreign domestic workers in Singapore, studies focusing specifically on their use of ICTs are lacking. My thesis will thus attempt to fill this gap in the literature. The specific research questions that I have addressed in this thesis are the following: • How do foreign domestic workers in Singapore use ICTs in their everyday lives? • What motivates these foreign domestic workers’ use of ICTs and what gratifications do they derive from this use? • What impact does the use of ICTS have on the living and working conditions of these foreign domestic workers? 8.1 Summary of findings Our findings show that ICTs have had a major impact on the everyday communication of migrant domestic workers in Singapore. They confirm the general policy conclusion that ICTs do not necessarily have to be the preserve of the educated and literate, and that they can very well reach out to the uneducated and illiterates as well (UNESCO, 2007). This thesis analyzed the patterns of technology use by migrant domestic workers in Singapore 91 and found that mobile phone followed by landline was the most commonly used technology among the workers interviewed. These technologies were incorporated and appropriated by these workers as seen in the analysis in Chapter 5. Compared to the Indian workers, the Filipino workers used a wider range of media or technologies for communication, which included letters and cards as well as computer and the Internet. This was partially due to the fact that they enjoyed more days-off and had a wider network of friends as a result. The workers interviewed were categorized as those with ‘high’, ‘moderate’, and ‘low’ proficiency levels in the use of technologies. It was found that, in general, the proficiency levels in using technologies were higher in the case of Filipino workers compared to the Indian workers. It appears from the results of this study that education helps achieve at least a moderate, but not necessarily a high, level of proficiency in the use of technologies. The results of my research also indicated that there is no clear association between age and proficiency level in the use of technologies, or between years of migration to Singapore and proficiency levels. The specific need for using a particular technology like the Internet was found to be a crucial factor that determined proficiency levels in the case of most domestic workers. For many educated and younger workers, access and affordability were the constraining factors with respect to the use of technologies like the Internet – and not the absence of 92 specific skills or interest in using them. In general, domestic workers preferred face-toface communication, and online communication was ‘not worth the time, money and effort,’ according to one of the workers interviewed. Households appropriate technologies into domestic culture, that is, they incorporate and redefine technologies in a fashion that suits household’s own values and interests (Silverstone et al. 1992, p.552, cited in Ribak and Rosenthal, 2006). This is the process of domestication. It was found that among a section of the migrant workers interviewed, the mobile phone was incorporated as an essential part of their lives, and, had become highly domesticated. This was particularly true in the case of Filipino workers. Migrant domestic workers appropriated technologies to suit their specific needs by preferring text messaging over voice calls to reduce costs, or by alternating between landline, voice calls and text messaging to convey different levels of intimacy. The association between socio-economic variables such as age, education and years of migration, on the one hand, and the process of domestication of technologies, on the other, has not been dealt with much in the domestication literature. We have made an attempt in this direction in the present study. The study found that the social and economic conditions before migration have an important bearing on the processes through which the workers domesticate technology after their migration. Another notable finding was that the phenomenon of objectification was absent in the process of domestication of technologies by female migrant domestic workers. The 93 mobile phone was just a functional tool for a majority of the domestic workers interviewed. These women were leading tough, lonely lives in a foreign country, and telephonic conversations with their family members back home was a strong emotional anchor. At the same time, the instrument (mobile phone) itself was a huge investment for these workers, and added to that was the cost of the monthly bills. Scholars note that gratifications can be derived from a medium's content, from familiarity with a genre within the medium, from general exposure to the medium, and from the social context in which it is used. It has also been noted that people's needs influence how they use and respond to a medium (Chandler, 1994). Chapter 6 of this thesis discussed the important motivations behind the use of different media or ICTs by female migrant domestic workers. Using the uses and gratifications perspective, the study then tried to understand how the use of a particular ICT or medium for communication is motivated by the gratification of social or psychological needs of the worker. I found that the everyday communication of migrant domestic workers, mainly through the mobile phone, is driven by two broad motives or gratifications: intrinsic and instrumental. The major intrinsic motive behind the workers’ everyday communication is their desire to maintain strong emotional ties with their families and friends back home. The study showed that the major social or psychological needs that are satisfied by everyday communication of workers through their use of different media are: companionship, escape, entertainment, and information gathering. 94 Despite the regimented lives of these women and their considerable distance from their families, ICTs like the mobile phone enabled them to keep regular and, in some cases, intermittent contact with their families. Hence, even though their primary role within their employer’s home was to serve as the housekeeper, they were able to maintain their personal lives and relationships, and to perform their roles of wives, mothers, daughters and sisters. These findings are similar to the conclusions reached by Uy-Tioco (2007), who showed that cellular phone technology empowered Filipina migrant workers to reassert their roles as mothers. Therefore, as argued by Uy-Tioco (2007) in the case of migrant Filipino workers, technology is empowering and humanizing. This study showed that the Indian workers were, in general, more conservative and less outgoing than the Filipino workers. Hence the desire for maintaining strong emotional ties with their families back home was very intense in their case. The Filipino workers whom I interviewed were rather independent, enjoyed freedom from excessive familial responsibilities, and they had a wider circle of friends to socialize with. The Filipino workers enjoyed more days-off compared to the Indian workers, and this was another factor that aided their more frequent socializing. These differences were clearly reflected in the way the Filipino and Indian workers used media technologies for companionship. Communication through the mobile phone and communication during weekly meetings were an important source of companionship for the Filipino domestic workers. Despite their being mostly confined to their employers’ homes during the week, the mobile phone 95 enabled them to coordinate their social activities and maintain and broaden their social networks. Morley (2000) had argued that ‘communication technologies can function as disembedding mechanisms, powerfully enabling individuals (and sometimes whole families or communities) to escape, at least imaginatively, from their geographical locations’ (Morley, 2000, pp.149-150). This study examined whether the use of ICTs by foreign domestic workers is driven by the escapist motive. It was found that the workers were driven by a desire to escape from their complex family relationships and the difficulties of a migrant’s life. The use of technologies like the mobile phone was a diversion from the regular routine of their everyday lives. The migrant female domestic workers lead structured and routine lives which leave them with very little energy to consume media solely for entertainment. They used ICTs more as a diversion from their everyday routine life. Therefore, it was found that the entertainment motive and the escape motive in the workers’ use of media technologies were closely linked to each other. According to Denis McQuail (1987: 73), information seeking about events and people is an important function of the media. Most of the interviewed workers noted that their friends were particularly useful sources of information about jobs, cheap flights and other relevant information. In general, the migrant workers’ reliance on advanced technologies such as the Internet as a source of information was very minimal. However, the mobile 96 phone was used as a conveyor of information by their friends who were also maids, as well as by employers and employment agents. A study on the gender differences in the use of Internet and mobile phone found that women, more than men, use these technologies “instrumentally” (Singh, 2001, p. 397). Chapter 7 of this thesis illustrated the ways through which ICTs, predominantly the mobile phone, affected the lives of female migrant domestic workers in Singapore -- as a source of empowerment and as an instrument for connectivity. At the same time, this chapter showed that with greater connectivity, the workers were bound by responsibilities to their family members, especially to children whom they leave behind, and that this takes a considerable emotional and financial toll on these women. One predominant feature among the Indian domestic workers interviewed was their relative independence from their husbands. For all these workers, migration to a foreign country enabled them to become financially and emotionally independent; they were also able to get out of the role of being ‘just a wife’ to their husband. In this transformation, the role played by ICTs was very important. Workers’ relative independence as well as their close connection with their family members was demonstrably clear in the pattern of their everyday communication facilitated by ICTs. Despite their mostly solitary and regimented existences, ICTs such as the mobile phone and the Internet ‘brought the outside world’ into the lives of migrant workers -- in the 97 forms of online dating and mediated courtship, for instance. It was with the support of their employers that two of the interviewed women were able to engage in online dating. This finding contrasts with that of Hijazi-Omari and Ribak (2008) who found while Palestinian teenage girls in Israel used mobile phones to date, it was under conditions of subterfuge and deceit, and made for a tense courtship.. As in the above-discussed case, our study showed that while the mobile phone was an instrument of empowerment and connectivity for the migrant workers I interviewed, it also served to tie these workers to their familial responsibilities. The domestic workers continue to play the role of mother/ daughter /wife. Very often, these workers are the first point of contact during a family emergency as they can be relied upon to provide monetary support. The mobile phone assisted these workers in communicating with their children, but was also a constant reminder of their forced separation from their loved ones in search of a livelihood. The findings show that familial responsibilities were uppermost in the minds of the migrant female domestic workers we interviewed. This was true even in the case of Filipino migrant workers, many of whom were unmarried. These women were sending a substantial part of their salaries home for supporting their families. Yet, the fact that they were not in a position to personally take care of their children and dear ones concerned them. Hence, the enhanced connectivity, while a boon, also added an extra emotional burden to these women who felt duty bound to ‘look after’ their loved ones remotely. 98 Another downside to the enhanced connectivity was the financial costs involved. Average monthly communication expenses for the interviewed workers were $49.1 for Filipino workers and $38.9 for Indian workers. As a proportion of their monthly incomes, communication expenses were 12.1 per cent for Indian workers and 10.4 per cent for Filipino workers. 8.2 Societal implications This study provides a unique perspective on the lives of migrant women working as domestic workers in Singapore by not only looking at their living and working conditions but also their everyday communication. To the best of my knowledge, with the exception of Uy-Tiocco (2007), studies on the aspects of everyday communication of migrant domestic workers are few and far between . In this study, socioeconomic variables such as age, education, years of migration and premigration experience have been studied in relation to the use of ICTs by female migrant domestic workers, and the impact created by ICTs on the workers’ lives. Therefore, it is appropriate to examine the societal implications of the workers’ reliance on ICTs for maintaining contact with family and friends. First, our findings indicate that the use of ICTs has sustained and, in many cases, improved relational ties for female migrant domestic workers. At the time of the study, most of the women interviewed preferred face-to face communication to mediated exchanges; however, there is a possibility that reliance on ICTs like mobile phones can reduce the intimacy in their communication. 99 Secondly, while many of the female migrant domestic workers interviewed have improved their everyday communication as a result of the use of ICTs, there are several others who may not have the relevant skills to make use of the new forms of communication technologies. Therefore, there is a need for educating these less-skilled workers by providing them necessary training in IT. Thirdly, the continued migration of domestic workers to Singapore, on the one hand, and the high rate of technology penetration, on the other, should be accompanied by government and private sector support in ensuring that technology training and equipment will be made accessible to all these migrant workers. Also, subsidised mobile phone and landline rates can further benefit these domestic workers to improve their communication needs. 8.3 Limitations and suggestions for future research This thesis has some limitations which are pointed out in this paragraph. However, these limitations do not affect the findings of my study. Its qualitative nature has necessitated a small sample size of 20 migrant domestic workers, reducing the extent to which its findings can be extrapolated to the wider circle of migrant domestic workers in Singapore. Further, only two nationalities of domestic workers (Indians and Filipinos) were interviewed. Workers belonging to different nationalities may domesticate ICTs differently from those interviewed here. Therefore, it may be noted that this study is a representative of only a small population of migrant domestic 100 workers in Singapore. However, it was not representativeness but depth of analysis that was sought in this thesis. Unlike the Filipino workers, the Indian domestic workers did not have an informal gathering place. The Indian workers had limited days-off, and therefore, it was difficult to interview them in public places. Time was another major constraint in that I could get hold of the Filipino domestic workers only on their days-off which were usually Sundays. I had to utilize every Sunday to its maximum in interviewing as many workers as I could in Lucky Plaza on Orchard Road, Singapore. 8.4 Recommendations for future research Given the above-mentioned limitations of this study, there is scope for a future study of domestic workers in Singapore, conducted on a larger scale and involving a comparative analysis of domestic workers belonging to different nationalities. This study can explore whether there are differences in the pattern of use and domestication of ICTs among and between the different nationalities of migrant domestic workers in Singapore. Future research could deal with specific areas of concern, which came into light in this study, in greater detail. For example, a comparison between the use of traditional and new media could be dealt with in greater detail in a future study. Another possible area for research is to examine, using the domestication framework, how the workers use of ICTs in specific contexts such as within their own social networks. 101 Combining the domestication framework and uses and gratifications perspective, this thesis, we believe, has produced a richer understanding of technology adoption by a largely marginalised group of people, namely the migrant domestic workers in Singapore. It has furthered our understanding of these workers’ media use, and showed that the workers’ use of the media does not happen in isolation, but is a function of their dynamic social contexts. 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Singapore: Marshall Cavendish (Academic). 112 [...]... history of migration of foreign domestic workers to Singapore (section 2.1); the role of migrant domestic workers in Singapore s economy (section 2.2); state and migrant domestic workers in Singapore (section 2.3); conditions of work and living for migrant domestic workers (section 2.4); representations of migrant domestic workers in Singaporean society (section 2.5); and everyday communication of domestic. .. (of 612,200) In 2000, one in seven households in Singapore employed a transnational domestic worker (Singapore Department of Statistics, 2000, cited in Abdul Rahman et al 2005) 9 2.3 State and migrant domestic workers in Singapore While Singapore s economy benefits from the inflow of foreign domestic workers, the government has instituted many regulations to limit the flow of new workers In fact Singapore s... 150,000 women working as domestic help in Singapore; estimates of the number of foreign domestic workers for 2004 was 140,000 (see Table 1) Women from the Philippines and Indonesia account for the largest share of foreign domestic workers in Singapore Table 1 shows the numbers of foreign domestic workers of various nationalities Table 1: Estimates of the Number of Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore, by... ‘naïve’, and having poor command of English (Abdul Rahman et al 2005) 2.6 Everyday communication of migrant domestic workers Given their working and living conditions, everyday communication of domestic workers assumes great importance In fact, workers strategies of resistance and sites of power are closely linked to such communication Foreign domestic workers build social networks, make telephone calls and. .. pattern and motivations of use of ICTs by migrant women domestic workers, and (ii) the impact of ICTs on the living and working conditions of these workers Detailed research questions will be given at the end of Chapter 3 after an extensive review of the relevant literature The second chapter of this thesis discusses the empirical literature on the living and working conditions of migrant workers in Singapore. .. domestic workers in Singapore 1.1 Context for research According to recent estimates, approximately 150,000 migrant women from countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and India work as contract domestic maids in Singapore (Dwyer, 2005, Abdul Rahman et al 2005) Living and working conditions of foreign domestic workers in Singapore have been the concern of a number of scholarly studies and media... for Indonesian domestic workers, including a denial of rest days and lower starting wages The Asian financial crisis in 1997, which forced many Indonesian women to migrate in search of job opportunities, has also contributed to the large supply of Indonesian domestic workers In other words, the ready supply of migrant domestic workers from Indonesia has been tantamount to a source of ‘cheaper’ and. .. responsibilities and the high costs of mobile phone use Chapter eight concludes the whole study by summarizing the research findings and provides recommendations for further research 5 Chapter 2 Living and Working Conditions of Foreign Domestic Workers This chapter reviews the literature on living and working conditions of migrant female domestic workers in Singapore In different sections of this chapter,... caring, cooking and cleaning are considered women’s responsibilities in the patriarchal division of labour in Singapore society (Abdul Rahman et al 2005) It is clear that, given the situation discussed above, foreign domestic workers have an important role to play in Singapore s economy and society According to Huang and Yeoh (2003), migrant female domestic workers constitute over one fifth of Singapore s... Singapore It begins with a historical review of the migration of these workers from 1819 into Singapore It highlights the important role played by these migrant workers in Singapore s economy; and discusses the attitude of the state and society in Singapore towards these migrant workers The chapter also illustrates the importance of their everyday communication as they face many hardships in a foreign ... domestic workers in Singapore s economy 2.3 State and migrant domestic workers in Singapore .10 2.4 Conditions of work and living for migrant domestic workers 11 2.5 Representations of. .. semi-structured interviews of 20 migrant women – 10 Filipinos and 10 Indians -working as domestic workers in Singapore Migrant female domestic workers constitute over one-fifth of Singapore s foreign... Profile of Filipino Workers Interviewed 46 Table 8: Profile of Indian Domestic Workers Interviewed 47 Table 9: Proficiency Levels in Using Technologies of Migrant Female Domestic Workers