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Summary: Homeless Young People's Experiences
with Information Systems: Life and Work
in a Community Technology Center
Jill Palzkill Woelfer and David G. Hendry
The Information School
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-2840
{woelfj, dhendry}@u.washington.edu
ABSTRACT
This paper explores how homeless young people, aged 13-
25, make use of information systems in daily life. Observed
in a community technology center, four different examples
of uses are described: i) Using digital tools to find
employment, ii) Telling stories with representations of the
built world, iii) Portraying life on the street with video, and
iv) Constructing online identities. From these examples and
a discussion of this community, a framework of ecological
considerations is proposed. This framework distinguishes
between elements of "life" on the street (Self-Reliance,
Vulnerability, and Basic Needs) and "work" in the
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