House rules: the collaborative nature of policy in domestic networks

Crabtree, Andy; Rodden, Tom; Tolmie, Peter; Mortier, Richard; Lodge, Tom; Brundell, Patrick; Pantidi, Nadia

Abstract

We draw on ethnographic studies to understand the collaborative nature of network policies or rules in domestic settings. We outline the technical nature of network policy in enterprise domains and how this contrasts with the social or collaborative nature of rules in everyday life. We then consider the deployment of network control and policy system interfaces in domestic settings, highlighting the ways in which household members collaboratively exploited these to support network governance. Our results suggest that an important feature of network policy in domestic contexts is that rules about network activity are shaped by and answerable to the moral reasoning that governs domestic life. This reframes our understanding of how rules are oriented to and used in the home and has significant implications for the design of home network policy systems.

Citation

Crabtree, A., Rodden, T., Tolmie, P., Mortier, R., Lodge, T., Brundell, P., & Pantidi, N. (2015). House rules: the collaborative nature of policy in domestic networks. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 19(1), https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-014-0771-6

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 14, 2014
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Oct 10, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 10, 2016
• Journal: Personal and Ubiquitous Computing
• Print ISSN: 1617-4909
• Electronic ISSN: 1617-4917
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 1
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-014-0771-6
• Keywords: home networks, network policy and rules, moral order, collaborative interfaces, ethnography
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/740147
• Publisher URL: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00779-014-0771-6
• Additional Information: he final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00779-014-0771-6