Chapter 5. Conclusion and discussions
5.3. Contribution and limitation
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manifested through the manipulation and control of smartphone use for family communication which effectively disrupt the normative spousal power dynamics in Muslim families (Haneef, 1986).
5.3. Contribution and limitation
Adopting Goffman’s concept of spoiled identity this study builds on the current literature on social identity by analyzing Indonesian domestic workers as a group of labor who faces social judgment due to their profession. The degrading and humiliating treatments they receive, which falls under the second type of stigma posited by Goffman (deviation in personal traits). This study also contributes to the literature of transnational migration, communication and gender studies by expanding the literature of smartphone communication for family intimacy in transnational context. By bringing the research focus onto Indonesian domestic workers, this study advances the understanding of religion as a form of symbolic capital that is crucial for migrant domestic workers in order to renegotiate their maternal identity and class in the society where their identity is considered imperfect and blemished. This allows us to gain a more
comprehensive grasp on the social phenomenon of smartphone-mediated transnational mothering in the Muslim culture.
The findings drawn from the informants in Taiwan will provide us with valuable insights into smartphone-mediated communication between the helpers and their husbands and children and its impact on transnational family relationship. However, since this research is not dyadic the interview data which solely emphasizes the helpers' viewpoints will not include responses from the husbands and children. Future research can take the pair approach to examine the
perspectives from two parties.
Due to temporal and logistic limitations, this proposed research will only recruit 20 informants from Taipei area. The small sample size cannot provide representative results, but the in-depth interviews will shed light on the Indonesian domestic helpers’ smartphone communication and
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family relationship in the home country. The recruitment of interviewees in Taipei is likely to lead to bias to the findings as the interviewees have experiences of urban live-in maids. It will also be valuable to include Indonesian women from other areas in Taiwan to increase the level of representativeness of the findings.
Finally, the conclusion drawn in this study is based on the context of Indonesian socioeconomic situation and the employment condition in Taiwan. Further research is necessary to examine the impact of social, cultural and legal factors in other host countries.
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Appendix 1: Interview Questions
I. Demographics and family relationships
1.How old are you?
2. How long have you worked as a domestic helper in Taiwan?
3. What part of Indonesia do you come from?
4.What is your highest education?
5. How long have you been married?
6. How many children do you have?
7. Who is taking care of your children?
8. How did your parents raise you as a daughter?
9. How did your husband treat you—dominant, liberal, or else?
10. How is your relationship with your husband and your children? Have your current job influence your family relationship? How?
11. What is the Muslim culture influence on your working as a domestic helper?
12. Who made the decision for you to come to Taiwan and work as a domestic helper? How did your family and husband respond to your working as a domestic helper?
13. What kinds of family relationship and life you imagine you will have after returning to Indonesia?
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II. Smartphone use 14. How long have you use a smartphone? Is it a pre-paid or post-paid? How much is your monthly phone bill on average? Who pays for the mobile phone and its bills? Do you think smartphone use is affordable?
15. Do your employers allow you to use smartphone to communicate with your family in Indonesia? What kinds of rules do the
employers set for your smartphone use? Have they complained about your smartphone use or restricted your usage? Why?
16. Is smartphone the major communication device for you to contact your distant family? Why?
17. What kinds of smartphone activities do you use most frequently to interact with your distant families? Why?
18. How did you use the following smartphone activities to
communicate with your distant family? (Ask each of them about the frequency, communication purposes, and ways of
communication. Give examples) a. Voice call
b. SMSes
c. Video call (e.g., Skype)
d. Mobile Instant Messages (e.g., Line, Whatsapp…) e. Facebook (post, photos, facebook text, facebook live) f. Other?
19. What are the reasons that you select different types of smartphone activities to communicate with your husband and children?
20. Who did you usually contact via smartphone during routine communication? How about during emergency?
21. When and where do you most often use your smartphones to communicate with your distant families? Why?
22. How important is smartphone use for you to maintain connectivity and intimacy with your family?
23. How would you feel if you did not have smartphone to maintain your distant family relationship? What might happen?
III. Spousal power dynamics 24. What does your husband do?
25. Does your husband have power over your decisions and life? Did the power dynamic between you and husband change after you work as a domestic helper? (More respected or less?)
26. Who controlled the mobile communication between you and your family in Indonesia when you want to contact them?
27. What are the rules and frequency of your family smartphone communication? Who determines them?
28. How often have you use smartphone to contact your husband?
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29. Who usually initiated the smartphone communication between you and your husband?
30. What kinds of topics do you talk about with your husband? Any topic to avoid?
31. How did your children respond to you when you tell them about your life stories in Taiwan?
32. What kinds of smartphone activities you usually have with your husband? For what purposes? Share your experiences with examples.
33. How does smartphone use help your long-distance marriage? Can smartphone activities maintain the relationship between you and husband? Share your examples.
34. How do you think your migration affect your families’ opinion about you? (here, the concept of migration refers to economic contribution to the family such as remittances and/or gift sending).
35. How do you feel about nurturing your children through smartphones while working in Taiwan? (perception towards parenting roles)
36. How does smartphone use affect your roles in decision making process on family matters at home?
IV. Transnational mothering practices
37. How often have you use smartphone to contact your children?
38. Who usually initiated the communication between you and your children?
39. What kinds of topics do you talk about with your children?
40. What kinds of smartphone activities you usually have with your children? For what purposes? Share your experiences with examples.
41. How did your children respond to you when you tell them about your life stories in Taiwan?
42. How does smartphone use help your transnational mothering?
Can smartphone activities maintain the relationship between you and children? Share your examples.
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Appendix 2: Consent formsEnglish Version
Informed Consent Form (English)
Please read this consent agreement carefully. You must be 18 years old or older to participate.
Purpose of the research:
The purpose of this thesis research is to study how Indonesian migrant workers in Taiwan use smartphones to maintain family relationship. The title of my study is “Smartphone-mediated communication with transnational families: Understanding the experiences of Indonesian domestic workers in Taiwan.” The research findings will be presented as master’s thesis
submitted to International Master’s Program in International Communication Studies (IMICS) at National Chengchi University (NCCU). The supervisor of this research is Dr. Trisha T. C. Lin, an associate professor at the Department of Radio and Television, College of Communication, National Chengchi University.
What you will do in this study:
You will answer some interview questions. This should take around 30 minutes to an hour. You will also agree to allow the researcher to observe your Facebook activities for the next three months to identify the use of Facebook for parenting.
Benefits/Risks:
Your responses will be a contribution to research in the field of communication. There are no anticipated risks associated with participating in this study.
Voluntary Withdrawal:
Your participation in this study is voluntary, and you may withdraw from the study at any time without penalty.
Confidentiality:
Your personal data in this study will remain confidential and will be used only for research purposes. Your responses will be assigned a code number that is not link to your name or other identifying information. All data and consent forms will be stored safely. The research findings will be presented as a master’s thesis and/or published in journals, books, etc.
IMICS contact person:
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This study is approved by IMICS. If you have any questions about the study or your rights as a participant, feel free to contact the researcher, Mr. Louis B. K. WARUWU
([email protected]), his supervisor Dr. Trisha T. C. Lin ([email protected] ), or IMICS office ([email protected]).
Thank you very much for your time and effort. We highly appreciate your help in this research.
Sincerely,
Louis Barui Kurniawan WARUWU Student
International Master’s Program in International Communication Studies (IMICS) National Chengchi University
--- Agreement:
The purpose and the nature of this study have been sufficiently explained to me. I agree to participate in this study voluntarily. I understand that I am free to withdraw at any time without giving any reason and without any penalty. If you agree, please select yes.
Yes______ No_______
Name in print (optional): _____________________ Date: __________________
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Indonesian Version
Surat Persetujuan
Anda harus berumur 18 tahun keatas untuk berpartisipasi Tujuan penelitian:
Penelitian ini ditujukan untuk mengamati penggunaan smartphone (telepon genggam berbasis aplikasi) oleh Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (TKW) di Taiwan. Hasil penelitian ini akan disajikan sebagai skripsi kelulusan S2 di program IMICS di Universitas Negeri Chengchi, Taipei.
Jenis partisipasi:
Dalam proses penelitian ini, anda akan menjawab pertanyaan mengenai informasi diri seperti umur, asal, pendidikan dan durasi pekerjaan sebagai TKW di Taiwan. Selain itu, anda akan menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan seputar penggunaan smarphone dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, terlebih-lebih dalam menguhubungi keluarga dan sanak saudara di Indonesia. Anda juga akan memberikan izin kepada peniliti untuk mengamati penggunaan Facebook anda dalam
berinteraksi dengan anak anda.
Keuntungan dan resiko:
Keuntungan dalam berpatisipasi dalam penelitian ini adalah kontribusi anda pada perkembangan ilmu pengetahuan sosial, terutama mengenai komunikasi dan pekerja transmigrasi. Tidak ada resiko dalam partisipasi dalam penelitian ini.
Pembatalan partisipasi:
Partisipasi anda dalam penelitian ini adalah sukarela, dan tanpa paksaan. Oleh sebab itu, anda dapat membatalkan partisipasi anda kapanpun.
Kerahasiaan data:
Semua data yang anda berikan berupa jawaban-jawaban pertanyaan akan dirahasiakan, dan hanya akan disajikan dalam bentuk skripsi S2 oleh peneliti dan jurnal akademis.
Kontak:
Jika anda memiliki pertanyaan mengenai hak dan kewajiban anda dalam penelitian ini, harap menghubungi Bapak Louis WARUWU (peneliti) [email protected]; Ibu Dr. Trisha, C.
T. Lin (professor pembimbing) [email protected] , atau kantor IMICS [email protected]
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Sekian surat persetujuan partisipasi dalam penelitian ini. Saya sangat berterima kasih atas
Sekian surat persetujuan partisipasi dalam penelitian ini. Saya sangat berterima kasih atas